SxS Mini Project 2: Thread Drawing

I do not own an embroidery capable sewing machine.

But wow!  Now I don't need one.

This is a freehand drawing of birds (I like birds) on a blue background.  You can use anything, make up any design and use any stitch to "draw" it on the fabric.  Mine is very small (around 6" x 8" but it will be a pillow, eventually) but the technique can easily be modified to make something larger.  Ooo, imagine quilts with embroidered center blocks!

Practical application of the stitch sampler- I was able to decide which stitches to use for different parts based on what I knew they looked like, picking different widths and lengths to create texture.  Once I've washed it and sewed on the back it'll look neat on my couch.  Hooray, home decor in a snap!

SxS Mini Project 1: My Stitch Sampler

People who embroider make samplers; whoever would have thought that a sewing sampler would be useful?

Pardon the glare, darn camera . . .

This is my sampler- a large piece of fabric sewed with every stitch available on my machine, in different widths so I can see how it works.  How amazing is that!  My plan is to frame it and put it on the wall above where the sewing machine lives so I can always see what it does.  Isn't practical wall art great!

Ready to get the book yet?  Its fantastic!

The Journey:

Yesterday morning I was totally going to start my sampler when the unexpected happened:

Yes, that is my sewing machine minus the back panel.  Why?  A spider.  Not a tiny one, oh no, half-inch long and yellow.  Scared the devil out of me.  I always have had trouble with spiders in this house, but usually NOT in my sewing machine, so I attacked it with a can of air.  Haven't found the spider but if it is still in there it ought to be terrified!  I did learn two really neat things about my sewing machine though: there is a lever to lower the feed dogs that is impossible to see when the machine is assembled and there is one tiny nut that will fall inside one you have put all the screws back in so you have to take it apart.  Again.

Luckily that didn't take a lot of time (practice makes perfect, grrr), so only an hour after I intended to start I actually started.

I enjoyed learning about the different stitches (which you can see across the top of the machine) and figuring out what they looked like.  I still don't know what most of the do, but some look pretty neat as they are.

Close up shots of my favorites, please ignore the glare.  Sometimes my camera gets up in a bad mood.

The curve reminds me of a banner and there are a few that look like heartbeat monitors.  The zigzags (right) look a little like leaves.  Absolutely a neat way to learn about your machine!

Stitch by Stitch - Part 1

If no one else has a nominee for easiest book to follow then I do- read through the entire first part last night and have been impatient to start on the first mini project!

The book is divided into Parts, then Chapters.  Part 1: Getting Started has three chapters: Tools and Materials, You and Your Machine, and Fabric.  Most of the materials are things I had on-hand and a few I have never even heard of but Ms. Moebes gives very detailed descriptions and uses for each item on the list and even includes things that are helpful but not at all necessary (like tube turners, for example, instead of using a safety pin or a needle).  She goes on to explain the different parts of sewing machines (with illustrations) and explains fabric in a detail I have never seen.  For the first time, I understand what the nap of a fabric is.

Throughout the different sections, Ms. Moebes gives sound advise for people who are beginning, returning, or experienced sewers.  Like the introduction, the first part is full of humor and wisdom, chiding people to not let their machines rule them and explaining why it is important to cut a straight edge!

Feeling inspired and itching to start my projects, I decided it was time to dig through my fabric box.  Sadly I didn't take pictures, but it may be a good thing that no one but me got to see the mess!  That fabric box has traveled with me since high school (so around 10 years!) and I never bothered to keep tags on the material.  Intelligent idiot young me thought, "Surely I'll remember!"  Ha.

Two hours later and my box is sorted into groups: cottons, denim (yes, I know its cotton too but its heavier so I separate them), fleece, flannel, satins, knits, and misc.  Most of the miscellaneous bag is full of costume materials, for dolls so the pieces are fairly small.  I love cloth dolls and making doll clothes for barbies and 18" dolls, generally period specific.  There are so many neat clothing syles out there and making a dress for me takes a lot longer.  Plus, the dolls don't complain about corsets!

Once the box was organized, I overhauled my sewing supplies and sorted out what will be my "Basic Sewing Supplies" as Ms. Moebes deems the kit in her book.  I put them into a kaboodle- a real one that used to be a makeup box, but it works great for sewing supplies.


The box contains:

Shears, Scissors, Two sizes of Seam Rippers, and a 45mm Rotary Cutter

Some of these are tools I used when I took my first sewing class in the 8th grade!  And they still work!

