A iPad Cover and A Belt

Oooh, catchy title. But that's what this is about. The iPad cover is a kind of utilitarian sewing that can be very satisfying. For starters, it was almost free. No pattern needed, so free there. Batting, fabric and thread that I already had. Almost free, because, well, I did have to pay for it once upon a time. Plus, it's custom! That might actually be obvious since I made up the pattern myself. I added a little pocket on the front for my phone.

Oh, the button and the cording also from the stash. I turned it partially inside out so you can see the cute lining. From an Alexander Henry line. It's probably named something better than just "Owls", but that's what they are:

And the belt? I've been wanting to try my hand at belt making for awhile, and I'm making a vintage dress to wear for a wedding this weekend (more on the dress later) that cried out for a belt. OK, it was in the pattern, but still. I bought a belt making kit from the Fashionable Stitch, read all Sunni's tips on her blog, and went to work.


My fabric is voile, so I added a second layer of some super thin cotton that I found in my interfacing bin. What? You don't have random bits of stuff of unknown origin hanging around your sewing room? This mystery cotton could be vintage itself!


My buckle covering skills are suspect, but practice would definitely help. Unfortunately, there's no good way to practice, so while my results aren't great, they'll have to do. Covering the belting was easier, and I used this method of machine sewing. Using a thin fabric, albeit double layered, probably aided in it being easier. A thicker fabric might work better doing the hand sewing method.


I ended up not using the eyelets or the center bar, which proved really hard to pinch with pliers, and there was possibly some impatience that played into it as well. Anyway, wanna see? I have it on my dress form, over a red, as yet unrevealed (and still unfinished actually), dress:

Thus end-eth tonight's show and tell. Have a good night, y'all!

A Little Bit of Sewing Planned

Well, where is Wilma on Wednesday? This is a sewing blog after all, so tonight... some sewing previews. No cooking. I'm not quite organized enough to have a "fall sewing plan", but I do have a few things lined up. At least in my mind.


The first show and tell is a UFO that I started 2 years ago. It's 99.9% finished. Just some thread clipping and some minor fixing on the binding.

I think I'll be listing it the Jenna Belle shop, unless I decide I want to keep it for myself. Oh, and get this. It was apparently about 95% finished when I put it away 2 years ago. It needed about an hour's worth of quilting (maybe less), and then the binding. Do you do that? Get almost finished with a project?


Is anyone interested in learning how to make a continuous bias strip? I think I'll do a quick tutorial (not today though).


Now, back to some sewing for me. Self stitched September is kind of right around the corner, and I don't just want to wear all the June stuff again. First up, a knit dress. Still sleeveless, but it will still work here in the south. It's been cut out. Hmmm, can't really read the number. It's Vogue 8553.

Then, I'm using one of my vintage pattern finds. It has some pieces missing... the back facing and the armhole facing, and the Peter Pan collar. I drafted a new back facing, I'm using bias tape for the armholes, and no collar. Oh, and I'll be grading it up just a few sizes. It might end up just being a top, too. Creative license and the fact that I might not have quite enough fabric. Almost positive there won't be any ruffles!

The fabric is a vintage madras that I've had in my stash forever. And that's it. Even more patterns are lined up, and including 4 or 5 I just bought in the last Big 4 sale that are winging their way to me.


Fall sewing... here I come!

Sneak Peak and What's Next

I've come to grips that the jeans sew along is over, and I still don't have any new jeans. My denim is washed, and the patterns are waiting, but the fact is, that I almost never wear jeans in the summer. It's just too darn hot here. Anyway, I will get them done. Just not now. In the meantime, Laura's dress is almost finished. Just needs buttons, buttonholes and hemming. Easy peasy. There are some pretty major galloping horse moments, and I have a love/hate relationship with the fabric, but here's the peak:

Have y'all looked at the calendar lately? June, and more specifically, Me Made June, is right around the corner!! Eeps! We'll be on vacation one of the weeks in June. And I have no shorts. Well, one pair, plus a couple of workout shorts... that's it. Really. Last year, my biggest wadder ever was a pair of shorts, and I'm determined to get it right this time. But time is short. So, Pants for Real People arrived today, and I recently bought this pattern.

I'll do a quick check for any real weirdness on Pattern Review, and then I'll get to sewing! I'm planning to wait on some of the reveals so June is repeat after repeat. Oh, and I'm so behind on doing pattern reviews. I've got a bunch lined up to do. Coming soon, I hope. I'm never short on pattern opinions, lol!

