Something Old, Something New

So a couple of weeks ago a found a pattern cabinet on Craigslist. The seller was a professional seamstress (Her husband added the lock bar as a precautionary measure for their children)

I've got it sitting in my garage. I just stripped all the lock hardware off and will clean it up on tomorrow. I've decided not to put the lock bar back on it; since there is no one here but me and my husband. And I know for a fact that he has no desire to "play" in my pattern cabinet, let alone my sewing room.

The toughest decision is what color to paint it. I've chosen a brown color. I tried to paint a small spot on the back of the cabinet to get a feel for the color, but I really couldn't tell much from it, so I'm going to step out on faith. The color I've chosen is a Rustoleum Hammered in a Brown.

I'm going to create a template, and put something like the word "Patterns" on the drawer where "McCall's" is. (Maybe my Cricut machine will come in handy from my Scrapbooking Supplies). So keep me in your thoughts as I embark on this task. I'll let you know how it goes.

Life Gets In The Way ....Sometimes

Well I haven't posted in quite some time. If there is one thing that can interfere with my sewing, its Life. But that's a good thing. During my time away:

• Spent a week with my son while he recovered from surgery.
• My son's fiance' graduated from law-school!
• My oldest son got married to a very nice young lady
• Helped my youngest son moved to his own apartment.
• Finally, finished up the spring semester... (more time to sew)
• Did a trip to Las Vegas for daughter's regional tournament... (Is there such a thing as being to old for Las Vegas? Just way too much happening on the strip for me... Can you say Sensory Overload!).
• My car, washer, and sewing table lift all decided to take a vacation in the same week!
• My parents celebrate their 50th anniversary this year!
• My daughter is home for the summer!
• Plus other things, way too many to make a complete list.

I did manage to keep sewing on the mind though...

• Attended Sewing Review PR. My first time, and won't be my last! Had lots of fun, and met other like minded sew-aholics.
• Helped some vintage sewing machines find homes (I won't admit publicly face-to-face that the home was mine). Got a black Singer 301 with case, and a Singer feather-weight.
• .

So now that Cassie has gotten her grove back what are my plans for sewing. Well I'm going to try to set a goal for each week.

This week its to learn to use some of the other functions in my serger. Can you believe, I've had my Serger for over 7 years. I used it mainly to finish seams and edge finishing so I just stuck with the basic overlock seams. I've got a Viking 936:

I've used the rolled hem function before, and used woolly nylon thread to finish the edges. But I've always stuck with a 3 or 4 thread overlock stitching to do so. Well my machine does so much more. It does 2,3,4,5, and coverstitch. And I haven't even touched the tip of the ice-berg as far as using its functionality.

A couple of months ago, my local sewing shop decided to no-longer sell viking machines, so all of the attachments were 50-75% off. So what does a good seamstress do? . . . . Well you purchase every single attachment they have that you don't already have. Attachments like:

• Bias Tape Foot
• Flat Lace Foot
• Pin Tuck Foot
• Edge Guide
• Piping Foot
• Gathering Foot
• Perl Foot

So as you can see, I have plenty of things to learn with to use with my serger......

Happy Sewing

Finally, The jeans are done (Almost).

Remember my frustration with the jeans, well I survived it. I had to walk away from them, and talk a breather. Turns out I had done exactly what Kelly had stated in her comment. I had added a 1" seam allowance on my pattern, but forgot and sewed it with the 3/8" that Jalie patterns use. I put those on the shelf for a moment, and started with a new cutting of jeans.


This time I used the correct seam allowance. The jeans fit really good when I got them completed. I had prewashed the fabric 2-3 times before I cut out the denim. Once I got the zipper and legs constructed. I decided to wash them a couple more times (3 more to be exact). Can you beleive they STILL SHRANK some more. Oh the joys of working with denim. The fit isn't bad for the first go around. Just need to do some twees in the side seam at the thigh hip area, and a little adjust ment at the crotch. This is the fit after all of those additional washings.


I went ahead and added the waist band and a hem. So the fit I think is still good after all that shrinkage!. I'm deciding if I want to do some additional fitting, or just adjust on a per jean basis. I don't think I'll ever get a perfect pattern that will work with with every type of denim fabric, since I've now confirmed for myself that denim, has a mind of its own!


I've still got the followings things to finish:

• add rivets
• add button on front
• add back pockets (waiting till I go to sewing group, so I can have someone help with the placement).

Below is a picture of the pocket that I'm going to be putting on them. I just used a decorative stitch from my 830. All of the top stitching is done in black upholstry thread. (I like it better than using actual topstitching thread, it just seems to stand out more).

Now if you're wondering why the picture of the shoe is on here. Well, I'm 6 feet tall. I'm one of those tall women that loves to wear a 3 inch heel most of the time. And since the last couple of jeans I made shrank in length quite a bit after a couple of washings. I decided I'd do my hem marking with my heels on and add a little extra (Hopefully these have been shrunk to the max with all the pre/post washing). So now if they shrink again, they'll be just the right length for flats!


