small investment in the craft. for now.

no more cheap, dull needles.  see ya, red plastic thimble that doesn't fit.  so long rolled up towel that doubles as a pressing ham (don't worry, i'll still use you for sleeves & long seams).  i just invested $20 in some excellent needles, proper thimbles & a pressing ham.

the idea of investing in a new machine is still nagging at me.  i started to do some preliminary research, but was quickly overwhelmed.  choosing the right machine seems more complicated than buying a car.  a lot of machines have a ton of bells & whistles i don't care about.  what i want is something pretty basic:

• sturdy
• stitches precisely
• more speed
• a backstitch that works, so i don't have to hand knot all of my seams (no i'm not joking about that)
• handles denim & coating fabric
• automatic buttonholer

but the process of narrowing down all of the brands & models to something that does these few things really well is daunting.  plus, i'm hesitant to spend a chunk of change for fear that as soon as i do, the sewing obsession will go away & i'll be into bob knows what next. 

maybe i need to talk to mom about this.  after all, she's the one who talked me into getting the dress form.  her theory was that if i had proper tools, i'd be more apt to stick with it & so far she's been right.  nearly a year since i invested in the dress form, my interest in sewing is still going strong.