Tag: sewing

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Progress!

It has been a busy week or two or is it three since I started the challenge?  Ok, I checked back and I started on Jan. 17. It has been 2 1/2 weeks or 19 days!

In that time I have finished 24 items! Yay! (As of right now, today)

I have written 2 new patterns and listed them on both Craftsy and Etsy.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/178258980/crochet-fingerless-gloves-pattern-pdf

aqua fingerless glove

https://www.etsy.com/listing/177236880/crochet-blanket-pattern-or-crochet

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I have finished two major projects: the repairs on Kathryn’s quilt and the blue, white, red and grey crochet blanket

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I have finished a bundle of little things, including 3 scarves, 5 headbands, and 2 purses.

How do I feel about the 100 item in 100 days Challenge?  I feel pretty good about it, but I feel a little pressured. I have started some new projects but they are going to take some time to finish them.  So, I am not sure if I can finish as quickly as I want to finish. My projected finish date was about April 28 or 29, if I complete one a day! Hmmm…

I really would like to finish up sooner than that. I have some shopping I want to do!=0)

 

Talk to you later,

Karen

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#11, #12

Confession time

The quilt is quietly killing me. Well, not very quietly, I must admit that there is a certain amount of huffing and puffing as I haul that quilt around, between and through the sewing machine. If you add in the fact that my sewing machine isn’t quite happy to be sewing right now, then you can guess what I am going to say next. After fussing about it to myself anyone who will listen, I moved on to crocheting, and modge podging. Something that will actually allow me to complete a project. These photos are just quickie phone photos but they get the job done.

I found this pattern here and it is wonderful.

http://www.creativejewishmom.com/2011/11/crocheted-skinny-scalloped-scarf.html

I also decoupaged some tea boxes with fabric as I was needing some drawer organizers.

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Here they are drying.

 

Talk to you later, My FIL just arrived for lunch!

Karen

p.s. I am in deep trouble. My father in law brought four more tubs of fabric from my mother in law’s stash. oh wow. He said I could make 100 more items…!

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Love’s Labor

There are certain rules that should be followed when sewing a quilt.

1. Always use a quality cotton fabric as the backing, never a twin sheet.  A twin sheet might be cheaper but you get what you pay for.

2. Always use fabric of about the same quality.

3. Always quilt the quilt as close as the label says you should.

4. Do not use Rayon thread as any of the decorative stitching, because rayon deteriorates quickly when washed repeatedly.

How do I know all of these things, because I once did all of these on one quilt. It became THE quilt to my daughter and now all of my errors and tightwaded-ness are haunting me. I took it down out  of the top of her closet to repair it. When I  saw how much repairing it needed I almost gave up, but she loves it. So it is worth saving. I have given it a new backing, new batting, patched all the holes, and it is slowly coming together. Basting it all together on the floor about killed me but it is reconstructing slowly. That really does look beautiful from a photograph but is quite the nightmare to sew on. Some of the fabric wasn’t cut on the grain and stretched. Some of it was a good quality and some wasn’t and you can now tell. So, it is rather wibbly wobbly in places. I don’t think she will care, if it isn’t perfect.

2014-01-28 16.08.35I have been wrestling it for two days and I am no where close to being finished with it, to top it all off my sewing machine is acting up. I am taking a break right now. I have ordered a new bobbin case. I hope that solves the problem but this repair is taking longer than I thought it would!

Talk to you later,

Karen

P.S. This is #10

 

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Use Your Stash Challenge #6,

Here are numbers 6, 7,  and 8!

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I love this purse. It has such a clean classic look to it! I had everything I needed to make this from my stash including the lining and the snap closure.

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There is the tiny smidge of yarn I used to create the rose leaves!

Talk to you later,

Karen

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#2 out of 100 Crochet Headband with flower

I am using an odd yarn ball of chunky wool blend yarn. It is washable so if it ends up in a pocket it won’t get felted in the washer.

I am using a light lavender to crochet the rose for the headband.

This is the pattern that I am using for the rose..

http://jasminblancboutique.blogspot.com/2012/09/tea-rose-brooch-tutorial-free-crochet.html

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The headband and the beginning of the rose.

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There it is! Two completed now only ninety eight to go! My daughter loves this and it fits quite well.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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#1 out of 100 projects from my Supply Stash!

Here is my first project for the 100 things from my stash challenge.

