Technique For Hand Sewing Snaps...

One of the things that need to be considered for the Rhett jacket is finishing technique.  The jacket takes 3/4" buttons.  I am considering using snaps instead of buttons.   I was thinking that the Alabama Chanin way of hand sewing snaps would look interesting on the jacket.  I started looking for information on the technique for sewing the snaps on.  I really thought that it would be super easy to find and a tutorial could be found on the Alabama Chanin blog.  I was wrong.  Here is the information that has been found:

1.  Alabama Chanin Covered Snaps

2.  Alabama Chanin instructions on how to sew a snap on

The information from both of these posts may very well work for my jacket.  Let's see what happens when I get to the point where I can actually make a decision on this.   

Hope you found this information interesting.

Happy Stitching!

More Stitching....Dishcloths....

When we are traveling, I also try to have a project or two in the car with me.  It makes me feel productive while sitting those long hours.  The latest projects have been crocheted dishcloths.  Here are most of the ones made on the last trip:

I think this isn't too bad given that I got bored making these on the return trip.  I was a bit surprised that I had not made one of the dishcloths with the twist thread and a off-white trim but I still have more yarn and another trip.  I was also surprised that the one on the bottom was missing trim but that is easy to fix and I think it will be green twist.

Can you tell that the dishcloths are different sizes?  The pattern that I use as is is a bit on the large side and I prefer a smaller dishcloth.  The first one I did was about 3/4 of the size of the original.  I kept reducing from there until I got to where I thought it should be which ended up about 26 stitches.

The pattern that I used is Lily Sugar'n Cream Dishcloth and Pot Holder.  I'm sure you've guessed that the yarn is Lily Sugar'n Cream.  Generally, I always use the natural or the green twist.  It might be time to expand those color selections a bit. I have tried the scents yarn and it is truly smelly.

I'm sure my son will take most of the current batch of dishcloths.

Happy Stitching!

Stitching, Stitching, Stitching...Working on Scrubbies...

We've been traveling again and making scrubbies is a good way to pass time in the car. The original post on the scrubbie making was back in February.  That is when I cut 12 yards of netting.  ACK!  that was a lot of cutting.  Here's my accomplishment for this trip:

I was able to finish up the netting from a previous cutting session.  The scrubbies from that session are mostly gone.  Here's what is left from my pre-cut netting back:

I am half way done with this go round of netting.  I have many upcoming appointments and will be taking these with me to keep busy as I wait.  I'm sure I will still have some strips for the next trip also.  If not, hopefully, I will be able to come up with additional projects that can be worked in the car.  Maybe some crocheted dishcloths.   I still have several balls of cotton.

Do you crochet?  How about making the little scrubbies?

Happy Stitching!

Scrubbies...Ready, Set, Go...

The netting has arrived and have already been cut into strips:

Whew! cutting 12 yards of netting into 2" strips is hard work even a rotary cutter and rulers.  The blade on the rotary cutter was no longer sharp by the time I was done.  Of course it could have been on it's last legs before I started.

When did fabric.com start having minimums on the by-the-yard items?  That is how I ended up with so much netting.  One color was a minimum of 5 yards and the other was a minimum of 7 yards.  You'll find that with other fabrics as well.

Here's the strips combined and wound up, ready to start crocheting the scrubbies:

This is enough to do 39 scrubbies.  I now have something to keep me busy while on shorts trips or waiting on appointments for a while.

Have you ever made scrubbies?  If not, you should give it a try.  There are lots of scrubby patterns over on Ravelry.  Most of my family love getting the homemade scrubbies.  My son in particular likes to use the scrubbies.  Many of the scrubbies made with this batch of netting will end up at his new apartment (first) this spring.

Happy Stitching!

Still not sewing ..

I'm still not sewing any. However, I have been buying fabric. Am I the only person who does that? Buys fabric when they're not sewing. It is nice to see new fabrics from time to time.

I have been keeping very busy with my store. I've started receiving fabrics and that takes a little more time to deal with. Hope it goes well. I have been crocheting. About two years, I crocheted a string bag for shopping. However, I didn't particularly like bag. With the leftovers from this bag, I made one dishcloth. I may not have liked the bag but I loved the dishcloth and it turned out that my DH liked it, too. It finally wore out. So, in the evening for the past few weeks, I have been crocheting dishcloths. Lots of dishcloths! I think I'm up to 8 or 9 now. I've decided that I'm going to give some away to friends. Here's peek:


Certainly not anything fancy. Instructions right off the cotton ball. However, I do make them smaller than the directions. I made one that was full size and it's really hard to handle. The instructions state to start with 42 stitches and I'm using 32 stitches. Below are the different ones that I've made so far.

I really prefer the lighter colored yarns for this but as you can see I've been experimenting with various colors. It is very relaxing to create these in the evening. I've made so many that I don't need instructions now and I've reduced the time for each from 2 to 3 days to a couple of hours.
I've also been keeping busy the past few days with this:
Isn't it pretty? I love seeing the trees covered with snow. However, this was tooooo much snow. I think the area averaged 21". I measured in the middle of my driveway and it was 16". It took us 4 to 5 hours with breaks to clear the driveway and sidewalk. We are fortunate that we still have power but there were a couple of uh-oh moments.
As I look out the window now, I realize that that it has been snowing since noon and I need to go shovel the driveway again. I hope I can get it up and over the current mounds of snow that are already there.
Happy Sewing! (or just creating)