4.2 Entertainment - Fix It!

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined them chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the second day of the month is "Entertainment." 

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My general rule of thumb is that if something is bothering me every day, I need to fix it. This is big things (I'm unhappy with my work situation) or small things (there was a stupid piece of trim in our dining room that was missing for years and it bothered me because I looked at it every time I ate in my seat at the table).  I am a natural complainer, but I'm also someone who realizes that no one cares about what I'm complaining about as much as I do, so if it's annoying, I have to be proactive and fix it. 

Years ago I made a grocery bag holder and we use it a fair amount. Stitches had fallen out and the ribbon I'd used to hang it had become so wrapped on the knob that when I removed it today, I had to use a knife. It was still technically usable, but its faults bothered me enough that I decided to replace it.

It had been a hot minute since I'd busted out my trusty old sewing machine, but I looked up a quick tutorial and decided I could spend an hour or so on this project. The thing is that the room with sewing machine in it has mostly been used as an exercise room recently, so I had to work around the weights and bench. The description of the project said it should take 15-20 minutes, but it took me closer to an hour. Honestly, it took me 15-20 minutes just to set up my ironing board, sewing machine, and cut the fabric. I'm definitely out of practice!

This particular project required very little in the way of materials:

1 large, rectangular piece of fabric (mine is 18" x 20'')
1 smaller, rectangular piece of fabric (mine is 2" x 10")
2 pieces of elastic (mine were 5" each, next time I might go up to 6")
Thread
A couple of safety pins are useful

And then it magically turned into a replacement bag holder. It feels like a big upgrade.

Have you made something recently? What's your latest creative endeavor?

2018 Sewing Project #1: The Dress is Done

I've literally been working on this dress for years. In a matter of about four hours (only FOUR), I managed to finish it.

I was doing the New Look pattern 6095 because it was marked "easy" (and it was!), it was cheap, and there was an option of a dress with sleeves. I did version A with the sleeves of D. 

The sleeves were not that bad. I actually got stuck on the sleeves step and once I just sat down and sewed it, it turned out that I was making the whole thing into way more of a process than it actually was.  

The final product is way too big on me, which indicates that either my measurements were off or that I was too generous in my cutting of the pattern. The neckline is also way too much of a boat for me. I guess the picture on the pattern indicates that, but I didn't really pay attention. I will definitely be looking for more of a scoop, crew, or square neckline. It's also way too long. Even for someone who is as modest as I am about hemlines, this is ridiculous. It's all really good to know and I'll keep all of this in mind when I am making future dresses. 

I'm keeping this in the closet with the hope that someday I'll be able to alter the dress to make it wearable.  In the meantime, I'm checking this off the list.

January Sewing Project

I'm not going to lie. I've done this project several times before. But I've finally mastered it! I'm sorry to all those people who've gotten inferior baby presents, but this time, this baby is getting quality.

I got this pattern from One Yard Wonders and I keep using it because it just turns out right each time. There's a tactile blanket, a bib, and a drawstring bag. It's pretty boss, if I can be allowed to compliment myself. The flannel giraffe print was too cute to pass up when it was on clearance at Jo-Ann Fabric ($2.79 a yard with limited availability - go get some now!!).

I combined the striped and giraffe prints with this adorable monster print (keeping orange as the thematic color) and made a cube. I got this pattern from Handmade for Baby, but if I'm being 100% honest, the directions are almost worthless. I've only figured out how to make this with lots of trial and error and hours watching YouTube videos.  I also make my cube about 50% larger than the original pattern recommends.

I'm going to guess this cost about $30 altogether. Most of that cost was in fabric, a few bucks was on thread, the polyfill for the cube was $3 on sale, and I had scraps of ribbon for the blanket, so that was negligible. It took me about six or seven hours to do all together.

I'm also working on a dress I've been working on since November or so. I vow that it will be done by the end of February, so if you're looking for me between now and March 1, I'll be hunched over my ironing board and sewing machine. 

Project Quilt: Completed

Part I and Part II of the saga of the quilt.

