A level sewing surface

Polly mentioned Cindy's sore shoulders when MQing might be from sewing on
her dining room table. Maybe it's just me, but I have my chair seat as high
as it can go with my legs resting against the support under my sm. I still
get sore shoulders cuz my upper body isn't positioned high enough... so I am
still reaching upwards to MQ. I couldn't use a pillow to sit higher cuz my
legs would get mushed against the support.

So, is it just me or do y'all find this to be a problem as well?

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

Leslie& The Furbabies in MO. wrote:
Polly mentioned Cindy's sore shoulders when MQing might be from sewing
on her dining room table. Maybe it's just me, but I have my chair seat
as high as it can go with my legs resting against the support under my
sm. I still get sore shoulders cuz my upper body isn't positioned high
enough... so I am still reaching upwards to MQ. I couldn't use a pillow
to sit higher cuz my legs would get mushed against the support.

So, is it just me or do y'all find this to be a problem as well?

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

You're not alone Leslie -- I have the same problem. Maybe if I had
skinny legs it wouldn't be a problem. Since I am "larger than the
average bear" WITH the thighs to match, I can never get my upper body
high enough without having my legs crammed up against the underside of
my sewing table. CiaoMeow ^;;^

--
PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ (RCTQ Queen of Kitties)
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their whiskers!
Visit my Photo albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

Leslie, since you have power tools and are not afraid to use them, why don't
you solve that problem? What would you need to raise, lower or alter =)
to take care of that? I'm thinking there are only two of us here that are
skinny. You'd be making a lot of quilters very happy if you could resolve
the 'larger than the average bear' troubles. Hanging the SM from the
rafters might work but there just may be an easier way. Polly


"Tia Mary" wrote in message
...
Leslie& The Furbabies in MO. wrote:
Polly mentioned Cindy's sore shoulders when MQing might be from sewing on
her dining room table. Maybe it's just me, but I have my chair seat as
high as it can go with my legs resting against the support under my sm.
I still get sore shoulders cuz my upper body isn't positioned high
enough... so I am still reaching upwards to MQ. I couldn't use a pillow
to sit higher cuz my legs would get mushed against the support.

So, is it just me or do y'all find this to be a problem as well?

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

You're not alone Leslie -- I have the same problem. Maybe if I had
skinny legs it wouldn't be a problem. Since I am "larger than the average
bear" WITH the thighs to match, I can never get my upper body high enough
without having my legs crammed up against the underside of my sewing
table. CiaoMeow ^;;^

--
PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ (RCTQ Queen of Kitties)
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their whiskers!
Visit my Photo albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

I used to have that problem but I got a cheap office chair that you
can raise and lower and now it's all good. But before that I tried the
pillow thing it's not the same. I seen in home depot wood blocks that
are meant so that you can raise a table. They were pretty cheap but if
your legs are all ready at the bottom of the table there isn't much you
can do. You need a new table...or tell hubby to cut the legs off..hahaha
Take Care
Joanna
Alberta

Leslie& The Furbabies in MO. wrote:
Polly mentioned Cindy's sore shoulders when MQing might be from sewing
on her dining room table. Maybe it's just me, but I have my chair seat
as high as it can go with my legs resting against the support under my
sm. I still get sore shoulders cuz my upper body isn't positioned high
enough... so I am still reaching upwards to MQ. I couldn't use a pillow
to sit higher cuz my legs would get mushed against the support.

So, is it just me or do y'all find this to be a problem as well?

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

I got a cheap ($99) folding table made by Arrow to set the machine
into - it has a platform that drops down. I was amazed for the price
how sturdy it is - no wobbling or shimmying, and the difference in
MQing is incredible. No more hunched up shoulders.

I did the same thing previously with an el-cheapo dining table I got
at a flea market for $20 - we "altered" it with a reciprocating saw. I
didn't have room in my new house for that setup, though, so I used a
regular table for a couple of years until I realized my shoulders were
killing me, and I found the folding table.

If you just elevate your chair, then your feed may be dangling - and
that's not good work posture. Your non-pedal foot should be flat on
the floor, and you should get the pedal as close as you need to have
your pedal foot leg as close to straight down as you can.

"Leslie& The Furbabies in MO." wrote in message
...
Polly mentioned Cindy's sore shoulders when MQing might be from sewing on
her dining room table. Maybe it's just me, but I have my chair seat as
high as it can go with my legs resting against the support under my sm. I
still get sore shoulders cuz my upper body isn't positioned high enough...
so I am still reaching upwards to MQ. I couldn't use a pillow to sit
higher cuz my legs would get mushed against the support.

So, is it just me or do y'all find this to be a problem as well?

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.


This is a constant problem for me. I am tall and the Horn sewing chair I
bought just does not go high enough, so I only use it at the computer. I
have a couple of drafting chairs that go higher, but I am forever adjusting
both of the seats up and down, and the back support up and down, in and out.

I also think that the Horn tables with the inserts place the machines too
far back for me. Originally I had the Bernina in a non-Horn table that I
bought with the machine. Don't recall the brand name, but I don't think
they're even made anymore. It had a recessed shelf and a particle board
insert to make a flat surface. That table set the Bernina closer to the
front. Now I use that table for my embroidery machine.

Another problem involves using the knee lift with the Bernina and with the
Janome 6500. The Bernina is now set in a small Horn table that I originally
bought with the Pfaff that's not currently in use. (I do swap out the Pfaff
with the Bernina from time to time - each machine has it's strengths and
weaknesses.) The Bernina knee lift is too far away from my knee and the
Janome knee lift is too close. For the Bernina I am always reaching and
bumping my knee into the Horn table support - ouch! For the Janome, I am
always bumping either the knee lift when I don't want to -- or the support
in *that* Horn table, which is a bigger table for the bigger machine.
Still, that darn shelf support seems to be in exactly the wrong place.

