Seams Sew Creative

Stitched by Hand

2011-10-08T14:39:00.001-07:00

My Sweet Cream Dream quilt is finished, and I even accomplished the embroidered label. While it shows that this was my first time hand stitching a label on a quilt, I'm happy with the end result. Just don't look too close :)

Some of the letters are a little wonky, but overall not terribly embarrassing. It definitely looks better from a distance.

I also finished my cheater's cross stitch project. This is another project that I think is a "close but not quite" candidate. The colors were not blue enough to really make it look like Irises. It was good practice thought, and definitely got me back in the swing of doing things by hand (without a machine).

My stitches turned out pretty even, and overall I like it. A little grandma, but that's not a huge surprise for those who know me ;) For my next "nightstand" project I'm going to make baby 2 a crocheted quilt.

Happy sewing,

Janice

Limbo

2011-10-04T22:14:00.000-07:00

I have all of my fabric cut for my next project using some wonderful bright colors. I'm still in limbo a little bit on it because I'm winging it, so there is no real pattern to follow. I'm nervous to start, and need to just bite the bullet and go for it.

Here are the colors again:

I'm hoping the recent completion of my design wall will aid in the process. I finally got it finished, and even have massive amounts of thread storage on one side :) Although from the photo you can see it is mostly used up already...

I ended up making it with a thin piece of melamine for the back, then used spray adhesive to attach 1/2 foam insulation sheets (3 total) from Home Depot to give me something to put pins into, and covered it with a layer of poly batting and then white cotton flannel.

In hind sight I think I should have used cotton batting for my final layer over the flannel, it is much clingey-er than the flannel. But if/when the flannel gets dingey looking, I can always re-cover the board with it and put it back up.

Total cost for the board was around $30 including the cotton flannel, and it has been everything I thought it would be. It makes quilting so much easier when you can put your blocks up as you go, and really see your progress! I hope it helps with my next project... My goal is to have the top pieced for my next post :)

Happy Sewing!

Janice

Sweet Cream Dream

2011-09-29T21:04:00.000-07:00

This quilt is going to a girlfriend whose favorite color is cream. She is due just weeks after me, and the gender is a surprise.

I hope she likes the colors I chose. Even if they decide to go with blues or pinks for the nursery in the end, I know this quilt will look great in her living room.

Here are some photos of the quilt in various stages...

Fabric selection...

Half-square triangles all made...

First block pieced...

Quilt top pieced...

All quilted and bound :)

My quilting, an attempt at straight lines, but I'm still figuring out my walking foot...

Yes, satin blanket binding.
Un-traditional, but then so is the super soft chenille back.
I thought it was baby appropriate. :)

All done!

Amazingly I am not finishing this one the night before the baby shower (its in December!) In this specific instance it would have been disastrous, considering her shower is just days after my due date :) I think I'm going to try my hand at embroidering the label for this quilt.

Hope you like it! I really loved the muted colors, but working with all of these soft, earthy tones has me wanting to do something really bright next, like this ... Bring on the solids!

Happy sewing,

Janice

Fancy Little Boy

2011-09-27T22:07:00.000-07:00

These are my latest creation:

Both of these were made from full sized men's ties, and are scaled down to fit a 3-4 year old boy. I use elastic for around the neck, and did my best to get the dimples in the right spot for the ties so it looks like they are actually knotted, even though they aren't.

Everything was hand sewn, and they took about 20-30 min each.

I have a HUGE pile of ties that got sorted out with our last major closet clean out... some of them are definitely destined to become ties for my two little boys :)

Happy sewing!

Janice

Words to live by...

2011-09-20T07:40:00.000-07:00

I have decided on a new mantra, or motto, or resolution.

"Don't let it pile up"

The more I think about it, the more places I find these words are good advice. On the most basic level, I was thinking about doing laundry. I always regret it when I've put it off and now have several monster loads to tackle. The same goes for ironing, dusting, basically all forms of cleaning. Really it applies to any responsibility for that matter, bill paying, studying, working, ect. Getting to it while the job is manageable makes it so much less work, and (with the exception of the laundry) it usually ends up being less work that you thought in the first place.

On a deeper level, I think this is also a good thing emotionally. Let it out, discuss, don't let things pile up and fester. It only makes the problem bigger and harder to deal with. Easier said than done, especially for a professional emotions bottler, but something I need to work on.

This same rule I am going to try to start applying to my sewing. This, however, is proving just as difficult as applying it to the other aspects of my life. Looking at my to-do pile now, it is daunting.

Headbands, baby burp cloths, baby bibs, book covers, and 3 quilts. And that does not include the long list of things I want to sew for myself or the new baby.

I'm hoping that by writing all of this down it will encourage, no, force me to get around to these things that I have let pile up. My goal is to be project free by the new year. A clean slate... all obligations completed and nothing but inspiration to worry about.

Here's hoping at least.

Yet somehow it is just so much easier to let yourself be distracted. Case in point, writing this while those to-do's stare me down from across the room...

And living with this guy doesn't make it any easier...

Although he serves as both a distraction and a motivation to get things done :) And pretty darn cute to boot!

Back to work...

Happy sewing,

Janice

Fabric ipad case

2011-09-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

My hubby got a new ipad a few weeks back, and while he had a store bought cover for it, it was lacking in some areas. Enter my sewing machine! A little creative problem solving, and I am very pleased with the end result.

A while ago I oops'd and washed a pair of my hubby's dress pants. His wool dress pants :( Needless to say, they were ruined. But I saved them anyway in the hopes of being able to re-use the fabric to lessen the blow of my bone-headedness. Today was that day! The Glen Plaid was the perfect manly/professional look for his ipad case.

Here are mt assembles materials:

Clear plastic vinyl
1 piece Glen Plaid
1 piece black fabric (mine was a synthetic polyester, but you could use anything)
2 sheets card stock
1 piece black felt (not pictured)
1 strip elastic (not pictured)

I cut the fabric about 3/4in bigger than the ipad and cover to give me a little wiggle room in sewing the edges together. I made sure to leave an opening big enough to put the cut pieces of card stock through. The card stock sheets are both about 1/4in smaller all the way around than the ipad.

After you sew, clip the corners, and turn inside out. Here is what it looked like while I was still considering a button or snap closure:

And here I am putting the card stock inside the cover...

Make sure you scoot the separate pieces of card stock all the way to the edges, there should be a good 3/4in gap in between them...

I'm not sure if you can tell from this pic, but I covered one side of the case with the clear plastic vinyl. The ipad works perfectly through the plastic, and it has already saved the ipad from at least one spill!

When sewing on the vinyl I increase my stitch length so I have fewer punctures in the plastic. This makes it less likely to tear with wear.

On the other side I went with a felt sleeve for the store bought cover to slide into. I left it open on both sides so the magnet built into to cover would still work to turn the ipad off.

Because the magnet was no strong enough to hold the case closed, I attached an elastic band that works to hold the cover open as well as closed.

Overall, I think it looks very neat, professional, and manly (to toot my own horn;) Interested in a full blows tutorial? Let me know!

Happy sewing,

Janice

Cheaters Cross Stitch

2011-09-07T22:51:00.000-07:00

After finishing the Victorian Lavender bookmark, my eyes were crossing a bit from reading the pattern. Counting those tiny squares late at night...not recommended.

So, for my next hand stitching project I decided on something easier. WAY easier :) It's so easy it's kinda like cheating. But it is a nice little no thought project that is perfect for right before bed. It's called Stitch & Zip. The one I am currently working on happens to be a glasses case.

The zipper and back are already attached, all you need to do is the needlework and VOILA! Instant project :)

There is no pattern to read, you simply cross stitch the corresponding thread color where it is printed on the design. The kit comes complete with thread (or floss) and a needle. Seriously, brain dead, but like I said, perfect for when you don't want to have to concentrate too hard.

Here are some pics of my progress...

Interested? They range from around $12.00 to $36.00 depending on the size of the kit. They even make them for your Kindle or i pad. Here is one online source for them http://www.onlinestitchkits.com, there are some beautiful patterns, as well as some grandma-ish ones... Its a great easy way to try your hand at something new :)

Happy Sewing,

Janice

Cross stitch bookmark

2011-09-04T13:00:00.001-07:00

I finished the Victorian lavender bookmark last night, and was really surprised at how quickly it came together. As per the instructions, I inserted a piece of card stock between the felt and the design, the result was great! The card stock really helped stretch the piece out so everything ended up even and straight. Here are a few pics of the finished project:

Quilt top still in progress, I have been thinking of my next hand-stitching project. I'm going back and forth between doing a felt pillow based on this super cute owl lunch box, or attempting some embroidery for the first time. Anna Maria Horner has some beautiful patterns I would love to have a go at...

I'm enjoying the hand sewing so much, I'm making it a goal to keep a constant hand stitching work-in-progress on my nightstand, it is much more relaxing to go to bed to that, instead of a blaring TV...

Happy sewing,

Janice

What to do?

2011-09-02T16:34:00.000-07:00

Now that all the unpacking, laundry, and general tidying is done post vacation, I'm back to finishing this little quilt. Still un-named, I'm having difficulty deciding between these two layouts.

