Still Curving Around

Hi everyone. Have you ever been so curious to know what's inside our tomato shaped pin cushions? One day recently, I was using a new cushion and as I was slipping my pin in I heard a squeak! That did it. Time to take it apart and reveal the truth.

(Of course I took it apart delicately; I am keeping the pattern!)

SAWDUST!!! Eeek! That's terrible. I'm sticking my pins in wood? It's not even cedar so it's going to rot. You know they didn't treat it because I didn't spend the money for treated shavings! Yeah, my pins will rust. For SHAME! *Gasp* One day I will stuff a cushion with emery sand.

It seems pretty easy to make a pin cushion. It's just a rectangle fabric cut with a cute "star" on top. The top and bottom were gathered as if making a yo-yo.

Moving on from the terrible tomato. I'm still working on my curves and bettering my mitten pattern and construction.

Although fleece is a dream to work with, I'm learning alot about it. First, I use a walking foot on my Kenmore. It's so much easier for the curves (besides the fact that I need to move my hands to raise the presser foot - I'm GETTING A KNEE LIFT machine!). There are different piles of fleece. I thought that I wanted a very thick pair of mittens, but my pattern didn't work well with thick fleece, hence the Jersey knit lining (see photo above and then 2 below! lol :}. To say the truth, I am having a hard time working with such thick fleece. I might have been better off with a thinner fleece and then using it for the liner also. My goal is industrial construction standard. I can do this; I have had classes! I looked at my ready-to-wear (RTW for short, for those of you who might not know the abbreviation - specifically my mom. :})...at any rate, back to - my RTW mittens are double lined with a thin pile fleece. My thick Polartec has got to go. At least go to another project. Yes. A hat and scarf! :)

I eliminated half of the cuff band to make a smoother transition on the serger. It's still a trial and my machine is working hard. Although it's performing beautiful results, I am the one who is working too hard to get the result. There is an easier way. I want to be able to embellish the band and this stuff is just too thick. They will make warm and snuggly mittens though. I love the buttery soft pile! The serger finished the edge quite nicely in the end.

In the next photo, I matched up seams. WOW! I did that! Out of 6 or 7 pairs, this is the only seam that's matched up. Sigh. I have three layers together. and even when I pin it, the Jersey knit layer shifts. There's another reason to use fleece for lining!

I've cut out three more pairs of mittens to sew up, but I don't think I am going to do that today. I might work on a hat or scarf instead.

My Sweetheart is working in Wisconsin again and he'll be home tonight. I wasn't ready for him to leave so soon. I miss him. I made him peanut butter cookies for his return. Nothing says love like FOOD! LOL

Well, I'm going to get this online. I woke up late (because I was up until midnight! and should start my day.)

PS. Here's a photo of my coaster that I worked on. I'd forgotten to post this and couldn't remember what I said I was going to post, but my ma let me know (thanks for reading my blog mom!). I need to practice home-dec construction. The bias edge need serious help!

And to my Auntie Shirley - I added you to my list so you will get this when I update the blog. :)

Stitching on the Curve

Greetings!

Well, I can't remember what I said I was going to take a photo of to post, and I can't find it written in my blogs either, but I know there was SOMETHING. Maybe it will hit.

I've been working on stitching on a curve. I want to have a smooth transition around all curves that I sew. And, you might remember that I wanted to make some mittens out of the orange fleece that I had left over from making doggy boots. I finally got around to them two nights ago. They were so incredibly easy to whip up, I plan on making a ton. The pattern calls for wool too, so I thought I'd try that fabric with the pattern too.

Here are some other cute items I sewed up to practice the curves.

I'm also trying to "putz" around in the sewing room so my creative juices get flowing, but when there are times that I am too tired to think, I pull out the quilt I began 12 or so years ago. LOL Here's one of the squares.

The quilting I've done has been so boring. I thought the other day "No wonder why women get together to quilt, IT'S BORING so they need to chat and sew!" Hahaha... Well, I've planned one day to sew with my mom, and that's tomorrow, but I'm not sure if I'll be working on my quilt. A gal from work also mentioned that she quilts and wouldn't mind getting together to have a sew day. So, I think I have plenty of opportunity to get the quilt done sometime this year. LOL Well, that's my goal.

I have a sewing class to go to this morning at the new shop I found for sewing supplies. My ma is also going with me to that class. It's nice to be around other gals who sew too. I hope to make some good sewing friends. :) I suppose I should get read for class.

I have something on order that I will either come on Saturday or Monday. When that item gets here, I'll post again with photos!

Until then... happy stitching!

