August Recap

In August, I decided I would challenge myself to make one garment a month, and though the challenge isn’t to start until this month (September), I came very close to having a garment done in August. I think I would have had it done, or at least close, if not for a problem I ran in to last night. I was serging the side and underarm seams last night and … I don’t know, my serger just went nuts. It was working beautifully and then all of a sudden, threads started to break and I broke a needle (NO clue how THAT happened). And now, I’m concerned that my shirt may be completely ruined. 😦  I had already re-threaded the machine like half a dozen times before the needle broke, and I’m not even sure where the broken part went (to be fair, I haven’t looked for it yet either). So today, I’ll get back in the studio, try to fix the machine and then try to salvage my shirt. I’m going to be VERY unhappy if my shirt is ruined because of this. It really makes me want to not use the serger anymore. /sigh

But, onward and upward. Today, whether I get the serger fixed or not, I’m going to finish cutting out my cardigan, and hopefully get it put together. The pattern instructions say that it can be made in an hour (ha. ha. hahahahahahahaha!), but not being a strong sewist, I’m pretty sure it will take me longer.

Other projects I have planned for future sewing include a coat for myself, a hoodie for my son, several t-shirts for me, and an attempt at a t-shirt for my husband. He’s a pretty big guy, so making a t-shirt for him will be a challenge, but I’m willing to try. Also, I bought some beautiful navy blue ponte knit this weekend that I want to use to make either some slacks for work, or maybe even a dress.

I also dyed a piece of fabric the other day using an ice-dye method that I just loved. It was so freakin’ easy … I’ll post some photos and directions on the process soon (my very first tutorial, perhaps?). This was a test piece to find out how it worked, and to prepare fabric for my first ever landscape quilt. I’ve always wanted to do one but never have had the confidence to jump in. Well, I guess something broke loose because now it’s pretty high on the priority list to just try it out.

In other news, there may be some decorating posts from me in the not too distant future, as I have decided on a new theme for my living area. I’m currently in the paint testing stage, and I’ve got my color chosen. Chris says it’s not a color at all, because it’s far too light to see a difference in it and the primer currently on the walls. I have decided to go with an off white or cream color for the living area because I don’t want to have to repaint again in a few years because I am tired of the color. This way, I can change themes and colors and decor without having to change the walls too. I really despise painting, so why not make it as easy as possible to avoid doing it again for as long as possible? I mean, I paint my walls a color and then in a couple of years, I’m tired of that color. The only color I currently have in my house that I don’t hate is a very light grey in the front room. It is so light, in fact, most people don’t realize it’s grey; they all think it’s an off white!

Well, I’m off to try to salvage the shirt now; wish me luck!

September is National Sewing Month

And while I don’t particularly need a designated month to set aside time to pursue my favorite hobby, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a reminder! Taking a glance at various local sewing shops, there are many classes being offered for beginners and vets alike this month. The internet is also a great place to start; just run a search on “sewing for beginners” and you’ll find hundreds of pages devoted to getting you moving down the right path to sewing nirvana. So if you’ve considered learning to sew, maybe this month is YOUR month to get out and find a class, or pick up a book and start learning.

That said, this month my goal is to try to get Heather’s quilt completed and to make a quilt for practicing free motion quilting. Further, I’d really like to get the serger running so I can use it to make myself some clothing. And finally, I’d like to get the Halloween top pieced that I’m working on. Although that may not sound like a lot of projects for an entire month, it seems like quite a bit to me, and I have my fingers crossed I can get through them all! Fortunately, I made excellent progress on Heather’s quilt yesterday so I am fairly confident it’s within my power to finish it this month.

I have made a pledge to try to sew at least a little bit each day for the remainder of NSM. I think it’s the only way I can get through all my projects in a reasonable amount of time.

