I have stretched out holes from years of wearing heavy earrings. I can't wear earring unless they're posts or lever back. Now I can buy any earrings and replace the backs with the lever backs. I bought several different "colors" so I can match any earrings I buy.
Heartland Valley Single Light Replacement Cord
List Price: $5.29
Sale Price: $2.49
Today's Bonus: 53% Off
I purchased these replacement cords for a nightlight. I was disappointed to read on the safety information that the cord should not be used for more than ninety days. I think this information should be on the item before I purchased the lights. I would not have purchased them. These cords are almost impossible to find in the hardware store. Because of safety issues the cords would be useful for Christmas displays but NOT for every day.
Brother Project Runway Computerized Embroidery and Sewing Machine
List Price: $899.00
Sale Price: $349.99
Today's Bonus: 61% Off
I was going to get a regular sewing machine, but it was only about $50 extra for one that could also do embroidery. The machine I decided to get was the Brother LB6800PRW. This is exactly the same as the SE-400, except it comes with a carry-cart for portability, and has some 'project runway' branding on it. Both have a 100mm by 100mm embroidery field (4 inches by 4 inches, though the hoop looks bigger in pictures). The LB6800PRW was only a few dollars more than the SE-400 when I purchased it, and the bag that comes with the LB6800PRW will at least keep the dust off the machine once I get bored with it. Both the SE-400 and this one have 512k of memory that can be accessed though USB, so you can make and load embroidery patterns from a computer. I don't understand why that is even optional, all embroidery machines should allow USB connectivity, there is more than just letters to embroider. Software to make your own embroidery is another matter, as nothing comes with the machine for making customized patterns, and it is pretty expensive, so keep that in mind.
The machine has a touch screen for choosing stitches and built in patterns, which I like. I don't like that the default stitch is one that I will never use (left stitch instead of centered in the foot), but I got used to always changing it pretty quickly. The auto-threader is awesome as well, threading the needle was usually a pain, especially with thicker thread. No issues on this one after a few months of use. The auto-thread-cut is a great feature as well (push a button and the machine cuts the top and bobbin thread)
The first thing I did was make some curtains for a small half-moon window in my bedroom. There is an annoying streetlight right on the other side, so it definitely needed a curtain. Trimming one from the store to 24" long solved the problem nicely. The machine did great, though it was only about 40 inches of sewing. No issues to speak of. The feed tracks straight, so when sewing only minimal left-right adjustment is needed to stay on track.
Once that was completed, I wanted to try out the embroidery functions. There were 2 main projects I wanted to use the machine for. Those were a custom shirt for someone at work, and a baby bib for a friend who is having a baby. the first thing I tried was putting my name on a towel for a test using the built in embroidery font. That failed miserably on the first try because I did not use a stabilizer. The instructions said a stabilizer was 'recommended', but it is actually pretty much required. I have yet to find a fabric that can be embroidered on this machine without a stabilizer.
Once I put on a stabilizer, the result looked fine when I took it out of the machine, but as I started to trim the jumps between letters, the thread started unraveling. I put it back in the machine and embroidered my name right over the existing design again, and paid more attention to what the machine was doing. Sure enough, the machine was not locking the thread at the beginning and end of each letter (backing up and going over the thread again to keep it from unraveling). That's a pretty big oversight in the programming. I was able to get around it by manually going over the end of each letter. Still, it was an annoyance, and the results didn't look as good as I would have liked. Some letters are worse than others, with the lowercase 'A' being the worst. In some instances, the 'A' would start unraveling while the next letter was being sewn.
I also broke a needle by following the instructions. The instructions state to gently hold the tread for the first few stitches, so the top thread doesn't pull out of the needle. Well, 'gentle' is actually 'not at all' as the needle can only take a very small amount of force before bending enough to hit the foot and break on the down stroke. So I swapped out the needle, and made my first accessory purchase, a pack of 100 needles.