Getting Ready

The queue is long, June is coming, and I'm heading out of town for 10 days! Do I have any "me made" shorts? No. Do I have a "me made" beach coverup for our June vacation? No. I'm 100% sure I'm not making my own swim suit. At least not this time around. And I'm "participating" in the jeans sew along. Well, the denim is pre-washed, and measurements have been taken.

This week has been all about the prep work. I have 3(!) things cut out, and interfacing has been fused for all 3. Somehow, even using a press cloth, I ended up with:

My iron seemed coated with stickiness,and you can even see some threads glued on. Yikes. But it only took a couple minutes, and look:

So, what do I have cut out? Two things for Laura... a crescent skirt, and a cute button front dress from a 70s vintage pattern. And a top for me. Look at the pile:

And doesn't Laura look cute in her muslin? I haven't seen pics yet of her in the skirt, but she says it's perfect. Yay for that.

I'm completely caught up with the crescent sew along. Exactly caught up even (never mind that I've already finished one... I'm doing this one with the group). I think I'll pack up the skirt and finish making it at my mom's.   I'll post these next pictures in the flickr group, and Laura please chime in. Rick rack, or no rick rack. I have it on the pocket area right now, but I'm thinking of it for on the waistband, just on the curved seams.

Whew! That's it. I'm out of the house most of tomorrow, so no sewing... just packing.

Upgrading Vogue 8640

First, Happy Easter! This picture was taken Easter morning, 1988. We had gone to the sunrise service at church, and since we were up early, and dressed up, we took a trek into DC for some photos by the blooming cherry blossoms. Easter must have been early-ish that year.

OK, back to 8640. If you're a beginner, or even an advanced beginner, and you've bought this pattern thinking, "wow! I can make a pencil skirt and lined jacket, and Vogue says it's Very Easy!" You would be right! This pattern lives up to its name. I'm afraid if you make the jacket "as is" in the pattern instructions, you might be a little disappointed with the results. I haven't made the skirt yet, so my upgrading is just for the jacket.

Upgrade #1: you do need to choose fabric that has a little body, or the jacket will be floppy. My fabric is a cotton/linen blend, and while it has some body, I chose to interface 98% of it. The pattern itself calls for no interfacing. I block fused the whole shebang except for the color. I used pro-tailor deluxe fusible interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply for the body, and before I cut out the pieces, I simply fused the interfacing to the fabric. For the collar, I used pro-weft fusible interfacing, which is more lightweight, and I only interfaced from the center back to the large circle on the pattern piece. Basically, where the collar ends and the ties begin. I also used pro-weft on the me-drafted facings.

There are only 22 steps in the sewing of the jacket, so even with my changes it goes quickly.

Upgrade #2: bound buttonholes. Step #22 indicates you apply snaps. Snaps seemed kind of low rent to me, so I opted for buttons. You could do regular buttonholes, and then that would stay at step #22. If you go for bound buttonholes, they're done first, on the upper front piece (piece 2). I sewed the buttons on, and finished the back of the buttonholes around pattern step #9, when I was doing the lining.

Upgrade #3: topstitching. You can see in the above pic that I topstitched about 1/4" above the seamline between the upper and lower pieces. I also topstitched down the center back. I'm contemplating doing it down the center front edges, and maybe around the hemline and the sleeve hem, but I can add that anytime. I used a silk finish embroidery thread that is slightly darker than the oatmeal-y background color. It's subtle, and shows up better in person than in the pictures.

Upgrade #4: Add front facings and a real hem to the jacket body and sleeves. Here's where Vogue makes it super easy, but also super easy to look sloppy. They have you make the jacket and the lining from all the same pieces, put them right sides together, and stitch around all the edges except the neckline, which allows you to turn it right side out. You are instructed at the end (steps 19 and 21) to topstitch the front opening and lower edges of the jacket and of the sleeve. But you know, unless you get that done perfectly, the odds of an inexperienced sewist having lining dip out and show could be pretty good. BUT, with the hems, and facing, you eliminate that problem. The facings also make your buttonholes more stable.

For the facing, I simply decided how wide I wanted it to be, added a 3/8" seam allowance, and then cut off that much on the lining front pieces (don't forget a seam allowance on your lining pieces). I didn't want a seam in the facing, so it's the length of the jacket, plus the hem. Um, things did get a little wonky on my facing, you'll see it in the picture, but no one will really know but me.

