husqvarna-viking-sarah Archives - Ruffing’s Artist Dolls and Toys

Hello again. Almost an entire month has passed since I’ve updated my blog. The temperatures have been high, and the air hard to breathe. I’ve been inside sewing much of the time, or studying, trying to learn my digital painting program. I’ve taken a few trips to the vet’s, and one trip to Hillsborough, for a barn cat relocation, with Tia and Marie. It’s been a busy month, even if I have been struggling a bit with the weather.

This month, Jack and Miranda Panda both got adopted, during their first adoption event weekend. My mom and I went to visit them just before Jack’s new family took him home. The dad of the family said he has a new recliner for Jack to sleep on, and Miranda Panda’s family said she is settling in well and is a brave girl. Lucky Charm and Trix, from our Mother’s Day rescue trip, are up for adoption now, and both have transformed into healthy, loving kittens.

These are some of the toys that have gone on their own trips to their new homes, this past month. I am making more Hug Me Slugs and Hug Me Kittens too.

I had a sew-less week recently, after sticking my hand into a yellow jacket nest. Seven bites at least. Ouch. I healed amazingly well though. When I was a kid, I would get bad swelling from bites. I must have gained some immunity. I felt lucky to do as well as I did this time. I think yellow jackets are after me every time I feel a pinch, since that happened. I don’t think I will weed the garden until December at least!

I had to take my Viking sewing machine, Sarah, in for cleaning and servicing. I was so nervous about this, given all the trouble I’ve had with the company and the dealers over that period of at least a year, where my Viking Platinum ended up being destroyed. I took a chance and went to a dealer in Raleigh I’d been to before. Sarah seems to be in fine order now. Whew. They even replaced the front panel with a new one, because the old one was bubbling slightly, and they replaced the screw that was missing. The other dealer that couldn’t fix my Platinum, and broke my up/down button, left out a screw on Sarah that had kept the back from closing.

It took a lot of courage for me to leave my machine with anyone. I am still upset when I think of how my Platinum could have been easily fixed, had I just taken it to someone who knew how to fix it in the first place. That sure was an awful experience. I loved that machine, and wish I still had it.

We’ve also been to the vet a lot this month. My one poor kitty had a very bad infection, which needed to be treated surgically. She had to wear a cone around her neck for ten days. She was so good about it, but by the end of ten days, she’d had enough. She seems to be healing well, but now one of our other cats has a bad tooth, just six months after another bad tooth. He is an old fellow, and we hope he will be okay, having more dental work done.

The day after my last post, July 17th, I went along with Tia and Marie to Hillsborough, NC, for a barn cat relocation. I did a photo essay on the process, which you can see and read here on Facebook. It was a big job. I was taking photos the whole time, but Marie was lugging all sorts of heavy things, and Tia and Marie spent at least an hour setting up the relocation cages in a barn stall, on a hot summer day. We wanted to show what an involved process it is, and that it is no easy project.

The farm itself was absolutely beautiful. The two feral cats that are going to be living there are lucky. This is Marie waving goodbye to them, when we left.

Marie hasn’t been feeling well, but has been working so hard. I made the camouflage Hug Me Slug for her. He’s “The Slug of Fortitude”, or “Camo Slug”, or any name she might like to give him later.

This olive slug was a present for Jill, for her birthday. I was glad I picked a color she liked. It turned out that he even matched her place mats.

I will be adding new creatures to our Ruffing’s shop. These three Hug Me Slugs are new, in yellow, copper, and denim blue.

My workroom is overflowing with partially finished toys. I will keep adding more to the shop, and I will try to update my blog again soon, with more.

Please “like” Ruffing’s on Facebook, if you happen to be there.

We will be posting more of our new original one-of-a-kind original cat art dolls in our Ruffing’s shop too.

I now have a walking foot for each of my sewing machines, my Viking Sarah, and my Kenmore 19233. Sears has a set of feet for the Kenmore that includes a walking foot, which I bought for about five dollars more than the walking foot alone cost. I thought that was a good deal. I bought my Viking walking foot on eBay, but I see it is tricky to get an authentic Viking foot online. Some people post some confusing information. Be sure to check out the part number to see that it matches the one recommended for your machine on the Husqvarna Viking site. You can find your correct one here by looking for a “dual feed foot”, under the “Quilting” accessory category. Genuine Viking walking feet say “Husqvarna Viking” on one side of the feet themselves, and the part number on the other. They are available from dealers, and online. I’ve ordered miscellaneous parts from Sewing Machines Plus before, as well as from Discount Sewing Machine Service, with good success.

To attach a walking foot, the first thing you generally need to do is remove the presser foot ankle from your sewing machine. I’m showing this on my Viking Sarah. It’s the part that holds your presser feet. On some machines, the ankle and the foot are all one piece.

Unscrew it using the miniature screwdriver that came with your machine, and take it off. I have this larger thumb screw (shown above) on my machine, and it’s the one I used to attach my walking foot. I got a spare here, Viking Presser Foot Screw #412 40 97-01.

There are two things you need to line up, when attaching the walking foot itself. You may need to use your hand wheel to raise and lower your needle so you can get that forked bar over the screw that holds your needle in place. This is important because this is what makes the foot go up and down when your needle goes up and down.

On the Kenmore, which is made by Janome (so many Janome machines will be similar), that bar on the walking foot rests on top of the bar that holds the screw for the needle (shown above). Either way, the bar goes over the part that holds the needle in place, the one that sticks out.

On the other side of the foot, is the part that accepts the same thumb screw that held your presser foot ankle in place. Attach it the same way the ankle was attached. There is a hole right in the metal bar. All you need to do is line it up where the indentation for it is, and make sure it fits snuggly in place. Tighten up the screw and you are ready to sew.

Again, it looks a little different on the Kenmore (shown above), but the idea is the same. One side attaches like a presser foot ankle, and the other part rests over the needle screw. You might need to wiggle it a little to get it to pop into place, but once it is secure in its proper place, it doesn’t jiggle around. With some walking feet, there is also a hole, in the back of the walking foot, that accepts a metal guide bar. You can just slip the guide bar in the hole, if and when you want to use it, and slide it out to the correct distance from the needle that you want to use. You line the edge of guide bar up with your last row of stitching, as you sew, to keep an even distance.

Now you can sew through layers without so much shifting of one fabric over another. It helps too when you don’t have a presser foot pressure adjustment option, which some machines don’t have. I’ve noticed some newer machines come with built-in walking feet. I decided to try mine out for regular sewing too, and I’ve been having good results.

Tag: husqvarna-viking-sarah

Hug Me Cats, Kittens, Slugs, and a sewing machine.

How to attach a walking foot to your sewing machine