Do you worry about bumping your USB while it is plugged in? A broken port means no designs can be loaded on your machine. Repeatedly plugging in and taking out a USB can wear on the port, too.

Even if the replacement part and labor are affordable, how long will it take for the machine to be repaired? For me, the closest dealer with on-site repairs is four hours away. Otherwise, I can ship it away and wait for months.

What do they say? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I purchased this cable from Amazon and got two for less than $10. What I liked most about it is that it has a right-angle connector where it plugs into the machine and most of the models that I saw did not.

The wear and tear is now on the adapter end and not your machine port. Think of this male-to-female USB connection as an extension cord for your USB port. And, it doesn’t stitch out as far as a traditional USB so you are less likely to bump into it and break the port.

My cable is 8 inches long, so it lays on the table surface without getting in the way or adding additional pull on the port.

These cables can also be used on your desktop computers and laptops to save wear and tear on their ports. It is an inexpensive way to avoid costly problems.

Debbie SewBlest

Here is a great little project for the tweens and tweens in your life.  They seem to all have a tangle of cords that need to be carted everywhere they go.  Long ones, short ones, pink ones, and even cords covered with washi tape.  They throw them in their backpacks, bags and purses and they get tangled up with everything else.   We made several with small designs which we will share with you today.  You can add an initial or monogram for even more personalization.  Here are the ones we made:

What you need:

Two 5” squares of fabric (we used leftover charms squares)

Easy tear away stabilizer

Embroidery thread

One ¾” button

One of the designs (you can download ours at the end of this blog)

Lapel stick or another temporary adhesive

What you do:

1.      1.  Hoop stabilizer in a 5”x7” or larger hoop.  Slide onto your machine.

2.       2. Load the desired design and embroider the first color onto the stabilizer.

3.      3. Remove the hoop and lay on a flat surface.  Center your front fabric square, face up, on top of the stitches and adhere inside the corners to keep it in place.  Carefully slide it back onto the machine.

4.       4. Sew the next two colors to tack down and then fill the space.

5.       5. Embroider the design colors.

6.       6. Remove the hoop and flip over on a flat surface.  Center the remaining fabric square, face up, over the stitches and adhere inside the corners.  Carefully slide it back onto the machine making sure the fabric square stays in place.

7.      7.  Sew the next color and then the final buttonhole color.

8.       8. Remove the hoop from the machine and carefully remove the outside stabilizer.

9.       9. Slice the buttonhole open.

10.   10. Flip the square over and center and sew a button at the opposite end from the buttonhole.

11.   Wrap around your cord and button it.

Our granddaughter made these for gifts but this would be a great group project for girl scouts or church clubs.  You could also make them for swaps, teacher gifts or even stocking stuffers.  They are quick, easy and useful.

Take care,

DB

Cord Keeper Designs.zip (191.2KB)