I went to my quilting class on Tuesday night without a clear expectation of what exactly was next since I had quilted the top, batting, and back together. It turns out that I had to cut the binding pieces, piece it, and then put the binding on the quilt to finish it. I did not finish in class, but rather I finished it in a frenzy of obscenities and cat frightening seam ripping on Friday afternoon.

Unfortunately, it was in the 50s and 60s over the weekend, so we don't actually need a quilt right now, but you better believe we're going to leave it on the couch to gather cat fur BECAUSE I CAN.

Here's the cost:
$45 for the cost of the class at my local quilting shop
$13.88 for the piecing foot
$59.10 for the fabric on the front of the quilt and a spool of thread
$7.97 for an additional spool of thread
$59.15 for the fabric I used on the back and on the binding and the batting
$11.95 for safety pins and one more spool of thread
$25.08 for the even feed foot

Total: $222.13

If I take out the cost of the class (as if I ever would have done this on my own! ha!) and the cost of the feet, which I will presumably not have to purchase again, it's $138.17.

And hours and hours and hours of frustration and annoyance. I'd estimate it was about 40 hours, maybe off a couple of hours on either side.

I'm not sure quilting is the hobby for me, but I'm glad I did it and took out some of the mystery involved. 

Quick Tossed Ribbon Quilt, Part II

Since I have been pretty much working on this quilt non-stop, I sort of thought it had taken over my blog, as well.  But other than a quick update as part of a larger post, I've only had one post on it. So here's the update. IT'S TAKING OVER MY LIFE. Every available minute of every day that I'm not working, exercising, cooking, eating, or sleeping, I'm doing something with this thing.  I don't know if quilting is a hobby that works for me.

When we last left, I had sewn all the squares and had begun putting them together in a four by four square. Once I did that, I selected a fabric for the backing and then the basting process began.

Basting essentially means somehow keeping all the pieces of the quilt - the front, the back, and the batting in the middle - together for the sewing process. I opted to basically just use a bunch of safety pins to pin everything together.

And so since this happened three weeks ago, I've been actually quilting, which means I've been sewing these pieces together. I've been loosely following the brown trapezoids as I've quilted.  I have one more week to finish the quilting AND THEN I STILL HAVE TO BIND AND FINISH THE STUPID THING.  I had no idea it would take this long when I started.

Give me patience so that I don't end up crumpling it up in the corner and just leave it there. 

Quick Tossed Ribbon Quilt #1, Part One

There's a quilt shop in our town that holds regular quilting classes. I opted to take this class instead of another garment making class mostly because I didn't want to have to drive fifty miles to Madison each week during the winter.  Last night I went to my first class. It's a beginning quilting class and she uses the easiest pattern ever, a quick tossed ribbon quilt pattern.  I'm starting to understand that "quick" is relative in quilting, but I'm a willing pupil.

Step 1 (last week of December): I went into the store to talk to the lady (hi Cheryl!) and bought a quarter-inch foot for my machine.  She told me to think about what colors I wanted. 

Step 2 (first week in January): Color about two dozen sample squares. Think about colors.

Step 3 (last week): I bought some fabric (and much less exciting thread).

Step 4 (last night): Go to class. Cut squares. I actually am only halfway through the cutting of the squares process - guess what I'm doing tonight?  - okay fine, I'm going to watch American Idol* tonight, but I'm going to cut some more squares tomorrow. I promise.

Step 5 (last night in class): Construct (actually sew!) one complete quilt square.

Step 6 (to be done in the next month before the next class): I need to finish cutting those squares and then piece together fifteen more of those quilt squares. Ooookay. That seems ambitious. I'll keep you up on progress.

*What do you think about American Idol?  I stopped watching about season fourish, tuned in briefly to lose all my illusions about how awesome Steven Tyler is (seriously, that was a BAD career move for him), and now I'm back for the last season because I am a nostalgic person. I LIKE all three current judges, but I miss the shattering of lifelong dreams that were the hallmark of the original auditions. I liked the dissension among the judges. I really just want Simon, Paula, and Randy back, I guess. (I DO like the current panel, but they're just so NICE.)

