Moving along slowly...

Yes, I have been working the fabric for the placemats/table runner. The fabric has been washed and pressed. In reading through the directions, it stated to use misty fuse. I have never used this particular product. So, off the nearest quilting store. They didn't have misty fuse either but they did suggest steam a seam 2. So, I purchased a 1/2 yard and looked around a little bit. Low and behold, I found my favorite sewing notion - Wonder Tape by Collins. I felt a little bit greedy in that I picked up 4 packages for my notions stash. I can't believe that this has been discontinued. If you have been looking for this notion, may be you will find it at your local quilting store also.

Tonight, I plan on cutting out the placemats, table runner, and ironing the interfacing onto the fabric for the shamrocks. DH is out of town so I will not have a lot to do tonight. So, I'm going to be productive and work on this project. I have decided that I will use my featherweight to sew everything together. My various machines need to be used from time to time and this will be a very good project to use that machine for.

Ok, I'm off to get the rotary cutter going. It should make quick work of cutting out the base fabric for the placemats and table runner.

Free time..

Today, I had about an hour of free time. This doesn't happen very often. I usually running hard and fast all day. So, I had a decision to make. Work in the store for an hour or do something sewing related. I chose the sewing related. Saturday, I had visited a new quilting store in my area and purchased a few yards of fabric. Ok, I admit it was a struggle to find anything in this brand new store. They had merchandise but it seemed "old". Not physically but the patterns. Hope that makes sense. So, I pulled out the fabric from that purchase and a Chez Ami (?) purchase, and serged the edges getting them ready for washing. Hopefully, I can do that tonight.

Destined to be swim trunks (brown /teal print) and a skirt (black & white check).


Destined to be placemats and table runner. Wonder if I can actually get it done before St Patrick's day? What do you think of the fabric?

Interesting Details

I enjoy looking at high-end clothing. Just to see the details. This skirt by Versace caught my attention today. No, I don't wear mini skirts. I'll let the 20 somethings do that. What caught my attention was the black stitching on the front of this skirt. Here's the link: http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod103500032&eItemId=prod100940004&cmCat=search&searchType=MAIN&parentId=&icid=&rte=%252Fsearch.jhtml%253FN%253D0%2526Ntt%253Dversace%252Bpink%252Bskirt%2526_requestid%253D18928

Really you need to zoom in and check out the stitching on the skirt. For $695.00, I think it would be very easy to duplicate the look of this skirt using decorative stitching on your sewing machine with a heavier decorative thread, then add some silver studs. I don't know it this would translate to an older woman's wardrobe but I really do like the detail on this skirt.

Hope you enjoy the inspiration.

Happy Sewing!

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)

What have I been sewing?

I haven't been sewing much. My store has been keeping me busy. So, I thought that I would share some of the items that I made in December.

Here's the Christmas napkins that I made in December:

The hardest part of these project was drawing the pattern. I was able to get 6 napkins from 2 yards of fabric and 2 packages of ric rac. I still have enough fabric left to make 6 more napkins. I have a matching fabric to make placemats. Of course, I just didn't find time before the holidays to get them finished. However, I have a till Thanksgiving to get them finished. Let's see if I can get them done.

I also made a little drawstring bag for my nephew:

I got the idea for this project from a sewing project that my son did at school. Yes, our school district has sewing classes for the 6th graders. Basically, it's a half a yard of fabric with 3 yards of cording. I had to change construction just a little bit because the fabric was directional. There are lots of freebie directions around on the internet for drawstring backpacks.

That's it for December sewing. I have started re-working my corduroy skirt. Let's see if I can finish it within the next week or so.

Happy Sewing!