14 posts tagged “sewing”
My trip to the hospital for pre-testing was rewarded with a hospital rummage sale in the atrium! I happily picked up this nice Nine West hat for a dollar and...
65 spools of Gutterman and Meltler brands (high-quality) sewing thread for just $13.00, thank you VERY much! Each spool is a different, glorious color! In case you don't know, the thread is worth at least $130.00, new. Only a few of them have been used at all. SCORE!
A while back, I posted photos of my new Inkle loom, which I WON in a drawing. Well...I had warped it twice, with some disappointing yarn choices, so I finally re-warped it two days ago with some vintage sewing thread given to me by my dear friend and neighbor, Angelia. It is done in a light purple, darker purple and a deep wine color.
The thread was so thin that I felt my large wooden shuttle would not be the right size for the project, so I grabbed my copper (brass?) shuttle that my friend Clancy made for my net tying, as in fishing or decorative nets. It was kind of tarnished, because I haven't made any netting in a long time, but as I used it to weave the ribbon on my inkle loom, it polished up so nicely with just the oils from my hands! Lovely. He is also Noreen Crone-Findlay's Son-In-Law, I might add!
So, when warping, I decided that I wanted an ample border on one edge to be able to sew onto a garment without crowding the ribbon, so I made the lighter color edge wider than the darker purple edge. I was also running out of heddles, and rather than make up some more, I just started the darker purple border sooner than I had intended. This was just practice, after all! I also made the alternating color band in the middle by tying on a new color each wrap of the warp just for about eight or so wraps. I will certainly have a lot of fun playing around with the set-up in the future, now that I know what I'm doing, I can't wait to warp on a wider ribbon in a width and style perfect for the straps on a new hand-knit top for me!!! Silk thread next time, maybe? Wee! What fun. :-) Sorry...I just get really excited about this kind of thing.
Whew. I got too excited there for a little bit! I received my swap package from Laurraine today and I couldn't have been more impressed with everything! I couldn't wait for my four year old to finish her computer game, so I called her up in Canada to thank her. What a treat it was to speak with her! She is just as delightful as I knew she would be.
So...here's the loot! Woo-hoo!
Click on the images for a larger view.
Some of the yarn is for knitting into dishcloths for her, to be included in my swap package to her, and the rest is for ME! Wee!
The fabric...um, yes. It's only Japanese fabric...from Japan! She picked it up especially for me on her last trip there.
You already saw the teacup pouch (sent with fabulously scented tea bags)...I can assure you, it's even lovelier in person! Then there's the adorable lavender sachets that she makes. Just darling!
So...you can see why I'm emotionally spent right now! Getting such a grand package and talking with her on the phone...it's been a really fun morning!
Thanks Patchy!
RM
Ok...HERE'S THE SCOOP! My friend Lorraine of Patchwork Pottery is working on a craft swap with me and I had to show off my POUCH she made for me!
Now, that's not THE BIG SCOOP...
THE BIG SCOOP IS: I've been informed that tonight she is going to add several more of these precious handmade pouches to her Etsy Shop. I thought I'd tell my Vox family about it, since they are just so cute and she hasn't had any available for a while. I would imagine that they'll go fast, but what the heck...it's worth a try!
So, there you go...your 'heads up!'
RM
(photo courtesy of Patchwork Pottery)
I've come to the conclusion that I must really be honest with myself about the things I create, especially where clothing is concerned.
I must ask myself this question and be brutally honest with myself as to the answer:
Would I want to wear my items if I had NOT made them myself?
In other words, if I had seen it for sale on a store shelf, would I have grabbed it up and headed for the dressing room or register with a silly grin on my face, or would I have passed it right on by without giving it a second thought?
I feel that I sometimes work with a material that I would not normally use simply because it is what is on hand. If I do have fabric or yarn sitting around that is not my style, it was either 'too good of a deal to pass up', inherited or it was given to me by a generous friend. Most of the time I try to only buy or accept the things that I know I'll use, but sometimes the 'pack rat' in me loses touch of reality which can lead to the creation of a garment that I myself would not usually wear. I do understand that not everyone has my tastes and that someone else may want to buy it from me, but then it's sitting there in my shop, regarded by viewers as a direct representation of my style and taste.