Stitch Practice & My First BURDA Issue

It's been days and days since I've show up here, but I'll never give up the blogging! I need to take the time to work on projects and then share what I've been doing. With that being said, even though I've been working on projects, they are mostly to get stitching practice in. I made a coaster (and I forgot to take a photo of it!), some needle cases and I've just started a teddy bear that I patterned out yesterday.

I had to show this photo of the disaster sewing room. This is after I rearranged and added a table for my serger. I love sewing by the window now! It's so nice to look out the window on my little "thinking breaks". The kitty sits by the screen and watches the birds. I suppose those days are soon to be over before the snow falls. :)

I practiced some embroidery stitching on my Kenmore. Although, I like the idea of the stitching, I think the stitching might turn out better on a more stable piece of fabric.

Here are the finished needle cases. I decided to attach bows to them because I was having a hard time getting my pearl snaps on. I purchased a snap setter from Hancock's Fabrics yesterday after work. I used my 40% off coupon, which was AWESOME! Even though I consider it a "notion" they may have other ideas. Anyways, I'll have snaps on everything now. :) LOVE IT!

My very first issue EVER of Burda Style magazine arrived yesterday. I thoroughly eyeballed it and have several projects picked out to sew over time. It will be slightly challenging, I think, since it's a new way of instruction layout. Here's a run down...

★ This cap is adorable. I love hats. I have purchased two other hat patterns to make also. :)

★ A velvet bag with leather straps. Too cute for words. This is totally something I would drag around with me. :)

★ I like these trousers. I have another vintage pattern that is similar, but these are allow for more flow at the ankles. I might try this one before the vintage pattern. I was born in the wrong era!

★ Yup, the skirt too. I have experience with buttonhole making now, so this isn't so intimidating.  I have the can-do attitude. I can sew anything I want, no matter the level!!

★ This top is hard to see in my photo, but when I work on it, I will take a better photo. I really like the Bermuda shorts too. The tip on the page suggests to wear these type of shorts turned up a tad to add the appearance of longer legs. I thought that was cool. 

That's not all of the patterns I love from the issue, but I just wanted to share a few this morning. I'm pretty sore from weight lifting yesterday, so it was nice to take some "sitting time" at the computer. I'm getting something done and at the same time, RESTING! :)

I made note to take photos of the coaster and teddy to post. They are just basic patters to get my stitching practice in. I'm trying to open a creative avenue in the sewing field. There are soooo many possibilities. I want to make a physical log now.

Okay, I'm off to the sewing room! My Sweetie is out of town working for a few days, so that means I get to slough off of the house work and sew, sew, sew! :D

★ Happy Stitching!

Oh my gosh! I forgot to mention that I ordered a new sewing table. It's called Gidget. :) I ordered from allbrands.com. That's where I got my Consew iron also - all the way from Louisiana! Woohoo!

Green Skirt Modeled

G'mornin'. I decided to wear this today after all. Here it is! I guess I like it alot better on me than on the dress form. :) It's cute. It fits nice. It matches the earrings and necklace that my mother-in-law made for me. Plus, you can't see my accident; it's in the back. LOL.

Okay, this skirt is done. I know that it looks like every other photo that I've posted, but hopefully a little different since I ironed it now. LOL I had some issues getting this thing finished.

First, of all I cut the skirt fabric when I was trimming the seam allowance. Not only did I cut the fabric once, but TWICE. Sigh. I wasn't that devastated because it's broadcloth, but still... I used some woven interfacing to mend my cuts and I'm really hoping that no one will notice. I'll have to ask my Ma when I see her. What a bummer. Oh! But there is always the trim idea to fall back on, right!?

So after I get the cuts fixed, I poked my finger when I sewed the facing down to the zipper and got a little blood spot on the back of the skirt. Off to the sink I went to scrub it with soap! Eeesh! It came out like a charm, luckily. LOL

I'm sick of looking at this skirt! I think that's not such a good thing. Shouldn't I want to look at it continuously? I think I'm not into the fabric. But it's a nice basic garment for the 90° days.

Taking a photo of it one last time on the dress form is closure for me. :D Here it is.

I need a breather from sewing. I need to gather my items and organize my sewing room. I need to organize my thoughts. I am, however, going to make another notebook cover for my sewing room 5 subject notebook. That will be nice. :) Maybe I'll put some lace or ruffles on it. Whatever it is, it's gotta be something totally girly. Right!?

I heard back from the staff at Burda Style magazine. I will receive my first issue for the month of October. I'm really looking forward to it. I subscribed in time for the holiday issue! I wonder what the Christmas dresses will look like!

