Entries Tagged 'Crafting' ↓

✓ practice with the rotary cutter

✓ remember how to do basic embroidery

✓ use the new-to-me antique sewing machine

(new, low-shank ¼” foot purchased at glad creations.)

i’ve had my eye on this pattern from the purl bee for quite some time — i’m so delighted that i was finally able to use it! it served as my reintroduction to the sewing world, forcing me to find my only embroidery hoop and to ensure that my sewing machine was in good working condition.

i can still sew a straight line: hooray!

purl bee instructions read:

To make sure the pillows corners are neat you will want to sew a curve instead of a right angle. Mark this curve by using a juice glass as instructed below.

a wine glass works just as well, i’ve found. (maybe even better at times.)

everything i learned in home ec. class came flooding back with that familiar sewing machine hum. it feels so good to craft!

the finished pillow cases! they make me happy and there’s another bonus: an item on my 101 goals in 1001 days list is complete.

can’t wait to get to sewing some quilt blocks — i am currently in the process of cutting many squares. i am nervous about cutting up all of my lovely fabrics (worried i’ll do something wrong) but also really excited to finally be making some progress! i hope i can get a lot more cutting done this weekend, so i can start laying everything out by sunday night. (i’ll just have to find a good, cat-free zone for this…)

i received a wise reminder from my friend, bertine: “measure twice!” (so far, so good!)

Brenda from The A to B of Cooking came over the other night, when I had no idea what to make for dinner. She proposed trading her cooking for my photography… um, yeah, of course I’ll take that trade!

Lucky for her, it’s pretty rare that I feel like making dinner — but I’m always up for taking photos.

I’m looking forward to your next visit, B! Yum!!

tonight i spent some time with my antique sewing machine that jason and i inherited from our home’s previous owner. it is a wards signature sewing machine, model UHT J277E. do you happen to have a manual i could look at?

it’s been a while since i’ve looked at a sewing machine, so i decided that if i could do some test sewing tonight, that would be cool. i don’t want to use the machine to finish the pillow covers i’ve been working on until i have a good grasp on how to use it.

i had a couple challenges during my exploration tonight. first, i couldn’t figure out how to run the machine! where is the foot pedal?! i searched through the drawers again (which i’ve previously looked through and cleaned up a bit) but didn’t find anything. i was almost ready to give up. almost.

it turns out that this machine doesn’t have a foot pedal, but it does have a knee pedal! on the inside under the table foldout is the pedal. so cool! i don’t know why this excites me, but i just think its so unique. it makes the machine that much more weird and awesome to have!

i mean, the thing is already avocado green. can you buy sewing machines in this color anymore?

my next challenge was figuring out how to insert a new needle. i probably spent a half hour trying to find the right screwdriver and messing with various bits to try to figure it, when i thought i’d give up for the evening and share my photos instead. (much less frustrating.)

the only useful information i’ve found online is from jim and elizabeth and i think i see a clue for installing my needle in their photos, so hopefully i have some more success during my next attempt.

in the drawers, my favorite things are the ridiculous number of bobbins (most of them already filled with thread), the magnifying glass, and the vintage wooden thread spools. there is also a special wards signature case filled with different feet for the machine and a bunch of other little parts that i am clueless about. (again: anyone have a manual?)

i am too lazy to look this up on google at the moment: what is “stretch stitch sewing”? i don’t think i’ll need to do this for quilting. i think.

i smiled so hard when i found what was cast into the bottom of the machine. happy!

i was an embroidery fool over the weekend, but i finished that bit of my current project last night. i am making pillow covers for the sofa in our living room. it seems like a simple project, but we need new pillow covers and i thought this would be a good, small project to test out my sewing machine — which i’m planning to use for the first time tonight!

in somewhat related news, i joined in on the pinterest fun, though i haven’t yet added a lot to my craft room idea board.

this is my crafting room currently. very unsatisfying. i have my eye on a certain table and an expedit shelf from ikea — both in white. i also want to paint the walls white. this is a basement room with a north-facing window, so it needs as much help finding light as it can get. i think having white walls and white furniture will help everything look clean while helping my beautiful yarns, fabrics, and other miscellaneous decor really stand out.

speaking of, i have a really lovely little fabric collection for my first quilt (or two)!

these arrived in the mail very quickly from sew modern. i read about the shop on film in the fridge last wednesday, placed an order that evening, and the package arrived on saturday. such delicious fabrics!

i got these from jo-ann fabrics on saturday. my friend, bertine, informed me about their iphone app that has coupons — so i got 40% off that cut of navy fabric!

On Sunday I was thinking about the Big Three house projects that Jason & I have. I need to keep my eyes on the prize(s) and save money.

And then yesterday I went shopping.

My day started with a trip to my favorite salon, Sanctuary SalonSpa in downtown Minneapolis. I just needed an overall trim (short haircuts grow too fast) and also decided to get bangs. My stylist, Beth, decided to get the curling iron out while I was there. I always enjoy having fun hair for a day! (I am much too lazy to style my hair everyday.)

While I was there, I also decided to redeem some birthday certificates I had from Aveda’s Pure Privilege program. I got a bottle of custom perfume, a few trial-size bottles of their hand relief lotion, and after purchasing two “full-size” items, I got to spin a prize wheel — and won a free eyebrow wax! So, not only did this save me a trip to the Aveda store in Edina, I also got a few freebies! Best salon trip ever. I love it there.

After all of that girliness, I picked up my friend, Bertine, and we went to her nearby quilting store, Glad Creations, for their New Year’s Day sale and yearly coupon book.

A new hobby has been born, my friends. I picked up a few fat quarters for the future and some fabric with which to make some throw pillows for my living room — basic sewing, but will be useful in getting to know my antique new-to-me sewing machine and make sure its working correctly before I truly commit to quilt-making. (I have a pattern I want to make! And I’m accumulating more as I continue to read more and more quilting blogs…)

I also visited Jo-Ann Fabrics for a rotary cutting kit and scored big with sales there, too. It was a good day for shopping! Now I’m dying to get to work on some new crafting projects, but I don’t think I’ll be able to until next week. Major bummer, but something to look forward to!