Recent Sewing Projects

One of my co-worker's wives has been pregnant for approximately two years. My co-worker showed us pictures of the nursery and they chose a dragon theme. I immediately decided that I wanted to sew them some dragon stuff.

I visited my mom in Michigan in October and we searched high and low for dragon fabric. We went to about seven stores and while I did buy lots and lots of OTHER things, I did not find dragon fabric. So I went online to Spoonflower and bought a yard of the "cute baby dragon fantasy for boys woodland" print, even though I was pretty upset that it said it was for boys. I kind of think girls would get into it, too. I used it as the main fabric for a bib, blanket, and bag (with a flannel fabric on the back).

I also got some hilarious Game of Thrones dragon fabric and I used it to make a cube, along with some black fleece I had lying around. All in all, it was pretty fun, although I am still surprised by the fact that dragon fabric is not readily available!

We're going to be throwing some shindigs in the next couple of weeks, so I also invested in some holiday themed fabric and made eight napkins (four of each fabric). I thought this project would take a couple of hours and it ended up taking approximately a million, so if you ever think you'll just whip some napkins out, make sure you reconsider your timeline.

And that is the that in my world. I'll be putting together some gift lists in the next couple of weeks and desperately trying to make sure my own Amazon wishlist is holiday ready!

Sewing Class - Tote Bag

For the last couple of months, I've been taking a sewing class once a week through the continuing education program at a local community college. The three hour classes were structured so that we spent 30 - 45 minutes at the beginning of class talking about some fundamental sewing technique and then we'd use that technique to make a tote bag.

Here's the end result. I think it looks pretty nice. We used interfacing on the body of the bag and on the pockets and I think that it created some bubbles I'm not super crazy about, but that's because I'm a bit picky.

I didn't take an interior shot of this one, but you can kind of see that my lining is a light turquoise with white polka dots if you look closely by the pull tab of the zipper.

So that's the one I did during class. Since I believe in the power of homework, I gave myself homework in the form of using the same pattern on a tote bag at home. Here's how that one turned out.

I think I should have used the light blue as the base for the bag and the flowers for the pockets, but I guess you can't go undoing your fabric choices when you realize you're not super crazy about the color.

You can't really tell, but the lining has pockets! I customized a tiny little pocket for Blistex tubes!

I'm currently taking the next class in the series. I got to pick my own project and I'm working on a wrap skirt (wrap skirts require So. Much. Fabric.) with a lining and pockets. I'll keep you posted.

Mission Organization: Sewing

My birthday was last weekend and part of my present from my husband was this:

Yay!  A cutting board and a clear quilter's ruler!  He also got me a rotary cutter and I now have all the basic equipment needed for a six-week sewing class I'm going to be starting in less than a month. 

I've been knocking around the idea of taking a multi-week class for a while. I've taken one-time classes here and there and I think I have an idea of what I'm doing in general, but my foundational skills are kind of lacking. I'm hoping that taking this class will encourage me to tackle more challenging sewing projects and help me be successful at them!

I have a tiny corner of our bedroom to store my sewing supplies and things were out of control. I had bags of thread, ribbon in every nook and cranny, and fabric crammed into a cupboard with no sense of organization.

So, I got down to the business of figuring out how to corral everything into a small space.

The first thing I did was collect all my elastic, rickrack, and ribbon and put it all in one place - this adorable ruler box (also a present from my husband - apparently I buy nothing for myself). Note to self: stop buying ribbon no matter how inexpensive it may be in the clearance bin.

Then I went through my fabric, folded it, and stuffed it back into the tiny cupboard. The thing is, I've been collecting bits and pieces of fabric from my life for years in the hopes of making a tshirt quilt, even though I don't have the actual skill set to do so. After some basic sewing classes and a quilting class, I'm hoping I will be able to get rid of most of the tshirts, pajama pants, and assorted other non-wearable, but memory-filled clothing items at the bottom of this cupboard.

