I have always loved sewing since I was a little girl at about 10 and started making Barbie clothes on my Mother's treadle Singer sewing machine. Actually this machine was originally my great grandmother. My uncle had installed a motor on the machine but I was not allowed to use the motor until I was a little older. Mom made almost all the clothes for herself, my sister and myself on this machine. I remember standing in the middle of the kitchen table so Mom could use the hem guide to hem our dresses. When the dresses were done we would spin in the living room to see how far out the skirt would go. That was of course after we sometimes found a wayward pin in the waistline. Not only was Mom an inspiration for my sewing but also my Aunt Kate. If Mom didn't have a solution to a problem with a pattern, Aunt Kate surely did. And then there was my friend's Mom, Mrs. Muir who lived up the street that was always helpful when I needed it. They all encouraged me to keep sewing and I continued to use the old Singer machine. When I got my first full time job, I bought my own new sewing machine. It was a Pfaff cabinet model and I bought it at Witherill's from Mr. Thorne. And, this machine went in reverse! I soon upgraded to a Pfaff free arm machine and then to a Pfaff 1471. I am fortunate to have three beautiful daughters and I can't begin to tell you how many hours are on that 1471 making them clothes from infancy right up to adulthood. Play clothes, dress, coats, 1st Communion dresses, dozens of Halloween costumes - even in high school and prom dresses. For many years I did little sewing and missed what I call "my therapy". There is nothing more relaxing to me than to spend an evening sewing. So, last Spring I bought a used machine. I said, I don't want a fancy one - I don't do embroidery but the 2170 fit the bill for the features I wanted and it did embroidery. Well, I was soon taking classes at Knecht's and have found a love of machine embroidery. I was jealous of the other sewers with their Creative Visions and soon upgraded to one. I am having so much fun with this machine and have found a whole new world of sewing in embroidery. I thought that I would share some of my projects as I go along. I don't profess to be and expert seamstress but I love sewing and I love sharing these with you. Hope you enjoy them too! Thanks for looking.

REMEMBER THAT YOU CAN CLICK ON ANY PICTURE FOR A LARGER IMAGE!

Thursday, January 24, 2013

I've decided to shake it up a bit. I hope you've enjoyed viewing my projects and I've enjoyed making them and sharing with you.  Maybe I even spurred a little inspiration into one of your projects.  I will continue to share but I'm going to start sharing some of my favorite sewing tools, tips and techniques with you.  

 First up - organizing your fabric stash!  How many of you have lots of fabric and it's in plastic bins or drawers and maybe - just maybe it's sorted by color.  How many times have you turned that bin upside down to find that perfect shade that of course is on the bottom of the bin. I wanted a better way - an easier way to see all - well almost all my stash.  

I found this idea of creating "mini" bolts.  I used heavy duty cardboard like those used for backers for collectible comics and magazines.  Mine are about 8" x 12" but similar sizes will work.  Lay the fabric on a table and fold the folded edge to the selvage edge.  Your fabric is now four layers thick instead of two. Starting at one end, lay the cardboard on the edge of the fabric and start rolling it onto the cardboard just as you would on to a bolt.  I fold the end on a diagonal and use a long pin to secure.  Make sure you tuck the end of the pin into the fabric so you don't catch it on the bolt next to it.   You could also use those clicky hair clips or even large paper clips. I've put several yards on one card.  

Arranging them on a shelf as shown in the picture below saved me a lot of shelf space with half full bins.  I need to find a closed cupboard or set of drawers so that they will  no get fade lines. 

Arrange them according to a color wheel or color spectrum.  




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How time is flying by.  My last post was October 30 and here it is January already!  Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's are  all behind us for another year.  The hustle and the bustle are over and we are back to our normal routine.  Even though I have not posted, I have been sewing - not as much- but I'm keeping up.  I'll show you a few things I have been working on. 

 I found this fabulous pin whale corduroy and just had to make this beautiful little jumper for my granddaughter:
 Is this not the most precious photo. We had an unusually warm day in November and this was taken at Onondaga Lake Park.  This is Kira and Evie.  Evie's Mom and my daughter have been friends since they were about five years old and now they each have daughters to continue that relationship - BFF.  This beautiful moment was of course followed by Kira putting Evie in a head lock and taking her down followed by much crying!   Oh well, at least we got this shot!
Kira's jumper was so cute, I thought Evie needed one too.  This is green pin whale cord with an applied red and white ribbon. Her Mom was so happy because they had a family Christmas party coming up which was a perfect occasion to wear it.  Isn't she adorable!?
We found this felt Christmas tree on Pinterst and thought it was the perfect thing to keep little hands off the real tree.  It's like a felt board and they can move the ornaments around where ever they like.  It is held to the wall with 3M removalbe fasterners.  They had so much fun!
Another project one of the ladies found.  Felt hair clips all done in the embroidery hoop.  Aren't they cute.  They were found at
http://www.digistitches.com/














Here's another travel roll, cosmetic organizer that I made for a friend for a Christmas present.  She loves dragon flies so I embroidered them on the front of the inside pocket.  I love this fabric!









I'm still working on some of the Party with Patrick and Quilting Celebrations designs from Patrick Lose.   This Snowman is a small banner which coordinates nicely with the table runner I previously posted.  I LOVE the pillows with the ribbons all tied up like a Christmas package. - I in fact made three sets for gifts. Another small banner is the New Years Eve one with bright colors.   And finally - catching up - Valentine placements


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