For the hems, I added 1-1/4" to the bottom edge of the body, and 1" to the hem edge of the sleeve, and subtracted that amount from the lining, making sure I still had seam allowances that worked. Regardless of whether you add the hem on the sleeve or not, you will still have to slipstitch the lining to the sleeve at the hem.

And that's it! For the skirt, to upgrade you could use an invisible zipper, line, and possibly underline depending on your fabric, and a button at the top of the waistband in the back would be a cute tie in to the jacket.

And no, I didn't wear the jacket to church today, because other than the dress I wore in the previous post, I don't really have anything that matches it, and, well, it's really hot here today. Almost summer like.

So Unorganized!

So many things I want to make, so little... well, right now, I would have to say, organization. I'm almost embarrassed to show you.

Pattern pieces from 3 or 4 patterns, plus some of them traced as well in this pile.

Oh, yeah, a couple more patterns here. I didn't even take a picture of the pieces floating around my sewing machine. And on the guest bed.

Phase 1 of the organization begins here. With a list. A priority list. And I think I'll duplicate it in the sidebar where you can see that there are 3 sew alongs that I'm planning to participate in. But wait, there's one more! And so aptly named. She doesn't have a badge, but an entire blog that will be devoted just to this sew along. OVER THE TOP... A 15 DAY CHALLENGE.  I think a name like that needs to be in all caps, don't you?! This one also starts April 1, but I'm going to get a little jump on it.

Without further adieu... The List (the sidebar list will have links if you want to check out these amazingly wonderful and of course perfect for me [I hope] patterns).

Butterick 4735 -- a vintage wrap top. I plan to make a pj top muslin.
PJ shorts -- to go with the top.
Butterick 5328 -- modern wrap top. Fabric washed and ready to go. May need a muslin.
Vogue 8640 -- RTW Sew Along jacket. Muslin ready. Need to prep fabric for April 1 start.
Vogue 2967 -- fitted shell top
McCalls 5522 -- button front top.
McCalls 5661 -- classic fit shell. This makes 5 tops for the 15 day challenge. This one is to go under the jacket.
Now we move into the skirt portion of April:
Sewaholic's Crescent Skirt -- for the sew along. Might make one for Laura at the same time. Pattern ordered.
Ann Taylor knock off pencil skirt -- for Laura. We traced around the skirt last weekend, and I mailed her a muslin today. It will need some tweaking.
Simplicity 6606 -- a 1970s vintage dress pattern to make for Laura. I've already made the muslin and have sent it to her. She'll need to pick some fabric.
Colette Crepe -- wrap dress. Pattern is traced, fabric is bought. Awaiting muslin.
Vogue 8640 -- pencil skirt to go with the RTW sew along jacket.
Kwik Sew 3504 -- Men's jeans for Peter's Jeans sew along.
Jalie 2908 -- Women's jeans (see above). Another ambitious plan for a sew along.
Talbots knock off inverted pleat skirt -- I almost won't even need to make a pattern for this one. It's actually kind of even hard to call it a knock off, but more of a classic style.
Butterick 8628 -- a vintage drape neck dress with full skirt.

Is that enough? Yikes! And all those patterns... already in my stash. I suspect I could find fabric in my stash that would work for most of those, as well, but I might have to buy some, too. Denim for the jeans, definitely.

WHY am I still typing away on the computer? I better get to sewing!!

The Macaron Bodice

I'm almost finished... just need to construct the skirt lining, do some inner hand sewing on the lining, and hem. In the meantime, I thought I'd give a rundown on how I attached the yoke front to the bodice front. Basically, if you've sewn a princess seam, the technique is the same, otherwise known as the Right Side Together method (RST). That's my name for it anyway.

1. Stay stitch each piece just inside the 5/8" seam line. Do this for the lining, too, if you're lining.

2. Clip the yoke front seam allowance (SA) almost to the stitching, about 3 times on each curved section. Clip the bodice front and lining at the center.
3. On a flat surface, pin, RST with the yoke on top.

4. You can baste first, or just go for it and stitch. Slowly. If you are lining, then sandwich the bodice front/yoke front/lining, and stitch again. Important: DO NOT sew your lining all the way to the side seams, but stop about 3" from each side.
5. Cut some wedges from the seam allowance of the bodice front and lining to help it lay nice and flat.

6. Check your stitching. I needed to do a bit of ripping and resewing. It happens.
7. Press and admire!

Piping note: I used my invisible zipper foot and it worked out so well. The cording I used is super thin (I know that's the technical name). I think it's crochet thread, but I've had it at least 22 years, and used it to make piping for Peter Pan collars for Laura's smocked dresses when she was a baby. OK, I'm rambling.