As hard as it is for someone like me who loves to 'Reduce, Reuse and Recycle' to not stash any and all supplies away for a future project, I must be truthful with myself about my materials.
Will I use that which I do not love?
Then, an even more important thing to think about is...
Is it fair to my loved ones and friends to make them something handmade if I myself am unhappy with the materials that I use?
Yes, the hat that I knitted in the photo above is pretty cute, but my daughter would not have worn it if I had paid her off in ice cream! (I tried.)
How many coarse, ugly-colored knitted or crocheted hats must people have hidden away in their sock drawers since the invention of acrylic yarn? How many people have hand sewn items in their closets that will never see the light of day because all their moms or wives buy is cheap, unfashionable, discounted fabric prints which in all honesty, had they been seen in a garment on the racks of a department store, would have certainly been passed over by the same women who buy it by the yards?
As someone who has just packed up a box of fabric that she herself has bought at discount prices, I urge you...
"Don't walk away from the store with cloth or yarn that you're not thrilled about...no matter the price!"
I really don't want to sound harsh, and I'm not saying that I wouldn't be pleased as punch to find a $1.00 fabric table or even a gently-used cotton bed sheet with a fabulous print that is just perfect for a project. It just seems to me that we, as artists who display pride in the skill and dedication to the quality of our workmanship, should be willing to seek out the kind of quality in materials necessary to maintain that high standard.
Now, remember...I am Recycle Micol! So don't worry about any supplies currently in my stash going to waste, of course. I do like to use a lot of vintage and repurposed fabrics and materials which I feel represent me perfectly in my crafting. When I do have to 'weed out' some undesirable supplies for lack of storage space, I would never let anything that can be useful to someone else just go into a landfill somewhere. I have wonderful local artist friends who work in costuming for the theater and others who design their own crafts who always benefit from donations of my fabric and craft destash sessions.
So, I hereby vow: I will not create with materials that are not thoroughly pleasing to me.
With all due respect and love for myself and others,
RM
Ahhhh...the sweet rewards of having an Etsy shop...other than the money! I sold that slick child's 70's jumpsuit
pattern to a nice LIBRARIAN in California and she was kind enough to share her creation with me! Check out her blog for pics.
Later!
RM
So, I was complaining about the pictures of crafts that I've made within the past year or two not uploading from my
PhotoBucket account, right? Well, I just posted several sets of them in my photo gallery. They're there now. You can view them if you wish. I still have more. I'll post them when I get more time, but I don't want to blog all of them each time, so I'll just let you know when I have more in there. I also gave details in the descriptions on each picture, so you can kind of get the idea of what they are and why I made them.
Hugs to the mothers!
(Happy Mother's Day!)
RM
An example of some of the new craft pics in my Vox Photos section:
I modified the artist smock pattern that I created for Rachel Bates, potter extraordinaire. We wanted it to include a third pocket, buttons to easily attach a towel for keeping things neat, and a couple of darts at the bust for better fit.
I used a bed sheet that my lovely friend Angelia had given to me, which conveniently had a nice border print that was perfect for accentuating the pockets. I made my first 'substantial' amount of bias tape out of the contrasting pillow sham. For this I tried the continuous bias tape method. It was time consuming, but it worked! I really love the results!
I came up with the idea of faux pocket flaps at the tops of the pockets so that there would be a large area of stitching to secure the pockets really well and prevent tears at the corners, which is a common problem with pockets on smocks and aprons. The buttons used are from my stash of vintage buttons purchased from a little antique store in my town...which alas, has now closed it's doors.
Anyway, she just loves the fit! She intends to have one for every day of the week...thus the title of this post! She is scrounging and sending out spies across the land for interesting and well-loved sheet sets to help support her new-found smock habit.
I have about 25 of these used sewing patterns that are in fair to good condition. (See my Photos section for more.) If anyone's interested, a lot of them are in my shop now. Any of them that are not yet, can be if anyone wants them. Just contact me for more info! If you see them in my shop, be sure to read the descriptions!
Later!
I updated my Etsy shop with some more vintage fabric today. It's just the greatest!!! If I had more time to sew, I would keep it and use it, for sure...but I must make more time to SPIN YARN!!!
I intend to put some of my handspun in my shop when I get it spun and dyed, so be on the look out!
Have a great day!!!
RM
