Another Zippered Pouch

I made this lined zippered pouch for my niece.  She wanted one for her combs, particularly those long tail combs, so I made it  9" L x 3.5" W x 2.5" tall.

 It took me awhile to figure out how to determine the size of fabrics and zipper I would need for the pouch size I wanted.  I'm not really a numbers person so I had to draw and re-draw, measure and re-measure until I was sure.  And then I made one first out of scrap fabric just to be doubly sure my calculations were correct.

It's happened to me before that I've figured sizes and then measured fabric over and over again to be on the safe side and for some reason after it's been cut and sewn, it's off and I sit there not having a clue where I went wrong.  So, whenever I'm measuring and calculating, I'm always a little nervous.  However, in other areas of design I can just "eyeball" things and they are right on.  One example was when my husband and I were wallpapering the laundry room - correction, I was wallpapering the laundry room and he, being a general contractor, saw my methods and decided he needed to step in to make sure things turned out right.  Well, I started putting up a piece of wall paper on the wall and he said, "Wait! Did you measure and mark the wall to make sure the strip goes up straight?"  I said, "No, I know it's straight by looking at it."  Well, we debated for a couple minutes and he decided to pull out his tape measure and level and sure enough, it was right on.  I decided not to rub it in and he decided that I had just gotten lucky.  I knew better.  ;)

So, being more visual than anything, the most challenging part of sewing for me is when I'm not working with a pre-made pattern and I have to start adding measurements and seam allowances and 8ths and 4ths and halves together.  It's slightly embarrassing but here's my worksheet.

As you can see, I had to draw it over and over again, mainly so I could visualize it, and keep redoing the numbers.  Sheesh, my 12 yr. old son could have done this in his head.  He and his brother take after their dad that way.  C'est la vie  At least it's finished.  :)

I've contracted some sewing for a woman who sells children's clothing and accessories online, so I have megabillions of hours ahead of me to finish the products for her latest orders.  After that marathon, I want to make this triple zippered pouch I saw at the Sanrio website.

 

I'm thinking of brighter more colorful fabrics, but I love the 3-Zip.  I'm also thinking that I would probably add a little wrist strap to it.  I know a few girls who would love one of these, myself included.  Work first, then I can "play".  :)

Fabric Storage

I had been mulling over ideas for storing my fabric.  At our previous home, I had several dressers that I kept fabric in but I wasn't altogether happy with that because not being able to see it at a glance, I didn't know what was currently in my stash.  Let's face it, I can't keep all that info on my brain's little desktop.  It's been archived and I don't always remember where I've stored those files.  Having, my fabric visible is quite helpful.

I ran across this idea of wrapping the fabric around foam core boards at the little green bean and was inspired.  I needed to go the least expensive route right now and I had some of those display boards, which we used for my daughter's graduation table, that I had picked up at the Dollar Tree and a couple I purchased at Walmart.  They're basically the same thing, although I can't boast that they're acid free, but I've had my fabric on cardboard before and had no problems.  And I was wondering if those cardboard bolts at the fabric store are acid free?  I haven't checked that out yet, but I'm going with my cheapo display boards for now. 

They look very similar to Missy's at the little green bean .

So, I've been working on turning this....

Into this...

So far, I'm happy with it.  :)

Grumpy Cat Completed

Okay, so the Grumpy Cat from Instructables is finished.  I had to work yesterday so we couldn't start it until evening which meant that we were up later than I had planned.  But...it's finished and we both feel good.  :)  It's been awhile since I've started and finished a project in one day.  And I'm seeing my sewing/crafting as therapy right now.  And I'm happy to help my son start and finish a project as well so he can get that feeling of accomplishment - even in small doses.

Sammy Sewing

 I love these comic book filters.

After stuffing it, he said we should call it Lumpy Cat.

Sewing Son

My 12 yr. old son came into my finally put together sewing room and asked if he could sew something.  He and his brother have sewn before, but it's been a little while.  I guess my new tidy, organized room is sew inviting that it drew him in - which is what I've been hoping it would do, mostly for me, but also for anyone else interested.  :)

After hemming and hawing, I gently told him I thought it was a bit late to start a sewing project after 10:30pm (even though I've been known to sew into the wee hours of the morning but I didn't want to go there) He had some ideas for what he wanted to make and we were looking online for some further inspiration and came across a plushie tutorial that sparked his interest.  So, tomorrow morning he'll (we'll) be starting on this one we found on Instructables.

How To Make A Grumpy Cat Plush by elewis03

Sewing Room

I actually got something accomplished today, so that's a positive.  I've been in the process of setting up my sewing room for a couple weeks, at least - it could be more...time eludes me.  But, today, most of what I had dragged out of boxes and the closet and which was scattered about and covering most of the surfaces, I organized and put away.  It feels good.  I now have a clean, tidy, space in which to work.  It's just the basics.  I still have quite a few things in the garage which I haven't pulled out which include craft and wrapping supplies. I also haven't taken out all of my fabric.  I'm still trying to decide how I want to set that up.  But, this way, I can walk into the room and have the basics at my fingertips which makes it a lot easier for me to start a project.  During a project, things will get strewn about and thread, pins, and scraps will fly randomly as I dig in...but with everything having a place now, it can all be cleaned up and put away in a jiffy.

I can't work in a mess.  I even have a problem with doing the dishes if there's too much random mess.  I have to rinse and sort everything, clean the sink, wipe down the counter and faucet before I can begin.  And everything goes into the dish water in a certain order.  That's just how it's always been with me.  I cringe when I see people slipping cups, dishes, and silverware into that clean soapy water with particles of food on them or little gulps of liquid left.  Aaaack!  I can't watch that, can't be in the same room with that, can't think about that!  It's the same with the dishwasher.  Everything has to be scraped and rinsed before it goes in there.  The idea of little pieces of food flying around in "dishwasher space", jumping and landing, dish to dish, glass to glass, like a summery hopscotch game in the yard with the sprinkler on - yikes!  That's what nightmares are made of and enough to cause in me a gag reflex.  But, I digress.

Sewing room...yes.  One of the things that has encouraged me to get working on the room is the fact that I have just had two of my sewing machines serviced.  The first one I took in had stopped working while I was sewing up a cosmetic bag for my daughter.  After checking the tension and threading, I noticed the feed dogs were no longer moving.  I'm happy to say, I found a local young man who works on machines out of his home and he fixed it for me in one afternoon!  While there, I noticed another machine he had on the floor that looked exactly like one my sister-in-law gave me as a gift before I moved.  It's a vintage Singer and was in need of a really good cleaning, so I brought that one in when I picked up the other machine.  The gentleman did a beautiful job on the clean up and service and that sparked an eagerness in me to get my sewing stuff in order.  That modicum of peace I've gotten from something so simple, is proving so precious to me.

Here is my vintage Singer 301A - it came out sometime in the early 50's.

It's even older than me.  It's so nice to have something older than me around.

This is my Singer Stylist 513 

My beautiful, sweet, daughter bought this at a shop last summer and only used it a few times.  It's in a very nice wood sewing table and it became mine after she passed away.  So, it's very, very special to me.  Now that the feed dog gears have been replaced, it runs beautifully.  

   

And this is my Singer Touch Tronic 2001 - which I love!

Singer introduced this machine in 1978 and it was billed as "the world's first computer-controlled machine".  Such a big deal back then.  It amazes me that 37 years later not only is the machine running but the motherboard is still functioning.  

I seem to have been gravitating toward the vintage machines, not intentionally, it's just that there are so many available at reasonable prices at estate sales and online.  With a good cleaning, oiling, and a minor repair if needed, these machines with all, or mostly all, metal parts are hard to beat.  Maybe someday, if I have the money, I would consider buying new only a Bernina, Husqvarna, or Pfaff.  I've had a Husqvarna.  It was the first new sewing machine that was officially mine - my husband bought it for me the first Christmas we had in our first home.  (a lot of firsts there)  It lasted about 25 yrs. and then the pedal burned out.  The machine itself was still in good condition and I don't remember ever having any problems with it.  I used that machine to sew all my first 3 daughters' clothes, costumes, toys, gowns, stuff for our home, etc.  It got a lot of use and never let me down.  Now that I'm thinking about it, I really miss that machine.  :)  sigh..."Sew" many memories.