Option 1:

Option 2:

I know there isin't really a great big difference between the two, but Option 2 seems a bit more haphazard than Option 1...As of now the organized side of my brain is beginning to win out. While Option 2 is the original pattern I was going for, after messing with it for a bit, I'm really leaning towards Option 1. (Not to mention Option 1 is WAY easier to put together ;)

I seriously think I have a problem. Every time I am in the middle of a project, I say "I am not going to buy new fabric until all my WIP's are done." Does that ever really happen? I'm guessing that for all those out there who share my affliction, the answer is NO. Lo and behold, I find my self at a labor day sale looking at fabric that is 40% off. This is the result of that little outing...

Piles and piles of felt.

I've been oogling felt projects all over blog land, and have decided do dive in head first, or at least fabric first. I am making myself promise that I will not touch this until all previous started projects are finished, as well as things that are on order. Hopefully this motivation will result in a very productive Labor Day weekend :)

Happy Sewing!

Janice

Back in the stitch of things

2011-08-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

Back from Hawaii, and coming from Phoenix, the 80-90 degree weather was a pleasant and and welcome break from the heat! Phoenix reached record breaking highs while we were gone, yuck. Here is one of my favorite pics, first time at the beach, playing in the sand :) It took a little while for the Howard Hughes Syndrome to wear off when he would come over every time sand got on his hands, and ask to be wiped off. By the end of the trip he was trying to bury himself in it!

On to more crafty things. I didn't bring anything to work on this vacation, and about 2/3 of the way through, my fingers were getting itchy... So the first thing I picked up when we got home was an abandoned cross stitch...

Eventually this will be stalks of lavender tied with a bow. I am embarrassed to say this has been sitting gathering dust since 2007... In digging this relic up, I also found a finished cross stitch project, a Scottish Highland Cow. He is about 3" square, and I have no idea what to do with him. I was thinking of maybe creating a patchwork pillow with the cow in the center...or maybe putting him in a frame?
Once I finish my lavender stalks, I want to try my hand at some embroidery, as well as working with felt. Anna Maria Horner has some cute patters of and owl and a table scarf, as well as the Purl Bee's Apple Coasters.

I have my current quilt all laid out, I'm hoping to finish piecing the top this week, and quilt it over the weekend :) I'll post pics as soon as I'm finished with it.

Happy sewing,

Janice

New Quilt

2011-08-05T15:33:00.001-07:00

I've started my next quilt, its been a long time since I've had a fresh pile of fabric in front of me, all ready to cut up!

All these beautiful muted colors, were cut into a bunch of triangles...

And sewn together to create this pattern of half-square triangles...

I'm excited to see how it is going to look when the whole quilt is laid out instead of just this one block... That is my next step, measuring, and more sewing...

Happy sewing,

Janice

Projects and fabrics

2011-07-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

While I haven't been especially fastidious in the blogging department, I have been quite busy at the sewing machine as of late.

I have knocked out a to do list stretching back MONTHS! And, in the spirit of feeling exceptionally productive, even purchased new fabric for some new quilts.

First, I finished putting some names on chefs hats and a baby blanket. These have been sitting in my to do pile for around 7 months. YIKES. It really is depressing when you finally do sit down to tackle projects you have put off for ever and ever, only to find they only took an hour or two at the most to complete. But, none the less, they are finished, and no longer occupying space in the back of my mind.

These headbands were a more recent addition to the to do pile, only a few weeks thankfully. I don't know which I think is better, the fact that a 7 year old girl picked out a furry leopard print, or that her mom said "Go for it!" I hope she likes them :)

And finally, brand spankin' new fabrics. I can't wait to show you what I am planning on for these amazing solids...

And of course, the more subdues earthy-toned prints. I love the stars, very sweet.

Stay tuned, now that I'm feeling more my self, my machines have been getting a work out. Bring on the baby things!

Publish Post

Happy sewing,

Janice

Bump! (Baby Under Manufacturing Process)

2011-05-23T12:53:00.001-07:00

I'm back! Sorry for the temporary hiatus, but I have one of the best excuses :) Morning sickness and some serious fatigue drained all of my posting energy :( Yup, baby No. 2 is due Dec 9! Once we find out gender, you can bet I will be back at my sewing machine with a vengeance!

The past month has been filled with lots of nausea, and exhaustion, but I am slowly getting back to my old self, and ready to dust off my sewing machines. Right now I am deciding on my next project... I am thinking of doing an activity book for my little guy. Buttons, snaps and Velcro are his favorite things right now.

I'm thinking of making a book like this. But in a little boy version. I think all of the fasteners and closures will keep his itchy fingers busy, at least for a little while...

Hopefully I'm over the hump of the fatigue, and will be back soon with pics of my progress :)

Happy Sewing!

Janice

The Bees Knees

2011-04-08T21:48:00.000-07:00

Today is the first post in little tour of the places now carrying my headbands! This shop is called The Bees Knees. If you live in Phoenix it is located on 16th street just south of Oak. You can't miss the mural that takes up one entire exterior wall of the complex.

Julia (the shop owner) is a former work mate, she was the librarian and the school I taught at. Now she has ventured into the world of the vintage clothing/handmade craft boutique. Her store is just beautiful! Everything in it, from the lighting, to the changing rooms, to the little nick knacks and conveniently placed baby toys, is just too cute. So cute in fact, words don't do it justice, so here are some photos...

Super cute, right?

Happy sewing,

Janice

How to hem your jeans

2011-04-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

One thing that I find both convenient and frustrating about buying designer jeans is that many of them are sold without inseam sizes. The manufacturer makes them extra long, so when you buy them, unless you are supermodel tall, you have to have them hemmed.

This is great becuase it makes them easier to shop for since you are not dealing with inseam sizes as well as waist line sizes, but then leaves you with the pain in the butt of hemming (or paying to hem) your $100+ jeans.

UGH!

Well, for those out there who feel like they would like to tackle this task on their own, here is a tutorial on how I hem my jeans, and keep the original hem intact. I personally think this is very important. Especially considering how much money you paid for all of the washing and distressing that goes in to a nice pair of jeans, keeping the original hem really maintains the look of the jeans. So, here we go...

Step 1: Either try on the jeans to be hemmed and have a friend mark them at the spot you would like to hem them at. Or, if you are alone, find another pair of pants that fit you correctly. Lay them flat on top on one another on a ironing board. make sure the inseams match up, and mark the jeans where they need to be hemmed.

Step 2: Cut the jeans. If this is the first time you have done this, it is very scary. If you are afraid of messing up, give yourself a 1/4 in extra to work with. It won't effect the overall fit of the jean dramatically, and gives you the ability to cut off a boo boo and start over.

Here is a pic of a pair of jeans cut to the correct length. Make sure you have the hem lined up all the way around as you cut, or marked evenly all the way around. Otherwise, your jeans will end up shorter on one side and longer on another. I highly recommend both washing and ironing your jeans before doing this.

Step 3: Now you will need to trim the hem off of the bottom of the jeans. Make sure you leave at least a 1/4in on the edge of the hem, You will need this to fold in when you go to sew the hem back on to the jeans. In the pic below you can see how much I am leaving on the hem.

Step 4: Seam rip open the hem

Step 5: This is optional! Find the part of the hem that looks like this...

Turn it inside out like this...

And trim off a little of the serged hem like this...

Make sure you are not cutting into the actual side hem, just taking a little of the fabric off the end. This will help make it less bulky for your sewing machine to go through later.

Step 6: Now comes the tricky part, attaching your hem to the jeans. Begin by locating this part of the hem...

Find the matching side seam on your jeans, and match them up. You will notice that the former inside of your hem will now be on the outside of your jeans.

Step 7: Fold the raw edges of your hem in towards the center...

Place the cut end of your jeans inside the hem, making sure that the former inside of the hem in now on the outside, and the former outside of the hem is now on the inside.

When you are ready to pin it should look something like this. The folded over edge of the hem on the inside of your jeans used to be the hem on the outside of your jeans.

Step 8: Pin every few inches, making sure to double pin on either side of the side seams where the material is thicker. This is where your sewing machine will have the most trouble. Make sure to go slow through the side seams and you may even need to turn the hand wheel a little to help your machine along. If you don't go slow, I guarantee you will break your needle. Not fun.

Step 9: Using whatever foot you feel most comfortable with, sew around the hem of the jeans, I sew on the outside so I can make sure it lines up well and looks nice. Who ever sees the inside of your jeans hem?

Step 10: Back stitch, trim your threads and VOILA! You have hemmed your jeans! Below is a pic of the finished product. All distressing and washes intact :) I'm not all that picky about what thread I use. They don't really ever match the side seam thread to the hem thread on the jeans to begin with. You can buy a jean weight thread, but I've used a regular all purpose weight thread with no issues.

I hope I've inspired you to take on the task of hemming your own jeans, or at least demystified it a bit :)

Happy sewing,

Janice

Hemming Jeans

2011-04-05T15:04:00.000-07:00

The other day I went through my closet and took out every pair of jeans that were too long. Holding a stack of 5 or 6 jeans, I realized I had been wearing one pair of jeans over and over because they were hemmed, and all of these others were sitting in my closet, only occasionally getting worn when I felt like donning a very high heel.

After letting the stack of jeans stare me in the face on my ironing board for about a week, I finally plucked up the muster to sit down and hem them all.

3 hours later, and I now have a bevy of jeans in my closet that fit me!

