A Thread-aholic in Colorado

Drumroll please.... Announcing First Stitches Cañon City 2017 Row by Row

Well, here it is.  Our First Stitches Cañon City 2017 Row by Row. I have to admit, Deb and I had some fun planning this one out.

The Royal Gorge Region is a beautiful place to come and spend a few days.  We raft, we ride trains, we cross an extremely high bridge, we drive one of the most scenic canyons in the nation. We are the Royal Gorge Region.

We hope you come and visit us this summer.  Stop by the store, pick up your Row by Row Pattern, and then spend a few days and get to know Cañon City and the Arkansas River / Royal Gorge area. We fell in love with it back in 2004, and we've been here ever since.

 

Recap - the Baby Lock trip to St. Louis

We may not have come the furthest or fastest, but I believe our trip was the most unique and scenic. We came on motorcycles...

Friday - 43 degrees and rain 90% of the time - calculated hypothermia I think

Saturday - 52 degrees and some rain - kim bought a new helmet, better gloves and I broke down and bought a heated liner

Sunday - late 60s and some sun - but beautiful compared to the two previous days...

Monday through Thursday - mind boggling training

Friday - chance of rain, but mostly overcast - temps are early early 70s. Took the backroads of the Ozarks to Branson to visit my aunt. Branson was 83/humid, but this next pic showed a nicer time of day.

Panoramic...

Saturday morning we drove to Wichita through Miami, Oklahoma. Rain, severe storms were all around us and we realized later we even dodged tornadoes.

Sunday - our goal was Lamar, CO - 340 miles away, but due to the almost perfect conditions, by the time we got to Lamar, we decided to push on through home to Canon; a total of 460 miles that day!

So yes, while we didn't fly in from California or Florida, we rode 2,045 miles on our Harleys in 6 days travel time averaging about 342 miles a day! What dedication!

 

Monday Memorial Day

Personally, I don't think one day is enough...

 

Last of the nudity - training over and we're all going back home

From the Tech Bench:

Thanks again to the Baby Lock team at Fenton, MO. The techs maintained control on one side of the partition while the sales/management graced the other side. They were closer to the break room. We were closer to the rest rooms - a fair trade.

Today, I wanted to share the last of the machines. The high tech and very impressive Baby Lock Destiny II - naked. There is so much we covered to ensure its peaked condition, I can't go into it here, but know there was nothing boring about it. Most impressive was the fact that no screws were lost or misplaced.

This first pic is of the motherboard/main board and let me tell you the numbers and letters are SMALL!!

Second pic is the view after the panels are off and placed nearby on very soft pillows. Can you find my really cool pen light?

Do yourself a favor and come in to our store (Canon City) and soon to be opened store in Pueblo and let me show you some cool features this machine has to offer for years to come...

What? 5 days in a row? Who is this guy?

From the Tech Bench...again...

What? So I was given a task. Not a tough one, but one that requires some thought on my part. We are coming to a close on our week-long training here at Fenton and the hosts of Baby Lock have been gracious, helpful and entertaining. Thanks guys!

Today, I am going to show you the Baby Lock Aventura (BLMAV). It is a combo machine with the best of both worlds (utility and embroidery). It has 141 built in designs, 13 embroidery fonts and USB ports to import your own. The hoop field is 6 ¼" x 10 ¼". For more features, go to http://babylock.com/sewing/aventura/

So here is the techie part.

 
There's a lot to learn on how to keep your machine in its prime condition, but that's why we're here. Best part is not only can I service, but once I put it all back together I sew on it to ensure its performance is flawless...

 

Threading a Baby Lock serger - the Ovation short movie

From the Tech Bench

I did not have any thread but I wanted to show the threading concept. There are several other companies that will have trouble selling a serger simply based on this feature, but it is not the only one. You've need to come by the store (FirstStitches.com) for a demonstration. Here is the setting:

I show the process to include where the pipes/tubes are located. This is where the threads are forced through their respective loopers by a air damper system. Next, switch the serger knob to "threading" and notice the tubes lock in place. Next, after you have fed the thread into the respective hole - any order - press the button and the thread shoots through the system. Be sure to have about 8" of slack thread. A trick to this is fold over the thread onto itself, twist slightly and push the end into the hole instead of trying to cut a smooth end. There are 3 holes, but you may only need 2 for your project. Next, once all of your threads are blown through, simply flip the "threading" knob back to serger, and let the fun begin. Takes all of about 20 seconds...

 

Threading a Baby Lock serger - the Ovation short movie from First Stitches on Vimeo.

Another naked pic or two

From the Tech Bench

Day two of Baby Lock Tech training saw us disassemble Baby Lock's top of the line serger, the Ovation. As intricate and precise as it is mixed with fear and complexity for most technicians, I saw it as the easiest, most user-friendly machine in the serger line up. There is no "timing" to speak of since everything is "fixed on flats". For instance, if a needle come down and hits an immovable or excessively thick piece of material, the shaft's screws may give a little while the power continues to rotate the shaft. The fixed screws are there for a reason - to keep the shaft and gears in sync. If they are not where they are supposed to be... well, your timing is off. "Fixed on Flats" means the Baby Lock shafts have a flat portion where the screw tightens into the gear(s). Again, if a needle comes down and is abruptly stops, the entire system stops because the screw cannot advance "around" the shaft. Hence, never a timing issue.

