I need a hero! I need mumsnet!

[FairyJen]

Also posted in chat for traffic

I posted a thread a while ago about making my dd a patchwork quilt for her birthday.

Her birthday is TOMORROW and it's not finished! My sewing machine is broken.

I can't hand sew to save my life. How can I do this????

I live in SE London does anyone know where you can borrow machines from? I'm completely skint.

It is my fault for leaving it so long but things are awful here at moment. Dp's great grandmother is up north dying of renal failure and his dsis who lives down here has just been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer so I have been looking after mil and helping her get to hospital etc.

Advice please. I've spent days in tears and I just wanna do this for my dd.

Can anyone help?? How can I get it done in time?

How many hours will it take?

Places like the make lounge in islington let you use their machines for a fee - not sure in SE though I'm afraid

Sew Over It at Clapham North is a fiver an hour, which us why I asked about time.

I'm quite slow but it is half quilted so needs other half quilting and then basting and binding.

Tbh £5 is stretching my budget and I have ds (11 months) with me so would struggle I think

Whereabouts in SE London are you? I am in Croydon and could lend you my machine

I'm in honor oak park / forest hill - right on border so depends on who you talk to, honor oak sounds posher so I always say that

Damn - just too far for me to sort it out today.

It's ok soup thanks for the offer I'm trying to resign myself to te fact that it won't be do e for tomorrow. Back up plan is to show er and explain it will be finished when I can afford a new machine which will be never

soup if I don't get sorted today is there another day I could possibly borrow your machine?

Could you make a cushion cover out of the bits you have done?
you could hand stitch one fairly quickly.

effie the quilt top is complete and the quilt itself is half quilted. It needs the rest doing and then basting and binding. My hand sewing is dreadful and I'm worried it would be strong enough for when it needs washing etc.

Good idea tho!

I would go with your plan of showing it to her & explaining as best you can about how upset you are not to get it finished for her birthday & why - in a way its probably a good life lesson for her - ie: things life can sometimes get in the way & try as hard as you might, things don't always go to plan & its okay. I've had to do similar with my DD & a room make over due to my taking ill & she was fine, I fact she loved been able to have a say in buying & making the accessories that I had been too ill to sort out:)

Now you've got that out of the way, google your local Freecycle, Freegle or Greencycle & sign up - you will need to get yourself a Yahoo email address as they are all Yahoo groups - you can then put up a wanted add for a sewing machine - I often see people giving them away on our one, I've even picked up one myself that way too in the past.

Good luck - I'm too far away to offer help, but hopefully you will find a free one & happy birthday to your DD :)