Beginner Sewing

Paige and Allie and a friend are learning to sew this fall.  We get together about twice a month and work on some beginner projects.  So far they've made a fall wall hanging and an apron.  The aprons went fairly quickly, but as usual I underestimated the amount of time it takes a beginner to sew.  Paige finished her apron first and was able to use it today when we were making Chex Mix.  Allie's will get completed tomorrow when we have a little time without any running around to do.

Going Stir Crazy

We've been spending a lot of time inside the house, due to the extremely cold weather.  The children have managed to accomplish quite a lot of school work.  They have also been doing craft projects, tumbling on the mat that they received for Christmas, playing various board games and having fun. 

Overall, the house has managed to be reasonably clean and we've been eating healthier foods.  I've even managed to get some exercising in this last month.  Mike has worked diligently keeping the snow out of the driveway (parking for 5 cars) and off of the sidewalks.  He has also almost completed the drywall work in the master bedroom.

I still haven't found the foot pedal for my sewing machine.  It's disheartening.  This is perfect weather for getting lots of sewing projects completed.  Almost all of the kids activities were cancelled last month and I haven't managed to get any of the necessary sewing done.  In desperation, I purchased dish towels, even though I had the material waiting for me to make them.  I hand sewed one of Steve's bedroom curtains, but the material is so heavy, and my skin so dry, that my fingers were bleeding.  His second curtain is but out and pinned, but awaiting stitching. 

I even resorted to bribery.  I've offered a fairly substantial reward to any of the children who locate my stupid sewing foot pedal.  It's here somewhere.  I saw it twice before Christmas, so it did make the move to this house.  The younger girls and I are going to make a concerted effort to find it this week.  If we can't, I'm going to price a replacement.  I know that it will be extremely expensive and hate the thought of spending money on an item simply because it's misplaced, but there are many projects that need to be completed. 

Easy Fourth of July Banner

Paige and Allie wanted to make Fourth of July decorations.  I didn't have many craft supplies around the house, so they make construction paper start that were decorated with glitter.  Paige helped me complete this simple banner.  We hung it on the house near the picnic tables.

I took various scraps of red, white and blue prints which were cut into triangles.  We sewed the triangles together and turned them right-side out.  After closing the open edge, the triangles were sewn on navy blue ribbon.  The project was quick and easy, so Paige was able to help create it.  It's the first project that she's completed with me and I think we will do many more projects together this school year.  We may even make a fall banner in a few weeks to celebrate the beginning of the school year.

Thankful

The girls are enjoying their first week at home. We've played with friends and went on fun field trips. God has blessed the girls by having their best school friends continue to be a part of their lives. I was nervous that Paige and Allie's best friends would no longer be able to play with them. Their friends' parents are teachers at the school the girls no longer attend. One of the moms has asked if the girls could have a regular Wednesday play day! She also offered to bring information about community activities, so my girls don't miss out on soccer, baseball or art classes.

I'm also thankful that the girls have been industrious with their schoolwork this week. They have worked diligently on their assignments, so we have been able to have fairly short school days and lots of time for other interests. We're hoping to be able to go visit their grandparents over the next couple of weeks. We haven't had time to see either side of the family recently. I know everyone will enjoy a nice long visit.

Mike called me this afternoon to tell me that my sewing machine is repaired! It's been several months since my machine was in working order. On Friday, I will have a newly cleaned, working machine. Time to do some serious sewing! The best information was that it was less than $100 for the repair! Mike and I were afraid that the repair would be several hundred dollars. What a blessing! Let the sewing begin.

Sewing

I normally spend a lot of time sewing during the longs days of summer. The kids are outside and I can whip up some Christmas gifts, make some summer and winter clothing, and even do a few fun projects. Four summer tops were made for Paige and Allie in May and June. Two dish towels were whipped up a week ago and then my sewing machine died. I have no clue what is wrong with it. We made a huge investment in a high quality machine 6 years ago. I even remembered to take it in for servicing. Now it won't turn on. Bummer. There isn't enough money to get the machine fixed right now, so I'll be packing up my material and sewing supplies and putting them in deep storage. The "new" space will get filled with projects that I can complete with hand sewing and other crafty supplies. Out of sight....out of mind. Hopefully.

Cleaning and Organizing

WhooHoo! I completely emptied out the school armoire and found new locations for the school supplies. There were also 4 small bags of papers, empty glue bottles, died up markers and crayon nubs that were pitched into the trash can. Now, what would a person with four boxes of material stacked in her bedroom do with an empty armoire? Four drawers were used for material and some crafting supplies. The two huge shelves were filled with piles of cottons to be used for some summer shirts, skirts, and quilting.

There is nothing like organized supplies to encourage a new project. I can hardly wait until Kate's open house is done, so that there will be time to do some serious sewing. There are several projects that came to mind while I sorted out the various prints. It would be wonderful to make a few new summer shirts for me this year. Most of last year's summer wear is too large and I don't want to invest in new clothes from a store. Paige and Allie would like some new summer nightgowns. Both of the girls have grown so much this year that their nightgowns are much too short. Mike and the boys could use a few pairs of summer weight lounge pants.

