Dear knowledgeable ones
I have questions. There are all these niggling little questions at the back of my mind and I feel my new-year life might be easier if I could find the answer to them. I figure that the readers of Maxabella loves… are a diverse and interesting bunch, so why not put my questions out there and see what comes back! So, if you know, please, you know, let me know…
How can I fix a sewing machine that sews a normal stitch on the ‘right’ side, but a jangly, jumbled mess on the ‘other’ side? It started happening when I mucked around with tension and some other stuff and I freaked out and left it and it’s been about five months now. That’s how freaked out I was.
Is there any way I can deter the cockatoos that roost in the gumtrees out the front of our house? The noise is a given but they also poo all over my front path – WELCOME to our home.
Why are our strawberries rotting on the branch before they ripen? I was so proud that we grew an actual strawberry and now… not so much.
How can I prevent outdoor cushions / soft furnishings from going mouldy? They are under cover, but I guess they get wet sometimes. I am too lazy to bring them in every day (there are just so many) and even if I wasn’t I would have nowhere to put them.
How can I clean the outside of my windows that are reeeeeally high up, double-hung sash with panels and have fly screens on them? It’s been three years now and I think it’s time…
Is there any way to reinforce the toes on boy’s shoes? It’s amazing how quickly they scrape through them!
So, if you could help me out with any answers to the above questions, I would be… amazed!
‘Til next time
CSaM says
Our strawberries are rotting on the branch too!! I get all excited that FINALLY I’m growing something and then BAM it’s rotten 🙁
Which I know doesn’t help you out at all… fingers crossed someone is more useful than me!
Caz (The Truth About Mummy) says
Great questions …. I’m only sorry I have no great answers for you.
Miss Kitty-Cat says
Rain and damp. It’s killing the strawberries. They need warmth and sun to ripen. I don’t know if moving them to a greenhouse would work or be an option but that’s the only thing I can think of. I am scared for my raspberries…
As for the windows I’d hire a man to do the job. Well worth the money in my book. Or invest in a stable ladder and a steam gun…
Very Bored in Catalunya says
1. My sewing machine does this, I usually have to retread the whole thing, especially the little spool thing underneath. Also the cheaper the thread the more likely it is to do it.
2. Don’t know but it sounds very exotic – air gun?
3. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1007198/
4. Bring them inside every night. 😉
5. Pass
6. Steel toe caps?
MomAgain@40 says
It all sound like work! To get it fixed! 😀
Sorry, I am not a home fixer/cleaner/maker… If it bothers you too much, why not just throw it all out? Who needs shoes? 😉
Naturally Carol says
My experience is this;
1. When I got my machine out a few months ago it did this too…I thought it was the bobbin but it was the top thread that needed a looser tension…just fiddle with the knob til it rights itself!
2.I found a high pressure nozzle used on a hose scared cockies out of the walnut trees…you probably just need to do it at roosting time to make them settle somewhere else.
3.Strawberries…it’s probably a disease due to the wet weather and not enough sun…but not sure…take one to your garden centre.
4.Mouldy cushions…wash regularly or wipe down…spray with water with a drop or two of oil of cloves…apparently is a mould inhibitor…they really need to stay dry or be aired after getting wet, I think.
5. Boys shoes…nothing can help them…buy new shoes sorry! And they always seem to love to scuff the toes!
Naturally Carol says
oh…the windows..what about that stuff you could get that attached to your hose and you just sprayed on, it cleaned the windows and you then just rinsed off…i don’t know whether it exists anymore though!
…and no i don’t know it all…just been around a long time now!! (and i may be wrong about a few things,too)
The Coffee Lady says
Your tension is either too tight or too loose, I think, though I can never remember which.
And before I put my foot down and demanded that the health authority tip the ends of my child’s shoes with some industrial-strength gubbins (she has cerebral palsy and walks with sticks – believe me, you have never even SEEN scuffing) I used to take new shoes to the cobbler to reinforce the front and the tops.