I had to deal with the thread, so a trip to The Container Store yielded me a clear storage bin designed for spools!

 I have my mandatory jar full of buttons, of course.

And a bag for everything else: seam ripper, needles, fabric shears, sewing gauge, and all the rest.

I have devoted one shelf of a bookcase to sewing books, patterns, and a notebook that I hope will be filled with useful hints and tricks after this class I take, too.

And then there's the suitcase.

I went a consignment shop in Columbus when I was with Bestest Friend and fell in love with this orange-y red Samsonite suitcase and I snatched it up for the bargain basement price of $32. I would have paid twice that and it may be the start of a love affair between me and old luggage.

The inside is in pretty good shape. There's a tiny bit of water damage, but it's mostly awesome.

I'm totally using this to take all my fabric and notions back and forth with me to my class. I'll carry my sewing machine in one hand and my orange Samsonite in the other and be the happiest girl in the world.

And now my world of sewing is organized. I just need to actually make something.

Textile Discount Outlet - Chicago, IL

Dr. BB and I spent a couple of days in Chicago last week. A high priority that was on my list of things to do was go to the Textile Discount Outlet at 2121 W. 21st Avenue.

I've written about how I'm learning how to sew here before, so that's nothing new to you. But the thing is that I'm not very good and fabric is kind of expensive. You can get patterns on sale with some regularity (on Memorial Day, Jo-Ann Fabric had Simplicity patterns for $1/piece!), but getting decent fabric at places like that can be expensive. It's hard to work with inexpensive, flimsy fabric and I'm just not at that skill level yet. I don't need the best fabric, but I do need some level of quality and I  don't want to break the bank if I have to end up throwing away something because I still kind of suck a little bit.

So this place is a giant warehouse of fabrics, textile, and notions including zippers, cords, ribbons, and assorted beads, hooks, and loops.  But I had read such mixed reviews about it on the internet that I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  Here's the scoop.

There were three main types of clientele there when I was there on a Thursday morning: women and girls buying fabric to make quinceanera dresses, gay men, and mostly white women who seemed to be delighted at finding such awesome deals. I'll leave you to figure out which group I immediately wanted to be a part of and which group I actually was a part of.  Anyway, the place was not packed, but it was quite busy, especially for what was the middle of a work week.

Pros:
1) It's giant. There are five or six HUGE rooms on each of three floors. If you don't see something you fall in love with here, you are a different kind of person than I am.

2) You can haggle at the cutting table. I got some cream-colored fabric that was stained and they knocked down the price for me right there when I asked.

3) The prices are crazy cheap. I had a bolt in my hands that was originally priced at $21.99/yard that was selling for $5.99/yard.

4) There is quality stuff here. You might have dig, but I saw some nice fabric still in the original cellophane wrapping at hugely discounted prices.

5) The experience of wandering around with other slightly mystified shoppers cannot be underestimated. I was on the top floor when these two ladies started Marco Polo to find one another. I heard one lady yell "I'm heading east" to another as they split up. I think going shopping at a place like this with someone who would think of it as a treasure hunt would be tremendous fun.  (Dr. BB waited in the car, so it was just me laughing at the Marco Polo women.)

 Cons:
1) It was fairly disorganized and as you got deeper and deeper into the store, disgustingly filthy. I don't really want to talk about the basement. Ever.  The main floor (the second floor) is fairly organized and it was clear that this was cotton, this was satin, this was suiting, and this was upholstery material, but once you left that main floor, all bets were off.  Linen next to silk next to curtain fabric.  And, again, the basement is really, really gross.

2) The staff are super busy up front, cutting fabric and checking folks out, so there's not a lot of help in the trenches. If you want one of those giant rolls of heavy curtain fabric, you have to heft it down off the rack yourself and haul it over the cutting table like a strong person at the circus. Sure, you can use one of the shopping carts provided, but woe unto you if you pass another person with another shopping cart.  Also, I have no idea how to get the carts up and down the floors because the only elevator I saw was a freight elevator for staff use only.

3) Parking is awful in that neighborhood. Dr. BB dropped me off and circled for ten minutes before finding someplace to park. Again, this was a Thursday mid-morning, so I imagine it would be worse if you went on a Sunday (the place is, oddly enough, closed on Saturdays).

4) Look, sometimes it's hard to get the fabric. It's all smooshed together and it takes Herculean strength to get a bolt out from around other bolts. If you're holding three other bolts (ahem) and you have to put them down on a disgusting surface, it's possible you might drive yourself crazy.

5) This place is actually kind of unsafe. See those metal racks? Some of them had sharp pieces sticking out. The upstairs and basement frequently had abrupt endings, like a maze. I can't imagine attempting to get out in an emergency. And if you have asthma, make sure to pack an inhaler because the dust and mildew are out of control (again, especially in the scary basement).

What's the Verdict?
Overall, I loved this place. Yes, sure, I was medicated for allergies. Yes, sure, I was a bit concerned I was taking my life into my own hands and I started to understand why so much of the early labor movement in the States was centered around the garment industry. Yes, sure, it was kind of like I was a rat in a maze. Yes, sure, if I was looking for something specific I would have been absolutely clueless about how to proceed. Yes, sure, I knotted the bag shut as tightly as I could when I put in the car and will not be opening it until I can deposit the fabric directly into the washing machine.

But.

It was a magical shopping experience. I felt like I was getting away with something. Does the health inspector know about this place? What about the pricing police?  DOES MY MOM KNOW?

It's definitely worth some time if you're in the Chicago area and you like this sort of thing.

*As always, there are no affiliate links used. I went to this place on my own, shelled out $80 for yards and yards of fabric, and do recommend it.

11.3 Think - Cat of the Basketvilles

Bestest Friend and I are in the middle of a blog project. Each day of the month we will post a picture on a pre-determined theme and write a little something about it. The theme for the third day of each month is "Think."
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My sewing goal for the day:
Step 1 - Wash and dry fabric.
Step 2 - Cut out pattern pieces from the flimsy pattern paper.
Step 3 - Press fabric.
Step 4 - Cut pieces out of fabric.

Things were going well until Step 3. Someone decided that the CLEAN fabric was hers and that she should be allowed to sit in it as long as she damn well wanted to.

I think she is the prettiest, most stubborn, bite-y kitty who ever existed in the whole wide universe.

 

But it's possible I'm biased. It's also possible I'm going to piss her off when I kick her out of that basket as soon as I hit publish on this post.

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To see what Bestest Friend wrote about the theme of the day, check out her blog, Too Legit to Quit.

10.22 Seven Deadly Sins (Pride) - Sewing Projects for Babies

Bestest Friend and I are embarking on a new blog project. Each day of the month we will post a picture on a pre-determined theme and write a little something about it. The theme for the twenty-second day of each month is "Seven Deadly Sins."
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A couple of my friends have had babies recently.  This fact sent me into a spiral of activity this past weekend that culminated in a trip to JoAnn Fabrics, many hours spent bent over fabric swatches, sweating over an ironing board, and my sewing machine puttering along for most of the day today.

The end result was two sets of baby goodies - each set includes a bib, a tactile blanket, and a drawstring bag to put it all in.

 Each item includes the animal print on one side and a green flannel on the reverse.

I'm going to add a teething toy from Smiling Tree Toys into each bag and call it done.  None of these is perfect. If I were just a bit more experienced, I am sure these could look even more amazing.  The patterns and directions came from One-Yard Wonders and although the directions on the bag were awful, it was all fairly straightforward.

The only materials needed were a yard of cotton fabric, a yard of flannel, a spool of coordinating thread, some ribbon scraps and ribbon for the bag closure, and a bit of velcro for the bibs (I guess I could have used snaps, but it seems like getting snaps closed on a wiggling baby would be hard). 

I'm proud of these. They are obviously not professionally done, but I worked hard and I hope they get used hard, too.
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To see what Bestest Friend wrote about the theme of the day, check out her blog, Too Legit To Quit.  

10.7 Do - Sewing Caddy

Bestest Friend and I are in the middle of a blog project. Each day of the month we will post a picture on a pre-determined theme and write a little something about it. The theme for the seventh day of each month is "Do."
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I told myself I was going to do a sewing project every month and I did one in January, but I thought this sewing caddy was going to be a quick afternoon project and it ended up actually taking me four afternoons, so I just finished it, technically in March.  It's another project from the One-Yard Wonders book and I think I'm going to do one more project out of that book before I move on to actually buying a pattern and working on a dress for myself.

There are a lot of things I would change about this, but mostly I would buy different closures, lower the top pocket an inch, and lower the spool holder (and straighten it - I swear I pinned it on straight, but something happened in the sewing process that made it slant slightly). Also, I would invest in some better quality fabric. I honestly just chose the cheapest Made in America fabric in the clearance bin at JoAnn Fabric and it was fraying and every time I would have to rip out a stitch (this happens a lot to me), the holes left by the needles were obvious.   And, if that weren't enough, I would not accidentally nick myself with the seam ripper, causing my finger to bleed all over the fabric. It was a mess. I'm hoping OxyClean can get the blood out.

I think next weekend I'm going to make a grocery bag holder and then it will live in our closet to keep bags for the kitty litter.  And then I'm going to try a little present for a brand new baby the weekend after that. SPRING BREAK is coming!!

I have cleverly hidden the bloodstain from you. Blood, sweat, and tears - that's what learning a new skill is all about, I guess.
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To see what Bestest Friend wrote about the theme of the day, check out her blog, Too Legit to Quit.

8.26 Support - Sunday Afternoon Project

Bestest Friend and I are in the middle of a blog project. Each day of the month we will  post a picture on a pre-determined theme and write a little something about it. The theme for the twenty-sixth day of each month is "Support."
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It's rare that I have a chunk of four or five hours without much I absolutely have to do. I mean, there's stuff I COULD be doing, including working, reading, exercising, or playing fetch with my cat, but it's rare that I'm home alone without a pressing deadline (like that oh my god exciting lesson on the constitutional powers of the presidency that I really need to write before tomorrow morning) for hours.  But yesterday I had that time.  From mid-afternoon through bedtime, I was kickin' it with Steven Harvey and my Singer.

The result is an absolutely unnecessary CD holder.  I have no need for this object, but I was able to practice some techniques and I correctly sewed in the elastic, so my "one new skill per project" goal was met.

 

And when Dr. BB came home, he had nothing but positive things to say about how nice it looked. Even if he was lying (some of the stitches aren't quite straight!), it felt good to have my work valued.

And if you want a hand-made orange CD holder that holds twelve CDs and can conveniently attach to your car's sun visor, please let me know. (I have short legs - really short legs and so when there are things hanging from our visor, they hit me in the head.  I'm jealous of people who can store things on their visor.) I can drop it in the mail tomorrow!

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To see what Bestest Friend wrote about the theme of the day, check out her blog, Too Legit to Quit.

6.15 Inertia - Project Sew

Bestest Friend and I are in the middle of a blog project. Each day of the month we will post a picture on a pre-determined theme and write a little something about it. The theme for the fifteenth day of each month is "Inertia."
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At the end of August, I was all excited about sewing. I had gotten a whole bunch of material and notions for a few projects that I intended to make as holiday presents and then...I was never home on the weekends and school started so I was busy on all the weeknights and nothing happened. My poor sewing machine just gathered dust.

And it fits!

Today I busted out my machine, learned a new skill (creating an elastic waistband), and made this adorable skirt that I'm going to wear all winter long.  It's the Bias Skirt pattern from the wonderful book One-Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker and Patrician Hoskins.  I like this book because I can go to the clearance bin at JoAnn Fabric, find some relatively inexpensive fabric, and create something wonderful and useful in an afternoon.  My goal is to learn how to do something new with each new project and I swear to you that I'm going to make something every week between now and Christmas so that everyone I love gets something sewn by love with me.

Oh, Dr. BB and I also listened to the entire back catalog of Serial while I was pressing, cutting, sewing, and ironing, so if you ever have an entire afternoon with nothing to do, it's absolutely worth a listen.

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To see what Bestest Friend wrote about the theme of the day, check out her blog, Too Legit to Quit.

3.24 Pain - Sewing this Bag

Bestest Friend and I are in the middle of a blog project. Each day of the month we will post a picture on a pre-determined theme and write a little something about it. The theme for the twenty-fourth day of each month is "Pain."
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This weekend was my last quiet weekend at home for a while and I spent most of it working on this beauty.  Don't be jealous, my friends, it can be yours for the price of fabric, thread, a zipper, and the better part of eleven hours of your life. Oh, wait, it can probably be done in an hour or two if you know what the hell you're doing.

It turns out that while I make a good show of looking like I know what I'm doing (see below where I pressed my fabric every single time the pattern told me to, even though I think there was some over-pressing going on), I have no idea how to actually read a pattern, particularly Simplicity 9949 Bag A, and that means that there is constant seam ripping and occasional pissiness with myself for being incompetent. New goal: be kinder to myself when working on something new.

So, in general, learning a new skill is not painless. It involves much trial and error. At least I get something tangible out of it in the end!

Oh, it has a zipper, too. It's hard to see in the earlier picture, but you can see it from this angle. Yes, I do think I'm a bit of a badass for making this!  No, I don't think I should quit my day job and become a seamstress.

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To see what Bestest Friend wrote about the theme of the day, check out her blog, Too Legit to Quit.

3.10 Work - The Fun Sort

Bestest Friend and I are in the middle of a blog project. Each day of the month we will post a picture on a pre-determined theme and write a little something about it. The theme for the tenth day of each month is "Work."

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This sewing thing is new to me.  Ever since I've become concerned about ethical fashion, my goal has been to be able to make clothes for myself. Fabric isn't all that much cheaper than already constructed garments in many cases, but if I buy fabric sourced in the United States or the Eurozone, I would feel better about my clothing.

However, I am a long, long way from there. Yesterday I replicated a bag from a pattern that I had previously made in a beginner's sewing class. I was pleased I was able to figure out how to replicate it without too much fuss, but I'm pretty sure if I had to follow a pattern on my own, I would either completely mess it up and waste lots of fabric or I would end up tearing my hair out in sheer frustration.

But this is a start.  I have all the major things needed: a sewing machine, a bit of fabric, an iron and ironing board, fabric shears, lots of bobbins, threads, pins, and needles, and the desire to become Holly Homemaker and be useful around the house.  

It's definitely not as pretty when you look at the stitching inside!

We'll see. I'm sure that once school starts up again, I'll feel obligated to do the reading and work on my lectures instead of working on my sewing skills.

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To see what Bestest Friend wrote about the theme of the day, check out her blog, Too Legit to Quit.

3.3 Think - Mindful Work

Bestest Friend and I are in the middle of a blog project. Each day of the month we will post a picture on a pre-determined theme and write a little something about it. The theme for the third day of each month is "Think."
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I wonder what the cat thinks when she sees my sewing machine set up. I have only pulled it out a handful of times in places where she can see it.  I can’t imagine she thinks humans are anything but ridiculous with the fabric they use to hide their hairless bodies.

For the last two months, it seems like there has just been a series of unfortunate events within relationships of people I know. The breakups, in particular, have made me reevaluate my own relationship with my husband. Part of why we work is that we don’t do everything together. I sometimes travel on my own or with friends without him. We don’t exercise together. This afternoon he went into the office, shut the door, and played his guitar, and I played with my sewing machine.

But will that distance mean that at some point I will wake up and he will tell me that he wants to leave? Will I someday realize I have let him down? Or he has let me down? I hope not. I hope that instead our separate hobbies, friends, and interests will give us more to talk about when we are together. I hope it allows us to develop as independent people. I hope it allows us to be stronger in the end.

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To see what Bestest Friend wrote about the theme of the day, check out her blog, Too Legit to Quit.