sewing

The Mantle Refurb

Posted by missmusic1976 on Jul 2, 2010 | 1 comment

I recently posted about our house, displaying a ridiculous amount of photos of it.  I didn’t show too much of our mantle/fireplace area because I knew this post was coming. This area of our house needs some major remodeling, but we’re going to have to wait for a while before we can get to it.  When we were doing the major clean-up before we moved in, one thing I did was paint the brick fireplace a clean white, which really helped.  I couldn’t get past the mantle- it has been used and loved and now, as you can see below, it is covered with scratches and wear and tear.  I have longed for a mantle for years, but was a bit deflated with this one because it is just plain tired.  And who can blame it?   It’s probably about as old as I am!

Before:  tired, scratched, worn, you get the idea

(Do you like the Kleenex boxes stacked to the left of the clock?  I think we were winding up a “sickie” phase at the time of sewing.  And those are Anna’s play cupcakes to the left.)

I headed to our local Home Fabrics store.  That place is dangerous!  I bought a ridiculous amount of fabric and got to sewing.  I am so (sew) happy with the end result.  It was really easy, too- I’d show a tutorial or something but I was too dang excited to get this thing on and I didn’t take any pictures.  I love how it hangs, how it looks, etc.  I thought I might have to hot glue it on there, but the frames and such seem to be holding it on just perfect.  The other thing I did (not shown) was I sewed a secret pocket on one end to stash our keys for the gas fire-place.  They were always hidden behind a frame and I was worried they would get lost.

After:

Basically I cut a realllllly long piece of the fabric to cover both the top and the overhang.  I finished the sides and then folded them over and hemmed them.  Then I cut two squares for the ends and sewed it all together.  Hooray for improvisation!  Now we just need to decide what to hang above the mantle.  Someday maybe we’ll have a flat screen up there, but for now….  Any ideas?

Props to the crafting ladies

Posted by missmusic1976 on Jul 1, 2010 | 1 comment

I am in awe of some of my friends who craft so well.  One of the reasons I started this blog is because I was honestly a bit jealous of the abilities of some wonderful women I know, and some women I don’t know but who I stalk on a regular basis via their blogs.

A few months ago my friend Kari, who sews the most beautiful things, posted about making gifts for children.  I saw these crayon rolls and just had to try them.  I have now made four, and I know that I will be making more.  There is something so satisfying about choosing two fun fabrics, getting a few supplies together and having your end product be so cute AND usable.  I can’t give Kari all the recognition, though, because Kari actually got the idea from Lindsey at The Pleated Poppy and now I am hooked on yet another blog!

So thanks, Kari!  Thanks, Lindsey!

Below are my attempts at making the crayon rolls.  And Lindsey is right- the best part is sliding the crayons in when you’re almost done.  (Here’s a link to Lindsey’s tutorial in case you want to make them for yourself.)

I made two with a “girly” theme.  I love, love, love this button- I want to get more of it.

Note my tags that I ordered, too- I got them from Lisa at MommieMadeIt on etsy.com.  Love them!  I also love the two “boyish” ones, too.  Hopefully you can’t tell in these photos, but I actually didn’t get the crayon pockets perfect on either of these two.  Something about the dark fabric made it hard.  I had to use tailor’s chalk to mark the lines so that it would show on the black.  I was probably rushing through it.  But the crayons still fit, and I know that the 2 recipients of these will not care.  For the next set I will be more careful!  Scout’s honor.