A Farmer's Wife says
Ok – can only help with the cockies. They hate sudden loud noises. We go out and fire a rifle in the air but I think your environment may be a wee bit suburban for that… It may cause slightly more drama than the cockies themselves!
Carol’s idea with the hose would work…Or you could try banging things loudly like pots, garbage bin lids etc.
At the very least the neighbours would think you were insane which is always fun.
Cate says
My uncle (the farmer) just used to shoot the cockies (does that help??)
But I’m so glad you asked the one about the sweing machine – I’m going to subscribe to comments so I can read everyone’s clever answers!!
ta
xxxCate
_vTg_ says
My two pennies’ worth are:
-Straw under strawberries to keep them elevated. If there are chunks of flesh missing, there is a creature at work…
– cockatoos might be too bold, but lots of birds are scared of owl statues or hawk silhouettes. Not sure how you get them up high enough though! Go the hose; pay your older kids a nominal fee per direct hit?
_vTg_ says
Oh, and pay a window cleaner!
Rachel says
Naturally Carol answer to the bird problem really did make me giggle… could you try shooting them and report back to us how the neighborhood reacted to this pls… just a little request 🙂 I have no answers for you… I am no gardener/homemaker/birdwatcher … sorry…
as for the shoes… my answer is an easy one steel toe caps or no shoes at all… we have the same problem in our house..except its Bop who messes her shoes up more than Bip
Kymmie says
Happy New Year Maxabella! What wonderful questions you have. As for the sewing machine, I think I’ll pass. I am NOT the person to answer this question! The strawberries, well they sit on the ground and rot from the wet. We have netting underneath ours and it certainly makes a difference! (Although we still don’t get any inside, because my little lads eat them all.) Mouldy cushions? Glen 20. Sounds odd, but I lived in PNG for four years and it really, really works! Just napi san them first, then spray! We have similar windows, I have a big ladder and a broom. Then get outdoor Mortein (the surface spray that lasts for 6 months), no cobwebs for ages!
Good luck! xx
Sarah@PingsAndNeedles says
I agree with _vTg_ – straw under strawberries works for me … they need a dry bed …
loopy threads on the bottom = incorrect tension/threading from the top (and vice versa) Sometimes just rethreading the machine does the trick – Always thread your machine with the presser foot UP.
windows – ahem – *whistling
Louisa says
I am so ashamed that I can’t offer you any answers – I aspire to being a fountain of all knowledge but obviously have a long, long, long way to go!
How exotic is sounds to my Northern Hemisphere ear to hear you talking of Cockatoos in the trees! So much more exciting than rooks and pigeons! xx
Marion Williams-Bennett says
Great questions – and how amazing are these responses? What a brilliant group of followers.
I am with Louisa, I and feel completely useless on answering any of these.
Still, your photo is beautiful, regardless of what tension you have it set at!
Stacia says
I got nothin’, nada, zip. But I do love the image of cockatoos chirping in gumtrees, if not the image of their poop on your sidewalk.
Maybe cockatoo poop has high tensile strength and can somehow be used to reinforce the kiddo shoes??
@jencull (jen) says
No 1 happens to me if I put the bobbin in the wrong way inside the machine, it has to go in with the thread going back on itself. Other than this try changing the stitch size to make the stitches a little bigger and that should help.
Jen
PEACHES says
What a great group of questions! Also some great answers in the comments, too. I am anxious to read more!
I can only help with two.
1. I used to wash my fifth floor apartment window with one of those sponges with the magnet in the middle (do y’all have those down in your neck of the woods? they are like two sponges with two magnets in the middle that connect through the glass…as you wash in the inside it also washes the outside…of course that only works if you can open the window and access the outside. Hmmm….)
2. To keep outdoor cushions mold free I throw a cup of amonia in the washing machine when I put them out at the start of the season (kills all organic matter that could ever sprout mold)…then occasionally I’ll spray w diluted ammonia when it gets real rainy. Amonia smells gross but it fades fast and even the smallest scent of it keeps unwanted critters away. I think just laying them in full sun also helps.