The Art of Muslining

Do you muslin? Is that even a verb? Back when I was a skinny, little thing I didn't. I just whacked away at the pattern, trusting the measurements on the envelope. But then much time past, and now that I'm "more mature" so to speak, my body has lumps and bumps and measurements that certainly fall across several size ranges as I go top to toe.

But having said that, I still resist, and I don't do it with every garment. The Mondo top... nope, no muslin. The Lady Grey coat, 3(!) muslins. Actually, I find that even though the lovely Colette Patterns are more "true to size" than the Big 4, I still cross the size ranges, AND the designs are more fitted, and they especially need to be muslined.

[And aside, since I'm on the subject, my idea of muslin is not to make it wearable. Oh, no. I think wearable muslin is a misnomer anyway. If you are making a garment out of some kind of fashion fabric, even cheap, expendable, fabric, and you have the idea that you might wear it out in public, then I call that simply practice, and it certainly has its place in sewing... I've done it, too.]

So, yeah. Here's the pattern that is up next:

And here's what the muslin looks like on me:

Kind of like an ill-fitting nurse's dress, truth be told. I was going to make it out of green satin and sequins, but the direction has totally changed now, and I think I'll surprise you. The point of this post is to say "reading" a muslin takes some practice. I'd say I'm an advanced beginner at this point. Some things I've learned:

• First, check out Pattern Review to see what quirks others have discovered. Might save some time if you're looking out for a particular issue.
• Cut out one size to start with and go from there. Did I do that? No.
• I don't really have narrow shoulders, but rather the area under my neck and above the boobs, in between my arms, is kind of narrow.
• Sleeve fit/armscye fit is really difficult. Even for pattern makers. This length looks right for me, but I'll have to add the hem.
• Colette Patterns are notoriously short bodiced, and short in length.
• Don't get obsessed. You can over fit a pattern.
• This muslin is misleading. I have actually redone the front yoke to take into account the narrow chest issue.

And... I'm ready to cut. I'm not going to use the muslin as pattern. I am going to make the seam allowance of the skirt and the midriff pieces 1". My fashion fabric has a bit of stretch, but I want some leeway. I'm also going to put the zipper in the center back and not the side.

That's it. I learn a lot from each muslin I make, both about the garment construction and about my own shape. I can't wait to get started on this dress. Finally. Of course, there is all that pesky Christmas stuff that must be done this weekend, too, so I'm not sure how much sewing I'll get done.

Buttonholes and the Excess

I quickly want to cover the buttonhole issue today. I had never made a bound buttonhole until Saturday, and I found, using Gertie's tutorial, that there is really nothing hard about them. The question then becomes, from a design standpoint, do I want to use them.

The practice buttonhole:

Technically speaking, I think it looks pretty good. The opening is maybe a little tall, but I'm just not thrilled with the look with the thicker wool. I made some other buttonholes:

I had to use the flash so you could get a better look. After looking at some of my RTW coats, they mostly had the keyhole version. I like the one using buttonhole twist thread to make a corded buttonhole. Bottom line though? I've decided to use those awesome giant snaps. I'll always be wearing the tie belt, and the button will be covered up anyway. And if I change my mind, I can go back and put in regular buttonholes.

One of the commenters on the previous post asked why I thought I had so much fabric left over. There are a couple of reasons. The first is simply that I bought too much fabric. According to the pattern, for a size 10, I would need 4-1/4 yards of 60" fabric. Gorgeous Fabrics sells in whole yards only, so I decided to err on the side of too much, and bought 5 yards.

Reason #2 has to do with the pattern itself. The range of yardages given for all the sizes goes from 4-1/8 to 4-1/3. That's not that big of a difference really, and clearly a size 0 will need less fabric than a size 18. In my experience, many pattern makers waste a lot of fabric with their layouts "just in case", and with careful positioning, a sewist can come up with a more efficient pattern layout herself.

Which brings me to reason #3. My mom was notorious for bringing home remnants from the fabric store she worked at, and making patterns fit on seemingly too little yardage. I seemed to have picked up on that ability, and can "squish" a pattern onto the fabric, managing to waste as little as  possible. I did make some alterations, but none that really would have affected the yardage significantly.

Basically, I like to use the given pattern layouts as a suggestion, and as a way to make sure I've cut out all the necessary pieces, checking them off as I go. I do make sure to follow grainlines, and nap if there is any, as well, which is important for a successful project.

