Dan Sculpts Again!

If you scroll down to here you'll see the first of my husband Dan's sculptures. This is a series of metalwork sculptures that he's been creating for some of the guys who are retiring from his workplace. He's been putting a lot of thought and heart into them. Each one is personal to the man getting the gift. This one is for Johny M. - he's an avid bow-hunter and has helped Dan out a few times with tips for the hunt. He got teary-eyed when Dan gave it to him today - his last day at work. I'm so proud of Dan - he's really growing as an artist.

Signs Signs Everywhere are Signs... well just in my workshop actually!

As some of you know, I've decided to make a go of this sewing business thing. I've ordered business cards, labels, picked up office stuff like a receipt book and made an appointment to inquire about the self-employement benefit through Employment Ontario. Today I spoke with a local business man who sits on the LAMBAC - Economic Development board for the town to talk about grants that might be available in town and he's putting me in touch with some other people to talk to. Very cool - kinda scary - we'll see how it goes.

On a more practical - doable with my hands sort of note, I'm working on a lawn sign for the front yard. I wanted to make a stencil of the "Sew Simone" name in the font by Billy Argel that I've used on my header and business cards - don't worry, I have permission! So I picked up an acetate sheet and x-acto knife and printed out my business name as big as I could. I stuck the paper to the acetate and cut out the name - a little off - but it should work. Today I've primed my wood plank and am waiting for it to dry so that I can paint it. I still need to cut out stencils for the other words I'm going to paint on to the board. I don't trust my free hand to make it look the way that I want it too. So all in all - I'm working at making this thing work. Hopefully by the end of the weekend I have a sign for the yard - even though I think I need to work out the business registration that I'm working on before I'm allowed to post it... So much to figure out!!!

Simone

Simplicity 2981 - A New Dress for Momma

As soon as I saw this pattern on ebay I had to have it! I love this dress! Now hopefully I'm able to sew it so that it looks as good as the picture! I had mentioned that I found some reddish-pink silk polyester at the thrift store the other day. I'm going to try to make the dress out of that. I'm pretty excited and a little daunted by the task - the project calls for over 7 meters of fabric! I've never made anything that takes that much fabric - that's a lot of sewing! I'm banking on the fact that it will help me learn some new techniques as well as give me a dress to wear for the holidays. I'll do my best to share the progress with you! Have a great day!
Simone

Thrifted Fabric Finds and BYWA Bag Designs

So I went to the Jarrett Centre - which is a goodwill-type thrift store in the city about an hour from where I live. I had to take my eldest to the orthodontist and it's just up the street. I found a nice cream colored 100% cotton sheet that I'm going to use as a quilt backing and I also bought a quilted mattress cover to use as batting. You know, the kind that you put on the mattress and holds on with elastics in the corners... anyhow, the mattress cover is also free of any markings and has all of the batting in it - as well as being quilted, it is a light weight fill for the quilt and I think will work perfectly for the Sew Scrappy Quilt I've been working on, in fact, I was tempted to buy a couple more to use for other quilts I'm working on. I'm so excited about using this stuff to make something that will hopefully last for years!

I really like thrifting for supplies. I find that you can re-purpose quite a few things and lower the impact on the environment with just a bit of creativity. I usually find GREAT deals at this place, they sell their bedding, linens and fabric by the pound, so it usually ends up being extremely well priced and the planet loves you for it! Today, apart from the sheet (without a mark on it I will add!) and mattress cover, I bought 11 meters of a lovely red silk-polyester and a 80% wool/ 20% mohair loosely woven fabric in a gorgeous flame-orange-red ombre color. All of that for $12.86. Now that's what I call a deal!


The person who first inspired me to think about thrifting for fabric and re-purposing items in creative ways is my friend Gwen. She lives in Langley, BC and when I first met her she had made a commitment not to buy herself any new clothes for a year, but to make it all herself out of thrifted fabric etc... At the time I didn't know anyone else who was doing this, now it's all over the blogsphere, but she opened my eyes to the possibilities. Since then, she's created Bywa Bag Designs Their motto is Live Creatively : Carry Change. I LOVE that! All of her bags are made of reclaimed fabrics like leather from old jackets, she uses things like leftover laminate flooring underlay from construction sites as interfacing/stiffner for the bags. She is soooo creative and her bags are INCREDIBLE!!! Here is just one example of her bags and a bit of the description;



This gorgeous red leather shoulder bag was made entirely from reclaimed materials, minus the thread of course. The exterior is made from a recycled deep red leather coat. The interior is a vibrant reclaimed red/grey/black patterned fabric. (I like to think these fabrics were from an old forgotten project that has been sitting all sealed up in the back of the closet just waiting to be remembered and made into something fantastic!) The stability of the base was created using reclaimed flooring underlay which also helps create a water resistant base to protect all your belongings.

