New Sewing Machine!!

  I found a sewing machine! I ended up with the Singer Quantum Stylist 9960, from Amazon. It was a little higher priced than I initially intended to get, $329 instead of $300, but considering the accessories that I didn't have to buy separately, I am pretty happy.   It arrived last night, and after figuring out how to wind the bobbin, the first thing I did was make up a sampler of some of the stitches:

   Obviously a little stabilizer underneath the fabric would have helped, but I was surprised how well most of the stitches came out on just plain cotton.
 

  So far, I love it! It's pretty easy to use, and I love the tack stitch and thread cutting features. I was pretty disappointed with the alphabets, as they are smaller than I expected and a little difficult to read. Also, letters like 'g' and 'y' don't hang down below the other letters, so they look a little funny.


  This machine is advertised as having 600 stitches, but it turns out that different lengths and the reverse/mirror images of stitches are counted as separate stitches. Here is what the machine can actually stitch:


  It's still a pretty good selection! Probably more than I will ever use. I do like having the different buttonhole options, and I really like that this machine doesn't eat fabric when I try to sew a buttonhole.

  Oddly enough, the description listed 14 feet that came with the machine, but I actually ended up with 19, plus a ruffler foot that I bought separately. The instructions included for attaching this foot aren't very clear, so I looked it up and used this link, which worked even though my machine is a Singer and not a Brother.

  

  So here is my new machine and its accessories:

1. The manual
2. Even-feed/walking foot
3. Brush
4. Small thread cap
5. Blind hem foot
6. Open toe foot
7. Auxiliary spool pin
8. Rolled hem foot
9. Straight stitch/patch quilting foot
10. Screw driver
11. Button foot
12. Seam ripper
13. Screw driver for needle plate (this is genius)
14. Satin foot
15. Darning embroidery foot
16. Overcasting foot
17. Quilting bar
18. Seam guide and screw
19. Zipper foot
20. Cording foot
21. Extra needles
22. Bobbins
23. Fancy trim foot 
24. Shank for special accessory foot
25. Bias binder foot, presser part
26. Single welt cord foot
27. Stitch in the ditch foot
28. Bias binder foot, binding part
29. Clearance plate
30. Braiding foot
31. Braiding guide
32. Buttonhole underplate
33. Buttonhole foot

  It also came with a hard dust cover and an extension table. Lots of accessories, right?  It's going to be fun learning how to use them all! =)

 And now I'm off to sew, thanks for stopping by!