A while ago I learned a tip from a seamstress on how to hem jeans so it doesn't look like you had them hemmed. Since I have one pair of jeans left to hem (not mine though!) I'll post a tutorial on jean hemming so they look like this!

Yes, that is the finished hem after the jeans have been shortened :)

Happy sewing!

Janice

Busy. busy. busy

2011-03-29T14:01:00.001-07:00

This month has gone by so quickly! While I can look back and see quite a pile of things I've accomplished, none of which have made it on my blog :( For that I also lay part of the blame on a sick baby :(

I'm hoping April is a more successful posting month. In the mean time here are some photos of a blanket I made for a baby shower last weekend...

I used spray basting for the first time, and I LOVED it! Here is the quilt basted...

And here it is all quilted and bound...

Here is some of the stitching up close...

She loved it, and it matches her nursery theme perfectly! (Thanks to grandpa to be ;)

I am ALMOST done with Sentimental Me, the quilting is about 75% finished, and then I have the binding to do. Needless to say, this quilt has been a monumental effort. I didn't realize that quilts get exponentially more difficult as they increase in size!

Happy sewing,

Janice

Arizona Quilters Guild Show

2011-03-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

I have been totally sidelined by headband making, but this week I'm hoping to get back on track.

Over the weekend me and my sis-in-law (who I kinda kidnapped) went to a quilt show. There were a lot of amazing quilts, and a bunch of vendors with some really inspirational ideas.

Here are a few of the neat things we checked out...

This quilt is 100% hand applique and made with felt, very cute! Also apparently a first place winner :)

While my photography is not great, in person the leaves really seamed liked they were sitting on the quilt top rather than stitched in it. Beautiful!

This little house was a combo of machine embroidery, quilting, and piecing. In person, very very impressive.

These geisha girls had heads made out of porcelain, they are supposed to look like paper dolls.

Next we toured the different vendors, one of them had these cute quilts and kits on display. I thought it was really neat how the squares are just stitched down on top of the quilt top, rather than pieces in. So much less work, and a very cute end result.

Here is a little boy version that has been washed, look how the edges of the circles fray up. I think it makes the quilt look comfy and fuzzy.

Here is a pretty little girl version (or big girl, I loved it!) My favorite part is the quilting in the background that looks like flowers. So pretty!

And another one with a swirly quilting pattern in the background an a different shaped flower. Very very cute!

That's all for now! My next post will be on my finished Sentimental Me quilt! YAY!!!!!

Happy sewing,

Janice

No Slip, No Pinch Headbands

2011-03-01T20:41:00.000-08:00

I have ventured out into a new frontier, and tried my hand at making headbands...

There are pretty neat little headbands. Being a girl who has always had long hair, headbands have been a part of my life since, well, birth. And they have always had several key flaws.

one-they caused pressure points behind your ears to create monster headaches, forcing the removal of said headband
two-if it was a wrap-around head band, it constantly slipped down or back off your head, forcing you to stop whatever you are doing and fix it, many many many times a day.
three-if it had a silicone lining to stop the aforementioned slippage, it pulled your hair when you tried to put it on or off and still managed to slip anyway.

Amazingly I have found that all three of these major flaws have been resolved by this headband! Beautiful ribbons on the outside, a nice soft velvet on the inside, these headbands stay put, look great, and are headache free! Woohoo :)

While I can't take credit for the invention my self (Thanks Katie for introducing me to these wonder bands!), I can make sure I spread the wealth for all fellow head band lovers.

Check out my Etsy page for my latest creations, I'm calling them "Seams Sew Sweaty Bands"

Here are a few photos of the different prints I have for sale. Also, if you are local, they can be found at the Poor Little Rich Girl shops, and hopefully more places in the future!

Happy sewing,

Janice

Next blog series

2011-02-23T20:22:00.001-08:00

After having blogged, and learned so much about thread in doing Thursday's thread, I think I'm going to continue with that same idea in my next blogging series. This time I'm going to tackle the entire quilting process, start to finish.

My goal is to post on the following steps to creating a quilt:

Measuring and cutting
Piecing and ironing (both quilt top and backing)
Basting
Quilting (going over how to free motion, how to use a walking foot, and how to quilt if you don't want to do either of these methods)
Binding

I will share any short cuts or tips I have learned, and try out some new ones I have read about but not tried myself. Also I will go over common mistakes (ones that I made the first time around ;) as well as how to fix them (if possible).

Hopefully I will not only learn about the process on a more in-depth level myself, but can help give a beginner quilter the confidence to start a blanket or quilt on their own :) I will be starting next Friday, so hopefully between now and then I can finish Sentimental Me... I'm hoping the deadline will force me to sit down and finish it.

Happy sewing!

Janice

Etsy Store!

2011-02-21T15:19:00.000-08:00

I just opened an Etsy store! Here is the link. I am so excited about this! So far I have posted my Little Blue Quilt and personalized burp cloths, with more items to come :)

For now I'm going to get my focus back on finishing Sentimental Me, tonight I plan on piecing the back, and then tackling the monstrous project of basting the big thing. I might try spray basting for the first time, especially since I've decided to quilt it in a grid pattern.

Also, I have made a major quilting decision. I will not machine stitch anymore bindings. After trying several methods I have decided it is just not worth it in the end. A hand stitched binding just looks and feels so much better.

While I love the speed and easy of machine stitching the bindings, I am just not happy with then finished product. After all the work of piecing, basting and quilting, I think its worth the extra effort to finish it off nicely.

So, Sentimental Me will definitely have a hand stitched binding :)

Happy Sewing,

Janice

Rainy day blues

2011-02-19T13:16:00.000-08:00

The title of this post is a bit of a misnomer. It has been a wonderfully rainy day in AZ, perfect for finishing my little blue quilt :) Once I actually sat down to work on it, it only took a couple days to finish piecing, basting, quilting and binding the blanket.

I am totally in love with the built in walking foot on my sewing machine, this thing is AWESOME. It made the quilting and the binding a breeze!

Here is a shot of the quilting. I decided on a grid pattern on the diagonal. I think it really goes well with the random yet square piecing of the quilt.

For the back I went with a cozy flannel in a chocolate brown. The quilting is done in a blue thread that matches the blues in the fabric of the quilt top. It stood out really nicely against the brown flannel.

And the binding is done in a cream with a modern floral print, its a little hard to tell because the print was on a larger scale, but I think it fit the feel of the quilt well.

This is my first quilt I am not either giving away or making for my baby! I'll be posting it on Etsy! Here's hoping someone else likes this quilt as much as I do :)

Happy sewing,

Janice

Fabric book covers

2011-02-18T11:07:00.000-08:00

This past week has been crazy, my sis-in-law had her baby shower, and we made these fabric book covers as the party favors. The theme was "hand made only gifts" so we did hand made favors.

We added ribbons as book markers, and a little fancy stitching on the binding. Since they were made to fit a specific book, I ended up having to hand stitch the edges over so they would fit. But I was very happy with the end result...

Not to be partial, but I thought they really looked beautiful on the table :)

Everything was beautiful, from the folded place cards, to the flowers. Definitely the best shower I've been to in a while!

Thanks again Sara and Sandy for all your help, couldn't have done it without you!

Janice

What goes around, comes around...

2011-02-05T09:03:00.000-08:00

This is just a little message to the jerk out there who stole my diaper bag...

All I can assume is you must be the lowest life form on the planet to steal from a mom and a baby.

I can see the point in stealing a wallet, but a little boy's lunch box? A Baby blanket? A sippy cup? A personalized bib?

I think it was fairly obvious you were stealing from a mom and a baby, seeing as the bag was right next to a baby car seat. Oh, and it was a DIAPER bag. I can't even fathom what kind of a low life you must be to be able to justify stealing from a baby. I regret not having left a nice poopy diaper in the bag for you to discover.

All I can say is what goes around, comes around.

Janice

If you give a mouse a cookie...

2011-02-02T20:58:00.000-08:00

This was one of my favorite books as a child, and I believe that it has become a recurring theme in my life. The story begins with a boy offering a mouse a cookie, and ends in him needing a glass of milk, a plate, a napkin, a comfy place to sit and eventually a nap! In short, what seems like a little thing turns into a massive undertaking.

What started out as a simple tidy ended up in a massive overhaul and re-organization of my entire office and closet. Needless to say, I have been completely sidetracked and consumed by this endeavor for the last week or so...

Here is the end result of a lot of work...

A new home for my sewing machines, tons of space and room for my future design wall...

My plan is to center the design wall in the middle of the wall, and have another set of cubes on the right hand side for more thread storage...

This has allowed me to get my sewing machines off my desk, and finally reclaim a little space for paperwork...

And finally, fabric storage:

While using the comic book boards to store polar fleece was not an option, I think it worked pretty well for everything else, especially my cotton prints. It really lets you see your entire fabric collection easily, and shows you how much you have of each fabric.

It beats digging around in a chest or drawer any day!

This weekend I hope to finish my shelving and design wall :) The one down side to all of this organization, is that it puts me in a mental block when it comes to making anything. I can't work until my space is all put back together again...

Happy sewing!

Janice

So many projects, so little time...

2011-01-21T20:49:00.000-08:00

My lack luster posting I blame on being insanely busy, and getting the flu. But, this week I have delivered all orders, and am on the mend from the flu bug!

