Who all Got New Machines and What kind

Is that one of those wonder machines that puts chocolate in a good mood? Or
does it put it in a bad mood?
Diana

--
Queen of FAQs
Royal Peace Maker
http://photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44
"frood" wrote in message
r.com...
Well, I got a new machine, but not a sewing machine. I got a chocolate
tempering machine, for melting chocolate. See, still on topic! G

--
Wendy
http://griffinsflight.com/Quilting/quilt1.htm
de-fang email address to reply


"Bistoury" wrote in message
ink.net...
Well I have stolen my husbands computer from him for a sec while I
look up some quilting sites and just stopped in here...first time.
How many of you got new sewing machines etc., for Christmas?
I was really lucky but now I have to use them.
Haley

A digital camera for photographing them!
Roberta in D

"Julia in MN" wrote in message
...
My husband gave me the Carol Doak Foundation Factory CD (of course, I
had to tell him exactly what I wanted and where to shop for it, so it
wasn't a big surprise).

My grandkids gave me a pack of fat quarters -- 8 medium blue prints. My
3yo DGS picked them out. They also gave me a case for carrying quilt
projects and some small tools to classes, etc. That's something that
wasn't on my list, but looks like it will be nice to have.

Julia in MN
--
This message has been scanned for viruses by Norton Anti-Virus

http://mail.chartermi.net/~jaccola/

Got a brother 6500 that is working like a charm. (DH gave it to me a few
weeks early!)
Barbara of the Eastons
"Bistoury" wrote in message
ink.net...
Well I have stolen my husbands computer from him for a sec while I
look up some quilting sites and just stopped in here...first time.
How many of you got new sewing machines etc., for Christmas?
I was really lucky but now I have to use them.
Haley

I didn't get a new machine - but I got a really nice Bernina table to go
with my Bernina 1000 so now I may be able to machine quilt with less
frustration!?!?

--
Cindy Bettinger

http://photos.yahoo.com/cbet_99
http://www.one-eleven.net/~music/
http://simplymusic.net
"Bistoury" wrote in message
ink.net...
Well I have stolen my husbands computer from him for a sec while I
look up some quilting sites and just stopped in here...first time.
How many of you got new sewing machines etc., for Christmas?
I was really lucky but now I have to use them.
Haley

I got a whole bunch of stuff. This was just one of those magical
Christmases for my whole family... *everyone* loved their gifts, and
got items they wanted, as well as happy surprises they weren't
expecting. I'm still floating around in a fog of
beside-myself-with-happiness.

From myself: 6 sewing and quilting related books, from the library book
sale.

From my SO: a small sewing case with tiny scissors, needles, etc. Will
fit nicely in a purse or pocket. Also metallic thread (that 2 year old
promptly stole and hid, haven't found it yet. :/ ), a neat carrying
case thingie for sewing supplies with a bunch of plastic storage boxes,
and a pincushion shaped like an armchair.

From my daughter: a huge book of quilt patterns.

From my brother: two upholstery fabric swatch thingies. In each "book"
there's about 25 6"x9" swatches (though there's stickers on the back,
so the usable space is less) and about 60 4"x6" swatches. None of the
fabric is the repeated, and each book is coordinated. One's in red
shades, and one's green. I'm not sure what pattern I'll be using to
quilt these, but I'm having fun flipping through my books and coming up
with ideas. I definitely want to find a pattern that emphasizes the
"nothing repeated" effect.

From my mom: 5 big spools of thread, needles, quilting pins, thread
snippers, two packages of poly batting, and two packages of poly
stuffing. Also, she's got an old singer in storage (doesn't remember
what kind... it used to belong to our neighbor) and will deliver that
next week. She told me about the machine two weeks ago, and the
suspense is killing me. =)

What about everyone else? I wanna hear what you got!


Cina

"Baye" wrote in message
...
Got a brother 6500 that is working like a charm. (DH gave it to me a few
weeks early!)
Barbara of the Eastons

Yes, DH and I bought one of these in November as my Christmas present and it
is the best machine I have ever had.

Iris

I don't know what kind of mood it puts the chocolate in, but it certainly
lifts my mood!

--
Wendy
http://griffinsflight.com/Quilting/quilt1.htm
de-fang email address to reply


"Diana Curtis" wrote in message
...
Is that one of those wonder machines that puts chocolate in a good mood?
Or
does it put it in a bad mood?
Diana

--
Queen of FAQs
Royal Peace Maker

Yes, DH and I bought one of these in November as my Christmas present
and it is the best machine I have ever had.
Iris

Iris-

I thought you got a *Janome* 6500..... she got a *Brother* 6500. Now,
I'm all corn-fused! :-(

Leslie & The FOUR Furbabies

The HairyFacedOnes 'N Me- My dogs aren't my whole life...they make my
life whole.