Anna’s Doll Bedding: First Project

Posted by missmusic1976 on Jun 30, 2010 | Comments Off on Anna’s Doll Bedding: First Project

My first project with my new sewing machine needed to be something that wasn’t going to “matter” in terms of looking like something expected or patterned.  I didn’t want that pressure when I really haven’t had much sewing experience since middle school.  My mom sent out my old doll bed from when I was growing up- isn’t it cute?  It’s brass and very sturdy.  However, the bedding was looking a little… well… a bit like bedding from the early 80s should.  It had lots of cats on it- and since my childhood days I have become extremely, horrendously, completely allergic to cats.  (I think I’d probably sneeze while sitting next to a hairless cat, truth be told.  But I wouldn’t sit next to a hairless cat because they freak me out.) So, the cats and the color combo just weren’t doing it for me.  On a date day, Michael and I happened upon a little fabric store in North Park- wish I could remember the name.  They had this adorable ladybug flannel.  I found some trim, pulled out leftover muslin from Anna’s room, and I was ready to sew.

*note*  These are horrible pictures.  My apologies!

First I made the fitted sheet and the bed skirt (left).  Then I simply cut a piece of muslin to size and made a “sheet” (center).   Then I made a “quilt” and I guess what one might call a bolster pillow (?) that runs along the back of the bed, since it’s sort of a day bed (right).

Finally I whipped up some pillows.  These were fun!  I think the only one I don’t really care for is the round one because I was short on trim and ended up hacking it (reference my header- clearly don’t know what I’m doing yet) to pieces.  Oh well.  Anna loves it.  She didn’t love the whole thing at first- in fact she immediately asked for the cat bedding back.  Ah, to be 3 again. Thanks, sweetie.

My sewing machine

Posted by missmusic1976 on Jun 30, 2010 | Comments Off on My sewing machine

One of the things that generated the idea for me to start a crafting blog was the fact that I was able to start sewing.  I borrowed my friend Jane’s sewing machine to make some things for Anna’s room (pictures to come in a following post), and found myself craving my own machine.  I requested one for my birthday earlier this year, my family all chipped in and presto!  Here we are.

I am lucky that I have a sweet, sweet MIL who was willing to take me shopping for a machine.  Interestingly enough, it was the same weekend that this happened.   Not the best mindset for focusing on buying a major purchase, but it was what it was.  If you are new to my world, you will learn that I am extremely accident-prone.

We went to a few stores that sold a variety of machines.  I can’t tell you why I picked the one I did, other than when I sat down and sewed a few scraps, I really, really liked the way it “felt” (as much as one can “feel” while sewing).   I ended up buying a Juki, and you can see the full info on it here.

One of the things I like is pictured below- on the left side of the machine is a thread cutter.  It’s awesome!  No picking up scissors or thread trimmers to cut the thread- just pull it away and *snip* on the cutter and you’re good to go.

My absolute favorite thing is the automatic needle threader.  I’m still not exactly sure how this thing works, but I love it.  On left you see the machine in its normal state, ready to sew.  On the right you see my finger pressing down the white threading mechanism (that’s my official name for it).  I’m not savvy enough with my camera to photograph the whole process, but it’s so helpful.  At first I thought, “I can see perfectly fine, I don’t need the threader- it’s just a bonus.”  But then, as I got more comfortable with the machine, I decided to try it and now I’m hooked.  It takes seconds to change thread now- love it!

Some other things I like about the machine- I can see my bobbin so I know when I’m going to run out of thread down below.  With my friend Jane’s machine (and other machines I’ve used that were older) you can’t see the bobbin so you’re always guessing as to when you’re going to run out.  Another interesting feature is the push button sewing.  In the photo on the right you can see the arrow that points up.  If the foot is not hooked up to the machine then you can just push that button and away you go.  The top slider (between the turtle and the rabbit) is what controls your speed.  I’ve had lots of friends ponder about push-button sewing.  I’ve been trying both and I have to say I like the push-button in a few scenarios.  I used it to make some pillows and it worked great.  In other scenarios, though, I would stick to the foot pedal.  Interestingly enough, when you have the foot pedal hooked up to this one, you can limit the speed as well.  So if I don’t want to accidentally send my machine into a sewing frenzy I can push the slider down a bit and it won’t let me go past a certain speed.  Very smart, very smart indeed.  🙂

If you have any questions about my machine, please ask away!