My Boys Sewing!

I love seeing my kids learning/trying something new.  But, I have especially enjoyed helping my boys learn how to sew.  My oldest son has been at the sewing machine before when he was 9, (now 11) when I was learning to quilt and he just really wanted to try it.  He did a fabulous job.  Boys and machines...they love 'em.

Well, a couple of months ago, I found these old  To-Sew sewing kits for 25¢ at a thrift shop.  They came with all the supplies needed - thread, needles, fabric-how could I resist?  They've been hanging in my closet and the other day my boys saw them and asked if they could "do" them, and it's been said that when a child wants to learn something that's the best time to teach them.  So, we went for it!

I worked with them one at a time, and we stopped several times throughout the day and came back to it.   I was happy with how they stuck with it, seeing it through to the end.  This was great because even though it's a relatively simple project, they were able to practice several skills - reading and following pattern instructions, ironing everything, pinning a pattern, transferring markings,  cutting out, machine and hand embroidery, machine and hand sewing.   And best of all, feeling good about what they had accomplished when it was finished!

 

My youngest practiced on scrap fabric before he sewed on the "real thing". 

It's amazing how much it took to fill this yellow "guy"!

Happy boy with his strange yellow bunny, shaped kind of like a tooth!

Even though my kids aren't exactly "little" anymore, they still like their stuffed toys.  My 11 yr. old recently told me, while hugging me, "Mom! I need to have a plushie of you so I can hug you all the time!"  That was SO sweet!  Not sure how much longer he's going to feel that way, ha!

 

My 11yr. old free form stitching  the filament design.  He thought hand sewing that would take too long so he wanted to try it on the machine.  We had already done quite a bit of embroidery on his brother's project, and  the felt strips on the bottom of this light bulb were sewn on by hand.  So, I said, "Sure, why not!"

I wondered if he'd be able to control his speed and the fabric and follow the lines.  But, I think he did a great job!

Ahh...success!  

I "googled" the To-Sew company, but couldn't find anything on them.  The bags show an address in California and the copyright on the pattern says 1998, so it's not terribly old.  It seems they may have gone out of business, or changed their name.  But these kits were really nice, including everything you need to complete the project.  I was impressed with how the pattern was just   like a typical sewing pattern, with instructions, layout, seam allowances, markings, and notches.  It was a very good starter project for teaching kids how to sew,  encompassing a lot of different skills. 

Since the sewing project, both my sons have drawn pictures of garments they would like to make for themselves (or have me make for them).  One stuffed toy-pillow-thingy under their belt and now they're into fashion design?  Hahaha...ya gotta love it! 

Dollar Store Warrior

Another project I just recently finished.....

That's my youngest, suited up for battle while we were at the Dollar Tree.

I originally was going to use this photo for a different project I wanted to try - stitching an outline onto watercolor paper and framing it.   But, I quickly realized that this was just too detailed, especially for my first go at it.   All those creases in that tube toy thing....what was I thinking!?   So, I just decided to finish sketching it instead.  

 My little hero.  :)

Sporty Santa

Here are the Bucilla Sport Santa stockings I did for a customer over the holidays. I had never done these before and once I had started them I realized I had grossly underestimated the amount of time involved in sewing these. There's no way, just by looking at them, that you can even begin to imagine how much work is involved. I had consulted a seamstress who regularly assembles these for customers so that I could get an idea of how much to charge for my time. But, according to the time she gave me for how long it takes her, she must either be very fast at hand sewing or I am very, very slow. (maybe as slow as I am at getting my project photos uploaded.)





When I finally finished them I felt like I needed to celebrate, but everyone in my home was sleeping and so I had to be satisfied with a quiet little "Yay!" from myself and the satisfaction of a job completed. The customer was very satisfied and even complimented my stitching, so I was happy.