Christmas Stockings

So I sort of failed when it came to documenting the process of making these stockings. In fact, I documented none of it. All I have to show for myself are these three photos:

Cutting pieces:

Pieces cut:

Finished product:

They turned out really, really well. I'm super happy with them. They seem sturdy and well constructed. Also, I learned about sewing curved edges which is not as difficult as I though it would be. Next year I'll add initials for the three of us: S, L, and J.

Tree Skirt

I'm sorry that I haven't blogged since October, things have been a little crazy recently. For starters, Simon and I hosted Thanksgiving for our families this year. You can read about it here. The following weekend we had a bunch of friends over to celebrate my birthday and so everyone can see our finally put together apartment. And then THIS weekend we brought home our very own puppy. Her name is Jessie:

So while I have been doing plenty of crafting and cooking, I don't have many finished products to show you at this point in time. I did, however, just recently sewed us a Christmas tree skirt. You see, this is the first year we've been able to buy a real Christmas tree and we quickly realized it was in need of a tree skirt:

See how entirely unattractive that giant green tree stand is?

So we went out and grabbed a couple yards of fabric and Simon helped me draw and inner and outer circle and I went to work. The fabric itself was not terribly wide so our skirt isn't very large, but I think in future years I will add a few more inches of "trim" around the outside to extend it a bit.

The sewing for this was pretty simple. Most of my time was consumed with pinning the edges. It's a little tricky to get a 1/2 inch seam to be even along a curved surface, but I worked it out.

I did this for the outer edge, inner edge and the sides of the back seam (I cut a slit up the back so we could drape it around the tree stand).

Ta-dah! Pretty tree skirt:

SINGER 7256 Fashion Mate

I bought a new sewing machine!

Actually, I didn't buy it. My parents gave it to me as an early birthday present. Thanks parents!

It's pretty sweet. Not only does it have a whole lot of computerized stitches, but it also as an automatic needle threader, a bunch of extra bobbins, needles, feet, buttonhole accessories, etc. And it fits great on my new sewing table in my new office. Yay new things!

I've turned it on, threaded it, used the bobbin winder, and generally fussed around with it. However, it has yet to see true needle to fabric action. I planned on using it this past weekend for just that but I got a head cold and my entire life got relegated to the couch, or the bed, or anywhere else I could close my eyes. I did manage to get to JP Knit and Stitch which was having a big fabric sale. I found this beautiful yellow and white fabric.

I'm not sure what I'll use it for, but I'm sure it will be something fabulous. Unfortunately, I bought this along with a yellow rotary cutter in a yellow box while wearing my neon yellow hoodie - everyone in the store had a big laugh at that. Normally I would have laughed along with them but it took everything I need not to sneeze on every single piece of cloth in that store.

I also made a quick trip to Winmil Fabrics in downtown Boston to buy some cheap organza for a test run of a secret wedding craft.

Kindle Love

Oh hey blogosphere! It's been over two and a half months since I've last visited. I promise to be more diligent in the future. The main reasons for my lack in crafting/cooking are that I've packed up my super cool but super old (and therefore frustrating to use) sewing machine and I've been having some stomach problems since March that have resulted in a not-so-interesting diet.

ANYWAY

I've pulled myself together and sewed myself a Kindle cover by hand:

Pretty, right?! The exterior fabric is from a friend of mine and the case is lined with tan and white felt to provide some cushion for the kindle. I used this pattern. As you can see I decided to only do one strap and went for adhesive velcro instead of fussing with a button.

Overall I'm pretty happy with it. I'd definitely change a few things though if I were to make another one. You can't really tell from the picture above, but the measurements didn't quite work out - no matter how much I pull, tug, and push, that kindle will still peek out of the top the tiniest bit, even when the tab is closed. Also, I'd trim the edges in addition to the corners of the lining before inserting it into the exterior fabric. The 1/2" seam allowance on the exterior fabric and the 1/2" seam allowance on the interior fabric don't lay nicely together so the edges are a little wonky (this could also be due to uneven sewing by hand).

It was easy to do and I've used it lots this past week while carrying my kindle during my daily commute.

Apron!

A little over a year ago my aunt shipped me a large (I mean REALLY large) box of vintage clothes she had stored for years. This box appeared to be an assortment of store bought vintage pieces, homemade clothing, and stage costumes. Some of it was donated, some of it given to friends, and some of it was put aside with the intent of being made in to various sewing projects, the first of which I finished a few weeks ago! I turned a too-large and boxy yellow sundress in to an apron. Unfortunately, the original picture of the entire dress has disappeared, so I can't show a before and after. That said, here is the finished product:

The original dress had two straps which I combined to make a halter; a full back which I removed; and a lot of length at the bottom which I also removed and turned in to a tie at the back of the waist. The large hip pockets already existed and were my initial inspiration to make this an apron since they are the perfect size for cooking utensils. All in all it turned out pretty well. I was definitely lazy when it came to finishing the seams and make a clean, polished garment - but...I don't really care. It fits comfortably and looks good from the front. For a piece of clothing that is meant to get dirty and beaten up, I think it's pretty damn good!

And I've already tested it out with a delicious recipe I'll be posting at a later date : )

It was really good to get the practice sewing with my machine.  I'm going to try to work sewing projects into my life more often. It can actually be pretty zen sitting at a humming machine for a length of time.