After giving up on the built in fonts, I tried some graphical embroidery. I looked around for some patterns (besides the ones on the machine) and found that they all cost a decent amount of money. I found a free dragon finally, and put it on a wash towel using some overlock thread I had laying around. It looked really good, and the design had the lock stitches built into it correctly. It was actually a surprising amount of stitches, more than 10,000. It took about 20 minutes for the machine to sew it, so the machine averaged about 500 stitches per minute on that design. I timed a few different designs, and it looks like the average speed is around 300 stitches per minute. I wish there was a way to slow down the machine manually sometimes; I think some designs and fabric would benefit from that.
Since the first try, I have embroidered more than 50 different things with this machine (shirts, patches, dinner napkins, towels, felt), almost all of them custom designs that I created using software called Embird Digitizing Studio. So far, the machine has worked great! Moving designs from a computer to the machine is easy as cake. A regular USB cable is used, and the sewing machine shows up as a drive on the computer. All that is needed is to copy/paste over a design. I tried Windows 7, XP, and a flavor of Linux and they do not have an issue accessing the machine.
I have done surprisingly little regular sewing on the machine, but it works well, with no issues there either. The only things I think could be better is that the cord for the foot pedal comes out of the side of the pedal instead of the back, and the pedal has almost no weight to it. The combination of these 2 things make it so the pedal can move around on the floor when you don't want it to.
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Now that I have had this machine for about a year, I can add more to this review. My LB6800PRW is starting to show it's age I use it all the time, it is just too much fun making stuff! I can't figure out how to check the stitch count, but back of the envelope math on how much stabilizer & thread I have used says I am somewhere between 20 and 30 million, with only a few minor problems along the way.
I do swap out needles often, since they are only about a dime when you get a hundred at a time. I have used about 75 or so. There is no reason not to swap them out often, besides that it is somewhat of a pain to do it if you have larger fingers like I do. I have managed to break a few needles, most of the time it is due to the thread wrapping around the spool pin when unwinding. It happens maybe once a month, so it isn't too bad. I used to wind my own bobbins for embroidery, but that takes until forever, so I switched to prewound ones. I really like the ones from World Weidner here on Amazon, they have constant tension, and unspool well. Several other brands I have tried have winding knots in them, and will jam the machine. I have never had that problem with World Weidner's, and I went though 2 gross of them so far.
One of the problems that I had was that the needle threader stopped working. When I pressed it, it would stick at the bottom, and not try to 'wrap' the needle. I took the needle threader apart, and used a drop of sewing machine lubricant on it, and gently worked it a few times. The needle threader then worked again. I have had to do this twice in the last year.
The embroidery foot itself actually wore out as well. The foot moves up and down with each stitch, and the guide pin actually elongated the hole of the presser foot. This made the foot move enough so that it would block the needle threader, and too much more wear would have allowed the needle to hit the presser foot. I looked all over for a replacement, and couldn't find one on Amazon. I ordered one direct from Brother for about $15 because I could not find it anywhere. It is part number XD0474151, and fits both the SE400, and the LB6800PRW. 20 million stitches sounds more than fair for how long it lasted.
Besides those 2 things, the machine has been flawless. I need to clean the lint out of it and wipe it down, but those are both normal maintenance things. It runs like champ both when doing embroidery and regular sewing. All in all, I highly recommend this machine. I even bought another (though the SE400 instead because I didn't need a case) to give as a Christmas present. It is very quiet, and can sew circles around any machine I have used in the past.
Brother Heavy Duty Embroidery Machine w/USB HE 240
I have had he-240 Brother sewing embroidery machine for a month now, I love it. It is very easy to learn how to use the embroidery part! When I did have problems it was because I made the errors. The machine can only do a 4x4 area, which is great to start with but if you want a lager area, look at a different Brother machine. There is a large hoop that will fit this machine, but you can only do a 4x4 design, but the hoop is great when you want to do 2 designs close together. This hoop is sold in a set with a pocket hoop and another 4x4 hoop, this is a great set and deal. I hope this helps you!