When I used the small Horn table with the Pfaff, the support thing wasn't an
issue because there is no knee lift. If I had put the Bernina (with the
knee lift) into that Horn table before I bought the *other* Horn table for
the Janome (with a knee lift), I would have noticed the problem of the
knee-bruising support, and might have investigated other options.

I've tried putting the Bernina knee lift into the Janome and vice versa and
it sort of works, but I'm not sure it makes a lot of difference. I've
tried padding the support. It's less of a problem when I'm not wearing
shorts (like now!) I could put the Bernina back into the original table,
which was made differently and had no support, but that would mess up my
embroidery set-up, and also I have rolling drawer carts under that table
which wouldn't fit under the Horn table if I switched.

In short, I just switch around and adjust my chairs, over and over and
over - and nothing really works except taking frequent breaks. And saying
bad words and rubbing my poor knee!

Iris

The ergonomic arm position is to bend your elbows at about 90 degrees,
without scrunching up your shoulders, and the machine should be close
enough to your body so your upper arms stay back by your sides (i.e.
you don't have to lean forward).

So if you just sit in a chair and put your arms in the correct
position (without any table in front of you), how much space does that
leave between elbows and lap for any kind of sewing machine? Not much!
I'm of average height and build, and it was about 6.5". So the table
surface plus machine bed need to be less than that! (This measurement
has nothing to do with the height of your chair or table, it's simply
how much space you have on your own body to operate a machine in the
correct arm position.) IMO any "traditionally built" ladies simply
cannot find a modern machine plus table that will allow room for legs
underneath. The solution is probably to get an older flatbed machine
(no free arm) in perhaps a modern sewing table. (Since the old
cabinets have a well underneath for storing the machine, which would
get in the way.)
Roberta in D

On Wed, 4 Mar 2009 08:29:13 -0600, "Leslie& The Furbabies in MO."
wrote:

Polly mentioned Cindy's sore shoulders when MQing might be from sewing on
her dining room table. Maybe it's just me, but I have my chair seat as high
as it can go with my legs resting against the support under my sm. I still
get sore shoulders cuz my upper body isn't positioned high enough... so I am
still reaching upwards to MQ. I couldn't use a pillow to sit higher cuz my
legs would get mushed against the support.

So, is it just me or do y'all find this to be a problem as well?

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

I have a low sewing machine table (26"). I got it after reading Lois
Hallock's books on ergonomics and organization for quilters. The last quilt
I did still left my shoulders sore and achy.

I think it is the nature of the beast. It is difficult on the body but the
results are worth the finished quilt!

Lenore


"Leslie& The Furbabies in MO." wrote in message
...
Polly mentioned Cindy's sore shoulders when MQing might be from sewing on
her dining room table. Maybe it's just me, but I have my chair seat as
high as it can go with my legs resting against the support under my sm. I
still get sore shoulders cuz my upper body isn't positioned high enough...
so I am still reaching upwards to MQ. I couldn't use a pillow to sit
higher cuz my legs would get mushed against the support.

So, is it just me or do y'all find this to be a problem as well?

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

Polly Esther wrote:
Leslie, since you have power tools and are not afraid to use them, why don't
you solve that problem? What would you need to raise, lower or alter =)
to take care of that? I'm thinking there are only two of us here that are
skinny. You'd be making a lot of quilters very happy if you could resolve
the 'larger than the average bear' troubles. Hanging the SM from the
rafters might work but there just may be an easier way. Polly

The only way to solve the problem would be to have a SM that is
SKINNY! Even if I set the *(#$*$ machine on my lap, it's still a bit
too high for me to be able to work at for any great length of time --
especially when doing free motion! It's a function of FAT thighs --
LOLOL! If the plate of the sewing machine was a lot closer to the
tabletop, THAT would be just the ticket. Unfortunately, I doubt if they
could make a SM that sat "lower to the ground!" CiaoMeow ^;;^

PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ (RCTQ Queen of Kitties)
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their whiskers!
Visit my Photo albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

My favorite cartoonist is Jim Unger who does the Herman funnies. One time
the wife commanded that he fix her ironing board so it would be kinder to
her rather over-endowed figure. He sawed a half-moon out of it. There
wasn't much left of the ironing board. Here's a Herman, maybe, if you
forget which cartoonist I'm talking about.
http://www.juggling.org/pics/Pics/herman1.gif
Polly


"Tia Mary" wrote in message
...
Polly Esther wrote:
Leslie, since you have power tools and are not afraid to use them, why
don't you solve that problem? What would you need to raise, lower or
alter =) to take care of that? I'm thinking there are only two of us
here that are skinny. You'd be making a lot of quilters very happy if
you could resolve the 'larger than the average bear' troubles. Hanging
the SM from the rafters might work but there just may be an easier way.
Polly

The only way to solve the problem would be to have a SM that is SKINNY!
Even if I set the *(#$*$ machine on my lap, it's still a bit too high for
me to be able to work at for any great length of time --
especially when doing free motion! It's a function of FAT thighs --
LOLOL! If the plate of the sewing machine was a lot closer to the
tabletop, THAT would be just the ticket. Unfortunately, I doubt if they
could make a SM that sat "lower to the ground!" CiaoMeow ^;;^

PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ (RCTQ Queen of Kitties)
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their whiskers!
Visit my Photo albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary