I had a chance to look at patternreview.com last night and it's a really neat site. I especially love the gallery -- it's so inspiring to see what others have been able to create with their sewing machine. I looked up a few of the patterns in my collection, but wasn't able to find a review, so I'm either not using the site correctly, OR I can do my own reviews sometime.
Last night I worked more on my dress, and, in a fit of fatigue, managed to hem where I shouldn't have and not where I should have. So I spent more time with my seam ripper than I did actually sewing. No matter -- I will prevail. After my little blunder I tried on the top part of the dress, only to discover that my nursing bras are not keeping the girls anywhere near where they should be. This particular dress doesn't lend itself to nursing anyway, but I'll have to remember to put on a regular bra when I wear it.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Not much going on
Most of the sewing I've done lately has been helping friends make little gifts for their kids for Christmas. A bunch of us have dubbed ourselves the Rudolph Club, and we are determined to give as many hand made gifts as we can this year. Since I have space in my craft room, a lot of the sewing activities have been happening here.
I'm still working on the child's flower girl dress that I started earlier. I need to do a fitting, but the little girl is out of town on vacation with her family, so that project is in a holding pattern.
I also started a dress for myself, using Simplicity 2660.
I'm using an odd pink print that I have no other purpose for, and although I had reservations, I was starting to like it. Then my husband came in and made a comment about the fabric looking like it came off of a '60's sofa from a swingers' club. Not loving it as much anymore. The other issue with the fabric is that I had to cut it on the cross grain, because the pattern is quite awful oriented along the grain. I've never done that before, so will have to see how it turns out.
In other news, I played around with my serger, and finally tried a rolled hem. I love it! So easy and neat, and not at all difficult. I can't imagine why I waited so long. I guess I got stuck in the rut of it works as it is, so don't fiddle with it. In any case, I'm super excited that I did. I'm going to use the rolled hem on the bottom of the skirt overlay for the flower girl dress. That will be MUCH easier than what I had planned to do.
I'm still working on the child's flower girl dress that I started earlier. I need to do a fitting, but the little girl is out of town on vacation with her family, so that project is in a holding pattern.
I also started a dress for myself, using Simplicity 2660.
I'm using an odd pink print that I have no other purpose for, and although I had reservations, I was starting to like it. Then my husband came in and made a comment about the fabric looking like it came off of a '60's sofa from a swingers' club. Not loving it as much anymore. The other issue with the fabric is that I had to cut it on the cross grain, because the pattern is quite awful oriented along the grain. I've never done that before, so will have to see how it turns out.
In other news, I played around with my serger, and finally tried a rolled hem. I love it! So easy and neat, and not at all difficult. I can't imagine why I waited so long. I guess I got stuck in the rut of it works as it is, so don't fiddle with it. In any case, I'm super excited that I did. I'm going to use the rolled hem on the bottom of the skirt overlay for the flower girl dress. That will be MUCH easier than what I had planned to do.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
The shelves are in!
My husband finally got around to installing shelves in my craft room, which means *I* finally got around to getting the place organized. Phew! I have more stuff that I thought! Anyway, I'm proud of my little slice of basement crafting heaven, so here are a few shots of the room. The wall colour is a lovely butter yellow -- not nearly as harsh as it looks in the photos.
This is the tool board behind the door.
View from rear of room
View looking inward
Hubby built the room for me pretty much single handedly, unless you count "help" from our oldest toddler. It took a while from when the room was done to when the shelves were installed, but I really love the extra storage. Hubby used some inexpensive pieces of plywood and some metal adjustable shelf tracks so I can customize how the shelves are arranged. The solid bit at centre bottom hides a bathroom plumbing rough-in. We have a powder room mid level between the basement and main level, so we didn't feel we needed another washroom. More crafty space for me!
This is the tool board behind the door.
View from rear of room
View looking inwardHubby built the room for me pretty much single handedly, unless you count "help" from our oldest toddler. It took a while from when the room was done to when the shelves were installed, but I really love the extra storage. Hubby used some inexpensive pieces of plywood and some metal adjustable shelf tracks so I can customize how the shelves are arranged. The solid bit at centre bottom hides a bathroom plumbing rough-in. We have a powder room mid level between the basement and main level, so we didn't feel we needed another washroom. More crafty space for me!
I celebrated moving into my shelves by having some friends over to make more child-sized chef hats. We're all trying to get a jump on our homemade Christmas gifts, and now that I have a nice work space, I'm happy to share it.
In other news, I finished Grama's robe, aside from attaching the buttons. I thought I might not have time to take a photo after doing that, so you get the un-buttoned version here. It looks a little wonky because it's hanging off the edge of a round table, but you get the drift. I truly hated this synthetic monster of a fabric (it came as part of a larger bag I purchased second hand), but Grama thought it is soft and would make a great robe. Perfect solution, because I didn't want it.
I've started taking in mending and alterations work to bring in a little extra money, and it's been busy! A few people have also commissioned me to make garments and other things, including a flowergirl dress, slipcovers for chairs, and a slipcover for a walker. The dress is first on my list, so better get to it!
In other news, I finished Grama's robe, aside from attaching the buttons. I thought I might not have time to take a photo after doing that, so you get the un-buttoned version here. It looks a little wonky because it's hanging off the edge of a round table, but you get the drift. I truly hated this synthetic monster of a fabric (it came as part of a larger bag I purchased second hand), but Grama thought it is soft and would make a great robe. Perfect solution, because I didn't want it.
I've started taking in mending and alterations work to bring in a little extra money, and it's been busy! A few people have also commissioned me to make garments and other things, including a flowergirl dress, slipcovers for chairs, and a slipcover for a walker. The dress is first on my list, so better get to it!
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