15 Split Rings Sterling Silver Charm Parts 6mm
The product was not sturdy enough for the purposes I ordered it for. ...namely, attaching charms to a bracelet and feel secure. The response time and hopefully funds return from this company so far have been very good.
CARL K-28/2 Replacement Straight Blade for
I've cut hundreds of pieces of cardstock, dozens of glossy photographs, and about 20 pieces of inkjet magnet paper and I'm still using my first blade. Long lasting, and a perfect cut every time.
Singer CE-200 Singer Quantum Futura with Digitizing
This is a fairly nice embroidery machine for the price.It does have a few things I don't like but overall I am glad that I purchased it.The embroidery designs sew out beautifully!And getting a machine that you can hook directly to your pc is definately the way to go! It elimanates pricy design disks and cards.You can find lots of great desings on the web to purchase and download to use on this machine plus it accepts many formats.What I don't like about the embroidery aspect is the fact that the large hoop is not a true 5X7.So I have to resize a lot of my designs to fit the hoop.I really wish they offered a larger hoop as an extra accessory!The digitizing software that comes with the 200 is not that spectacular.You can take simple clipart pictures and turn them into embroidery but nothing too complex and the software dosen't allow you to make appliques.I think you can get better digitizing software elsewhere.It also only comes with 2 fonts: courier and block.You can purchase a disk with extra fonts but the disks for this machine are expensive! I think they run around $200.The sewing part of this machine I rarely use mostly because I have a Euro Pro sewing machine that I sew on and comparing the 2 I am all for the Euro Pro hands down.This machine seams to sew a little "rough" in comparison.Overall I think this is a Great starter embroidery machine at a good price.
Vintaj 1-Piece Clover Petal Decorative Filigree, 59mm
I was thrilled to find the "Vintaj" line on Amazon. I guess I should have kept an eye on the shipping charges but because it was Amazon I didn't think the charges would be that high. The order was split between 3 vendors and third vendor charged shipping. The shipping charge was almost as much as the products, the products were $28.01 and the shipping $25.23. None of the items were very heavy, 4 small jewelry parts, with the exception of a 4x4" rubber block which weighs about 14 oz.
All in all the jewelry parts are wonderful but the shipping charge was exorbitant and I won't order from that vendor through Amazon again.
All in all the jewelry parts are wonderful but the shipping charge was exorbitant and I won't order from that vendor through Amazon again.
Singer Chainstitch Battery Operated Sewing Machine
List Price: $69.99
Sale Price: $65.00
Today's Bonus: 7% Off
This machine does not work. I will be returning it to find a better "first" machine for my daughter. The stitiches do not hold, every instruction was followed to the letter. It is not worth even 4 cents, much less 14 dollars. I would have paid more for something that acutally works. I'll keep looking
Badger Air-Brush Company 1/4-Ounce Color Cup for Model 350 Only
I needed a color cup for my Iwata Revolution HP-SAR to convert from bottle feed to cup feed read somewhere that the Badger cups would work ... they do. This 350 cup was a perfect fit for the Iwata. The cup's quality is outstanding as you would expect from Badger. The angled pipe allows you to adjust for level in different brush attitudes. I'm pleased with the purchase.
Original Machine Quilting Frame
i am very disappointed in this product. i have had to repair it every time i try to use it. as far as i am concerned it is a huch of junck. it is falling apart. i sure would not buy it again. i would like to know that this product was so flimsley.
Stanley Bostitch 2-3 Hole Adjustable Extra Heavy Duty
List Price: $159.00
Sale Price: $109.99
Today's Bonus: 31% Off
There was a typo on this description when we ordered it should have been a 160 page punch ended up being a 130 page punch. However, the 130 works great and we really love it here in the office. Ive put up the 125 pages and it works great. The replacement punch parts of not expensive either so even if it gets abused its an easy fix. We ended up with two because we love it so much. Even with 125 pages its not to difficult to push down. You do need to use both hands and push down but it does not require huge amounts of pressure to punch the paper. Its not big and bulky either, fits neatly into a little corner. It is heavy duty and will stay in place while you punch, it doesnt slide around on the table. Good qualilty product.