RCTQ- Houston 2004..... A good friend will come and bail you out of
jail.... but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...
that was fun!"

http://community.webtv.net/kwiltchik/FromTheFOUR

Warning: This post sounds like I am a chocolate snob. I am not. I am very
particular in my likes of chocolate, but I know that everybody likes
different things. Not everyone likes candy (although I've never met anyone
in person who didn't like some form of candy, I know there are people who
feel this way. Fine, more for me. G), certainly I know many people who
don't like chocolate - my father included! One of my very favorite candies
is plain M&Ms. I consume some almost daily. These humble confections are
wonderful!

I am very much a beginner (what is it Alex Anderson says? a confident
beginner!), and I am returning to candymaking after a several year
sabbatical. Candymaking and small children do not mix well. Generally, I
make truffles and molded chocolates (the ones in shapes like hearts or bears
or fancy squares). For both of these, you need tempered chocolate. Tempering
is the process of melting (high cocoa butter fat content) chocolate,
allowing it to cool, then re-heating slightly before dipping centers into
it, or molding it in molds to shape it. This process allows the fat
molecules to align in such a way to make the chocolate very smooth and
shiny. You will notice this in high-end chocolates.

If you mess up this process, and the chocolate "seizes", it is ruined for
candymaking, but can still be salvaged for baking. Seizing is a very
heart-wrenching thing, and is well-named. This machine carefully controls
the temperature, and holds the tempered chocolate at the right temp. for
dipping. I'm not quite sure how you get the chocolate from the machine into
the molds yet. I haven't read that far in the instruction manual. The model
I got is from the Baker's Catalog, and is not the professional model, but is
designed for home use.

The candy making industry has come up with compounding "chocolates" -
usually sold in craft stores, to simplify this process. These compounds
generally have vegetable fat instead of cocoa butter, and are more stable
and easier to work with. Although this makes it great for kids to work with,
and I do use them sometimes, I know it is not chocolate.

This year, I made Black and White Truffles (recipe posted last week), but we
called them Naughty Elf Truffles for the map we sent out with the candies;
Gingerbread Fudge (deemed "interesting" but will not make it back into the
line-up for next year); soft Caramels (recipe also posted earlier this
week); Snow Crunch (a white chocolate* and cocoa krispie cereal bark
confection) and molded candies.

The truffles were absolutely delicious, however quite misshapen. Spike and
Giles were thoughtful enough to give me dipping tools, to make this part
easier. Pretty nice of them, considering they don't get any truffles!

I want to try some of the barley water candies that NightMist posted recipes
for, and I have some more fudges to test. One of my neighbors asked me how I
could make so many candies, and still stay on WW. Honestly, after making 75
truffles in one marathon session, I was kind of sick of looking at them! I
have managed to scarf down several, but with these ultra-rich items, less is
more. Think of it as really great s.e.x. - it wouldn't be so amazing if you
had it every day. Still pretty good, though.... ;-P


* Technically speaking, white chocolate is not chocolate either, because it
does not have any chocolate liquor**. It's just easier to refer to it as
"white chocolate".

** Chocolate liquor is non-alcoholic - it simply refers to the liquid
essence present in pure chocolate.
--
Wendy (shut up and pass the candy already)
http://griffinsflight.com/Quilting/quilt1.htm
de-fang email address to reply


"hfw" wrote in message
...
Wow! Tell us about your chocolate creations. Didn't know there was such a
thing as a chocolate tempering machine. Is it commercial equipment?

--Heidi

http://community.webshots.com/user/rabbit2b

I almost got a brand new fancy machine from my MIL. When DH told me she had
gotten me one I asked him to nicely tell her to return it and get her money
back. She had put it on lay away for 2 years thinking I needed a better
machine.
By now youre probably thinking Im some sort of ungrateful Scrooge of a
DIL, and youre right.... nah, Im kidding. heehee..
Here is the rest of the story. MIL is far away and doesnt know anything
about sewing or quilting. She doesnt know that my 30 year old Bernina does
everything I need a machine to do. Her choice of machine was expensive but
from a manufacturer we more normally associate with electronic gizmos... was
it Sanyo, Samsung?? Maybe Jalynne can remember for me. All I could think of
was that this Christmas my MIL was going to waste an awful lot of money on a
machine I wouldnt use, and couldnt unload at a decent price, not in good
conscience.
Instead I got some nice things I will use.
So, after dealing with figuring out how to have MIL return the machine
without letting her know that I knew, and without hurting her feelings, what
did I do? Got myself two older Singers, a Fashion Mate and a 99, and a low
end serger, to see if I enjoyed serging. And I have a White Treadle in a
parlor cabinet at my brothers waiting for me to pick it up.
Maybe I should tell her how many machines I really have. Maybe not.
Diana

--
Queen of FAQs
Royal Peace Maker
http://photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44
"Bistoury" wrote in message
ink.net...
Well I have stolen my husbands computer from him for a sec while I
look up some quilting sites and just stopped in here...first time.
How many of you got new sewing machines etc., for Christmas?
I was really lucky but now I have to use them.
Haley