I made a few more of the personalized burp cloths, super cute!

Finished making some pillows, with welting and zippers! (I even made the welting myself)

Finished putting a leopard print binding on a blanket for my mother-in-law

Had the fam over for a little sewing...

And cleaned out and organized my craft room closet and my fabric stash...

I'm hoping to organize my fabric a bit better with the help of some comic book boards, I saw the idea on another blog and loved it, I'll post pics of the finished project...

I'm pooped! So many things finished, now I can finally get back to finishing my quilt! I haven't worked on it in what seems like forever!

Happy Sewing!

Janice

Sexy Silk

2011-01-20T21:39:00.000-08:00

Silk, the name it self inspires thoughts of luxury, refinement, and quality. Well, in this case, it definitely lives up to all of the promises its moniker incurs.

Silk threads are among the more expensive thread materials. It is considered one of the most durable threads, and comes in a variety of colors and weights, capable of tackling a variety of sewing projects. Despite this fact, it is predominantly used in delicate garments.

There are two different types of silk thread, filament and spun thread. Filament silk thread is made from the long unbroken silk threads un-wound from the silk worms cocoon in one long piece. Spun silk thread is made from broken cocoons, it is comprised of a bunch of short silk fibers spun together. Filament thread is more expensive than spun thread.

Silk thread is a great choice when you want your stitches to lie flat. It holds color really well, and also has the ability to stretch and regain its shape, making it an option for stretchy fabrics.

The biggest question question I had when it came to silk thread was, how do you wash the stuff? I know every shirt I have that is silk says "dry clean only," Unless I'm making a garment that is going to be exclusively "dry clean only" I want to be able to wash it.

From everything I've read silk thread can be machine laundered and dried on the gentle cycle. Just be sure you don't use bleach, it will severely compromise the integrity and strength of the thread.

I haven't had the need or opportunity to use silk thread, and to be honest, the care still leaves me a little wary. I'm going to save it for sewing something super delicate... Until then I'm going to stick with my cotton and cotton wrapped poly, and a little of the rayon now and then for when I need some sheen...

Hope this was helpful!

Happy sewing,

Janice

Rays of Rayon

2011-01-13T21:14:00.000-08:00

Going into this, I knew NOTHING about rayon thread. Really, I didn't even know they made rayon thread. So starting from absolute zero, here is what I learned:

Rayon was originally made as an alternative to silk thread, so the look of rayon thread is going to be very shiny, and well, silky.

It is made out of plant fibers, and because of that fact, can be dyed in some brilliant colors. There is a little caveat to this abundance of hues, it fades and degrades, and will yellow with age. Bummer! :(

Light (ie: storing in direct sun light) and frequent laundering will both weaken the strength and fade the color of a rayon thread.

Another factor to take into consideration is that rayon thread will age and become brittle. To combat this you can either only buy thread for a current project (rather than stock up), and if you are storing rayon thread, do so in the freezer. Just make sure you completely defrost it before sewing with it.

Despite these downsides, rayon does have its place, and many uses. It is very popular as a machine embroidery thread and hand embroidery thread. It remains an affordable alternative to silk thread. And, if you avoid bleaching, and always launder on a gentle cycle, makes a very nice thread for sewing delicate garments.

One particular use I find for rayon thread is when attaching one of those pesky satin blanket bindings. The rayon's finish matches the finish of the blanket binding very nicely, and looks very pretty when done in a satin stitch all around the blanket binding.

I found a few spools of SULKY brand thread in my box, and low and behold, they were rayon! I had no idea what it was, and chose it simple for the aforementioned purpose. I love sewing with it, and it is not a very lint-y thread. One thing I have found, though, is that it is very, very weak. I don't even need a seam ripper to take stitches out with this thread, they rip out with just a little tug.

So while I like it for certain projects, anything needing strength, durability AND sheen, go with polyester or a silk finish cotton.

Hope this was helpful, I know I sure learned alot!!

Happy Sewing,

Janice

Inspiration can come from anywhere...

2011-01-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

The other day I received a friend invite on Facebook. Little did I know that by clicking "accept" I would be, in a matter of moments, completely awestruck.

Stickypicky Wallets, I am totally blown away by your creativity (not even considering the fact that you are just kiddos!) A little creativity, and you guys have turned the simple "duct tape wallet" into something stylish, super cute, quirky, and very trendy ! I am so inspired by you guys!

It really makes me strive to be a little more creative with the projects I am working on. On a side note, I am totally blown away by the AMAZING duct tape collection you have.

Prepare to be impressed...

Seriously though, I am a little jealous of the duct tape collection (scratch that, REALLY jealous). I think my faves are the Sesame Street characters, though I am wondering, where's Big Bird?

I'm seriously considering ordering one in either the zebra stripe or the black and white floral pattern, I can't make up my mind...

Happy sewing & sticky-ing :)

Janice

Pretty Polyester

2011-01-06T09:00:00.000-08:00

The next thread I researched was polyester. In all of the reading I have done, I've come to one conclusion about polyester thread.

It is BULLETPROOF. Period.

At this point I'm convinced that its up there with Twinkies in its ability to survive a nuclear fallout.

Just to prove my point, here are a few facts about polyester:

It is the only thread made in single ply
It does not shrink
It has the ability to stretch and regain it shape over and over again
It is also produced under the names Kevlar, Teflon & Nomex and is used when making fire-retardant material
It is extremely color fast and will not fade or bleed
It can be machine washed and dried, without weakening, and ironed on a low setting
It can be used on high speed machines without breaking

Now that we have its "bulletproof" qualities out of the way, lets look at how it sews. There are three different forms polyester thread takes. Spun, filament and trilobal.

Spun polyester looks similar to cotton because it is made similar to cotton thread. Polyester fibers are spun together to create individual plys that are then twisted together to create the thread. This thread will lint because it is made up of many polyester fibers.

Filament polyester comes in both single ply, which is one continuous fiber, and multi-ply, which is several filaments spun together. Each ply or filament is made by being extruded. This is also a lint free thread.

Trilobal polyester is a high sheen continuous fiber thread. It has the appearance of silk or rayon and is lint free. This thread is usually used for embroidery.

Polyester thread is a great all around, all purpose thread. The only real area that you have to be careful with is when dealing with delicate fabrics. Because polyester is so strong, it can actually wear through a fabric that it is being used to sew together. This is definitely not an every day occurrence, and is happening less and less because of the advances made in the production of quality polyester threads that are softer, but still very strong. When dealing with a medium weight fabric like a cotton broadcloth, I personally wouldn't worry about it, but if you're sewing something like a silk or a delicate chiffon, I would chose a lighter weight thread to match the nature of the fabric you are using.

So there is my 2 cents on polyester. Basically, there ain't much it can't do. It is definitely a go to thread in my stash, (especially the cotton wrapped polys). Much like cotton, higher quality polyester will feel better, sew nicer, and lint less (and even not lint at all!) So the next time you're in the notions department, check out some of the polyester threads there, with a little info, you can be assured you're choosing the right thread for your project :)

Happy sewing,

Janice

Project 365

2011-01-04T21:45:00.001-08:00

I have only recently discovered Blogger's ability to add pages to your blog. I have taken advantage of this to add a few things to my blog.

While the page on my equipment is basically a list of machines and cameras I use, I thought it would be a nice (and easy to find) spot to put photos of finished projects. While I'm still sifting through photos for this, I have gone full steam ahead with my project 365.

While I can't promise that I will be updating these photos daily, I am doing my best to take a picture for every day of the year. I'm hoping this will improve my photographers eye, making my photos of projects a but more artistic, and a bit less amateur-ish.

Here's hoping any way... Enjoy!

Happy sewing & shutter-bugging :)

Janice

Brrrrr Beanies!

2010-12-31T09:08:00.000-08:00

I have been a bit scatter brained when it comes to projects lately. I think its because I have put Sentimental Me on hold, so I feel like I really can't commit to something new 100%. As a result I have been floating back and forth between projects. Very easily distracted by a fabric sale here, a quick something for my hubby there.

One of the distractions ended up becoming a 2 hour quest to make the perfect beanie. Here is the end result...

The lip of the beanie still has some kinks that need to be worked. I think I may have to stitch it down a bit to prevent it from curling down while being worn. But, for having had not pattern, I'm pretty darn proud of the effort.

Also, I've started on my next quilt. It incorporates all of my favorite colors.

I've decided to do a 100% random pattern for this quilt. I'm excited and nervous since there really is no telling how it is going to turn out... I'll either love it, or be insane from trying to re-work it at the end :) Here's hoping for the former.

Another side effect to schizophrenic sewing is a sewing room that looks like a bomb went off. No more sewing until I can once again see my desk!

Happy sewing (or in my case cleaning!)

Janice

King Cotton

2010-12-30T21:43:00.000-08:00

Cotton thread falls under the category of a plant based fiber. One important characteristic to note about cotton thread is that it is a dyed fiber, and there is some risk of it bleeding (though I really have only found this true of red thread on white fabric).

