Category: sewing

Caitlyn, sewing

Collaborations

 

We recently had some gift-giving occasions come up. I nudged Caitlyn a bit (“I bet Grandma would really like it if you made a little something for her…”), and then she surprised me with a request to borrow the fabric markers. We talked it back and forth a bit (“It would be weird to draw on a piece of fabric and then not turn it into something…”) before she settled on potholders/mug rugs. The results are almost all Caitlyn. She pressed the fabric; I cut the squares and marked seam allowances. She came up with and drew the designs. She …

sewing

Long overdue introduction

Check out what’s hanging out back there behind my sewing machine. Look out, world: I’ve got a serger now! Ok, I’ve had the serger since November. But with holidays and so forth, I didn’t get a chance to get to know it much. Now that I’ve finished my Tiramisu (pictures to come as soon as the sun comes back – Seattle is going from rain to fog and back again these days. I don’t mind the rain, but the fog is really wearing.), we’ve logged a little time together. I’m feeling pretty confident about the threading and about serging most …

sewing, Wardrobe Improvement Project

Sew Grateful and a Giveaway

 ,

It’s Sew Grateful Week! That means it was just about a year ago that I started looking around the internet for folks who sewed clothes for themselves. Not to knock the quilters I follow or those who sew kids’ fashion, it’s just that I want to also sew for me. I may not comment much, but I’m a regular lurker around My Happy Sewing Place, Four Square Walls, Cation Designs, Ginger Makes, and several other sites. I may be moving slowly on my own Wardrobe Improvement Project, but I’m pretty sure any forward progress at all is at least in …

sewing

Stashbusting with the Sewasauruses

 , ,

It’s only been recently that I’ve started to take seriously the challenge of “sewing down” the fabric stash. Several of last year’s projects have “use what you have” as part of their guidelines. I’ve used stash-fabric for many of my Sew.Quilt.Give. contributions. Throughout last year, I had the general goal of not buying lots of new fabric; I don’t know that I succeeded at this, since I have a teetering pile of “potential” clothes. Not buying more fabric is one thing. Using up the stuff on hand is another. I may have intentions to live lightly and not accumulate stuff, …

sewing, Wardrobe Improvement Project

Showtime

The official Tiramisu sewalong is all done. And after three muslins for the the bodice, I’m saying it’s time to do this thing for real. Not that I’m totally confident that I’ve got the fit “just right”. But I’m not sure I’m being realistic any more. The last time I had the latest muslin on, I noticed some wrinkling around the armscye area. Has it always been there? Is it supposed to do that? I might be starting to nit-pick, looking for flaws to adjust where there aren’t any. Besides, my muslin fabric is a bit different from the fabric …

sewing, Wardrobe Improvement Project

Over-Estimation and Frustration

After at least 3 hours yesterday working on my Tiramisu, I have nothing to show. I suppose I could post a photo of my abandoned muslins, but you can imagine a small pile of green fabric topped with some pieces of white-and-red stripe, both with lots of loose threads, right? It’ll have to do, since I don’t have the guts to post pictures of myself in ill-fitting muslins. Man, this has been frustrating. I’ve long thought of myself as a fairly solid intermediate when it comes to sewing. I’ve now come to the realization that drawstring bags, phone cozies, tangle …