Check out her website and buy some bags!!!

More Changes to the Polar Fleece Jacket

I didn't really like how the polar fleece jacket was fitting when I had it on, it was really big. So I added a button hole and a button and made it double breasted. Here is a pic;

Sew Scrappy Scrap Quilt Top Pictures

Here are a couple pics of the quilt top so far. I just need to find somebinding, a back and some backing and then i'll be done - man, this quilting thing is a lot of work! ;)

Sew Scrappy Scrap Quilt

I've been piecing together a quilt out of fabric scraps that I've had in my stash. I haven't followed a pattern. I just grabbed a few pieces of fabric and started sewing. I pieced together fabrics till I had panels about 2ftx1ft and then cut them into 7x7 blocks with my rotary cutter. I framed all of the blocks with a piece of flowered print fabric I had picked up in a yard sale a couple of years ago... I wasn't really even concerned with matching. I just wanted to make an old fashioned - put it together cause that's what you've got in the house kind of quilt. No fuss- no fabric buying, no color coordinating, just put it together. I've been reminiscing about the old school quilts that we had when I was a kid. Lots of colors, lots of different fabrics, held together with yarn knots that I would play with. I used to try to guess what the different fabrics came from. That's the kind of quilt I wanted to make - except that all of the fabrics I used are cotton... that's what I had! I've still got to do a wide border around the whole thing - not sure what I'm going to use for that - but I'm sure I've got something in the sewing room that's big enough to frame the whole thing... Then I've got to cave and spend some money on the batting... none of that in my sewing room, and something for a backing. I don't usually buy large pieces of cotton. If I do buy more than a couple of meters of something it's definitely a garment fabric... so we'll figure it out. I've been toying with the idea of using a silk charmeuse type fabric for the backing, but I'm not sure I want to use of the stuff I've got for the back of a quilt, it has to be durable. What do you think? I'll post pics of the top when I've got it framed.

Simone

Vintage Treasure

Tonight I had to go into the city (Sudbury, ON) for my eldest daughter's voice lessons. While she was there, I went shopping - of course! I went to Value Village to look for some thrift store treasures, but I didn't expect to find what I did! A beautiful Vintage Peter Rabbit crewel embroidery kit #3307 - new - never opened!!! It's by Jem made in the Lake District by Jem Patchwork Templates, Cockermouth, Cumberland, England. Includes background cloth, frame, anchor strand, Angora, crewel work instructions and backing card, all of the original thread, made in England, 1973. I did a bit of research on the net and the only one that I've found sold for $50.00. I paid $8.00 for it. I love finding treasure! The only sad thing is that I don't know how to embroider, and this one looks complicated - definitely not a beginner kit! I think this is going to be a gift for someone special... can you guess who?

Cornish Pastries and Blueberry Turnovers

I've been craving some Cornish Pastries lately - and then I was rummaging through stuff and found some dough presses that I had bought at a yard sale that I had never used. I got pretty much every size you can think of, from 6inches to a tiny little one to make little dumplings. So I broke them out today, cooked up a few pounds of lean ground beef with some onions, celery, potatoes, mushrooms and spices and made some pastries for dinner. I used one of the smaller rounds to make turnovers filled with blueberry pie filling. I'm just waiting for them to cool so that we can devour them! Yum! I can't wait!

Polar Fleece Jacket

So I finished sewing the polar fleece jacket using Butterick See and Sew B5123. I hadn't sewn with polar fleece in years, so this was kind of an adventure. First of all - ironing your seams is a little difficult - unless you iron at low temperature... figured that one out pretty quickly - and seams don't lay as well as with low-loft fabrics. I made the collar narrower than the pattern called for - simply because I didn't have enough fabric, but I'm glad because it's already quite wide, I can't imagine it being wider. I've decided to get rid of the tucks at the bottom of the darts, I don't really like them. I also find that I'll need to add some fasteners to the front placket. The single button looks good, but when you're my size, you don't need something emphasizing your waist area and the way it sticks open just makes my tummy even bigger than it is... nuff said! I'll put some better pics when I have someone around to take them for me. For now, this is what I've got. Please ignore the disaster of a sewing room in the background.

