A New Necchi!

I’ve done three podcast interviews in the past week. Interviews seem to follow a feast-or-famine pattern; either I have several clustered together or I go months between them. These three will get me through the first week of December, though, without having to wax poetic about some sewing topic for 30 minutes.

I particularly enjoyed my interview yesterday because my guest and I were talking about sewing materials such as faux and thin leathers. She mentioned that she has been trying out domestic machines to see which ones can handle those substrates, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the Bernette B08 did very well, as did the Necchi C35. A Necchi! She had listened to one of my episodes where I talked about my Necchi industrial and thought I might be interested to know that the Necchi C35 did almost as well as the Bernette B08 in her sewing tests. It has a very attractive price point at just under $500.

Necchi dealers are a bit thin on the ground here in the US—the nearest dealer to me is in Boise, ID. I’m not likely to drive 12 hours to try one out, but I am intrigued.

I know that the modern Necchi machines are nothing like the vintage ones I love so much, but I am happy that the current Necchi company management seems to want to stay in the game. When we were in Florence, Italy, in 2017, I had a lovely conversation with our tour guide about Necchi sewing machines. (She had one.) There is a great deal of national pride in that brand.

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I quilted a bit on the Q20 yesterday afternoon. I like to make quilted pouches from large fabric remnants that I quilt together with leftover batting. I use a thin voile as the backing—the pouches will get a decorative lining, but the voile helps to stabilize the quilting and keeps the machine from getting gunked up with batting lint.

These pouches are also a good way for me to try out some new quilting patterns and ruler patterns. I did tiny clamshells—an Amanda Murphy ruler—on this sheep fabric that was a gift from Robin:

So cute!

I am working on one now that is getting quilted with mini hexagons. (Another Amanda Murphy ruler.)

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I know we recently had a full moon and that seems to bring out the worst in people, but I am dismayed by the kind of behavior I’ve been seeing lately. I can sum it up in one word: disrespect. Disrespect for other people’s time, effort, and beliefs. People are not treating each other as they would like to be treated. I am annoyed when that disrespect is directed at me, as it was yesterday, but I am also annoyed on behalf of my friends who have been on the receiving end of some of this nonsense. We should be better than that. We should do better than that.

As I’ve heard some wise people suggest, “Go outside and touch some grass.” Or snow.