Today I shall be Mainly...

[Stanley]

A productive hour.....



Continuing the cross head guide bars. Some careful milling gave us the profile we need and then I marked them for drilling the holes for the fastenings. I have to separate the bed from the base casing in order to drill it and then I shall be working on the pedestal bearings which also needs the bed separate. Tomorrow I fit the bolts to the guide bars.
Now for the early doors shopping.

[Sue]

Morning

Well I bought my machine, I could not resist after a trial sewing session. It was everything I had been told and more. I opted for a free service, worth £85 , so I can then sell it privately with a full service certificate. One went on ebay this week for £300 another has 64 watchers, there is also one on facebook market place for over £400 so I shall see if it sells. I will be happy with £250. Because I still have the original box and packing I can probably send it to anyone who buys it via a carrier of some sort. I shall offer it to Maxine first, she may be interested. There will be a delay as the service man is on holiday but thats not a problem as we go to the Lakes in a week anyway.

Another dark morning and a dry start to the day. Today is u3a art, the first of the year. Then Bob and I are out for a pub lunch, Wendy and Keith may join us, but they still feel very fatigued. Bob is out at the engineers meeting this evening so I shall continue with my knitting.

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Sounds as though you got a good deal Sue. I hope it sells well once it's been serviced. Just back from early doors shopping and everything has been put away so I can enjoy my breakfast and then second sleep.
Have a good day.
Am I right, is the French word tricoteuse?

[PanBiker]

Am I right, is the French word tricoteuse?

I think it would be if was a knitting machine

Today I shall mainly be going to the dentist this morning, (checkup).

[Sue]

Yes tricoter is to knit coudre is to sew . Machine a coudre is a sewing machine. However this is a specialist machine called a coverstitch machine in both languages or possibly machine a coverstitch. The boxes in France are the same as tge UK, with multi language on the side if appropriate.

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed with my castings.... Not even thinking about a walk because we are promised heavy rain all day. I shall roast my chicken this morning.....
The word came to me Sue because of a fact that had stuck in my brain since being taught the history of the French Revolution at school. I remembered Les tricoteuse, the women who sat watching the beheadings at the Guillotine knitting as they did.

[Sue]

Morning

Yes wind and rain all day.

This morning is Bacup market, then I think a day of playing on my new machine, getting used to the controls and what it will do.

Have a good day

[Stanley]

That sounds about right Sue. You'll enjoy that!



I've had an hour in the shed working on the fitting of the guide bars on the cross head. I have one done and will start tomorrow doing the other.

[Sue]

I keep a book Stanley, that has all the various samples of methods I have tried. I record relevant information with the samples and it is my own little reference book when I want to do those techniques on an actual piece of sewing

[Stanley]

That sounds like a very good idea Sue. I can see the difficulty when you have so many modes at your disposal. Luckily my machines only have two modes, on and off!
Today I shall go quietly forward with the fitting on the bed casting. One more guide bar to do and then I think I can look at the pedestal bearings.
Not sure about a walk, there could be rain at midday. I'll take a view later.

[Stanley]

I started by finishing the fitting of the guide bars to the crosshead and then moved on to the pedestal bearings. I spent the rest of my hour and a quarter in the shed getting the top bearing caps ready for fitting. This included the oil holes but not the witness marks, I will put them on when I am sure where the caps go..... A good morning. Quietly forward and no mistakes.

[Sue]

That sounds like a very good idea Sue. I can see the difficulty when you have so many modes at your disposal. Luckily my machines only have two modes, on and off!

Morning

The main difficulty is the different types of fabric, fine , thick, stretch, non stretch, woven, non woven, knitted, cotton, polyester etc.the machine behaved itself beautifully and I am delighted. With the last machine I had to change the tension settings nearly every time, this one handled all fabrics with hardly a tweak . Today I shall try different types of seam and then I am ready to go, though I joked in the shop that I cannot now afford fabric!

Bob is off to the park today to do some boiler testing, apart from my sewing I have nothing planned. Have a good day all.

[Stanley]

From the looks of the weather there will be a lot more sewing days Sue! It struck me this morning that we are having February fill dyke a bit early!
I shall be in the shed with my engine and perhaps at the Pharmacy later for my meds. From the looks of the forecast there isn't gong to be much incentive to go for walks, let alone sits, for the next few days.

[Stanley]

We move slowly towards our flyshaft bearings. Slow and careful, measure three times and cut once....

[Sue]

Morning

Well I think I have sold my machine. I registered on a facebook page for buying and selling coverstitch machines. On the same day someone else did who was looking for a machine. I contacted her, had quite a chat and she asked me to let her know when the machine is available. Of course she could buy elsewhere sooner but I keep my fingers crossed. She is fairly local too, Southport. I asked for £350 and she seemed happy with that. She said she knew the shop in Blackburn and their low part exchange prices!

This morning I have pilates, then I will have a look at the sports T shirt pattern that arived yesterday from Amazon and that I still have enough fabric left to make a top to match my new leggings. Of course using my new machine for the stretchy seams and hem.

A bit of knitting and the jigsaw to finish and thats about it. Oh yes I have online yoga at 5.15 pm . Have a good day all

[Big Kev]

Buying a small trampoline for my grandson as he broke the last one (the big hoof). Bouncing has a positive impact and helps him sleep at night.