Honestly, I had started this before I started the challenge and I have been working on it off and on for several days. Here  are some photos of the beginning of the project. I was inspired by different photos on Pinterest and blogs that I read. I try to decorate a little for each of the different holidays but I was wanting something new.

This vase with flowers and sticks is from http://mijnindiansummer.blogspot.nl/2013/02/vintage-altijd-bloeiende-bloemen.html.

Michaels version of sticks in a jar.  http://www.pinterest.com/pin/364158319839146292/

So I started with the sticks in a jar.

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Ok, a little reality here. The sticks are from  my yard. The curly ones are honeysuckle vines that came down in the storm. The jar is an old spaghetti sauce jar that someone felt we needed to keep. The plaster of paris holding the sticks upright in the jar is leftover from some school or scout project. The crochet is made up from the tiny balls of yarn and some granny square extras left over from a blanket. I painted the sticks in about ten minute sessions over a couple of days. So, it wasn’t a big time waster.

 

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The felt hearts I had made up about six years ago to put in a bowl on the same table. They simply looked awful and I put them in a zipper bag and forgot about them. Originally they were simply one color of felt on the front and looked blah. Quite frankly, the felt was collected over the years. Some of the felt, I used in grade school. My Mom gave it back to me when the girls were in scouts.

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I pulled out my embroidery floss and felt bits. I  used the floss bits that I were too short to keep. No, really I had a bunch of bits and pieces of floss that were already separated and cut from the skein.

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I used my infinite supply of buttons too small to use on anything on the front and sometimes the back to add a bit of interest and sparkle. It has turned out better than I expected.

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Here it is finished and ready for Valentine’s Day!

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Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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Basket Liner Tutorial

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This isn’t a step by step How-To with pattern pieces. I will show you how to measure your basket to get some approximate measurements so you can make a basket liner for your baskets at home.

I have a large wicker basket that I dearly love. It holds my yarn quite nicely. It holds a bunch of yarn and then fits under my coffee table, but it snags my yarn. I received my Michael’s sales flier by e-mail today and noticed the lovely things for organizing your home. It is January and I do have the organizing bug. So, making use of what I have and improving something I already own is a huge money saver.2014-01-06 14.40.46I have some beautiful fabric that my Mom gave me. In fact I recovered my ironing board with it. I love it. It is bright and cheerful without being in your face.

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I cut this pattern from a left over piece of wrapping paper. I put the basket down and drew around it. This is the bottom.

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Then I placed the base of the basket liner in the bottom of the basket and did some trimming to make it fit a little better. 2014-01-06 14.46.28

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Here you can see that it fits better but seems to not be the same shape. So I folded the bottom in half and trimmed the extra off.

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Here you can see that I am getting ready to cut out the base piece out of fabric. I left 1/4 inch seam allowance all the way around the base.

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I laid the basket on its side and rolled it from one side to the other as I drew the pattern of the side. 2014-01-06 14.50.31

Then I placed it up against the inside of the basket. I left extra at either end but trimmed the side a little bit.

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I cut the fold over cuff. I didn’t measure and I didn’t have a pattern piece for this part. I did lay one piece on top of the other and cut the three of them all the same size. I know that I probably won’t need that much extra but you never know.

 

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I sewed one side seam of the basket sides and then matched up the sides to the bottom part of the liner. I sewed them right sides together.

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I placed the liner in the basket to see if it fit. It does

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There is a pleat at one of the ends of the basket liner and I left one side seam unsewn. I then folded the cuff in two and sewed two of the pieces together. I then matched up the edges and sewed the sides of the basket and the cuff together. It wasn’t too difficult and yes, I did not use pins!

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When I was finished one side seam of the basket liner wasn’t completed. I placed the liner in the basket to see if it would fit. It didn’t quite fit. It needs another two to three inches. So, I added a Gusset!

Here is the definition of a gusset from the free online dictionary.

gus·set  (gst)

n.

1. A triangular insert, as in the seam of a garment, for added strength or expansion.
2. A triangular metal bracket used to strengthen a joist.
3. A piece of mail or plate armor protecting the joints in a suit of armor.
[Middle English, from Old French gousset, perhaps diminutive of gousse, pod, husk.]

 

I could see that I would need to add a triangular piece of fabric into the side or gusset and that it needed to have the cuff on the top as well.

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I added the gusset in and the basket liner fits pretty good.

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The photo directly above shows you the gusset. I like it and it works great!  I saved money and used what I had on hand to improve my organization in my house. Actually, to make it easier to crochet or knit. The basket holds about 20 balls of yarn and fits under my coffee table which makes it easier for people to walk around when I am not using the yarn (which is hardly ever)!

