A Little Bit of This & That...

Yesterday, I did nothing sewing wise.  Not that I didn't want to.  There just wasn't anywhere to squeeze it in.  I had had new tires/wheels/sensors put on my car over the weekend and as expected, the sensor went off after driving a few miles.  However, when the car was returned Monday to get the sensors reset another sensor went off that was a little bell that rang about every second (of course, it waited till a few miles had been put on the car).  It was much more annoying that the flashing light of the previous sensor problem.    Needless to say, that I spent 1 1/2 hours at the tire place while everyone was trying to figure out why the sensor wasn't resetting properly.  Now, if we can just figure out why the new hub cabs won't stay on.  For now, every time I get out of the car I check to see if the three remaining hub cabs are loose.

Tonight, I scrubbed the walls of the fish tank.  This is my son's fish tank and yes, I'm the one who cleans it.  We have an algae problem and I try to clean the tank at least every two weeks..  I hoping tomorrow I will be able to clean the bottom of the fish tank removing a couple of gallons of water.  This is not my favorite job to do.  My son WILL help with this as it is a two person job.

Tonight, I was able to get the PJ top traced.  I need to double-check the length of the top and the sleeves but the basics have been taken care of.  Hopefully, tomorrow I will get the fabric pressed and work the top (after the fish tank is cleaned).  I still need to figure out how I'm going to arrange the fabrics as the top as traced required 1 3/4 yards of fabric and I have 1 1/4 yards of the star wars fabric and 1 yard of the black cotton.  Would like it good to split the front with the star wars fabric on one side and the black on the other and maybe some star wars applique on the black half?  The sleeves may be another issue.  I may need to do some piecing on this also.  I'll know more fabric I tissue fit the pattern on my son.  I'm fairly certain that I will need to add length.  I know once I figure out the details the sewing will be quick and easy.  This is a beginner's pattern and I have made it before. 

Happy Sewing!

The machines work...

Today, I cut out the muslin squares and cotton batting for the Superior University Razzle Dazzle lesson. Along with the Razzle Dazzle, I also received a spool of the Bottom Line thread. I completed the testing with the Bottom Line thread. The Bottom Line thread reminded me of Mettler Seralene (formerly known as Metralene). I also wound the Razzle Dazzle on the bobbin but that is where I got a little nervous about the bottom case. I don't want to mess up the tension on the bobbin case and I do not own a specialty bobbin case. Has anyone else used the specialty threads in the bobbin case of Viking without the specialty bobbin case?

Happily, the floral fabric I washed yesterday did not fade. I am hoping to get the cotton fabrics ironed tomorrow. I'm not sure that I have a zipper that is at least 14" long so that may slow down the pillow project but I can everything cut out and perhaps, get the front embellished. The sleep shirt for my son will need to draw out. This will require some measurements from my son. The pattern I'm using is from Buckles and Bobbins sewing book for boys. I got it thinking that I could interest my son in sewing a little bit but I realize that is not going to happen.

Happy Stitching!

Drum Roll Please....

The machines are plugged in and it feels good. Last night, I worked on organizing thread and buttons. Does polyester thread get old? I did toss a few spools that had very little thread on them. I'm sure that I originally kept them to do mending but really how many spools do you need. I'm still working on the buttons as I have many. I'm putting them in jars and intend to use them as a decorative element in my room. It seems every time I move something I find more thread. At least most of it is little spools not large ones. I did find that I have a few spools of different thread. As in, outdoor thread and then decorative thread. I'm not sure how I'm going to go about organizing those. The decorative thread may even go in one of the embroider thread cabinets.

Here's a picture of the Razzle Dazzle:

Doesn't it dazzle you? I'm not sure what color it is but the spools states for bobbin work, couching, and serger. I do think that the project has you doing something different that that. However, I would like to play with this thread in the serger.