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed as usual chasing my pedestal bearings. I am almost there now. I always have to be careful with these as they are a complicated shape and as I get older I have more and more difficulty with anything that is irregular. That's why measure three times before cutting! (I'm sure Julie would approve....)
Not a lot of chance of a walk later as we have a yellow weather warning from the Met Office for heavy rain all day. Deep Joy!

[Stanley]

It started raining dead on time.
I've had my hour and a quarter in the shed. More work on the bottom elements of the pedestal bearings. Lots of measuring and checking and eventually I had the brasses ready for final fitting to a perfect fit. I'm not prepared to rush that so that's where I will start tomorrow.



The bottom brasses are cut to size and are ready for final fitting.

[Sue]

Buying a small trampoline for my grandson as he broke the last one (the big hoof). Bouncing has a positive impact and helps him sleep at night.

Morning
My youngest grand daughter does trampolining. I always think the ones in the garden look incredible fun, I wouldn’t mind having a go myself. But what Erin does scares me silly. I remember when we got a trampoline at school, I was in the upper sixth form and perhaps a little too old to start belly flops, back drops etc. I did enjoy the bit I did but had no ambitions to be more daring.

It was an active day yesterday with my two classes and we also found a two hour window in the rain to walk into Rochdale to the bank, have a coffee in a cafe and walk back. Its the hardest walk I have done in over 4 weeks, not that it is long but its a good 1.5 mile uphill drag on the way back . I managed it easily, so I feel fairly recovered apart from my sinuses and ear.

I had some sad news at lunchtime. The daughter of an ex work colleague and good friend phoned. I knew straight away something had happened to Linda, who sadly died last week of septicaemia. She had gone into hospital with a mobility issue just before Christmas and rapidly went down hill. She was not in good health, with a heart problem and other issues relating to her being seriously overweight had been the major cause of her problems. But she was a lovely lady, her love for life as big as herself. We were partners in crime as they say, her sense of fun dragging us through many a long difficult day at the chalkface. From the moment we met we clicked academically, professionally, socially and fun wise. I shall miss her dearly. That is the second of my work colleagues and good friends that have died in 4 months, both young by modern standards. I felt very empty yesterday .

Today I must fetch my weeks bulky laundry from the laundrette. My washer decided to nearly die on New Years Eve.it has been limping along on small lightweight loads since. The repair man comes tomorrow but we think it is beyond repair. We shall see. I shall be sewing, starting another jigsaw, knitting and I have Pilates and yoga at the studio this evening.

I think thats all, have a good day.

[Stanley]

Good luck with the washer Sue. Unfortunately they are not as easy to repair as they used to be. In my family days at Hey Farm I brought the washer back from the dead several times, I don't think I could do it today.

[Sue]

Good luck with the washer Sue. Unfortunately they are not as easy to repair as they used to be. In my family days at Hey Farm I brought the washer back from the dead several times, I don't think I could do it today.

Its the bearings, its the third time. It owes us nothing being at least 14 years old. Our insurance provides a new washer if it can’t be repaired, I am hopeful . Bob used to repair ours but he is unable to get inside this one. It also has to have the computer control reset by the repairer. He must have do a standard diagnostic check or some sort of update. Last time the length of the wash programs changed slightly

[Big Kev]

Buying a small trampoline for my grandson as he broke the last one (the big hoof). Bouncing has a positive impact and helps him sleep at night.

Morning
My youngest grand daughter does trampolining. I always think the ones in the garden look incredible fun, I wouldn’t mind having a go myself. But what Erin does scares me silly. I remember when we got a trampoline at school, I was in the upper sixth form and perhaps a little too old to start belly flops, back drops etc. I did enjoy the bit I did but had no ambitions to be more daring.

This is only a small round indoor model, 40inch. My grandson has non-verbal autism and the trampoline is really good for him to release some energy.

[plaques]

Its the bearings, its the third time.

. On our last machine the bearings wore to a point where the drum tilted over and trepanned the front off the drum case. Water everywhere but the machine kept running.

[Sue]

Its the bearings, its the third time.

. On our last machine the bearings wore to a point where the drum tilted over and trepanned the front off the drum case. Water everywhere but the machine kept running.

This sounds like you are sitting under a jet engine, and thats three rooms away. Last time it did this it stopped full of all our underwear after a holiday trip . I believe it may even be noisier this time

[Stanley]

I'm afraid I would be thinking about biting the bullet and getting a new machine Sue. I don't have enough confidence in the initial build quality of modern machines to believe that they are capable of accepting repair.
I shall be in the shed doing final fitting on bronze flyshaft bearings and then thinking about boring for the shaft.
Then I shall have my second sleep and follow that with serious letter writing to BG Complaints and emails to Resolver. See what attracted your attention, I got an energy bill for £535 this morning which though it sounds like a disaster isn't as it has given me the proof I needed that British Gas have completely screwed up my account and are charging me twice for gas. This may be the beginning of the end for their total incompetence.
The letter will be sent snail Mail and recorded delivery even if it is raining! That is the only way I have found to ensure that they get my evidence. They can't ignore that!