Martin Bob Ross 2-in-1 Metal TV Easel
List Price: $299.99
Sale Price: $143.99
Today's Bonus: 52% Off
Cant say anything bad about this product. Very sturdy design and great looking. The fact that it can become a table top easel is a plus. I bought mine from CSN store and it came within three days and no extra shipping costs! The assembly wasn't trouble at all. It came partially assembled. If you're under six feet, the legs won't have to be raised. If you're like me six-one and taller the first tab will be sufficient. Bob had his at the highest setting. He was a tall man. The selling point for me is in how the canvas isn't restricted u can paint right to the edge. Can hold 8x10 up to 24x24 or 24 x 48!!! A must have!
Singer Bobbin Case
List Price: $7.11
Sale Price: $1.02
Today's Bonus: 86% Off
I initially wrote a negative review about this product. Let me say that I was wrong. The problem was not the bobbin case, but the person using the machine. It's working perfectly... now that I read the owner's manual.
(hangs head)
Sanford 2263 Turquoise Drawing Pencil, 2B, 1.98 mm, Dozen
List Price: $14.04
Sale Price: $10.24
Today's Bonus: 27% Off
The pencil I received was of good quality, but the description led me to believe that I was ordering a dozen pencils. I paid over $6 for one pencil. I, now, do not have the materials necessary for my micro-teaching presentation.
Janome Sewing Machine Needle Universal Size 14 in 5 Needles per
I bought two different sizes of these needles to replace the ones that came with the machine. They are an exact match to the originals and work perfectly.
Donegan OptiVISOR Headband Magnifier
I have owned an OptiVisor for several years. Originally purchased for work, I bought a second pair for home and have used them for (to name a few) pulling splinters out of the kids fingers, assessment of a problem with my dog's paw, detailed gluing of small project work, removing and assessing a tick, replacing a watch battery and for making small, detailed measurements. My eyes aren't what they used to be--but with these... they're temporarily much, much better!
Others have reviewed the limited depth of field. This is true--you'll need to be close to the subject for it to be in focus. Please understand that this is not a fault of the manufacturer but is the way optics perform when designed to work in this fashion. In my opinion, this limitation makes these an unsuitable solution for reading unless you need extreme help and are willing to hold the material very close. I've tried. It's clumsy.
Two notes from my years of using this product. 1) There are "thumbturn" tighteners (small knobs visible in the picture) that keep the visor in position once you've adjusted it on your head. We tend to only tighten the one on the right because we are right handed. The left one became loose, fell off, and was lost for quite some time before we located it under the couch. Keep both of these finger-tight or you may lose one of them. 2) The optics can scratch if you store the visor improperly. We like the visor so much that we put a hook on the wall near the office desk--just an arm's reach away. Easy access. Safe storage.
These are ruggedly built, well-designed and have helped me to solve many problems. Therefore, they get my 5-star approval and recommendation.
Others have reviewed the limited depth of field. This is true--you'll need to be close to the subject for it to be in focus. Please understand that this is not a fault of the manufacturer but is the way optics perform when designed to work in this fashion. In my opinion, this limitation makes these an unsuitable solution for reading unless you need extreme help and are willing to hold the material very close. I've tried. It's clumsy.
Two notes from my years of using this product. 1) There are "thumbturn" tighteners (small knobs visible in the picture) that keep the visor in position once you've adjusted it on your head. We tend to only tighten the one on the right because we are right handed. The left one became loose, fell off, and was lost for quite some time before we located it under the couch. Keep both of these finger-tight or you may lose one of them. 2) The optics can scratch if you store the visor improperly. We like the visor so much that we put a hook on the wall near the office desk--just an arm's reach away. Easy access. Safe storage.
These are ruggedly built, well-designed and have helped me to solve many problems. Therefore, they get my 5-star approval and recommendation.