I went to JoAnn's today and purchased the black fabric in the picture below:

In going through the stash, I found a piece of Star Wars fabric and asked my son if he was still interested in the fabric. Surprising, he said "Yes". He wanted me to make a sleep shirt. Since there was only a little over a yard of the Stars Wars fabric available, I had to purchase the coordinated black. We'll see how creative I can get with the two fabrics. Hopefully, I have enough. It will be a simple v-neck pull over. My son is tall - 6'+ but he is still a kid and needs to be able to indulge in that once in while.

The fabric below will be my version of one of the projects from the "Make It Sew Modern" book by Vanessa Christenson.

I'm using her ideas as a jumping off point. It will still be girly. I'm hoping that my ideas work as well as her project did. Her samples used pinking shears or a pink blade in the rotary cutter and I do not have either one.

By the way, I'm hoping that the blue floral will work OK. I rarely purchase the cotton "quilting" fabrics from JoAnn's because I do not have much luck with them. Generally, the dyes run and I end up with something ugly. This fabric is in the washer right now. If it doesn't work out, I will be returning this fabric and visiting a nearby quilting store. I know that I own a store but I don't have any prints that are what I want to use. Well, let me clarify. Any prints that I want to use for this particular project. Believe me, when I say that plenty of fabric has followed me home from my little shop/office. I love everything that I purchase.

Happy Stitching!

No Sewing Yet....

Nope, no sewing yet but I am dreaming. I'm still working on the re-arranging of the sewing room. I think the furniture is where is needs to be but I'm struggling with the organizing of the essentials of sewing which is mostly fabric and stabilizers. I don't have a closet available to put stuff in but I do have 3 cabinets and 6 crates. I know it will get figured out eventually. I just want to be able to find what I'm looking for. Maybe I need to think about some shelves that hangs on the wall. I have put away all of my patterns in the cabinet that I purchased for my patterns and I must say that it is full. I guess I need to give away some patterns.

The zappos order arrived and I liked both pair of shoes. However, fast forward a couple of days and I hear about the Zappos database being accessed and that Zappos had notified all of their customers. This customer didn't get notified. I will be watching the cc very closely over the next few months. I did get an invite to be a Zappos VIP. I wonder if the two are related. New, more secure passwords on all accounts. I hope I can remember them.

Sewing related things that I have done in the past few weeks. I joined the Superior University. I love having the opportunity to learn and to combine it will my love of sewing is even better. The only thing that would be better is if I could do this a class with other people. The first lesson has arrived and it is using Razzle Dazzle. I have not worked with this thread before so I hope it will be a good experience. I am going to try to work on the lesson this weekend. It will require another try to the store.

Yesterday, I also purchased a new sewing machine. No, I do not necessarily need another sewing machine. I just wanted this sewing machine. Here's what I purchased:

It's the Singer 160th anniversary Edition Sewing Machine. Isn't it cute? Of course, this will add another layer of clutter to my sewing area. I will need to purchase Singer sewing needles for this machine. I needed to do this any way I have a little vintage Singer sewing machine that looks much like the new above. This one could end up at my store. I haven't decided yet.

I purchase a new book and it looks like a winner. It is "Make It Sew Modern" by Vanessa Christenson. Here's the cover:

The book is divided into 4 sections as shown under the title. Each section has at least 5 projects. Most of the projects are very doable. In fact, maybe as something fun, I will work through this book and do that projects that are of interest to me and post the results.

My weekend plans are to work on my Superior University lesson for Razzle Dazzle and work on de-cluttering/organizing my sewing space. If I get to all the above and want to continue, I have a pair of jeans to work.

Happy Sewing!

Time flies when you're having fun...

Where has the past two weeks gone? I did play with my embroidery machine some more but the table runner I was so inspired to make didn't happen. The snowflakes wouldn't stitch out with the thread I wanted to use. I'll move on to something else. I did get the fabric for the pillow I want to make but it hasn't been washed yet. So, that project is on hold until then.