Two other very important elements to cotton thread are its inability to stretch, and the fact that is shrinks when you wash it. These two points are key to keep in mind when deciding what fabrics to use cotton thread with. You really never want to sew a jersey knit or anything that has stretch to it with a cotton thread because the cotton will not stretch. Also, keeping in mind the cotton thread has a certain amount of shrinkage to it, you would really want to be wary of using it with a synthetic fabric that will not shrink, or you may get an unpleasant surprise the first time you wash the finished piece (blanket or garment)

There are many things cotton does extremely well. When paired with cotton fabrics, you really can't beat the feel of cotton. A cotton thread has a softer feel than a synthetic like polyester. It is great for piecing and quilting. It is very durable, can be washed, dried, ironed, dry cleaned, ect. with out the worry of it becoming damaged. Another bonus is that it is available in a variety of weights, from heavy duty to very fine.

One thing to watch out for, poor quality (read CHEAP) cotton threads will lint up your machines worse than any other type of inexpensive thread.

Also, if you want all of the benefits of cotton, combines with the wonders of polyester (which we will be going over next Thursday) consider opting for a cotton wrapped polyester. Often these are labeled all purpose, or dual duty. Again, cheap thread labeled dual duty can be a lint monster.

I know I've been yammering on about the evils of lint, but it can do some serious damage to your machine. At the very least cause skipped stitches, at the very worse, make your machine go out of alignment. And you can guarantee needing to have it in to be cleaned, oiled, and adjusted sooner (which runs around $80.00).

I'm not saying you need to break the bank of super fancy thread, but it is something to keep in mind. You'd hate to spend hours putting together something beautiful to have it be ruined by bad thread that is causing skipped stitches or is constantly breaking, or buy a nice machine to have it gunked up by linty thread.

Two of my favorite cotton threads are Aurofil and Mettler. Aurofil is a 2 ply thread great for piecing and quilting, however it is too weak for garment construction. Mettler comes in 3 ply, and is a great all around all purpose cotton thread that won't break the bank.

Next week, on to the synthetics! Polyester here we come!

Happy sewing,

Janice

Thursday's thread

2010-12-23T13:16:00.001-08:00

One area of the textiles industry I think is a bit on the confusing side (at least to me) is thread. There are a ton of different types, materials, colors, finishes, ect. And when it comes to thread, and they all do different things well, and other things not so well.

Well, I must admit, I really don't know much about thread. So for now, I am dedicating Thursdays to posting about thread. Each week I will take a type/brand of thread and talk about it. Hopefully while educating myself, I can pass a little of the info on.

Before starting off on the different materials and their characteristics, I thought I would begin with the basics of threads.

Thread comes in different thicknesses and plies. The bigger number on the spool (40 or 50 usually) is how thick the individual strands are. The higher that number, the finer the thread.

The second number (usually a 2 or a 3) refers to how many strands are twisted together to make the thread. 2ply thread break very easily, and is not good for constructing a garment. However, for quilting it is ideal because thinner thread will lessen thread buildup, and have less of an affect on your quilt block when piecing.

This thread is 40/3 which is a medium thickness, 3 ply thread. Also you'll notice they even put which needle to use when sewing with this thread, a 90/14

This thread is a 50/3, finer thickness, 3 ply

When shopping for thread you will find the better quality the thread, the more information you are going to find on the spool. So if you are holding a thread that says "dual duty" or "all purpose," with no other info on it, put it down and walk away. Most likely it is very inexpensive and will lint up your machine like none other.

Another thing to pay attention to is the finish of the thread:

Mercerized means the fibers were thread with a chemical that made them swell, better accept the dye, and also increase the strength and luster of the thread.

Silk finish is when the thread is passed through a flame or gas that burns off the excess fibers that cause the thread to appear fuzzy.

Glazed thread is wax treated, this type of thread should NOT be used on your machine. The coating is designed to make hand quilting easier so the thread slides through multiple layers easily and is less likely to tangle.

Also to note, thread is wound on the spool two different ways. American made thread is wound like your bobbin, a build up of going slowly from top to bottom, like so:

European made thread is wound in a zig zag pattern, like so:

Each type of winding, I find, has a particular way it likes to be fed through your machine. If you have the option, I usually feed the American thread from an upright spool pin, and the European thread from a horizontal spool pin. It makes for less skipped stitches, and less breaks in your thread, which is a good thing!

That's all for now, hope this was helpful. Next week I'll begin by posting on Cotton!

Happy sewing,

Janice

Saying goodbye

2010-12-21T14:55:00.001-08:00

Death is something that, no matter how much or how little you are faced with it in your life, it never gets easier. Person or animal, it still hurts. Today we had to say goodbye to our yellow lab Luke.

Here are some pics when he was healthy and lookin' good.

I love how he is just looking on as the ducks swim around our pool. He must have decided he was "off duty" as guard dog of the back yard, because he let the avian intruders hang around for quite a while.

Despite all the digging, shedding and barking, we will miss him. Right now its comforting to know he is no longer in pain, and he had a long happy life.

Janice

Finally finished...

2010-12-15T21:09:00.000-08:00

After many a snafu, the Sentimental quilt top is done! (Also, I have finally settled on a name, "Sentimental Me" after the Elvis Presley song.)

With the blankets as the fabric for the squares, I ran into quite a few issues. Being made by different manufacturers, they all had different stretches, causing some annoying pucker, and then seam ripping until everything was nice and square.

A little hint, always sew with the stretchier fabric on the bottom, the feed dogs do a nice job of handling it, where as the presser foot would cause it to pull and stretch.

Also, when I decided on the border, I had a slight (and by slight I mean 2 foot) miscalculation in how much fabric I had. I ended quite a bit short of being able to border the whole quilt with the 8" wide strips, and ended up going with a 4" wide border, and a little leftover fabric I hope to use on the back.

All said and done, I'm pretty happy with it. I have the binding all cut and ready to go, I only need to piece the back and baste before I get to start quilting.

Quilting is definitely the most fun part, however I'm suffering from a little sewers block. I have no idea how I am going to quilt this thing. I chose a nice simple (SUPER simple) pattern with the intention of doing some fancy pants quilting, and now I'm am scared. What to I do with it? I know I am not going to just all over quilt, but I have no idea what pattern to do where... Feathering? MacTavishing? Paisley? HELP?! I know I really want to make this special, but I am so stumped. I may have to let it sit for a while until I can make up my mind....Ugh :(

Happy sewing to those of you without sewers block...

Janice

Blogging bonanza

2010-12-11T12:43:00.000-08:00

When I decided to start a blog dedicated to my love of sewing, painting, and all things artsy, I was ridiculed (in the most polite way of course) by my family. Dubbed the "nerd of nerds" since birth, writing a blog about these things did not come as a surprise to my family, but nonetheless they took the opportunity to poke a little fun...

Guess whose having the last laugh now!

So far I have turned 2 of my 4 siblings into bloggers :) and needless to say they are totally hooked/obsessed with blogging, thinking about what they are going to post, designing their page, ect. Everything that I have been obsessing over for the last month or two.

Here are the blogs they have started:

One sister has started a blog all about her photography, it's called Brief Stills (a nod to her being in law school) here is the link : brief-stills.blogspot.com

My other sister has yet to decide what exactly she will be blogging on, but started the blog anyway, its called Ordinary and Spectacular, here is the link to her blog: ordinaryandspectacular.blogspot.com

This has branched out to friends of theirs as well:

Never be Boring, a blog about some very MacGyver'ish adventures, and the link:
nvrboring.blogspot.com

I can't wait to see where they take these blogs!

Now, back to sewing, I'm still putting together the border for the sentimental quilt, that is still unnamed. While doing this I came upon a brain storm about the itsy bitsy scraps of fabric that just cannot be used. I have dedicated one trash in my office these scraps, as well as loose threads. Once the bin is filled, I will use them as the stuffing for a dog bed. This has turned my total fabric trash output to O.

If anyone has fabric scraps they are going to throw away, I would gladly put them to use, saving them from the land fill :)

This is my mini effort to go green and help to make my hobby have a slightly lesser impact on the environment.

Happy sewing & recycling!

Janice

Scrappy Scottie

2010-12-08T15:14:00.000-08:00

A sick baby does not make for much time to sew. Subsequently, a project that should have take a day or two tops, ended up taking the better part of a week!

All over blog land I have been seeing patchwork Scottie pillows. Both Sew Mama Sew and Aunt Spicy featured them recently. They were simply too cute to pass up. So, with my scraps from the Blue Skies quilt, I decided to make one.

Here are the scraps I had to work with. The darker shades of blue were from the blocks, and the white with the spirals was trimmed from the backing.

Here are the squares all cut up. I ended up with squares that were 2" squared simply because that is the approximate width of the scraps I dedicated to this project. In the pic above you can see I have bigger scraps, but I think those are big enough to be quilt worthy...

Here is the strip I cut to sandwich together the two sides of the dog. Also about 2" wide, maybe a bit bigger.

Here is the Scottie all laid out...

And pieced together...

Look closely, isn't there something wrong with the above picture? Why yes, it appears as though there are two of the SAME SIDES! Yes, I made to right sides of the dog, not left side. This is what happens when you sew late at night with little sleep. When I realized this I turned the sewing machine off and went to bed. Way to grumpy to deal with the ensuing seam ripping and re-piecing.

A few days, and some seam ripping, later I was back at it. Here it is all pinned on one side.

And with both sides sewn together, and re turned right side out.