Tweet tweet

I made a bag!

A beautiful tote bag.

This is a small accomplishment of which I am very proud. It's the first thing I've sewn with a real pattern and using actual sewing techniques; rather than making it up from my own little imagination.


Gather Here, a small shop in Inman Square, holds really fun lessons in sewing, embroidery, knitting, crochet, and crafts. A few friends of mine attending an embroidery class and fell in love with the wicked awesome shop owner/instructor and the beautiful fabrics like the black bird/cherry blossom pattern above. I gave it a shot on their recommendation and fully intend to return for everything else I can possible weasel my way in to.

Big Bird Curtains

I spend 40 hours a week in an office with no windows. My overworked eyes and migraine-prone skull crave natural sunlight on a daily basis. Luckily, we have an unusually large window in our living room, like 52" x 95" large. It is wonderful to have that much light coming into our apartment. But unluckily, since we live on the first floor we rarely have the blinds open and almost never benefit from the available sunlight. I finally made the decision to sew together some sheer curtains to provide some privacy while still allowing the beautiful natural light shine through.


I intended to use the lace above, however the height of the fabric was nowhere near tall enough for our special window. So, I went shopping! I bought a beautiful light yellow cotton which is sheer enough that light shines through, but opaque enough that no one would be able to see in.


Of course, this fabric did not instantly fit the dimensions of the window either; however since it has no pattern I could attach three panels together to create a larger, single window curtain panel. Do this process twice, add some hems and a loop at the top, and...


...ta-da! curtains! I'm not thrilled with the curtain rod, mostly because it's not the one I ordered. This one has clear glass orbs at the ends of the rod, the orbs on the rod I ordered were a dark metal like the rest of the piece. Oh well, I didn't feel like waiting for a new one in the mail so I just kept what I got.


This picture was taken a night; during the day the light looks beautiful.

New Home Sewing Machine 532

Now this is one damn fine sewing machine:

This baby formerly belonged to my Aunt Betty Anne, then found its way to my Aunt Dianne, and has now found a new cozy home in my office. It is a beast. Pure steel attached to a large fold-up cabinet/work station complete with a really awesome knee pedal instead of foot pedal. And most amazingly, my aunts kept the original manual that came with the machine - which has come in very handy as threading this big boy is a complex task.


Check out the fold-out parts list and the massive list of pieces below:


I've played around on the machine a bit. I altered a dress that no longer fit, sewed a pillow cover for a pillow form I had laying around, and have begun a quilted pot holder as I come into scrap pieces from other projects.

Upcoming posts:
-Curtains! I just bought some yellow fabric today to make some uniquely shaped curtains for our super large living room window.
-Hat! Among other gifts, Simon's mom gave me a coupon for yarnbazaar.com where I bought some circular needles in order to knit myself a new winter hat. I love my current hat, but it's very old and has begun to look really ratty....
-Meatballs! Simon and I made some homemade meatball subs today and they were delish. I have pictures on my phone but the meatballs made me so warm and comfy that I am just too lazy to transfer them to the computer right now.

New Projects!

I'm back! I have a two completed projects! Well...three...but I only have pictures of two of them. 1) During my long blogging hiatus, I have completed a very large knitted scarf that has proved wonderful during the snowy Boston winters.

On another note, a few months ago, my friend Lauren made me a beautiful skirt:


and I got the sewing bug!

Sewing has a long history in my family. My Grandmom Warner and Aunt Dianne were/are avid sewers. I told my aunt about the skirt project with Lauren and she sent up a massive amount of fabric for me to play with; and soon, she will be giving me a fancy sewing machine which used to belong to my Aunt Betty-Anne. yay, new toys!

However, the sewing machine won't be here until September, and then I need to learn how to use it, and well....I got impatient and decided to hand-sew a few projects.

I made a 4 square pillow will the scraps of my skirt and the left over stuffing from the toys I made for Micah and Zoe. Also, I put together a yoga mat bag!


The pillow was pretty easy. 8 squares, sewn together, stuffed, sewn shut. Easy-peezy-lemon-squeezy.


it's actually really comfortable.

The yoga mat proved more difficult since I did not have a pattern, I just made it up myself. It is complete with a carrying strap with adjustable D-ring fasteners, and a cinching top closure. This fabric came from my Aunt Dianne and I really, really love the pattern/colors. I initially wanted to make clothing out of it but the squares are slightly to big for my ever-so slight frame.



I had some difficulty with gauging the diameter of the bag since the yoga mat can vary in size depending on how tightly it is rolled, and the mat is also very grippy so I had to made the bag loose enough to easily slide over the bag. After a few tries I managed to get it right.


While I didn't have any patterns, I did look up a few different yoga mat designs on the internet. I found a few that had flat bottoms, a-la this bag. Which would have been super easy but I really didn't like the way it looked. I went a head and attempted securing a circular bottom. It wasn't fun to sew it together, but all in all it worked pretty well. I was left with a bit of a fold at the end, but it tucked in nicely and isn't proving harmful or unattractive. I'm assuming I just measured it incorrectly.


And there we have it! New toys and I saved probably $20-30 by making my own yoga bag, and the pillow will look really nice in our new apartment...as long as I don't wear the skirt any where near it...