Best of luck!!!!
Glen says
I have absolutely no idea what that question actually means! reading the comments has not helped either 🙁
Chantelle {fat mum slim} says
I’ve got nothing. But by the looks of the above, you got something.
Glad to be of… un-help?
Hope you find the answers that you’re looking for. x
michelle says
1.Yep its a tension thing,thats all I know.
2.Yep we had this problem but we were feeding them , well one and then the next day about 300! Don’t ever feed them …
3.I think its the weather , rain/heat maybe too humid.
4.no help here I have the same problem.
5. A gurney maybe.
6.I find some last longer than others.And its not always the expensive ones. I have had great success with some lynx joggers and then had clarks last a couple of weeks!At the moment we are testing out Asics Gel(the soles are falling off but toes are intact and same thing happening to other kids at school..I know I stalked them at the sports carnival)and DC’s skate shoes(lasting really well but buy online they are damn exy.
Hope all this helps Michelle
Kamika says
hmmmm I dunno about those tricky questions but I do know I LOVE that photo!
PS: when in doubt the answer is often 42 😉
flossy-p says
Hi 🙂
Sewing machine jumbly mess of stitches IS a tension thing. My machine used to get this all the time, and I found no matter how I adjusted the tension it never fixed it completely. I ended up taking my machine for a service. It cost about $60 or $70 which I though was alot at the time for my little old machine, but it’s been about 3 years now and I haven’t had the problem since. It was WELL worth it!
Also, make sure you use good quality cotton (and it needs to be the same top and bobbin). I use Gutterman, it changed my sewing life.
Hope that helps. I have no advice for the others, but good luck in your quest. 🙂
nadinewrites108 says
What great questions. I cannot guarantee anything useful here, but I’ll have a go:
1) When my sewing machine started the sneaky bedlam stitch I unthreaded everything (took bobin out too), reset tension, turned the machine off, made a cup of tea, turned it back on, re-threaded, et voila!, problem solved. I don’t know what fixed it, but I suspect it was the fact I miraculously didn’t swear during the process that made all the difference.
2) My mother swears by a few nice-sized stones and a good aim (preferably with a sling shot).
3)I’ve heard moisture is the Devil, so perhaps a pergola and a few little outdoor heaters will do the trick? If nothing else, it’ll keep the gnomes happy…
4)Curious George – I’ve seen him wash reeeeeeally high windows.
5)Steel caps. Only way to fly, well not ‘fly’ exactly, given the Although my Little Lion doesn’t much like my idea of durability, so he prefers no shoes.
Let us know how you get on! Especially with Curious George – I hear he can be hard to get a hold of…
Kelly says
Its something If would like to do this year, learn to use my sewing machine. Hope you find away to fix it soon.
Maxabella says
Chuckling at Stacia’s suggestion that cockatoos “chirp”… oh that really is so funny. They are like listening to the worst kind of banshee screeching, mate!! x
Jess says
I am still shocked that people actually have answers to these.. I have nothing to offer!
Next round of questions please….!
Maxabella says
THANK YOU everyone! I will post back how I get on with everything. Isn’t sharing our collective knowledge amaaaazing! x
x0xJ says
LMK if you get an answer to the outdoor furniture, it happens here too 🙁
As for the windows outside, my parents used to clean our outside windows with a garden hose and broom? I just don’t bother. Lol.
Brenda @ Mira Narnie says
ok – i can really help with the first one. Take all the cotton out – bobbin and spool – all of it. Give your machine a little clean with a little brush (that probably came with your machine and oil it too – that should have come with machine also). Ok – now it’s sounds silly but machine’s hate cheap cotton, so only use the good stuff! Re-thread your machine, your bobbin screws might need adjusting – and now practice on some scraps with some wide stitches! cross your fingers and toes and all the best! mhaw mhaw xx