And finally all stuffed and ready for a new home. I haven't decided yet what to do with him, but he sure is cute. Maybe a nice ribbon and some button eyes? Maybe I'll use the rest of the blue scraps to make a matching mini quilt... Or maybe a matching doggie bed for some fortunate pooch :) I'll toss those ideas around while I continue to work on my sentimental quilt...

Happy Sewing!

Janice

Camera Case

2010-12-03T22:01:00.000-08:00

So, since I've been blabbing about my new camera, I thought I'd continue on that vein with something a little crafty. For all of the women out there who carry cameras, I am convinced that the entire camera case market is designed by and for men. Here are my reasons:

1. They are ugly
2. They are large and bulky
3. They are designed to be carried on their own, not to fit in a purse, or in my case, diaper bag
4. They start around $30.00 (way to much money for something big, bulky, and ugly)

My main issue with the commercial camera case is that I am WAY more likely to drop said camera if I cannot carry/fit it in my bag or purse. And they definitely have not made a camera case cute or versatile enough to double as a purse for any girl I know. So my response to this was to make my own case. While this did take me two iterations to get perfect, I was pretty happy with the end result.

I used fusible interfacing on the cotton for the exterior, and a polar fleece for the lining. This gave the bag a bit of rigidity so it would hold its shape, and a nice fleecy inside so the camera would not get scratched.

Here is the fabric I used:

And my naked camera:

First attempt pieces cut out:

First attempt sewn together:

Note the pockets on the inside of the lining:

I liked the fabric because it had a print of old post cards on it, making me thing "travel" and it didn't really match anything in my stash. Cute enough for a quirky case, not so cute I'd be kicking my self for wasting it on a camera case.

Unfortunately, it was after I had already cut out the fabric that my hubby informed me that camera bags usually open from the back, not the top. DOH! This bag ended up being to small for the camera anyway (I forgot to compensate for the height of the flash), but it fit my sisters Fujifilm camera, so all was not lost.

Version 2.0 went way faster. It only took about 40 min to complete, where as the failed 1.0 version took about 2 hours. Turns out opening from the back, WAY easier than opening from the top, go figure.

Here is the finished product:

I managed to get one pocked on the side for the charger.

With my camera snug as a bug!

While definitely not the cutest thing I've ever made, I think its leaps and bounds cuter than any case I saw at the camera store. And if nothing else, it serves my purpose very well. Protect the camera from bumps and scratches, while still allowing it to fit in my diaper bag, yay!

Anyone else feel the necessity to take it upon themselves to custom make something you can't find?

Happy sewing!

Janice

Shiny new things

2010-11-30T13:08:00.000-08:00

Unpacking all done, and now back to creating! In hopes of improving the photos on my blog, I have invested in a new camera. I am in LOVE with my new camera. I am hoping this will help with future tutorials so I can post some more accurate pics of what I am trying to explain.

Here are a few samples of what my new baby can do!

I am continuing to work on my "sentimental quilt" which is still nameless. But in the mean time, I have been kicking around the idea of doing a give away.... Something along the lines of one of these Doggie Pillows

I am still pondering that one, they are super cute, and vaguely resemble my schnauzers :)

On the inspiration front, I picked these up on our vacation.

I loved the color combination, I'm thinking my next quilt project will be based on the colors of these. Here are some close up pics of the texture, a lovely linen...

Beautiful, and pretty affordable. (wallet $35 wristlet $29) I like! Here is the link if you wanted to check them out.

Happy Sewing! (Or Shopping ;)

Janice

There's no place like home

2010-11-29T11:32:00.000-08:00

I never truly appreciated how easy travel was in my life pre-baby. By the time I had everything packed, it felt like I was taking half my house with me! Despite the extra effort, it was a nice change of pace.

This year the family reunion vacation came in the form of a cruise through the Mexican riviera. We have been on this cruise line many times before, so we thought we knew what to expect... Unfortunately this became the cruise of the unexpected complication.

After driving to LA (6 hours on a bus with a baby...yikes) we arrive at the dock and the usual check in procedure is messed up. I guess the cruise line got bumped and had to use a make shift terminal. We ended up waiting around a hour before we got on the ship. When we finally got on, all of the restaurants were closed, and the rooms were not ready yet. So we were stuck for another couple of hours hauling our luggage around the boat. That ordeal over, we finally get into our rooms, unpack and have dinner.

Night one... a strange rumbling never before felt in this ship....hmmm. While this strange shaking didn't really bother me or my husband, our little boy on the other hand felt it immensely. He woke up about every hour crying, and the only thing that would calm him down was standing and rocking him....

Having survived the night, we meet everyone for breakfast the next morning. Several of my family members were discussing the boat moving, and the noticeably slow pace of the ship. In the middle of breakfast the Captain came over the speaker with an announcement...

Engine trouble. Apparently there was something wrong with one of the engines, so the boat was going half as fast as it should have been. Because of this, we would not be able to go to Puerto Vallarta, and instead spend another day at sea. Ugh.

Night two, baby still crying, boat still shaking. Very little sleep.

The next day G (my little boy) was feeling much better, and we were looking forward to our last day at sea for a while. Breakfast went by with out any drama, and we met everyone for lunch. A new emergency announcement from the Captain. "If there is a urologist on board, please dial 9911." Odd, and a little foreboding. Another hour passes by and the Captain come on the ships speaker again "We will be making an emergency stop in Cabo San Lucas due to a medical emergency." That's it, no further explanation.

My Aunt had an appointment with a personal trainer at the gym the next morning, and the trainer told her a crew member had a "blockage" and was unable to urinate. They dropped him off at the hospital at Cabo, and then continued on to Mazatlan.

In Mazatlan they fixed the boats engine, which was a software glitch, and the rest of the cruise went pretty well. There was only one more mini-drama, a vocalist was to ill to perform, and they had to cancel the show at the last minute. In the grand scheme of things, pretty minor. My baby finally adjusted to the movement of the boat, and we made it to Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlan.

Here are a few pics of my little guy having fun on the ship...

Dressed up for dinner:

Almost ready for bed, last minuet nakey play time! He discovered a "fake" smile that looks a little like a snarl, it gets big laughs, so he does it anytime you're trying to get him to smile. My sister calls this pic his "make love to the camera" photo.

Yum, breakfast on the back of the boat:

My version of a make shift play pen :)

Hanging out right before lunch:

While the vacation was fun, and a bit of an adventure, we are all glad to be home :) And back to sewing! I will admit, there was a little spring in my step as I set my sewing machine up again.

While originally it was my intention to blog only about my projects, and keep my life out of the blog, I realize that the nature of a blog is so personal, you really can't do that effectively. Many of the things I create are for or inspired by my family. Having realized this, I have made a an oath to myself in regards to my posting.

-I will try to write content that is helpful, meaningful, or inspirational, by sharing not only my process, the various stages of the project, but also how it relates to my self and my life.

I will keep this in mind before I publish every post, and try to live up to its standard!

While I can't really agree that the post I am publishing is helpful or meaningful, I think the major source of inspiration for me right now is my son. So, in that way I hope this post inspires you to think of the person who most inspires you to be creative in your life :)

Happy sewing!

Janice

Family Vacation

2010-11-20T18:53:00.000-08:00

I'll be up till the wee hours of the morning packing for our first trip as a family, with a baby! Mexico here we come :) Hopefully I can post some inspirational pics... If not, see you next week!

Happy relaxing!

Janice

Satin Blanket Binding

2010-11-18T22:02:00.000-08:00

After trying to talk my mother in law through stitching on sating blanket binding to a baby blanket, I thought it would be a nice thing to do a mini tutorial on the subject :) So here it is. My way to attach sating blanket binding, without pinning!

This blanket is going to another little boy who has to have surgery. My mother in law picked out the fabrics, super cute! The giraffe print is a super soft almost fur/velour fabric. What is trickey about it is it is a knit, and therefore has a bit of stretch. If you are combining fabrics with different stretches, make sure the stretchier one is on the bottom, you will be less likely to pull it with your hands, and when strait stitching, the feed dogs help to ease the stretch a bit.

Personally I really hate working with the satin blanket binding. It is slippery as all get out, snags on everything, and attracts all kinds of velcro in the wash. But it definitely has its place. Sometimes there is just no better way to finish of a blanket than with a nice, soft, shiny binding.

My way is a bit unorthodox, but it works for me. First I start by laying the blanket binding (now on referred to as BB) open, and overlapping the edge of the BB with the edge of the quilt about a 1/4 of an inch, like so.

Then I begin sewing on top of that 1/4 inch overlap. You'll notice I am using a Bernina #10 presser foot, it is called an "edge stitch" foot or "stitch in the ditch foot." It makes the process a whole lot easier, well worth the $28.00. Start in the middle of an edge, not at the beginning of a corner. This will make it easier to tie the edges of the BB together at the end. When you get to your first corner, stop about 1/4 from the edge of the blanket. Back stitch, and cut your threads

Then fold the BB back in half along the crease that is already there, and create a mitered corner. You can see in the pic below how it should look. This fold will help you determine how much fabric to allow for your corner when you start sewing again.

Next mark your corner with pins, if you look in the picture below you can see where I place my pins. You need to put one pin as a marker for the two points of the corner. Make sure you are only going through ONE layer of BB, not BOTH, or you will not be able to unfold the BB to stitch it down.

When you unfold the BB it should look something like this.

