Clutch

{or makeup bag}

^ Click on the picture for larger detail ^

{Snow}ed In

Well we have a sever winter blizzard warning going on right now. Everything is shut down. My work is closed, and so are Josh’s classes. So, what’s a perfect thing to do? Sew!

We have this nice griddle to cook yummy things like eggs and hash browns and sausage on (like this morning!). The problem with this thing is there’s no good place to keep it except some open shelves we have. The problem with the open shelves is dust an floating pet hair that can accumulate between uses. That means it gets washed after cooking, and before. I don’t like having to keep it somewhere it gets so dirty-when I want to prepare food on it. SO-I came up with a solution :)

Got some green fabric to blend with my attempt of a green kitchen theme. I used my serger to put it together. I thought about making it from one big piece-and just tucking the corners to box them. BUT, as I was measuring and looking at the griddle, I wanted to make the cover fit the curves better. It’s not just a rectangle-the long sides round out about 3 1/2 inches.

I traced a pattern and cut it all out. I sewed a rolled hem on the bottom (first time doing it!) and put it all together. It fits nice and snug :)

 

 

 

 

 

Bathroom Update

Looks like a plain bathroom huh? Well it is---but its been nicely freshened up! I love it. To read the whole story feel free to visit my other blog.

http://joshandmichellebell.blogspot.com/2011/01/little-change-goes-long-way.html

Serger Class

Well I took a class at a local sewing machine shop to see if I could learn anything there about my new toy. I had done my homework and was pretty competent about the whole thing. I was an impressive first timer! I had a good time and learned a few things, and gained some confidence with my first project.

I had to get a book that they follow projects out of. One of the projects was for a wine gift bag. The beauty of this project is it can be adapted as a gift bag for any number of items, not just a bottle of wine. Things like a loaf of bread, bottle of preserves, some books, or the teacher said even a sack of potatoes lol.

As part of the class, I had to supply all of my own stuff except the actual fabric. They had the fabric chosen and pre-cut, and put into little kits. I probably would never have chosen this fabric myself-but I’m starting to dislike it less.

Inside is a nice jar of spaghetti sauce :)

{why is there bananas? I don’t know. I set this backdrop up for a picture of the banana bread I made and thought it would work for this too! lol}

Tablerunner

This was a first for me in a few ways…

* 1st tablerunner
* 1st pieced top
* 1st machine quilted thing
* 1st bound thing
* 1st time making bias tape
* oh and 1st time using fat quarters

I messed some things up and learned some things, and I’m excited to make another! It wasn’t as hard as I thought it might be.

This also makes me more excited for the quilt I plan to make sometime soon. It’s not a plan for the immediate future but maybe a couple months down the road I’ll start one :)

 

I still need to wash it. I’ve read that they look better after the first wash.

PS My mom got her kitchen towels and loves them :)

Cheat Sheet

There’s so much more to know and remember and adjust on the serger than there is on the sewing machine! It’s do-able, just complicated at first. I know I’ll get the hang of it, but not without more practice. What has been most annoying is flipping through the book over and over to look up the same little things that I haven’t quite memorized. Like, which one of the knobs does what? And what’s the ‘normal’ number on the knob? And, how do I remove that thingy-majig? Or just-What page was that darn stitch on??

SO I made this silly sheet. Anyone who already knows what they are doing I’m sure will laugh…

BUT it’s going to help me getting started, and especially in the class I’m taking next weekend!

And yes, I decided to make it pretty-so maybe I’d enjoy using it. I made it match my other stuff :)

New Toy

This is my Christmas gift from my Mom. It finally came! I sat down and read through the manual and got her out. It’s intimidating but exciting at the same time!

This is my new serger. It’s basically like a glorified sewing machine. These are what they use to make all our store bought clothes. It has 2 needles instead of one and uses 4 spools of thread. It finishes the edges of things and trims them as it goes. I know there’s a lot more things to do with it and I have a lot to learn! I’m probably taking a little class to help me with some projects at a local sewing store.

No it’s not something I really needed. But this is something I anticipate using a huge amount in my future. I have learned that I love to sew, and one day I hope to make tons of stuff for my kids. Maybe even clothes for myself! THIS will make these things so much easier and I want to learn what I am doing now, so that THEN I will be ready :)

Plus for gifts and other things I like to make, I can finish off edges and do some things to make them much more professional :)

Things I’m going to be working on:

padded hangers-creating my own pattern

maybe I’ll make another set of towels

appliance covers (with the serger!)

Make a carseat cover with Jackie’s pattern

get some more fabric and make curtains

Wish me luck!