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The Kappa In Japanese Folklore

  • Kappas are legendary creatures that inhabit the rivers and waterways of Japan. They have beaked noses, shells on their back and a depression on their heads that holds water. Kappa are mischievous troublemakers. Their pranks range from the relatively innocent, such as loudly passing gas or looking up women's kimonos, to the more troublesome such as drowning swimmers and eating children. They feed on their victims by sucking their liver though their anus. They love cucumbers and if you write your name on a cucumber and throw it in the river, the kappa may be appeased by your gift and allow you to swim in peace.

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January 27, 2008

Changing Your Sewing Machine Needle

I'm probably one of the very last people in Blogland to get a copy of Amy Karol's  Bend the Rules Sewing. I finally managed to get a copy from the library and it's just as lovely as all the reviews say. But the single most important thing I've learned from the book is use a new sewing machine needle when you start a new project. Now, I do know you are supposed to change the needle, but mostly I change it when it gets broken or bent due to my pigheaded stubborn insistence on sewing over pins. Which is rather often. More often than not I know it's probably time to change the needle but I'm trying to get just one more seam, just a little more use out of it. The book points out your machine will actually work better when you regularly change the needles, that seams can start to look bunched and puckered, you think it's the tension but it's not. This happens to me from time to time and it was so frustrating trying to figure out what was wrong. Such a revelation to learn it I could just need a new needle. Thank you, Amy!

Needles

Posted at 07:16 PM in Sewing Projects |

Comments

Tara

I recently broke a needle (sewing over pins!) and she was right...it sews so much better with a new needle! I still don't think I'll be changing it out as often as she says to but I will change it a little more often than every 6 months!

Posted by: Tara | January 27, 2008 at 07:32 PM

Florence

I was surprised to read this too! The only worrying thing is that I still don't notice any difference between an old or new needle having tried to follow this rule 50% of the time since reading it! Oh dear.

Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a lovely comment!

Posted by: Florence | January 30, 2008 at 05:22 PM

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