Road Testing My New Machine

 This year, Father Christmas bought me a Janome Coverpro which is something I have been wanting for a while.  I chose it myself and was able to test it in store before purchase. Having owned a cheaper model previously, I was keen to do this.  My previous coverstitch was a Merrylock.  It was probably the most frustrating piece of equipment to ever grace my sewing room.  I wasn't sure whether this was due to my lack of skills and patience or just an exercise in buying something a little too budget.  Anyway, I did loose patience with said machine and eventually it got evicted from my sewing room.  I didn't want a repeat, hence the test driving.

Since I was going camping for two weeks after Christmas I asked the gift giver (in this case my husband) if I could open the box and have a play prior to Christmas.  The tee you see above is the result of this testing.

The fabric I chose is a lovely weight cotton lycra from Fabric Vision's sale table.  This fabric was a bargain at $3.00 per metre. Despite my husband telling me it reminded him of some bed sheets he had as a kid, I really wish I had bought more.  It really is lovely to work with.

My two favourite tee patterns are both Tessuti patterns.  I really wasn't sure whether to choose Lola or Alexa but eventually settled on Lola because I really like the sleeves and neckline.

I am pleased to report that my Janome Coverpro performed beautifully without any of the skipped stitches that plagued my earlier coverstitch machine attempts.  It will take a while to get used to getting my stitches in the right spot to cover the cut edge and I think a piece of tape may go a long way to doing this.  I do wonder though, why isn't there a marked measured edge on the machine.

The above beach photos were taken on beautiful Awaroa beach which was partly bought by the New Zealand public in 2016 by crowd funding for the purpose of adding to the Abel Tasman National Park.  It is a beautiful pristine part of the world that is becoming as popular with Kiwis as it is with tourists.  Our day started on this beach after a 1 hour boat ride and finished at Midlands beach at the end of the day with another boat ride.  During the day we walked  9km through native bush, over hills and across stunning beaches.