None of these projects are involved, so I'm hopeful that they can all get completed in a few weeks. What will I do with the extra space after I use up the fabrics? Hmmm. The possibilities are endless.

Think Spring

We're getting snow and freezing rain today. After the warm, balmy temperatures last week, it's a little disappointing. To keep my morale up, I decided to start making spring/summer clothing for the youngest two girls. Allie has gotten 2 inches taller since December, so none of last years dresses, shirts, or slacks will fit her. Here is my first project.

New Quilt Project

I've been wanting to force myself to get back into more serious sewing. It's easy to cram projects in that need to be finished, but I want to enjoy the process on a few projects.

Melissa over at Happy Quilting is beginning a quilt sew along project. The finished quilt looks fairly straight forward. I'm hoping to complete a beautiful springy project for my bedroom. Come join the fun!

Sewing Aprons

I meant to write a post about this a few weeks ago, but time got away from me. Madelyn and her friends completed their aprons. The girls are learning to sew this year. This is the first project that they have completed.

Madelyn doesn't have much interest in learning to sew, but she does love getting to spend more time with her friends. Our next project is a pair of lounge pants and a Christmas ornament.

Sewing Class

Madelyn and a couple of her friends are learning to sew. We meet every week or two for an 1-1/2 to 2 hours. The girls' first project is a simple apron. The class seems to be going okay. A few seams that needed to be ripped out have slowed us down a little, but we should finish the aprons at the next class. The student least likely to do any sewing after we finish our projects is Madelyn. While everyone was working on their projects, she mentioned how much she "hates" sewing. I must be a terrible teacher. NONE of my older daughters enjoy sewing. Paige and Allie both want to learn to sew, but I'm afraid to get them started on a project until their manual dexterity improves a little. They are my last shot at passing down my sewing gene.

Sewing Update

A small amount of sewing managed to get completed this month. While sorting through a box of stuff that had been put in a closet for later sorting during our move, I ran across a quilt top that was completed last summer. The hand quilting around the applique was finished, but the borders needed to be quilted. The applique for this quilt was done the year we began to home school many, many years ago.

The quilt borders were quilted by machine and purchased seam binding was used. It's been 8 or more years since I've used purchased seam binding. Seam binding is no longer as stiff as it used to be. The fabric used is softer and works better with 100% cotton than the old polyester seam binding of my youth.

There are several flaws in this quilt, but I'm happy to have it completed and off my "to do" list.



Four skirts for Paige and Allie were made one day a few weeks ago. The pattern was slightly modified from 3 tiers to 2 tiers. Paige enjoys wearing long twirly skirts and this style met her requirements. While the girls were trying on the completed skirts, their friend asked if I could make her a similar skirt, so they could be triplets. I'll have to see if I can squeeze one from the remaining 2/3 yards of fabric.




Another large sewing project was completed this morning. I can't talk about it until Saturday, because Madelyn sometimes reads my blog and the project is for her birthday.

Sewing

It's been awhile since the sewing bug was at our home. Usually, I spend 6-8 weeks sewing in the summer making clothing for the school year and presents for Christmas. One thing I did begin is teaching a beginning sewing class for Madelyn and a couple of her friends. The girls are starting with gathered aprons and dish towels. None of my daughters want to learn to sew. Amy, Katie, and Madelyn do some knitting, but they have a fear of working with material. Silly girls! Hopefully, Madelyn will discover her "inner sewer" this summer and at least ONE of my girls will share my favorite hobby. This is a photo of the apron I made as an example for the sewing students to see. I love big pockets in my aprons to hold all the stuff I accumulate when tidying up.

Shipshewana

Melinda and I went to Shipshewana Indiana on Tuesday. Shipshewana is an Amish community that is a tourist stop that is filled with wonderful stores and restaurants. (I did manage to stay on my diet during our visit!) We had a wonderful time letter boxing throughout the various stores. This was Melinda's first day of letter boxing and I had to explain to her that not all boxes are located inside businesses and frequently the box may turn up missing. She wasn't deterred by my information and we're going to try to do some letter boxing in her area when the mosquitoes are gone this fall.

We went to one fabric shop and I had a hard time not purchasing a ton of fabric. In our town there is only 1 small fabric shop and a tiny amount of fabric available at the local Walmart store. The prices were higher ($10/yard) than what I pay locally, but I'll probably drive down there frequently to get more material when needed.

There were tons of different fabrics in Shipshewana! The batiks selection was huge. I picked up 8 different fabrics that I plan to make into handbags and totes. Even though I'm making a quilt out of batik fabrics, I limited my selections to what I needed for my planned projects. It could get really expensive to purchase all the fabrics that I wanted.

Sewing Projects

Yesterday was spent in the sewing area completing some Christmas gifts and household items. Here's what was accomplished:

1 lined kitchen curtain with rick-rack edging for the new house.
1 lined dining room curtain with piped edges for the new house.
1 pair of pajamas for Mike for Christmas (I think they will be too large).
2 Christmas kitchen towels.


2 kitchen towels for the new house.


1 nightgown for Allie for Christmas.