The pin in the middle of the BB is the outer corner, the pin on the bottom is the inner corner. Now comes the tricky part, fold the BB so the pin on the bottom meets the bottom corner. In the picture I have below you can see the pin marking the inner corner and the pin I have to hold everything in place.

Again, make sure you are only sewing through one layer of the BB. Back stitch and sew down the next side.

Repeat for each of the corners until you come back to where you began the BB. Below is a pic after I have sewn it down.

When you get the the end of the BB, fold the raw edge under and stitch it down.

Now turn the blanket over and begin the next side. First stitch down the raw edge about 1/2" past the over lap, and back stitch back the 1/2"

Then fold the BB over, and stitch it down. I try and line up the BB with the stitch I can see from sewing down the other side. If I fold it over about 1/8" past that stitch line, you can hide your stitching and do a straight stitch around the blanket.

Another option is to do a zig zag stitch or a satin stitch around the blanket, which works well too. I usually let the weight and loft of the blanket determine what kind of stitch I am going to do. The thicker and lofty-er the blanket, the more likely I am to do a zig zag. This particular blanket did not have a layer of batting, so I went with a straight stitch.

Once you have finishing attaching both sides of the BB, it is time to tack the corners. I first make sure both sides are lined up, and then do a zig zag stitch on zero length for about 10 stitches right in the middle of the corner. This prevents it from coming un-tucked. If you look closely in the pic you can see the tack. But its pretty tiny, and is hidden well.

Once you have tacked all your corners, you're done! Here is the finished blanket...

And a closer look at the quilting, stippling all over...

I'm beat! Long day, hope this was helpful :)

Happy sewing,

Janice

Basting

2010-11-16T18:00:00.000-08:00

Since I'm still working on the sister quilt to "Blue Skies," I thought I'd post on how I approach basting. I know everyone has their own way, but this is how I baste. It took a little while to work the kinks out, but my last two quilts didn't have a single pucker!

First I begin by pressing all of the fabrics, the backing and the finished quilt top. This is also a good time to snip any threads that are on the right side of the quilt top, or on the edges, that are long and may get caught in the darning foot of your machine.

Then I lay the backing on the floor (make sure you clean your floor first!). Lay the backing right side down and smooth it out as best you can. Always work the wrinkles out from the center to the edges, rather than from one end to the other. Next, use masking tape (not painters tape) to tape your quilt down.

I start on one edge in the middle, then go to the opposite side in the middle, then repeat so all of the middles of my edges are taped. It is important to pull the fabric taut before you tape it down. Next go to one corner and tape it down, go across the quilt diagonally, and tape the opposite corner down, pulling taut before you tape. Repeat this as well. Once I get the middles and corners done, I fill in the empty spaces with a little tape. The end result should look something like this.

Next I lay the batting down. I use 100% cotton batting. It naturally "sticks" to the cotton, so I roll the batting up into a log and line up one of the edges and roll it out onto the quilt back. Once it is laid out, I smooth out any wrinkles, again going from the center of the quilt to the edges.

Once you have made sure your batting is smoothed out as best as possible, lay out the quilt top on top of the batting the same way you rolled out the batting. Roll it into a log, line up one of the edges, and then unroll it. Then smooth from the center to the edges.

You can see from the picture I let my backing and batting overlap the edge of the quilt top by about 2-3 inches, that way if the top shifts a bit while quilting, I don't have to trim any of the quilt top before adding the binding.

Next is pinning. I use basting safety pins that are bent in the middle. This is really helpful in getting through all of the layers of the quilt sandwich.

I use Kwik Klip to help me close the safety pins. It is well worth the ten or so dollars it costs :) Also, because I am basting on floors that scratch, slide my cutting mat under the quilt so I don't have to worry about scratching up my floors, and I can also be sure I've made it through all of the layers of the quilt.

I place my pins about 4-6 inches apart, depending on the complexity of my quilt top. The more complex the piecing, the more chance you have of ending up with a pucker because of the seams, so pinning closer together helps the avoid this.

So there you have it, a basted quilt! It only took... two hours!! (Or at least that's how long it takes me :)

Happy Sewing!

Janice

Blue Skies All Done!

2010-11-12T21:31:00.000-08:00

The Blue Skies quilt is done! Here are some pics of the quilting and binding. I ended up going with a swirl pattern for the quilting, and I'm really happy with how everything turned out. Not a pucker in sight!

I am also going to put a little blanket together for his older sister, so she isn't feeling forgotten.

Some days are better sewing days than other, unfortunately when I went to get the backing and binding fabric, I don't know where my head was. I bought twice the amount of binding fabric i needed. Instead of doubling the width of the binding to make a double binding, I doubled the double binding width! Yikes. To make matters worse I realized this AFTER I had sewn it on. I ended up rolling it twice to get to down to the right width. The edges of this quilt are darn near bullet proof now :) Oh well, lesson learned. Never try and rush through buying fabric, it never goes well.

I hope all involved like the finished product. I'm planning on getting it to the family week :) Thanks again for all of the fabric, I think its a darling quilt.

Happy Sewing,

Janice

Blue Skies Back

2010-11-10T20:31:00.000-08:00

It took longer than I thought to make it to my local quilting store. I finally picked up some backing and binding fabric! YAY!

Here is a pic of the fabrics I decided on...

Striped binding, swirly backing, and the subway tile pattern top. I'm so excited to put it together! Well, actually, I'm excited to QUILT it, not BASTE it. Anyone else out there hate basting with a passion? Ugh.

I also finished piecing the backing.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I think the strip of fabric squares that match the front really helps break up the kinda boring swirls. I'm thinking of doing a cloud like pattern in all over quilting on it to finish it off. Looks like I should be on track to finish by Sat!

Next pics should be of the completed quilt :)

Happy Sewing,

Janice

Blue Skies

2010-11-07T20:08:00.000-08:00

The "Blue Skies" quilt is going to a little three year old boy who is fighting liver cancer. This family definitely needs all of the love and support in the world right now. I hope this quilt will bring some warmth into their lives, knowing how many people out there really care about them. (and hopefully a smile or two with some of the cute and humorous notes written on it!)

The Blue Skies quilt top is done :) I'm please with the end result. After much deliberation, and a little seam ripping, I think we got the different blues distributed evenly.

Here is a pic of my kitchen covered in blue fabric.

Unfortunately we did not take into account the staggering when we laid everything out, so I had to seam rip a few of the rows to make sure there were no matching fabrics lining up right next to each other.

Check out the finished quilt top...

Now that I know the finished size of the quilt top, I have to find some nice backing and binding fabrics. I'm thinking of a striped binding and maybe a polka dot backing? It will really depend on what the fabric store has.

Once I've compiled the rest of the fabric, its basting (ugh) and then quilting (yay!) I'm hoping to get this quilt completed by the end of the week.... Here's hoping :)

Happy Sewing,

Janice

Plain Jane Quilt Top

2010-11-05T15:46:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple pics of the quilt top, both in the process of being pieced, and finished. Its a bit plain Jane, I'm thinking of adding a boarder... I like the boarder on this quilt. Still playing around with the idea.

Today I finally got started on the Blue quilt, which I have decided to call "Blue Skies." Thank you everyone for the fabric contributions, as well as the lovely notes you put on your fabric. I can't wait to see it finished, I think it is going to turn out really well :) Hopefully I can get it done by the end of next week...

And, thank you Bonny! I would never have gotten everything cut and sewn together in one day without your help :)

Next I'll post pics of the "Blue Skies" quilt...

Happy Sewing,

Janice

Sentimental Quilt

2010-11-02T14:28:00.000-07:00

The blue quilt is a collaboration of sorts, in which I have many people contributing fabric. It is going to a little boy who is very sick :( Unfortunately I don't have all the fabric yet, so while waiting, I decided to tackle a quilt I have been wanting to sew for a few months now.

When my little boy was born I received a bunch of tiny flannel receiving blankets, and the all had a similar color palette to them. He is now a whopping 22 lb, 9 month old, and has long since out grown these itsy bitsy blankets.

So, I decided to cut them up into squares, and sew them into a quilt. I went to the Olde World Quilt Shoppe, where they have some of the most beautiful flannels, and picked out a cream polka dot fabric for the sashing, and a plain cream for the backing. I may decided to spice up the backing a bit if I end up with extra squares when the quilt top is done.....

My only hesitation in starting to piece the quilt top is how to order the squares. Do I go random or with a pattern. I can't decide! Help! Leave me a comment on what you think will look better :)

Much appreciated :)

Happy sewing,

Janice

WIP's and UFO's

2010-11-01T22:38:00.000-07:00

If you like to create, inevitably you will end up with some of these hanging around. Constantly calling out to be worked on and finished. Well, this weekend I couldn't take it any longer and decided to try and bang out some of the infamous "work in progress" and "un-finished objects" lying around.

The result was satisfying, but from an outsiders perspective, VERY boring. One pajama shirt, a couple pairs of boxers, some mending, a dress for my sister, and fabric that I have had for at least 6 years, maybe more...

Ironically, Blogger has not been loading pics, so you don't even get to see the boring projects I've finished ;) Oh well, I am so excited about my next quilt, all blues in a subway tile pattern. Can't wait to post some pics once I get started!

Happy Sewing!

Janice

Baby Things!