White pen, white pencil, yellow chalk pen.

I have a lot of pins- Tpins, safety pins, large ball pins (white) small ball pins (colored), and flatheads.  Along with hand sewing needles and machine needles (not pictured).

And yes, for those of you paying attention, the safety pins and small balls are in dice boxes!  The silly things are amazingly useful and the pins stay inside.  I keep all of mine and anyone else's if they'll let me.

And of course there is measuring stuff.  This is the only tape measure in this box but I have a blue measure in the jewelry making supplies and a purple retractable measure in the knitting supplies too.  Its hard not to have one.  The simple size gauge is in here, along with the bias tape maker, needle threader (I hate threading them myself!), and the hem guide.  The hem guide is new, but amazing- you use it to press a hem before sewing.  The metal guide not only gets hot and helps press the hem into place, it has measurements so you can make sure the hem is the proper width and a curved side for curved hems!

My other new toys are these: a self healing rotary mat and a clear acrylic ruler.  The ruler is great- those funny looking dots are gripping spots so the ruler doesn't slide around on fabric.  They make straight edge cutting so much easier- I've wanted one for years and never got the courage.   The heck with that- I've got 'em and I'll use them.  In fact, as soon as the dryer finishes I'll get to use them for the first mini project: My Stitch Sampler.

Stitch by Stitch - Introduction

Finally had a chance tonight to read through the introduction of Stitch by Stitch by Deborah Moebes.  Less than 20 pages in and I'm hooked- her writing is humorous and very earthy, both things I adore in someone who wants to teach me something!

In her introduction, Ms. Moebes does something unusual in most of the "How-to" craft books I've read- she talks about the history of sewing and even includes a timeline of important events.  Things such as when the first sewing machine was created (that didn't work!) and when the Singer finally came out.  Her description of why we sew now verses why our ancestors sewed was rather enlightening- instead of being strictly necessary to cover ourselves, sewing can now be a fantastic art form, and it is to anyone with basic internet surfing skills!

She also includes a great questionnaire to help people know where they are coming from.  Seeing as how I'm putting all my sewing fails online (presumably, but I know me and I'm a little klutzy with the sewing machine), I figured I would put mine right here for the world to laugh at:

Sewing History

     Where'd you come from, and what took you so long to get here?
I learned to sew as a child from my aunt and Ms. Jean, who taught me how to quilt.  In junior high I took home economics and learned how to use a sewing machine.  I sewed doll clothes and costumes by hand in high school and bought a sewing machine some years ago but haven't used it to its fullest potential.

     What's been keeping you from sewing? Was it a bad experience?
Nope, nothing bad, just frustration.  Since I never took advanced lessons there are techniques I am not comfortable with and never attempt, mostly finishing hems and using elastic or other complex notions.  Not knowing how and being afraid of screwing it up I have never bothered experimenting.

Inspiration


     Who most inspires you to get creating with needle and thread?
My biggest inspiration comes from the internet.  There are so many things I see (mostly clothing) and say "Oh, I could make that!"

     What gets you itching to use that machine?
Clothing that fits properly!  Being a lady with hips larger than are in vogue it is difficult to find clothes that fit, beyond the fact that most modern clothing is entirely different from styles I favor!

Goals

     What are your sewing goals?
I want to be comfortable enough with all techniques to be able to create any pattern, or any idea, that strikes my fancy.

     List the 3 things you'd like to be able to create by the time you've completed the lessons in this book.
Easy.  A set of ankle length circle skirts, a cover for my mixer, and a bag that will actually hold all of my knitting supplies!

     Let's say time, skill, and money is no object.  What is the one project you most want to create?
I would love to have a tailored suit with multiple pieces: skirt, pants, jacket, and blouse that are all form flattering and long wearing.

Well, at least I have a clear idea of where I'm aiming!

Vacuuming

Does anyone like to vacuum? I don't know anyone who does- it makes your back sore and is so mindlessly repetitive.  I always feel better after vacuuming though!

One of my Christmas presents was a tiny shark vacuum that I haven't opened yet, but I think it may make cleaning a little easier.

The Shark Cordless Floor and Carpet Cleaner

Its pretty neat, but it has to charge for 24 hours before the initial use.  It's using an Ni-Lithium battery so the charging instructions are very specific, but the portability is great.  I have no idea why I never bothered using it, lazy me, but after assembly it weighs less than half of my real vacuum.  It will probably save my back lots of aches, silly me.    I think this is the only time in my life I have every been excited about vacuuming!