On a different note: I ordered my own "WizardGir1" labels for clothing and crafts today too. They are woven cotton made in Europe. How cool is that!? (Unless they shrink, then I'll be bummed. lol) I'm still searching for a different style that is a reasonable price, but I think I'm going to like what I ordered.

I labeled and described some sewing feet that I use on my {feet} tab, if anyone is interested in learning a tad more, if not anything new. :) When I'm finished here, I am going to add another link to Creative Sewing Solutions in the {feet} tab also. They have videos of the feet in action. *DROOL* I love my feetsies! :)

All right, I'm off to collect my thoughts. Cheers to all!

Not Quite the Green Skirt Junkie Lately

Greetings. Well, my steam for the a-line skirt has been interrupted, I guess. I've had headaches in my eyes for a couple weeks, they've worsened over the weekend, and I learned today that I need new glasses. They'll be here in 10 days! Such cute frames! I'll have to post a photo of them. :) At any rate, this is as far as I got on my green summer skirt.

I sort of feel like I should be sewing up something for fall, not summer. But patterns for summer seem to be easier to me for some reason. I was planning on getting these basic patterns down and then using a heavier fabric for all of the seasons. Can it be done? Anyways... about the green skirt.

It fits great in the waist. I love it! I love it when I sit too. Looking at the skirt on the dress form looks terrible in the hips. This is definitely a skirt that I wear a longer shirt with. I have the fit at the waist down. Sandra Betzina says that a gal should have 2" of ease at the hips and when I measured the 16 grade and 18 grade - the 18 calculated better. I don't know though - maybe I need to finish it, wash it and wear it. Then I will know for sure.

Now about the trim. I was also planning on adding a trim, but I'm not into that idea any more. This next photo is what I was thinking about. It's from 1966. I was honoured to receive a box of sewing supplies when my step-grandmother passed away a couple years back. I just think it would be cool to use this trim, but maybe not for this skirt. I should mention here that my whole point of making this skirt is to go with some earrings that my mother-in-law made for me. They are native beading with porcupine needles (I'll post a photo of them too) so I was shooting for a Native American look.

I'd like to use some of the cute stitches on my Kenmore, (flowers and vines are part of Ojibwa and Cherokee art work) since that's a big part of the reason why I chose this machine, but broadcloth needs to be interfaced before embroidering. Right now, do I feel like interfacing a large portion of the skirt? No. What about a cute patch pocket? This might be more realistic. Maybe something like a cargo style pocket? Sigh. Maybe I just need time away from it. Maybe the next step is just to hem it and wear it. I can always come back to it later. Boring? Maybe, but it's an empty canvas. Oh no! What if all I make is canvases? Argh! Baaaah, that's impossible. I'm a crazy woman. I can come up with something to add character.

Gasp - what about those weird little rosettes? Ooo... see, now my juices are flowing.

Seriously though - I might just hem it up and start my dress with princess seams. (Eeek!)

Oh oh oh.... two more things. I was at Barnes and Noble today looking at sewing magazines and found one called "Sew Hip". It's popular in the UK. I have been thinking about getting a subscription to this magazine also. I just want to study the heck out of sewing. Okay, and  I looked at Singers sewing book and was pretty impressed. It has gorgeous photos that made me drool. I might order it one day. It's only $6.50 on half.com right now for a used copy. I could totally live with that!

Sorry I'm all over the place tonight. I better wrap this up. Tomorrow is a new day - I solemnly swear that I, Tawnya Boe, will sew for at least 30 minutes. Heh. Life is good.

Wow, do I have some neat news!

I wore my shirt to dinner last night and I got a compliment on it from our waitress. Geez, that made my night! She asked me where I got it. :D After two weeks of working on it, someone tells me that it's cute. Thanks Luanne! (Hopefully I got your spelling correct.) After we talked for a minute, I couldn't contain my excitement and gave her my card to visit this blog. She mentioned that she'd made a Halloween costume last year and I told her that I would love to see it. So cool!!

Well I'm not into switching gears right now since I have the supplies for my next project - Butterick skirt B4461. I chose the pattern during our 95° weather (it's 61° right now), but I'm still going to make it out of a lightweight cotton. If I want to wear it in the fall, I can wear some heavy tights. :) Sorry about the shadow on the photo. Hopefully you can get the idea from what I post.

Here's the fabric and trim options that I threw out. It'll be interesting to see what I come up with.

