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October 15, 2004
tools are great! working tools are better.
last night i broke down and bought some sewing tools-- a cutting wheel, a large cutting mat, and a marking wheel and paper. i've been using things that came from my grandmother's house-- her machine, and all her other tools. she was an amazing seamstress, even taught sewing classes, so as you can imagine, she had a pretty complete array of stuff. i was surprised to find no marking wheel and paper, not even any chalk in amongst her things.
the cutting wheel and mat i am not surprised about-- i think those were only coming into vogue around the time i was really into sewing, about 10-15 years ago. for the project i'm working on, which has no pattern, those two items make an enormous difference. marking tools are pretty cruicial as well.
after breaking down and buying things... i broke the sewing machine :( the bobbin jammed, and after i'd cleared it, found the mechanism that spins the bobbin will no longer spin on its own (although i can turn it freely with my finger). a co-worker has suggested i look for a belt that may have jumped off, which is a good idea. in the meantime, christa has been so kind as to offer to loan me her machine, which will be a godsend-- i really want to sew this stuff properly and not have it be all makeshift for my trip.
however, in the things that do work department, sarah took me to lonnie's this morning where i picked up 9 Westy and drove her straight to work! the clutch is great now, and it's very reassuring to have a working temp sensor. also, they flushed the coolant system and replaced the coolant with the proper type.
lonnie told me that he uses a type of coolant that is not toxic for animals-- it's propylene glycol rather than ethylene glycol. in fact, p.g. is the antidote for e.g. poisoning. so i am going to look for some of that to have on hand should i need to top off the coolant.
anyway, i'm starting to get excited about my trip! the westy is so great to drive. i missed driving her during the time that the clutch was bad.
Posted by lisa at October 15, 2004 08:25 AM | TrackBack
Comments
yay for things that work!!
Posted by: christa on October 15, 2004 01:42 PM
ok, so a) your comment won't post right away because i have to approve it first and b) you might get a server error but your comment probably posted anyway and c) previewing doesn't work so i've removed the preview button.