Looper Chicken

Those of you who sew may be familiar with the term “bobbin chicken.” That’s the race you play with your machine to see if you can finish sewing a seam before the bobbin thread runs out. Knitters have a version as well. The serger version is “looper chicken.” Yesterday, I played looper chicken and won:

I was working on the last of my home dec class samples. That one called for a three-thread edging using serger thread in the needle and heavier 12wt thread in each of the loopers. I had a large spool of one color but only a sample spool of the other color. (Wonderfil makes sample spools for teachers to use in their classes.) The two colors together were perfect for the print I was using.

The edging is decorative and thread intensive, intended to cover the entire edge, so I knew it was going to be close. I was sweating that fourth side. I stitched the last 6” of it with one eye on the spool. If I ran out, I would have had a sample with a partially-finished edge, but I made it with this much to spare. Yay me.

The samples are done; now I just need to put the handout together. I may make a second set of samples, though, in case I teach this class at another store.

Speaking of classes at other stores . . . I’m scheduled to teach a Serger 101 class at the small quilt store in Spokane this month. Back in May or so, I also contacted the big quilt store in Spokane and offered to teach some classes there, too. The big quilt store responded that they already had people teaching serger classes but would call me if they needed another teacher.

The big store puts out a class mailer every quarter with a list of the upcoming classes. I looked at the mailer that just came out to see what serger classes they are offering in case I want to take one. (LOL.) The only “classes” they offer are the model-specific mastery classes that you get for free if you buy a machine there, although you can take one if you pay for it, if you bought your machine elsewhere. They also have a Bernina serger club which meets monthly and does a different project each month.

So yes, they are offering classes, but not classes open to just anyone with a serger. The mailer states, “If you do not have a current machine model, please call to inquire about your options. We are happy to accommodate other machines, based on instructor availability, as you may require a one-on-one session.” Those individual sessions are $40/hour, which is good information to have because the stores where I currently teach sometimes get requests for private instruction.

Part of me can’t fault the store for setting things up this way. They are a dealer and they want to sell machines. Perhaps their current instructor doesn’t want the hassle of dealing with other brands of sergers, especially vintage ones. My experience, though, has been that people who come to class with machines they inherited, pulled out of closets, or bought at yard sales quickly determine the limitations of those machines and start looking at newer ones.

Here is the interesting thing: I called the smaller quilt store yesterday to see if anyone signed up for the serger class being offered there. I don’t want to make travel arrangements if no one is registered. The woman I spoke with on the phone said that it’s sold out; she registered the last person a couple of days ago. Granted, it’s a small class—we limited it to either six or eight people—but it’s sold out. This is a Serger 101 class and we didn’t limit it to one brand even though this store is a Juki dealer. I will be curious to see what machines people bring to class.

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It’s supposed to be a bit cooler for a few days, although breezy. That fire on the west side of Flathead Lake is still burning, mostly uncontained. And the Flathead County Sheriff’s office released information yesterday that five grass fires over the weekend appear to have been started deliberately. All were extinguished quickly, but it wouldn’t take much for one of those to turn into a wildfire under the right conditions.

I have thoughts about people who get their jollies that way, and they aren’t charitable thoughts.

We had cukes from the garden in our salad last night, and we even have a watermelon in the patch!

So far only one, and it’s only about the size of a softball, but I have hope.