Once I'm done with these, then I'll work on salvaging the first pair. I'll have plenty of motivation as it's supposed to be in the single digits here next week.

What else have I been working on? I decided to join the Vintage 2011 Sew-Along:

The pattern I have chosen to do is a Vintage Mccall Pattern 5483. The pattern I have is sized for a teen/junior, so I've graded up to my size. I'm doing the version with the slim skirt. I had a peice of black in my stash that I am going to use. I may as well try to make a dent in my fabric stach while I'm at it.

I've got the pattern graded up, and the muslin done. Now on to the sewing.....

Happy Sewing!

New Years, and "I don't like making Pants/Jeans"

OK, is it just me, or do I take this as a sign that I'm not supposed to make pants!

I just tried making Jalie's 968 jeans. Got the muslin all fitted, and even made a pair out of
some heavy twill I had gotten from Joann's just to check the fit. All looked well, so I went ahead and made them from actual Denim. Can you believe, the pants were too big! The actual pants were probably 2 sizes bigger than the fittings I did from Muslin and denim. I rechecked my muslin and my pattern. The fit was fine on the mulim, and the pattern matched the muslin. Not so sure why the final pair is bigger than the fittings.

Maybe its the fabric. My final pair is a denim. Could the difference in fabrics be the culprit? I guess I'll wait a while and retry the pants. In the meantime, I'm hoping a couple of washings will help with the situation. Anything is worth a try.

Oh how I wish could buy them off the rack sometimes.

By the way, HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone!

Blogger editor doesn't like me

Is it just me having problems with blogger?

Nothing posts the way that it types in the blogger edit window.

If anyone has any suggestions please pass them on

Why wait till Christmas?

I think Christmas should be celebrated year round when it comes to sewing. My kids and husband are always asking me what I want for Christmas, and then they append that with "It can't be sewing related, you need something different".






So I decided this year to get my own sewing gifts for Christmas, and since I'm doing it myself; I don't have to wait to Christmas.


So what did I get:

• A fabulous fit dressform,

As you can tell I'm still in the process of padding to my size. My instructor with my sewing group is going to help me with the padding to get it to more to my size in the hip area. (I'll have to post the pics once we get it customized, and tell you about my amazing sewing group!).

• A Singer 500A! Yes I needed this like I need 6 inch stilleto heels (if you didn't know I'm 6 feet tall).

I just fell in love with this machine earlier this year! It just looked so "space-agey". And me being a tech-geek, and sci-fi groupie, I just couldn't resist it.

1. I'm so excited! I also have a 401A that I found at a thrift store for $20. Both work excellent. I love the older ones for topstitching, and sewing heavy fabrics.

I've learned to keep one setup with topstitch thread at all times. (It's so great not to have to re-thread my machine just to topstitch).



My story to my husband will be that I rescued a machine from winding up on the streets. His take is "doesn't your other machine do everything that one does". But I feel I'm doing my little bit to make sure all the sewing machines in the world feel loved and wanted (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!).

• I got a Koala Treasure Chest Sewing studio with the extended height (YEA!). Its a dream come true for someone 6 feet tall. No more back ache from bending over. My sewing shop offered a very good discount, as they are replacing all of their Koala tables, and I didn't have to deal with the shipping fee they charge. It's made my sewing space look so much bigger.



• My best gift was that after attending the quilt show, my sister has now taken sewing lessons, and has joined the American Sewing Guild. Woo Hoo!!! Now me, my mom, and my sister are addicted to sewing. She's even set up her own sewing room! I told her now she can play with the "big dogs".

I'm working on a couple of projects and will post pictures over the next week.



Happy sewing everyone!

And what else did you do at the Quilt Festival

Glad you asked :)
We went back on Sunday after church for part 2. My mom found several fabrics with scriptures printed on it to use in her quilts.

I found the most amazing booth with vintage fabrics and even patterns. So of course I couldn't leave without getting a couple of them (BTW my sister also got a couple! - she's now determined to learn to sew.)



I also found these really neat fabric mini-bolts to help me organize my fabric stash (Yes, a seamstress can dream of organization; even though it may only be a dream). These are from a company called Polar Notions. It is designed for the quilter, but I've just done some of my other fabrics, and it freed up considerable space. I bought 20 each of the standard size (11" tall) and fat-quarter (5" tall) . The larger ones can hold up to 15 yds of quilt fabric. I hate to admit it, but my stash is to big, so I'll be ordering more
:

Oh and I met the author of the Fashionista Doll book. (I was star-struck again :) ). Needless to say my sister convinced me that she needed another doll to replace the one I made her many years ago. So I purchased the fabric to make one. I'm such a sucker when it comes to my sister!

We've decided to go again next year. Not only was the quilt conference fun, but it was great for just us girls to hang out.