So here is the first un-edited version;



Here is the jacket with the tucks removed. I like it a lot better already! It even lays better without them. I'm still going to add a few fasteners below the button, just to give it a cleaner line when it's on.




So what do you think?
I'm linking to Tea Rose Home's link Party No.24

This Week's Sewing Project

Today I cut out my pattern pieces for Butterick See and Sew B5123. It's an out of print pattern that I've had for a bit. I'm in need of a warmer jacket for doing the lunch lady gig every noon hour so I decided to make the jacket out of some apple-green polar fleece my mom gave me last January. We'll see how it goes!

Free-Motion Quilted Handbag

Yesterday I decided to make myself a bag out of some pillowcases that I had bought at Giant Tiger last year. I like to buy cheap pillowcases to try out new techniques because they're inexpensive and you can get some cool patterns. The great thing is that if you mess up - which I do, I don't have to worry about ruining my good fabrics. So this is the bag I made. I decided to do some free-motion quilting on the gusset, handles and pocket of the bag. It was actually quite fun - you just turn the machine on and go! The handles are too wide, but I like the bag - I'll probably just fold them and sew them into a tube... we'll see!

Another project in the works

So as you can tell, I've always got a few things that I'm thinking about and working on. Now is no exception. I've always been really interested in design and fashion. I have many talented siblings who can draw and do all sorts of creative things and honestly, I never figured that I measured up in the whole creative area. I never even bothered taking an art class in high school because I knew that I couldn't draw as well as my other siblings, so why bother - I majored in boys in high school... *sigh* not many viable career options there I must confess! So back to the whole wanting to design thing - I've always wanted to - but would get frustrated because I very much *#$%! at drawing. I'm serious - it's always been a sore spot for me. How can a girl design clothes if she can't draw? I play around at stuff, I drape fabric on my manequins and start pinning, but as far as really doing it and getting stuff down on paper... just couldn't do it! But then I read about this on this blog and I though - "darn it all to bits - I'm gonna do it!!!" (or something sort of like that)
So I can see the first dress that I'd like to design in my head - and this is what I get;



Don't worry! I'm NOT going to make it look like a pumpkin - I was just trying something out - jus' sayin'. I'm still not quite certain what colors I want to go with. I was inspired by a favorite 3/4 length t-shirt that I'd really like as a dress. We'll see! I'm still far from making an entry - as you can tell, I'm just trying to figure out how to draw!

So I did a bit of research on the net and found this site so that I could try to figure out some of the proportion stuff and how in the world to draw hands and feet!

A little while later, here is what I've got. It's just rough and as I said I haven't figured out the color yet... though I'm leaning toward navy blue to go with the nautical collar. I'm also pretty certain that it has to have pockets... anyhow I'm pretty proud of it and I have to say that it's the best drawing I've ever made! I know to you many artists out there this may be very sad, but it's the truth and I'm gonna bask in the glory of it for now - until the perfectionist clicks in; but till then I'm basking!



What do you think?
Simone

My sister's having a 300th blog post giveaway!

Ariane's having a giveaway at her blog. She does amazing quilt work and I'm so jealous of the person who's going to win the beautiful modern table topper that's included in the giveaway. If you want to try your luck go on over and follow the instructions - it's a random draw - so you could be the lucky winner!

Just ordered my first labels!

So I ordered some labels today from Miss Label I'm really excited! I got 50 for $20.00 USD which I thought was very reasonable, since buying the packaged labels that say stuff like "Made for you by me", that you buy at Fabricland and Walmart are quite pricey for packages of 2. I figure I'll be able to write in the fabric content with some fabric pens for each different item... anyhow I'm pretty stoked! I can't wait to get my proof so that I can see how they're going to look!!!

I also ordered business cards from Vistaprint I'm getting 250, which should last me a while. I figure I'll put some on bulletin boards around town to drum up some business. The lady that ran a sewing business in town must be moving or something because her sign is down and her house is for sale. This means there's not really any competition in town. You have to either do your sewing yourself or drive the hour to the city... I think this little business might actually work! Here's hoping!

New Book!

I'm so excited! I just picked up the book, "How to Use, Adapt and Design Sewing Patterns." by Lee Hollahan. I can't wait to dig into it and learn something new!

You can bet that I'll be spending a big part of this weekend in the book. I'll let you know what gems I find!

Happy Friday,
Simone

How Much Time Do You Devote to Your Passion/Hobby?

