Quirk's

[Mojo]

OK......... I will readily admit to being quirky when it comes to sitting down at the machine and sewing.
Some may even think I am " not right " and have lost to many brain cells.

First off I cannot sew unless I have on my moose skin Minnetonka slippers. I seem to have much better feel of the pedal and besides that they are comfortable to wear around the shop. I just ordered a new pair last month after wearing out my old pair. :)

Secondly, before I can sit down at the machine in the morning I need my coffee. Man cannot sew without coffee. In the afternoon I switch to Diet Coke. No coffee or diet coke and this old fart wont work and will go on strike. I always have a full cup next to me.

Thirdly. My MP3 player needs to be charged and running. I just cannot work without some good background music playing. 70's hits, Motown, classic rock, blues, whatever. I have got to have my music while working.

So, the question is do you have any quirks or "Must Haves" yourself when it comes to sewing ?

Chris

[Gregg @ Keystone Sewing]

Will keep this in mind when posting your "sewing machine motor" reviews!@#

;)

[Mojo]

Will keep this in mind when posting your "sewing machine motor" reviews!@#

;)

Holy Crap. Dude you nailed it. Those are the exact slippers I wear ( chocolate color ). They are called driving slippers and have the nubs on the bottom. They are made from moose hide which makes them real soft and pliable. No other slipper will do for me. It has to be these..........LOL.

Seriously, they are extremely comfortable and you get a good feel on the sole when it depresses the pedal. :)

I know, I am weird. What can I say. At least I didn't tell ya'll I also sew in my boxers. :)

Chris

[JuneC]

I prefer sewing barefoot, though in the winter slippers are ok.  Shoes or even flip-flops don't give me the pedal control I require.  As a rule, I hate shoes.   I only wear them to be socially acceptable when I go out. 

Music - I'm with you there.  I either listen to Gater (FM classic rock - Stones/Zepplin/Pink Floyd/Frampton/Heart/ZZ Top/Skynard/etc) or satellite Classic Hits Blend. 

No cups on/by the machine - I'd knock them off and make a mess, but I can't tell you my name in the morning till I've had a cup of coffee. 

June

[bobbin]

No food or drink near the machines or the cutting table.  I do a lot of work on clothing and with very high end fabrics and "accidents" carry a very high risk.  I am unwilling to purchase a garment or additional yardage because I slopped food or drink on someone else's property.  I also make sure my hands are clean! 

I do "dirty work" all at once, then I "sanitize the area" before moving to clean work. 

I listen to National Public Radio pretty exclusively.  "Morning Edition", The Diane Rehm Show, and Talk of the Nation are particular favorites.  Our Maine station has a fabulous classical music show in the morning, sometimes I tune that one in. I listen to my own music, mostly vintage jazz and R&B with some classical tossed in.  Sometimes I throw in some "classic rock", West Texas Swing, or Motown/Soul, but given my druthers I avoid commercial, corporate radio like the plague. 

[Mike8560]

slIppers and barefoot June  you all
must have real beet shops I kill myself and step on a star lol.
And yes I've spilled a coffee or two on my sewing table. Good thing sunbrella cleans easy ,)

I like the 70s and 80s playing all my oldies. Toss in some 60s too

[fragged8]

hiya

If you saw my shop you'd understand why I have to wear soled shoes, i have had a nail go right through my shoes in
the past.
I'm a tea drinker, and a note to the americans, NO you can't make tea with water from a coffee pot !!!! hehehe

I have an overlocker beside my main machine so that gets used for the tea stand as it isn't used often. So far no spills.

As for music I listen to BBC Radio2 all day which just about covers every music taste except ultra modern, they even have
an Americana spot. If anyone is interested most BBC radio stations stream from their websites or you can get a BBC sidebar
gadget if you are running Windows Vista or Win 7 on your puter.

Rich

[sofadoc]

Sportstalk radio for me. I wear prescription orthotics in thick soled sneakers (I have a scorching case of plantar fasciatis). Those slippers would absolutely KILL me. Got my Diet Pepsi next to the wheel of the machine, and yes, I often knock it off while rotating the wheel. I don't charge any extra for getting soda on the customer's fabric  :D
My desk is right behind me so I can answer the phone without getting up.

Speaking of radio, the station I listen to is always throwing out hypotheticals. Here's one:
You're stranded on a desert island. You only have 2 choices for food & drink. Either cotton candy & Mountain Dew, or hot coffee & Bugles. Which?
Here's another for the ladies:
You can have wild unbridled sex with the man of your dreams for 1 year. BUT, at the end of the year, you gain 25 pounds that you can NEVER lose.
Would ya?

