Hemming... and Hawing

Finally got to use my new sewing machine today.  Nothing more exciting than fulfilling a promise to hem my niece's jeans, so no pictures of a new creation yet.

I am not someone who likes to rely on an instruction manual when doing something like getting started on setting up a sewing machine.  For me, reading a manual has all the appeal of watching paint dry: my eyes glaze over and roll to the back of my head... Zzz...


Instead, I prefer a hands-on, logical approach, referring only to the instruction book if I get confused - it works quite well for me in most cases.

Today, I was trying to figure out how to lift the presser foot to slip the jeans hem over the free arm.  I flicked the most "obvious-looking" lever for the job.  Oops! The presser foot fell off. Oookay. Now I know how to remove the presser foot.

Next, I found a small screw-like knob on the presser foot shank.  Hmmm. What does that do? I won't know unless I find a little screwdriver for the job.  I riffled through the pack of included accessories in the machine's handy little storage space.  I couldn't find anything that looked like a screwdriver (to me).  Hmph! How daft! So, I had to break down and look in the manual with its description and illustrations of the included accessories...

Well, I'll be darned! (Yeah.  That was a bad pun.).  The "L-screwdriver" I needed was the very same little thing I kept dismissing, not knowing what it was, much less what it was for.  (My previous machine came with a mini-screwdriver, which was not practical for the small space for which it was intended; so, I used a coin-edge instead).

With L-screwdriver in hand, I unscrewed the knob on the presser foot shank.  The presser foot shank fell off.  Oh.  Now I have to put these pieces back together.  It was about this stage that I discovered the presser foot lifter is located on the "back" of the machine, out of immediate sight while sitting at the machine.

Eureka! I discovered a new tool and how to change and lift presser feet.  I am now quite pleased with myself and my adventure in discovery and learning.

After all that, have I decided what I'm going to make first with my new sewing machine?
No.  I'm still

Hemming... and Hawing.