Thanks,

Karen

 

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January 7, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

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The weather was bitterly cold for our part of the world. Oklahoma is not known for the temperatures in the teens. The snow is pretty but under the snow is a nice coating of ice.

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This is the view off of my front porch.

2014-01-06 11.47.19Here is the back deck and yard. The ice isn’t as bad as it was last time but it is colder.

I stayed in and thought about goals, deadlines, chores and menus. Then I thought of this!

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Yes, I am procrastinating on my cleaning! A basket liner for my favorite large yarn basket. It has turned out better than I thought.  Why is it that the New Year starts and we all get the organizing bug! Anyway this isn’t much of a tutorial more of a how to do it  yourself for your basket. The tutorial will come tomorrow.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

 

 

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Owl Applique

I have been working on owls lately and decided to make an applique for free download.   This tutorial is photo rich as I feel that one picture is worth more than one thousand of my words and probably much clearer as well. This owl is simplified and  super easy for beginner applique seamstresses. You can use this as a patch on a blanket, pillow, pants, where ever you decide to use it.

I put my owl on a cross body bag for my daughter. It is a perfect size for her phone, glasses, a pen and anything else she wants to carry. It has a zipper on the top and a strap that can be used several different ways. I used up-cycled denim, fabric scraps and  some jelly roll strips and a remnant for the lining. There will be a tutorial for the bag later.

Cut out your pattern pieces. Pin them to the fabric of your choice and then cut them out.

 

You can use a fusible web tape  behind each piece to keep it aligned. I didn’t do this as I used pins and it isn’t rocket science.  The background is a 4  x 6 piece of recycled denim.

 

Center your body onto the background fabric. Pin it to keep it straight.

Here are the wings, and eye patch cut out.

You will need to adjust the settings on your sewing machine. Mine has a button to keep the needle down when the machine stops stitching. You will want to do this either manually or simply push the button.

Change your stitch to the blanket stitch. You also need to change the stitch width. I put my stitch width to about a 2.5 or 3.  

Position your needle at the edge of the body shape so that the straight stitch will be on the denim or background fabric. The blanket part of the stitch will be into the body of the owl.

See that little bit where my attention wandered.  Thankfully it fits under a wing and I don’t feel any compulsion to rip it out and start over.

Ahh, this is the right way to sew it.

One wing placed, pinned and sewn… and now to the other.

Pin all your pattern pieces together so you don’t lose any.

Place the beak and pin it like so. Sew down one side and then move the pin to the last edge you will sew. I simply leave the needle down and lift the pressure foot and rotate the  whole thing until it lines up where I need to sew. Then put the pressure foot back down.

Like so!

See the beak is finished and now we add the eye patch.

See how the pin is in the fabric. I will be able to sew two directions  and leave that pin in for most of it. Treat the eye patch like a box shape when you are sewing and it will be easier. There is a bunch of sew,stop, leave the needle down, lift the pressure foot, and turn to this part.

Now your Owl is finished except for his eyes. I sewed the eyes on at the very end of making the purse/bag.

Isn’t he cute. I know that the sewing purists in you would say. Where is the interfacing and the stabilizer? My thought is:  I made this for a teenager. In two months or less she will probably not be using it as she will want something else.  I can always make her another. If I wait until I have all of the things needed to sew, I would never sew. This isn’t rocket science or even an entry to the fair. It is a bag for my girl. i learn something every time I sew and I am getting better at it everyday.

talk to you later,

P.S. She loves it!

Karen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Monday Goals

When I list out my goals it tends to look a lot like a To-Do list of a type A incredibly organized person. I have needed to scale back on my To-Do lists and just write the most important items down.

Family

1. Make cookies with the kids

2. Pick up the college girl for Christmas break

3. Take youngest DS driving so he can get his license

4. Bake Banana bread

Home

1. Do a basic clean sweep of the house.

2  Organize the Laundry room

3. Touch up the paint in my bathroom

Studio

1. Get shipping ready every day

2. Pick up the clutter in the studio

3. Work on custom orders every night

Personal

1. Water Aerobics once this week

2. Read pinned information about blogging

3. Complete devotional times

4. Plan 2 Christmas dinners….and see what needs to be done!

5. Complete Christmas shopping

6. wrap gifts

Ok, I just need to stop. This list is huge already and I keep tacking things on.