[bobbin]

Answer:  not on your life, Sofa.!   ::)

[SHHR]

I usually wear old worn out nikes and if there's nothing on the floor to go through my foot I may have a pair of crocs on. Caffiene free coke next to me and something like Jerry Lee, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Elvis, or Brian Setzers' tribute to Sun Records playing on the CD player.

Word of caution though, Rockabilly will tend to make you sew faster, keep all fingers out of the way.
Kyle

[Cheryl]

Interesting thread! 

I always wear New Balance tennies... although this summer I have branched out into a super comfy pair of flip fops. 

Like Chris --  Coffee is an absolute.  (See my facebook page -- I like coffee aLOT! :D )   In the afternoons I often switch to PEPSI MAX!  Because it rocks. ;-)

Music??  I  like upbeat  Contemporary Christian (My current faves include  "My Saviour,My God"  and   "Praise You in This Storm").  I also  play alot of Country... love the  50's oldies both of R &R and Country...  Rockabilly is fun...  occasionally I will  pop in a classical cd.. Beethoven or Mozart.

Sofadoc -- desert island??   hot coffee and bugles :D

YES!    (being thin, pretty or anything else  bites if thats all ya got happenin'..... ;-)  ) 

That oughtt give ya something to think about  8)

[baileyuph]

While patterning, cutting, or even sewing detailed work, too focused to do anything else, even do a good job of listening. But, I enjoy all music when stripping.  Oh how that sounds, the idea is pulling staples on furniture.   ;)

[stitcher_guy]

No one has mentioned my shoe of choice... Redwing work boots. LOL. I can sew in anything (boots, walking shoes, whatever). The boots, though, are a good weight to just relax my foot and it starts up the clutch. Right now I've worn through the soles from walking to the cars to the machine to the cars to the machine, and have to get them resoled.

The one thing that I've found is not conducive to good sewing is Tucker, the shop dog. He's only 4 months old, weighs about 30 pounds, and is a mix between Coon dog and German Shepherd. When he was 6 weeks old, he was tiny and would lay down under my table right next to my sewing peddle. Now when he comes visiting to my sewing machine, he plops that 30 pound butt down on the peddle and heaven help anything that's in the way. I"ve gotten quick at hitting the kill button when I see him wiggling and waggling up under the table.

I'm by myself in the shop for about 10-12 hours a day, and it gets pretty boring while I'm working. I don't do it when I'm really busy and have to focus and work super fast, but I've got about 300 movies in the shop that I put up in the DVD player and run. Most of the mmovies I've not actually watched, but I l isten to them and glance up at them. I've listened to about every Director's Commentary and all the peripheral stuff on the DVDs just to put some white noise in the shop. I'm in a very large metal framed building, so getting talk radio is impossible inside. And you can only listen to so many country songs, Christian banter and music, and farm/ag programming.

[sofadoc]

I'm by myself in the shop for about 10-12 hours a day, and it gets pretty boring while I'm working.

Man, ain't it the truth? The 4 walls really close in after a while. My wife works at a busy bank all day. So when she gets home, she doesn't want to see ANYBODY. She doesn't understand why I would actually like to socialize with the neighbors, the neighbors's dog, ANYONE!!
For most of us, this is not a "high traffic" retail business. We may only meet a few customers a week. Most of the contacts are by phone, or e-mail.
I would say that working alone all day is the hardest part of my job.
I don't want to stray too far from the original topic (Quirks), but how do some of you handle the isolation? The radio is a good friend, but it still leaves me talking to myself.
My wife and I are leaving tomorrow with another couple on a cruise to Cozumel, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands. Maybe that'll recharge my battery.
I know it'll be tough, but you guys try to keep the forum going without me. See y'all on the 30th. :)

[ajlelectronics]

As for music I listen to BBC Radio2 all day which just about covers every music taste except ultra modern, they even have
an Americana spot.

I used to do the same, but gradually I am getting less tolerant. The "tin hat" was when they replaced Sir Terry with the moronic ginger whinger. At 7AM, after the news, my radio goes over to Classic FM now. The Ipod gets a great deal more use than it did. About the only Radio 2 I listen to  is Weekend Wogan, Sounds of the sixties and Sunday Love songs. Maybe it is a part of getting old?