More cool stuff? I ordered a 3 month subscription to Burda Style magazine. It seems that's what many of the sewing blog gals read and sew, so I thought that I would give it a go. Each issue comes with 60 or so patterns, a size chart and a sewing course and step by step instructions. To say the truth, I am intimidated as heck, but I'm GOING FOR IT! It's sort of exciting at the same time. I seem to be driven to jump in and do things when I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. It stimulates my brain. I like working my brain. :D

All right, I had some things that I wanted to do today: 1) measure for our hoop house plastic (greenhouse) so I can get that ordered and 2) paint the trim on our windows of the house. (We'll see about this one!) Tonight, I plan on cutting the pattern out of B4461.

Until I post again...Happy Saturday to you!

Photo: Wearing 3684

Okay here I am in my new shirt! :) I felt like a dork earlier in my sewing room. I took 10 photos to get one that I liked. LOL. After all that, I still didn't smooth the back of the shirt out - the wrinkles aren't so prevalent at the bust dart, but they still exist a little "milder". What can I say - a beginning seamstress! I had a blast and will continue to sew to solidify my skills. Next is my cotton skirt using Butterick B4461. Today I'd like to sort through my lace, zippers and other trim before I cut the pattern out. We'll see how far I get. :D Hopefully I can get something up on the blog tomorrow!

Simplicity Blouse 3684 - Completed!

Ooooh okay! I am DONE! It's taken me 12 days to complete Threads 3684. Of course I didn't work on it each day - but almost. If I wasn't working on it, I was reading the pattern before bed to fully understand the next step before I dove into it.

I went with shell buttons after all. I picked up some wooden ones, but after holding the shell up when the lace was on, I liked the look, so I went with it.

I wanted to video record my first button hole on the blouse. If you're interested, you can watch how my Kenmore 19233 works! {I'm going to try to embed it.} I mentioned on the video that it's the first button hole on a garment I've made, but I made a crazy lime green dress with hot pink polk-a-dots when I was a teenager. I'd forgotten. I just want to correct that right now! Hahah...(I even wore the dress! Eeek!)

Here is my finished new top! It's in the dryer right now, but I promise to post a photo of me wearing it. That seems to be what all the sewing gals do on their blogs. I feel like I accomplished something HUGE. I'm proud of myself to stick with it until the end. =D

Topic change: I have decided to make myself an emery sand pin cleaner thingy. Usually, the strawberries that are attached to the typical tomato shaped pin cushion are supposed to have emergy sand in them. I was taught that regular sand or glass doesn't do the job like emery sand. I met the inventor of the Spiral Eye Needle at the Minnesota State Fair on Tuesday and she sold me a little pouch of it for $2! Her invention is amazing for those who have a hard time seeing the eye of the needle to thread it. CHECK IT OUT! She's working on manufacturing a needle that is large enough to accommodate a 4 ply yarn with ease with a sharp point for quilters and such. She's just so helpful to us! My mom purchased a couple of her needles and I'll probably get some too one day!

More on the state fair. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I want to have a chicken coup one day. The next photo is a chicken, obviously. But LOOK AT HER! She's panting! LOL!!! It was hot in the poultry and sheep building. I like these little blonde chickies. I might want some in my coup.

Back to sewing: I'm not sure what's coming next. I know that I want to make the A-line skirt in a green cotton, and now I want to make the emery sand thingy but I haven't decided what will be next. Of course you'll be the first to know! :)

Until then... may your creativity explode and inspire you! :)

Simplicity Blouse 3684 - Almost DONE!

Hello, hello to my favorite readers!

Is that a cheesy greeting? Umm, well all of the people who read my hobby blog are my favorite. ♥ ♥ ♥ ...now I got that out of the way.

Okay, so first I want to mention that the humongous squash we found in the garden was woody with a pumpkin like skin. Ick. We didn't even let our dogs gnaw on it. Haha... It was fun to find in the garden though [Edward and I discussed our hoop house tonight - that's the next big adventure for the Boe's. :)]

Can I get on to sewing now, paaaalease?!  12 Photos enclosed.

3684 Shirt Band, HOLY SQUASH!

Time to chat!

WARNING: This entry is a lot of ramble. Feel free to SKIM! :)

Pin Cushion Pattern Weight

I found this tutorial for a pin cushion jar online and decided that I wanted to make one of my pattern weights into one of them. It's a small project. Short and sweet. :) Oh yeah, and NO SEWING. The hot glue gun works the magic to bind it all together.

I'm going to see if I have enough energy to sew new darts into my blouse tonight. If I don't, I will try to get to it this weekend. Reading my Threads magazine that came today might be all the energy that I have. Nevertheless, I will post the "dart-work" immediately after! :)