Ironically, I thought I had enough hair canvas, and have had to order some more. It will arrive in a couple of days. Oops.

Sew Alongs and Muslins

I've been having a lack of luck lately with choosing of patterns and then follow through. I've mentioned making a muslin for the vintage shirtdress. Well, I did finally make a 3rd muslin, basically starting over with the original pieces, altering only the width of the waist. I had really distorted the raglan sleeves, and they were not working. The good news is that the fit is actually not that bad, just a smidge small. I've decided to put this particular project on hold, as the Weight Watcher point counting has begun again. I won't bore you with the details, but may periodically jump up and down if I'm successful in re-losing a bit of weight.

So then I decided to participate in the Cupcake Goddess' pencil skirt sew-along. Because I don't believe that you have to be super skinny to wear a pencil skirt. Well, *ahem* I still believe that, but you do need to choose the right pattern. Suffice it to say that I didn't, and after making the muslin for that particular disaster, that project is on hold too. (see reason above)

All righty then. What's next? Do you read Grosgrain? It seems like who doesn't looking at how many followers she has! She has chosen a really cute pattern for her next Frock by Friday project, I think it will work on my body as it is right this second, and won't look too huge if I do lose weight. I already have the fabric, too.
Stay tuned for that.


Finally, Gertie is planning a coat sew-along on her Blog for Better Sewing. I've wanted to make this coat for a long time, and she is so thorough with sewing details, I think it will be a great learning experience. I've made a coat before, but it was a child's coat, and I'm fairly certain that I didn't do any special tailoring. It's the cutest little girl coat ever, so I'll try to post a picture of it.

Have any of you ever done a sew along? I realize that there really isn't any accountability, but my creativity tank is a bit low, and I'm letting others do the work for me for a couple of months. The frock happens next week (I think), so I'll get to posting pictures of progress soon.

Shirtdress Muslin #1

I knew going into this vintage shirtdress pattern, I would have to make some pretty substantial changes to get the top to fit. I did buy it close to my bust size. OK, maybe one size too small, but that shouldn't stop anyone. Here are my pattern pieces after making some changes that I knew I needed to make (i.e., widen at the waistline, and drop the armscye (is it still called that with a raglan sleeve?).

The changes are done in red. I did the back piece first, and then discovered a better way to widen the waist for the front by slashing a diagonal cut from waist outside the dart, up to the top point of the sleeve seam. It made it much neater and more predictable. I decided to go with the changes I made on the back anyway. And the muslin front:

Keeping in mind that my dress form is not quite my size (she has bigger boobs), you can see that there aren't too many problems with the front. The side dart I changed can actually be changed back. The main problem is with the raglan sleeve that is really much to narrow. Did they have stick arms back in the 50s? But, oh no on the back:

As you can see by the multiple lines, I can't really decide where I want the sleeve seam to be. I'll probably go with the middle line. Also, the darts were way too long. This dress, although slim, is actually drafted for someone who is about 6 feet tall! The original owner wrote on the outside of the envelope that the skirt is too long, and she shortened it about 4 or 5 inches, folding up the pattern. That hit on my lower shin. If I made it as is, it would be floor length! Those are some mighty fluffy crinolines that they were planning for I suppose.

Fabric update: I'm going to use the stripe, but I'm leaning toward a solid color top in the darker gray brown color. Hard to tell from the computer screen, but in the paint world it's probably called putty. Matching it may be a problem. And, I'm off to snip and rip. Where is my Fit for Real People book when I need it?!!

Stripes

What rich, gorgeous color on this 100% cotton Kaffe Fassett woven from Fabric.com. What was I thinking?

Like some plaids, some stripes are uneven, and in their unevenness make matching very challenging. Add in pleats and darts, and you might find yourself in matching hell. That's where I found myself yesterday, and I decided to let the stripes fall where they may. Possibly not the best decision, but I'll let you be the judge tomorrow when I finish a cute Butterick sleeveless dress.

Are you just dying to know which pattern? Well, I'll surprise you tomorrow, but I don't have too much left. The lining is completely made, so all I have left is the invisible zipper, shoulder seams, side seams, insert the lining and finish the armscyes, hem and voila. New dress. Hmmm, when I type it that sounds like a lot, but it's not really. Til tomorrow...

Simplicity 2370 -- Yay or Nay?