I plan to get a lot more gifts completed today. There is only three more weeks before I pack up the sewing supplies until the new year. It's too stressful to try and sew and do all the Advent and Christmas activities.

Window Treatments

The dining room and kitchen have an somewhat open floor plan in the new house. So I decided that I wanted the window treatments to be the same. The decision was finally reached to make a valance from a geometric patterned fabric that uses copper, black, and beige. Then, I realized that the chandelier in the dining room is blue and white. This chicken print fabric was discovered Saturday. It will coordinate with the family room colors and contains some blue, which will match the dining room.



This is the valance for one of the dining room windows. I used a blue piping around each section to provide a more formal look. It also brings out the blues in the fabric.



The kitchen valances have a gold rick-rack around the entire curtain. It has a country feel, which I wanted in the kitchen. There was enough fabric left over to make some kitchen hand towels and potholders.



Sorry that the photos aren't better. My camera doesn't deal with differences in light very well. The hand towel photo gives a much better idea of the colors.

Finished At Last

Is there a world record for the longest time taken to complete a quilt project? If so, I must be in the running for some kind of award. In 1989, I decided to make a quilt. Most people would have read a book or magazine on quilt making to learn the process. Not me. I jumped in and began to design and make quilt blocks. My mother taught me to sew when I was in my early teens, so I felt that I had enough experience. My blocks weren't perfect. They had 5/8" seam allowances. The corners of each piece didn't necessarily line up to the next piece.

After sewing the quilt top, I tried to quilt the project on my trusty Kenmore sewing machine. Two rows were quilted before I discovered that basting probably would have been a good idea. In disgust, I placed the project in the bottom of my linen closet for completion "as soon as I figure out a way to quilt it on a machine.

Twenty years and two household moves later, the quilt is finished. It seemed stupid to move the in-process quilt again. I decided to tie the remainder of the quilt. There isn't enough time to take out all the previous quilting and begin by basting the project. Machine quilting a queen size quilt is not something I would tackle on my Pfaff sewing machine. Here are the results of my very first quilt project. There's nothing like the feeling a person receives when finishing something!

Fall Sewing

We're all a little anxious about closing on the new house. The current closing date is tomorrow. I've been trying to use my energy to get some sewing completed for Christmas. Monday, I made 4 pairs of leggings for my two youngest girls. They love to wear dresses, but end up with cold legs in the winter. It is not uncommon for Paige to wear a dress, tights, dress shoes, and her robe for added warmth. It's not the look I'm wanting for her.Allie tends to wear her dresses with jeans or sweat pants underneath. This is also not the look I want to cultivate. Hopefully, the leggings will help both girls' sense of fashion.

Yesterday, I made the Paige and Allie flannel pajamas. My mom had given me some flannel that she wasn't going to use and I had buttons and elastic in my sewing box. I love projects that I can complete without purchasing anything!

The other children all need winter pajamas, but I don't have large enough pieces of fabric on hand. I will probably make Paige and Allie two more sets of pajamas this afternoon. There are several pieces of flannel about 3/4 yard. All of the kids already have flannel lap quilts. Does anyone have any suggestions for projects using less than a yard of flannel? The fabric is beautiful and I hate to waste it.

Purchasing Fat Quarters

I picked up a dozen fat quarters from Joann's last week to make Christmas gifts for the kids. When I removed the sticky wrapping and unfolded the fabrics, I made a discovery. One of the fat quarters was unusable. The print was supposed to be black, charcoal, and red. In actuality it was black, charcoal, and red with white splotches throughout the fabric. The material was cut from a bad run of fabric. The fat quarter only cost me $1.49. Not enough to warrant running back to Joann's and waiting in line to return or replace the fabric. It's a small matter, but I feel cheated. Someone palmed off unsaleable fabric by hiding the flaws when packaging the product. I'll only be purchasing fabric off the bolt in the future, instead of grabbing a few fat quarters for small crafty type projects.

Christmas Winter Crafts

I had some fairly large winter print scraps in my material stash, so I decided to make winter napkins. There was enough fabric to make 9 napkins that were 12" square. My family has gotten a great deal of use from the napkins that I made earlier this summer. The napkins have washed up very well and have remained free of stains!


Recently, I purchased Christmas print pillow material from a garage sale. Storage is always a concern at my house, so when I sewed the pillow pieces together, I used snap tape to close one side.







In December, our normal throw pillows will get placed inside the Christmas pillow covers. The pillow covers can be stored with the Christmas tree skirt during the rest of the year.

Sewing Projects

My friend, Melinda does sewing for an orphanage in India. She makes night-gowns and pajamas for the children. After completing this summer's sewing, she found that she had cut out an extra 3 night-gowns. Last week, she gave me the cut-out gowns. After a short spell at the sewing machine, here are the results.



Paige is obviously growing up. I asked if I could take a picture of her and Allie for my blog. She responded, "Who will be seeing the picture? Will they laugh at me because I'm in my pajamas? It's okay, but tell them not to laugh?" So NO LAUGHING!!! I won't be taking any more pictures of her in pajamas because she's getting too old. But, I think the two girls look so sweet.