Moving to a different country comes with lots of changes. Going from the US to the UK also includes changes in electrical wattage and frequency. In the US, standard electrical is 120 v and 60hz, here in the UK it comes in at 240 v and 50hz. While many modern electrical items can handle duel voltage, such as our laptop, not all can.
There are converters that will allow you to use your US items in the UK and vice versa. These are great for smaller items or for short term use such as going on vacation / holiday. We were advised that anything with moving parts or that generated heat, would potentially be a fire hazard or burn out quickly.
This advice put our sewing machines and iron clearly in the land of the lost causes. Sewing is at the top of our list for self regulating, so having a machine was as essential as having medication. The hunt was on for a machine that fit both our needs and our budget. After much number crunching and research we finally decided along with Lily that the JUKI DDL 8100e met both needs and wallet.
Our previous machine was a Brother PQ1500, that we have had since 2013. We adored that machine, and it provided us with years of reliable service. Since the majority of our sewing was quilting related, we never needed more than a simple straight stitch. It was not until 2022 that we picked up a second smaller brother with the fancy stitches on a black Friday deal from Amazon.
Matilda is also a straight stitch only industrial machine, so we feel very much at home with her. There are some features that we miss from our PQ but nothing we are finding we can not live without. There are also of course features about Matilda that our PQ did not offer which we are falling quickly in love with.
WHAT WE LOVE
- adjustable speed – 200 to 4000 stitches per minute
- super quiet servo motor – far quieter than our PQ ever was
- built in table – roughly 28 in. x 42 in.
- independent bobbin winder – we can wind a fresh bobbin without having to un-thread
- fixed position foot pedal – no more sliding foot pedal, it is always where we need it
- easy to use knee lift – the PQ had one as well but we found the positioning very inconvenient
- oil pan – we do not need to remember when we last oiled the machine just check the pan
- bobbins – it uses the same size bobbins as the the PQ so we have loads already
WHAT WE MISS
- needle threader – we miss the ease of the built in needle threader the PQ had
- thread cutter – we loved being able to snip our thread with a quick button
- needle position – there is an add-on up/down position system for Matilda but it was not included
The love list seems to greatly out number the miss one, so it seems we picked a winner.
Stay tuned to see what adventures we have with Matilda the Magnificent !
