Sewjo and The Mending Pile...

 In early July, I did a post on kick starting the sewjo by getting the mending done.  The mending pile turned out to be deeper than I remember but it is done and I am ready to sew.  Here is what I did:

1.  Mending a hole in a caftan.  This was just a simple repair with a light weight backing backing and thread.  All done by hand.

2.  Replaced elastic in 2 pair of pjs and 1 knit skirt.  Oh, how I hated removing all the stitches.  Replacing the elastic was very easy.

3.  Replace elastic in 2 slips.  I went the easy route here and just cut the elastic off.  Easy peasy mostly.  I couldn't find my lingerie elastic.  JoAnn Fabrics doesn't seem to carry lingerie elastic that will fit me anymore.  They're carrying a new brand that cuts the elastic to 30-inches instead of 36-inches.  I used a knit elastic to complete the project.

4.  Hemmed pants for my Mom.  This is not an enjoyable task for me.  I have no idea why I dislike this type of alteration but I do.  Love you, Mom.

5.  Mended a pair of jeans.  Did you know that mending a small one hole in a pair jeans can increase the life of the jeans by 6 or 7 years?  Now, I will admit that I do not care much about mending.  However, the quality of jeans just keep decreasing.  Some of the Levi's that I am repairing are 10 years old.  There is huge difference in the fabric from the older jeans to the newer jeans.  My guess is that even older jeans have a nicer quality of fabric.  

So the mending that I did, did do a kick start on the sewing mood.   Now, it is time to sew.  I may make a few items for hot weather but I suspect that I will start some cooler weather so I will have them ready to go. Maybe I will alternate between sewing warm weather clothes, cool weather clothes, and home dec.  That should keep things interesting.

Do you sew a head of the season?

Happy Stitching!

Sewjo Returning...

 It has been a long has been since the end of April since I have turned my sewing machines on.   The sewjo has been on a long vacation.  In an attempt to get things going again, I decided to start on the mending pile.  The pile includes many items:

1.  A pair of pants for my Mom that needs shortening.  I do this out of love and will only do this sort of alterations for family members.

2.  I made flannel pjs a couple of years ago.  The elastic just gave out on them.  So so much as I dislike this type of mending, I am going to replace the elastic.  Ugh!  A lot of time and effort went into making the pjs and generally they last a very long time.  This will be worth my time to replace the elastic even if I am ripping out stitch and serging.  There are two sets of pjs.

3.  A pair of jeans for my husband.  I actually do not mind this type of mending.  This is just a general hole repair and does not take long to do.

4.  Replace elastic on a few of my slips.

I think this all that is mending that is hanging out on my sewing table but who knows what else I may find in the pile.  Hopefully, I can get this done fairly quickly and this will really get the ole sewjo going.

Happy Stitching!

Stitching Again!

 It has been a long 6-7 weeks of not being able to sew because of my knee/knee brace.  However, the velcro on the knee brace needed replacing and it is hard to realize that a knee brace that costs just less than $1000 could not last through the time needed to wear it.  Yes, that meant that I was stitching without my brace on but I was very careful while I worked on the replacing the velcro on the knee brace.  

I can not express how happy it made me to be able to sit down at a machine and stitch.  Even if it was a repair.  Later in the day, I decided that I needed more time in front of the sewing machine.  Before my little accident, I was wanting to play with rope and had purchase 100 feet.  I had borrowed books from the library.  Then, accident, unable to sew, and books returned.  I did read through the books though.  So, here is my very first rope project - a little trivet:

I am so pleased with this little trivet.  Not sure exactly what size is but fit in the arm of my sewing machine so maybe 7-8 inches and I used 30 to 40 feet of rope.  I can see why this is so addictive.  It is easy sewing and can be very creative.  I used a natural cotton rope 3/8" with a natural cotton colored thread.  Image all the fun that can be had using different threads both solid and variegated. little bits of fabric, or even different colored ropes.  However, I can not let this enthusiasm take over from my list of projects but it will certainly have a place among the list of things to do as I can have fun.  Just so you know my list is rather fluid.  It has to be for me to enjoy what I am doing.  

Happy Stitching!