I was asked today how much time I devote (on average) each week on sewing or on learning about sewing techniques. I had to confess that I probably - on average - spend up to 2 hours a day. Some days I don't do any at all, but others I can spend many hours either working on a project or reading a book or website that gives tutorials or instructions on techniques which I am new to... which is mostly everything since I'm self taught.

So do you think that's too much time? I usually only work on about 1 project every few weeks... What kind of time to you spend on your "stuff"?

Simone

Mad Hatter

So I had mentioned yesterday that I would need to make a hat to hide some bad hair. I made the hat - with the help of some instructions found on Weekend Designer - thanks Don! I decided to show you my process, from drafting the pattern onto graph paper to completed project - enjoy!

You need;
* Graph paper
* approx. 1 yd. of fusible interfacing, 45″ wide (I used Bukram and sewed it in)
* approx. 1 yd. of bottom-weight or upholstery fashion fabric, 54″-60″ wide
* approx. 1/2 yd. of lining fabric, 45″ wide
* approx. 3/4 yd. of grosgrain ribbon, 2″ wide
* 1 belt buckle, 1 ½” wide (I used a button instead)
* coordinating thread

DIMENSIONS

This hat draft is a medium size for a head circumference of approximately 23” [58.5cm]. (Note to self- measurements are there for a reason - next time if you pay attention the hat might actually fit you!)



I drafted the pattern on some graph paper I had around. I had to tape the pages together to make it work for the longer pieces, but that worked fine.



I cut my pieces out - lining, main fabric and bukram;

Add ½ inch seam allowances to all pattern pieces.


CUTTING

Cut the crown side 2X; lining 2X ; interfacing 2X

Cut the crown top 1X; lining 1X; interfacing 1X

Cut the brim 2X; interfacing 1X

Cut the belt strap 2X; interfacing 1X

Cut the sweatband (grosgrain ribbon) 24” long X 2″ wide.




Iron fusible interfacing to wrong side of each crown piece and to one of each of the brim and strap pairs, following manufacturer’s directions. As I mentioned previously, I sewed in bukram instead.



On each brim piece, pin and baste CB seam with right side together. Stitch seam using a ½” seam allowance and press open.

Layer the 2 brim pieces with right sides facing together and align the CB seams. Pin/baste outer edges together. Sew around the perimeter of the brim.


Grade and trim the seam allowance and turn brim right side out. Press outer edge flat.
TIP: Due to fabric thickness, it is important to grade the seam allowances as you sew. The bulk will reduce the headfitting measurement. You may also take less of the seam allowance to account for the bulk.



Topstitch outer edge of brim. (I use the width of the presser foot as a spacer.) The more stitching you put, the stiffer the brim. Set aside. As you can see, I used my edge-stitch foot to help with topstitching. This allowed me to do one seam very close to the edge then do the other seam the way Don suggested using the presser foot as a spacer.




Layer the belt strap pieces with right sides facing together. Align and match up raw edges and pin/baste together. Machine-stitch across one short end and along the 2 long edges. Grade and trim seam allowances and turn strap right side out. Press outer edges flat. Topstitch around perimeter of the strap. Set aside.




Pin/baste the side pieces to the top section, with right sides facing together. Ease the straight edges into the curved ones. Machine-stitch the 2 side seams of the crown portion. Press the seam open. (You may need to clip the seam allowance to get it to lie flat.) Turn the crown right side out.







Repeat the same method for the hat lining. Insert the lining into the hat crown with wrong sides facing together. Baste lining to crown around the circumference of the crown.




Align the CF and CB and the Xs of the crown and the brim. Match up these points, pin and basting with right sides together. Machine stitch the crown section to the brim, using a ½” seam allowance.





Sew in grosgrain ribbon as a “sweatband”. This should equal the head fitting measurement. Lay the ribbon on top of the seam allowance along the top of the brim and edge stitch along the ribbon edge. Overlap at CB. Grade and trim the seam allowance . Turn the ribbon up into the crown to conceal the raw edge of the seam allowance and tack to CB of hat with hand stitching.

On the left side of the hat exterior above the seamline of the brim, handstitch the open end of the belt strap to the center of the crown side piece using a narrow seam allowance. (Do this with the belt strap pointing to the front of the hat.) Fold the strap back onto itself and slip on the buckle. Wrap the strap around the hat’s crown and slip loose end into the buckle. (Add punched eyelets if you are using a pronged belt buckle). As you can see I didn't use a buckle, I used a button, which I think turned out alright.





So there it is, my first hat and my first tutorial...