There may be a time where the upper and lower loopers are knocked off their game a bit and they will need some minor adjustments (to which we were tested on), but that is rare. The loopers are in concert with the needles and knives to give you the perfect stitch. So a couple of pics of the inner workings and tomorrow, I will demonstrate the effortless threading system.

Looking from the back....

 

Looking up from the front/bottom

 

Naked 10-needle - The Baby Lock Valiant BMV10

After a brief morning intro from Baby lock staffers, our instructor, the infamous Doug-a-san, introduced 9 technicians to one of the most imposing machines in the BL line - the monsterous-looking embroidery-only 10-needle Valiant. Note that this is a great machine. I have one and love every chance I get to experiment on it. The 10 needles offer fewer thread changes which is a big time saver for multi-color projects that call for 15-30 thread changes. It performs up to 1000 stitches-per-minute, offers a 10.1" full color LCD screen, a needlecam digital camera, 3 usb drive slots, 5 LED lights, 4 hoops with options to expand and 120 built in designs... so much more I could say but there are product brochures on line and videos for training and projects. My job is to ensure you are up and running as an owner.

So here I am after half a day - I have stripped the mighty machine down to its skivies to learn its intimate secrets. The service manual alone is over 350 pages! So not only do I experiment with my own projects and churn out designs, I am able to troubleshoot and keep your baby performing at its peak for years to come.

Stay tuned for the rest of the week - Tues we take a peak at the Ovation Serger; Wed, the Aventura and Thurs, I am excited to delve into the workings of the Destiny II.

 

Inclement weather ! - onward to Baby Lock training May 2017

FROM THE TECH BENCH

We are off to Baby Lock training! Why fly when you can travel crosscountry on motorcycles??

Thursday 18th - Motorcycles packed.

Friday 19th May - Canon City to Oakley, Kansas. 270 miles. Left with overcast skies which quickly turned into rain. Average temperature was 43 degrees. Heated handgrips, but wet gloves. Kim has a heated suit but not much help. We pull into out motel later afternoon with hypothermia....

Saturday 20th May - Oakley, Kansas to Bonner Springs, KS. 336 miles. After a wake up coffee, hit the road with high winds but they were coming from the north/northwest so bearable at 50 degrees. No rain - a bonus. Stopped at a Harley dealer in Hays, KS (Doerfler's HD) who were excellent. Kim got a new full face helmet (to keep the wind from pulling up her shield) and warmer gloves. I got a poker chip. Great people.

Sunday 21st May - Bonner Springs to Fenton, MO. 270 miles. This was a beautiful ride to make up for the last two days. Average temps were 60-63 with blue skies and light traffic this Sunday. Rolled into Fenton and Baby Lock about 14:30 (get used to my military time). Took the pics attached, then settled into our rooms. Lorraine flew in and arrived about 19:00.... Prep for this upcoming week.

You can't see from the pics, but the bikes have a lot of rod grime....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heading East to Baby Lock

Just a little more securing to get done and Randy and I are heading east to St. Louis for a full week of Baby Lock Training, in prep for the new First Stitches Pueblo store in Pueblo.

The property manager called yesterday and said the plumbers were there to install the bathroom necessities, and wanted to make sure we had already picked out our carpeting, as the drywalling is coming up fast. Is that cool, or what!?

We are so excited to be able to bring Pueblo the wonderful customer service and love of sewing we currently offer at the Cañon City store. Randy's custom designed repair shop in Pueblo will be state-of-the-art. Besides offering full servicing and maintenance and repairs on Baby Lock sewing and embroidery machines, Randy can also work on most other makes and models.  And all work will be performed in-house, at the new Pueblo location.

Stay tuned in with our emails, and FaceBook. We'll keep you posted as we progress.

It's finally moving along...

I understand the patience one needs when dealing with City permits, engineers, framers, plumber, electricians, etc.  But after what seems like an eternity, they have finally begun the interior construction of First Stitches Pueblo.

Our goal is to carry a large selection of Baby Lock Sewing and Embroidery machines, approximately 800-1000 bolts of high quality fabrics from a variety of fabric lines and designers, and sewing notions and supplies necessary to meet your quilting, embroidery, and sewing needs.

There will also be a large conference room for small classes and individual training.

Randy is very excited about having his repair shop in-store. The shop in Cañon is located in the building directly behind the Quilt Shop. (We nicknamed that shop the Jailhouse). We're working on a good name for his new shop in Pueblo... any thoughts?

As with First Stitches Cañon City, we expect First Stitches Pueblo to be a work in progress, constantly evolving to serve our customers in the very best way possible.

We are excited!  It seems to be closing in on us fast, and we are busy ordering inventory, planning layouts, and have already established several well qualified teachers to bring the joy of learning to Pueblo, as we have to Cañon City for the past 4 years.