Handi Quilter Sweet Sixteen Day 10 - storage

Don't you just love serendipity? I bought my great-neice some Doug and Melissa beads and they came in a nifty wooden box. Because she was flying home, I decanted the beads into organza bags to save suitcase space. And kept the box. It was too cute to toss. And now look how perfect it is for all my Sweet Sixteen paraphernalia!

Compared to the Bernina, there actually isn't that much associated "stuff". 

The first thing I bought were extra bobbins and needles. The bobbins could have been made for that long thin divider! I like to wind lots of bobbins before starting a project, so I don't have to break concentration and go wind bobbins. I'm always amazed at how many I get through, although these M type bobbins are great because they hold so much more thread.

Extra glasses, check. I only have nine pairs and still can never find them when I need them. Sigh...

Scissors, because there is no thread snipper on the machine. Seems like that would be an easy addition. I'm really missing it.

Cheater needle for burying threads. Fabulous things, the hole in the top makes them easy to thread even with a minimal amount of thread tie off. I try to bury as I go as it's just too depressing to get to the end of the quilt and have a mountain of thread ends to deal with. 

Seam ripper. As my mother, the cheer-leader, pointed out: a machine that goes that fast will mean l-o-t-s of unpicking if you mess up. Thanks, Ma!

Dust extractor, and boy does the lint accumulate in the bobbin area, even though I haven't even used cotton thread yet. Superior Threads very kindly sent along 4 spools of thread as part of a welcome package. So far I've used their So Fine, in addition to my usual go-to Isacord. 

Alternative hopping foot. Bernina has clearly brainwashed me. I find myself looking for additional cool feet. Nope. Two hopping feet come with the machine, one open toe and one closed. You can buy couching feet and that's it for the Sweet Sixteen. Of course Bernina has brought out their own version of the sit down midarm machine, the Q20, and all their feet are apparently interchangable on that machine. Pretty sure I would have to mortgage the farm first though! 

Lots of screwdrivers and allen wrenches. These are essential. With the Bernina I can tip it on its side to get to tricky angles. Not so much with this machine - it is pretty substantial!

Needles. Clever packaging, 10 needles per package and they are packed in twos with a resealable opening every two needles. Ever opened a package of needles and had them all fall in your lap because there was one opening for all of them? I need to experiment with different needle sizes too. My to do list grows...