2010-10-28T23:57:00.000-07:00

Just finished the last bib, and while I admit it is a bit of tooting my own horn, I had to post the pics of these. They turned out pretty darn cute.

To start I machine appliqued the letters/shapes on one side of the bibs.

Then I added a layer of poly batting and a cotton backing, pinned, and quilted the bibs. I did each one a little differently.

Then I trimmed the excess batting, snipped loose threads, and added a contrasting binding to each one.

I also finished the personalized burp cloth, I am in LOVE with "Heat N' Sew," it makes applique so stress free!

Busy last couple of days, I'm beat, but very pleased with the results! These were a custom order, I hope she likes everything!

Side note, I now have an email to go with my blog, seamssewcreative@gmail.com :)

Happy Sewing!

Janice

Finito!

2010-10-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

The scrappy quilt is finally all finished. It took two days to quilt, and I finished off the binding this afternoon. Currently it is tumbling in the dryer getting nice and puckery :) (I know, not a word, but its the only way to describe a good quilt)

Here are some pics of the finished product, pre-laundering...

Here is a shot of the back, which gives you a better idea of how I quilted it.

Stippling on the outer boarder, and a grid pattern where the patchwork blocks are. Hopefully no popped seams!

On to the next project... personalized burp cloths and baby bibs :)

Happy sewing!

Janice

Little Boxes

2010-10-22T15:16:00.000-07:00

In the last two days I have been working on finishing up my last scrappy quilt, made with the alphabet blanket's leftovers. Here are all the squares laid out, ready to be put together.

And here they are after being sewn together..

I had been planning on surrounding all of the little boxes with a boarder, I went with the dark brown that matches the sashing from the alphabet blanket.

You can probably tell from the picture, and the fact that the quilt top is sitting on a card table, but it turned out WAY smaller than I thought it would. So to beef it up a bit and get a little size I added another boarder.

All finished, ready for basting, then quilting! Hopefully I can get it basted tonight, and start quilting it this weekend. That's all for now!

Happy sewing!

Janice

The scraps of the scraps

2010-10-19T16:39:00.000-07:00

After cutting the strips for all of the squares of the 16 patch blanket I am in the process of making, I had left over... still more scraps! And, not to be wasteful, I decided to see what I could make out of them (This only temporarily de-railed my current scraps project, by like a day or so)

This is what I came up with...

And here it is finished...

It's finished size is 26"x18", the perfect size for a little doll! I think this will go very well with the Jessie Toy Story doll I got for my niece. My inspiration for this quilt was the little doll sized ticker tape quilt made by Amandajean. While I LOVE the colors she used, my niece's nursery colors were brown, cream, gray and orange. Also, I wanted it to match the alphabet quilt going to her future brother or sister.

For backing for this tiny quilt I used orange fleece. I stitched it on to the back, then cut strips about 2" wide and stitched them on to the front of the quilt like so...

I know this is not the most helpful pic, but the fleece on the right is the backing, and the fleece on the left is the piece I stitched on to the right side of the quilt top. This allowed me to turn the top piece of fleece over, and then top stitch the two pieces of fleece together.
Like so...

To finish off the edges, I trimmed the fleece to about 1" and cut fringe (around 1/4" wide). Not a traditional binding for a quilt, but I thought it was cute and playful, perfect for a little girl playing with her dolls. I decided not to "quilt" it, but instead tacked it with my sewing machine about every 4-6 inches.

Some machines have a stitch that is designed to sew on buttons that will let you tack layers of fabric together really easily. The machine I was using did not, so I did a zig-zag stitch set on 0 width and 0 length, and tied off my threads. All in all I think it turned out well, we'll see how it handles a wash. That's all for now!

Happy sewing,

Janice

Leftovers

2010-10-18T16:27:00.000-07:00

My current project came to life because of all of the scraps of fabric I was left over with when I finished my alphabet quilt. Being an eager beaver, I cut ALL of the fat quarters I bought for the letters into 1 1/4" strips. Needless to say I greatly over estimated how much fabric was needed to make the letters, and had around 80 leftover pre-cut strips... yikes

I saw this beautiful quilt and decided to use my leftovers to make a primary color version of it. I have no idea how big it is going to be, but I have high hopes for the end result. There was enough to do three squares in each color combo. I have already strip-pieced most of the squares, only a few more to go.

Unfortunately all of this cutting has seriously dulled my rotary cutter, and the replacement blades are insanely expensive. Well worth it in time saved cutting, but still $30.00 for a 5 pack seems excessive to me.

Happy sewing!

Janice

Projects up to date...

2010-10-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Here are a few things I've finished in the last year or so...

Crochet baby blanket for a special little girl :)

A quilt I made with my mom for my baby boy's nursery, matches the bumpers I made for the crib...

Crochet quilt made to match the nursery bedding and quilt. (I know matchey matchey green squared, I admit I have a problem)

I saw this fabric panel and couldn't help my self. Simply to cute to pass up, so my kid is drowning in blankets, whats one more?

This was my fleece take on a rag quilt, if you look close you can see the fringe between the squares. Machine applique puppy paws and bones :) Below is the back to that blanket.

Anniversary/housewarming gift for some friends...

This next one I was especially proud of, a fabric book and my first attempts a free motion quilting. When I finished the book, I knew I had found a new love....

Here are a couple of the pages inside...

(Don't look too closely at the spirals, yikes!)

And my pride and joy, just finished last week...

All others obsessed with quilting please note, hand applique apples, and section-quilting (I know, nerd alert, but it really makes me proud as one of my first "official" quilts :)

Well, that's all the photos I can scrounge up from this year, wishing right now I had snapped pics of some things before giving them away... lesson learned :(

Happy sewing,

Janice

How to oil your Sewing Machine

2010-10-16T12:41:00.000-07:00

Hi, welcome to my blog! As someone who loves to sew, craft, paint, basically do anything creative, I decided to create a way for me to share my projects, as well as a few helpful hints, with people who love the same things I do!

To start I thought I would begin by going over the very basics of keeping your sewing machine in tip top shape. After all, the better your machine is running, the more amazing things you can sew on it! In this post I am going to show you how to take apart, oil and clean the bobbin case, shuttle hook, and race assembly (trust me, its not as intimidating as it seems!)

Most machines come with a container of oil. If you don't have one, or lost it, you can purchase them at any place that sells sewing machines. Begin by opening the door to your bobbin case. I have a picture of what it looks like on my Bernina, they are all pretty similar. You will also notice I have the foot place removed on my machine as well. This really helps you see what is going on in there. And also allows you the opportunity to clean out all that LINT!!! :)

Next you want to remove the bobbin and bobbin case.

Now come the tricky part, undoing the clasp that holds your shuttle assembly in place. Mine happens to be a little clip on the left hand side of my shuttle assembly, your may look different. It may be two black plastic clips that swivel in to lock everything in place. Your manual will show you how to unlock this part of your machine. When you have unlocked the shuttle assembly, it will drop open as pictured below.

Next, take out the shuttle hook... It is the metal piece that looks like a half moon and is on the right hand side of the shuttle assembly. It is not snapped or hooked in, so it will pretty much fall out when you touch it. DON'T WORRY, you did not just break your machine! I promise!

Now its time to clean and oil. First use the tiny lint brush that came with your machine to brush out any lint. NEVER and I mean NEVER BLOW THE LINT AWAY!!! This will push all of that lint into the inner workings of your sewing machine, which is a bad bad thing. If you must be super diligent in cleaning your machine, use a vacuum.

I oil my machine in three places, the back of the race, the back of the shuttle hook and once after I put everything back together. The race is the black plastic circle you can see that is folded down on my machine. Yours may be metal. I run a tiny bit of oil with a q-tip along the back of the race. Then I oil the back of the shuttle hook. Hold the bar the bobbin sits on and turn the shuttle hook so you can see the back. There will be a flat part along the outside, I put a little oil there as well. In the picture below you can see the flat rim on the outer edge of the circular part of the shuttle hook facing up (the shuttle hook is upside-down in this pic)

Now, put everything back together! First place the shuttle hook back in the assembly. It will not snap it, simply place it back in the machine. If you look closely there will be half of a circle in your machine, complete the circle with the shuttle hook. It is easiest to put it in while holding the post the bobbin goes in.

Snap the race (black plastic circle) make sure you hear it click or the tabs snap so you know it is secure. To check and make sure everything is in place, turn the hand wheel a few times. Finally the last place you can oil is in the re-assembled shuttle assembly. Turn the hand wheel until your shuttle assembly looks like this...

If you look closely, the shuttle assembly looks like there is a funnel, or the bottom of a hear shape at the bottom of the circle that is the shuttle assembly. Place one drop of oil in this "funnel" and turn the hand wheel a few times to distribute the oil.

Replace your threaded bobbin, and your foot plate if you removed it too, and you're ready to sew! I know it seems like a lot, but I try and oil my machine every time I change my bobbin. I don't go to all the trouble to take the foot plate off and de-lint every time, but I will usually do that before starting a new project.

You will really be surprised by how much quieter your machine is after you've finished. And after a few times it only takes a few minutes to complete the whole oiling and bobbin changing, (I promise, you will become a speed oil-er!) and is totally worth it in the stitch quality, and quietness of your machine.

I hope this posting has helped in showing you how to clean and oil your machine with confidence!

Happy sewing.

Janice