The Sewing Mom

I helped my mom book her airline ticket to Seattle the other day. We were looking at several different online travel sites as well as directly through the airline sites and the one thing that struck me was the huge range in ticket prices. To fly from Indianapolis to Seattle, round trip coach fare, the ticket prices started at $425 (which is what my mom wound up paying) and went up to over $1,800. The one thing that I have to remind myself of is, no matter what price you’re paying for your airline ticket, unless you’re willing to pay for first class service, your ticket buys you a seat on the airplane and basically nothing more. Now we even have to pay extra to take luggage with us on most airlines.

It hasn’t always been this way. Airline travel used to come with all kinds of perks to make every passenger feel comfortable, in every class of service. Not only did our luggage get checked without additional fees, passengers used to get meal service (and it was edible and not just a piece of bread). In flight service may have included movies, magazines, and even playing cards. To make the trip even more enjoyable, pillows and blankets were passed out to any passenger who wanted them. Of course, all of these services have gone away. Now, passengers feel lucky if they get offered something to drink and if their luggage arrives as scheduled.

As my mom began to plan what to pack, I reminded her to take what she needs to be comfortable on her 4 hour flight. Security has knocked out some of the things we used to do to occupy ourselves in flight, such as hand sewing. She can still take reading materials though and can buy some bottled water to have with her once she’s gone through the security check point. I like to travel with my own pillow, but carrying that with you can be cumbersome. I suggest the Cabin Cuddler as a great alternative.

The Cabin Cuddler is not only a lighweight travel blanket, but it’s also a pillow. Both the blanket, with its foot pocket and shoulder warmer, and pillow come in convenient micro-fleece tote bag that make it convenient to carry and keeps your blanket and pillow clean. The tote bag handles hang easily on any standard luggage to make it easy to carry through the airport with you. Of course, an airplane isn’t the only place the Cabin Cuddler can be useful. My sister would love one in her car and I could use one right here at home, especially in the winter months.

Anyway, my mom arrived safely in Seattle yesterday and her luggage arrived with her. So, all is good. Now, let’s just hope it’s all as smooth on the return trip!

I stopped in at the Viking Sewing Gallery the other day. I had sort of been avoiding the store because I just knew that if I saw the latest addition to its sewing/embroidery machine line up that I would be wanting one. The new Designer Diamond was introduced only a few short weeks ago and I have to say, it’s the biggest, non-professional machine I’ve seen.

For anyone that is interested in embroidery on pillows, bedding, or large items, this is definitely the machine for you. It accommodates the largest embroidery hoop out there. It truly is an amazing machine. But, for the selling price of over $8,000, it won’t be on my wish list. I found it to be too large, a bit overwhelming. I do use my machine to embroider, but I don’t find a need for anything as big as the Designer Diamond.

Instead, I will continue to pine for the Designer SE. These two machines have almost identical features, remember, the SE came out not too long before the Diamond. Yes, there are differences, but for me, the SE would be all I would ever need. I am looking into used machines, but I don’t know if anything will happen anytime soon. People are trading in their SE’s to get the new Diamond and I will keep my eye out on what is out there. I have owned my Platinum for almost 2 years now, so the trade in value isn’t too high. I might do better to sell it on my own, but that can also be a hassle. First, I’m going to get it in for a good cleaning and then I will think about it.