Work has kept me fairly busy for the past couple of weeks. I've been too tired to think about any projects or work on anything. However, today I was was energized to rearrange my sewing area. DH got me a 3-way mirror for Christmas and it needs to be mounted on the wall. The room where my sewing stuff is located is fairly large room but it is a busy room with my son's study area and the home office in there too. I moved the storage cabinets to the opposite side of the room on an unused wall. Moved the sewing table for the second time this year. Now, the wall where I wanted the mirror to be mounted is open. The room looks like a tornado has blown through it. I do think that it will take me many days to finish rearranging but the big pieces are done. I did get to handle and look at every piece of fabric I own. I honestly don't have too many pieces that are "What was I thinking?" material, but I do have a lot of items that were purchased with "working in an office" in mind. I still like getting dressed up but it is much more casual now.

I did a little bit of shoe shopping today. Here are my purchases: Zappos was happy to see me today. I love the red sandals and really hope that they fit when they arrive. The black shoes are just for when you need something a little bit dressy. We'll see if the low heel is a good idea. I generally wear shoes with about a 2" heel. I certainly don't need anything to make me feel short. Both my husband and my son are over the 6 foot mark and at just under 5'5", I don't know anything else to make me feel that way.

Oh, I did find some beautiful fabric for a tablecloth among my stash. It was a lovely deep green. I did want to make holiday tablecloths this month. Maybe I will be able to get to this by the end of the month. I also found the suede sherpa I was looking for. Oh, I have so many projects that I want to do. I wonder if my family will mind finding their own meals for the next month or so. LOL.

Happy Sewing!

Still rolling along...

Yep, today found me still happily working on my project. The pillow fabrics were washed and pressed today. Last night, I did a test run of the embroidery design and a loose weave fabric. I was happy with the way it turned out. Here's the design:

My test design looked very similar. This design is from Embroidery Library. I will be stitching this on a osnaburg fabric that has been stabilized. I just need to figure out the size of the pillow. Does anyone know how much room to leave around a design?

I couldn't resist going to JoAnn's today. I had a 10% off coupon and needed to get zippers for the pillows. I also picked up bells for another project and a pillow form for a neck roll. I didn't spend much but there wasn't really much a sale going on.

Oh, I've added a new project. I'm going to make a table runner and decorate it with snowflakes. I need to practice with the embroidery machine and this is perfect project to practice with. Now, I need to locate the snowflakes.

Happy Stitching!

It's 2012....Happy New Year!

Well, 2012 has me busy in my sewing room. I have promised myself that I'm going to sew at a minimum of every Friday night. It remains to be seen whether or not this will occur. I have finished one project that was started last year. The body pillow cover that I started sometime last fall is finished. I have now put the new comforter, pillow shams, and body pillow on the bed. A great way to start off the new year.

My first efforts this year are going to be to finish the decorative pillows to match the new comforter. The fabrics were washed today. Now, they need to be pressed. Then, I need to decide what type of pillows I want. I have three fabrics - 2 solids and 1 stripe. One pillow is going have a machine embroidery feature on it. I have picked out the design now I just need to play with the colors. I'll post pics when they are done.

The remaining projects for January are:

1. 2 Christmas tablecloths - I never seem to have enough tablecloths for the holidays and I really do like using them.

2. Silhouette Lana Jeans - I cut this out in November or December and never got back to it. I'm hoping they work out.

3. A knit top of some kind. There is a sew along starting at Stitcher's Guild and I think I'm going to try to sew along in an unofficial capacity. The sew along is for 1 top a month. I know it sounds doable but we'll see. I don't know what pattern I'll be using but I do think I'm going to use a cotton/lycra fabric that just arrived at my store.

Also, I started the year with purchasing some new patterns. There's a sale going on and I couldn't resist. Here's my purchases:


This is Vogue 8715. I'm specifically interested in this jacket shown above. This pattern also has the Custom Fit option which I'm hoping will help with any fit issues.

This is McCalls 6519. This pattern I'm interested in the the dress and the skirt. The short sleeve top might be of interest also.

This is Butterick 5429. I'm only interested in the short sleeve top on this pattern.

Well, that's it for now.

Happy Stitching!