I've made my denim shorts, and am kind of ambivalent about them. Are they a true wadder? Not really. Take a look:

So, maybe it's my hips I'm ambivalent about, but in this picture they (the shorts) don't look too bad. I did end up making 2 muslins, and thought they fit pretty well by the second one. One design change I made was to change the large, single pleat in the front to 2 narrower pleats, essentially using up the same amount of fabric, but spreading it out a bit. I'm not so sure it helped or made it worse.

Something I learned about making a muslin: when you aren't 100% sure about the size, go bigger. The biggest alteration I had to make was to shorten the length of the center crotch seam. I shortened the front center seam a whopping 1-1/2", and the back one 1/2". I probably should have shortened the front one even more, maybe 2".

There just seems to be too much fabric. Is it the pleats? The too long center seam? The width (which I narrowed, by the way, after I had finished them)?

One major mistake I made, and shouldn't have, was that I forgot to staystitch the upper edges of the front and back pieces. Does it really matter, you ask? Heck, yeah! I couldn't figure out why the waist had "grown" so much after seemingly fitting pretty well with the muslin. I finished these yesterday, and when I woke up this morning, the lightbulb went off. It has to be the staystitching. Duh. A beginner's mistake.

I did do a superb job inserting the invisible zipper, though. So well, that you couldn't even see it in the picture. The bad news about it is that it's a side zip, and I didn't want to rip it out to make the legs narrower (lazy me), so my post production alterations are somewhat limited. Oh, and I love the waistband/binding technique, primarily because I love a narrow waistband.

No matter what level your sewing skills are, there are always things to learn with each new project. And as much as I love to see the perfectly sewn garment, sewing bloggers, show me your mistakes and wadders as well, so that I can learn from them, too!

Happy Birthday America!

photo courtesy PDPhoto.org

On a sewing note, yes! I have been sewing! Just not writing about it here, but that will happen this week. I promise. Things I've recently made include a denim skirt, a knit top, and a sundress for a party tonight. Success-wise, I was 2 for 3, and the question is "why is it so hard for me to get skirts to fit right?" Darned if I know, but will explore that problem and my continuing sewing with knits issues.

Please stay safe today if you are out celebrating Independence Day!

Gingher vs. Olfa

 

So, if you read my little rant yesterday about the evils of cutting out pattern pieces, you may have noticed that a couple of my commenters mentioned that they cut things out with their rotary cutters. *slapping forehead with hand* Of course! Why not? It's not like I had to rush out and buy a rotary cutter for this little picture. I'VE OWNED ONE SINCE 1982!! That was the year I made my first quilt.

The problem is that my mind had compartmentalized these sewing tools. Olfa cutters = making quilts. Using scissors = making everything else. It's high time I got with the program, and since I hadn't yet cut out the lining to the glorious pink dress, I did it this morning. With the rotary cutter. The results? Fabulous!

So, as I write my little sewing posts, I hope that nobody hesitates to give me tips. It may seem that I've been sewing forever and should know all the little tricks, but apparently... I don't.

I've been battling a cold, so projects are moving along very slowly, but I did also manage to get 2 monograms stitched out. I love monograms. They are so classic and elegant, and the brides that chose these have great taste:

A Necessary Evil

 

There you have it. You can't sew without taking this step. Well, I can think of a couple things that don't take any real pieces or cutting out, but most of the fun, challenging things I want to make require the layout and the cutting. It's time consuming, tedious and not really fun. And, if your scissors are dull, then multiply that all by 20. So there. It's done now, and tomorrow I can finally start sewing.

Oh, after I cut out the lining.

Does your chosen craft have any step that you hate to do, but have to, so you just grin and bear it? Please share. Misery loves company!

And perhaps I should go get my scissors sharpened...

For Your Sewing Machine...

Recently, I've been making several items for Jenna Belle Designs from some handwoven scraps that I purchased at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. And you all saw the Pony Pouch, made from the softest of minkee fabric. How are these two things related? Fuzz. And fuzz is so bad for your sewing machine.

To combat the fuzz, that little plastic brush thingy that comes with your machine just doesn't cut it. You could try that canned air stuff, but I like this so much better:

It attaches to your regular vacuum cleaner, and works like a charm.

Ta Da! No more fuzz. My machine is now completely cleaned and oiled. By the way, after oiling, sew with a paper towel and no thread to catch any extra oil.

And don't laugh, but Atlanta got snow! The city shut down today... no school, people working from home (if at all). It IS really, really cold. Take a look at all the snow:

This is not from shoveling. Apparently our driveway is incapable of completely getting covered in snow.

The backyard looks a little more even.