For the record, I now know that National Photography Month is May, and I’ve already marked my calendar for that one in 2014. I didn’t know there was a National Photography Month until recently, when I googled it while pondering NSM. Yeah, that’s how I roll. 😉

In the Studio – Labor Day Weekend Edition

Last week, I decided that I am really sick of my current clothes and I want some new stuff. Now I am working to lose weight, and I am making progress – slowly. However, another season wearing all the same stuff just about put me over the edge, so I decided that I should take a look on the internet and see what kind of clothes are trending right now. Of course, after seeing some of the prices, I decided the better idea would be to pull something nice out of my stash and throw something together for the office. A skirt, maybe (although I haven’t worn one in about 10 years) or a pair of pants … I just think that skirts and dresses look very professional, and I think it’s time I start wearing them on occasion again. And as they say, you should dress for the job you want, not the job you have. My wardrobe could use some work for the job I have, and I don’t know what job I want but I do believe that I should get some new stuff in my closet. It’s just that I’m unwilling to spend $200 for a single dress that’s supposed to be “career wear.” For that price, it better make me look damned good AND pack my lunch for me every day. Since I know it won’t … time to turn to the sewing machine.

There was just one problem – I don’t particularly care for the look or feel of unfinished seams, and I didn’t have serger, having sold mine in the Great Denial Movement of 2012. But I knew someone who DID have a spare serger, just sitting around, doing nothing. So I called my mom and told her I was on my way to liberate the serger and her quilting machine & frame set up and she said, Sure, come on over! I’ll have it all ready to go when you get here. Orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr … I might not have mentioned the quilting set up when I said I was going to liberate the serger. I can’t really remember, but I do know that I hopped in the car with my husband and son in tow (who wants to drive through Houston rush hour traffic on a Wednesday evening alone?) and we set off to grandma’s house, through bad traffic and over passes, or something like that. When we arrived, my mom had pulled out the serger and some foot attachments and the owner’s manual. She even let me bring them home with me, but she wouldn’t even let me go LOOK at her quilting set up, probably because she was afraid I would abscond with it. She’s a pretty smart woman sometimes, my mom.

 

And then we sat around and talked for a little while. My “little” sister came in while we were there, and we sat around and talked and laughed a bit. She accused our mom of being mean to our dad and pretended to take up for him, and we laughed some more, and then I realized we had left a roast in the oven, and we still have more than an hour’s drive to get back home, so we left. It wasn’t until we got home and brought the serger into the house that I realized … Mom didn’t give me the FOOT PEDAL and power cord that goes along with it!! So on Saturday, I had to go over and pick it up. I figured since I was going to be over there anyway, I might as well go check out my two favorite shops in all of Houston – the Painted Pony in La Porte, and Sew Contempo down in Clear Lake. I don’t know if Clear Lake is really down from anywhere, but my entire life, we’ve always said “down in Clear Lake” about anything that is in that general direction. I lived down in Clear Lake for a year! It didn’t seem any further down than anywhere else I’ve ever been, but you know, who am I to question it? It’s a bit like asking a Southerner “How far is it?” Let me just tell you, if you don’t already know … It’s ALWAYS going to be “Just over  yonder” or “just over the hill.” I spent my entire childhood going “just over the hill” with my aunt during the summer, even if it was 100 miles to wherever we were going.

Anyway, I saw lots of stuff in both places, but I really only purchased some Isacord thread from Sew Contempo because I have enough fabric for about 15 quilts right now, and I was only interested in some autumn fabric that no one seems to have locally. I bought four spools on the recommendation of Leah Day at the Free Motion Quilting Project. She said it’s what she always uses because it doesn’t break as easily as cotton, so I thought I’d give it a try. I mean, why not, right? I’ve had the problem several times with Ricco, so I figured that it couldn’t hurt to try it out. I was pretty impressed because there’s about a bazillion colors, and I am all about color. I also went to JoAnn’s to buy some serger thread because, duh! Stupid me, I gave all of mine away to the woman who bought my serger last year. I bought all sorts of colors because JoAnn’s had it on sale for $1 each, plus a 15% off coupon. So I got $3 cones of thread for $0.85 each. I mean, who can argue with that??

I didn’t really get a lot of time in the studio because I was busy with other things, but I did set aside all day Monday to work on Heather’s quilt and I have to say that I’m pleased with the progress. Most of the large squares are done – I think I have two more left. Then a couple of corrections to the first set of squares I put together, and the nine patches that are being used as setting squares need to be done, and then maybe I can start putting together the quilt top and have it done by next weekend. That might be a bit ambitious, but we’ll see how it goes. I’ll post photos of my progress so far and a discussion of a problem I encountered for WIP Wednesday.