Magnificent Obsession

Although I'm probably the only one who's heard of this super cheesy B movie, the title aptly describes my obsession with aprons.  My own little Project Runway where I can be the designer.  Luckily, I don't have the likes of Michael Kors, Nina Garcia, or Heidi Klum judging my work or have to compete with 12 other designers.

I was lucky enough to land a 13 apron deal from a customer yesterday.  He's giving the aprons as Christmas gifts.

At first I was a little reticent.  My creative mind likes to pick the different shirts that will be an exact match and will help me craft my vision.  This morning I went over the pile of shirts and I already have several ideas.  I'm over that hump!

There's one real challenge--a tee shirt.  I've never made an apron out of cotton knit before so the style and shape is likely to be quite different.

My deadline is December 1 but I'd like to have them done before Thanksgiving.

Here's the pile of shirts I have to work with.   They're about to take a ride in the washer and dryer.

Look for the different models coming to my FB page soon.

Time Management

I'm not here to tout my time management skills.  I know I could do better; the date of my last blog is an example.  I follow some sewing bloggers that post every day.  That's nice.

But, that's not the gist of this post.  I was watching Season 4 of Project Runway.  If you don't know by now I'm addicted to it and as a matter of fact I'm watching two seasons at once.  The most recent challenge is to design a three-piece outfit for Tiki Barber that he can wear as a sportscaster.  Most of the stuff the designers came up with was okay and a few didn't finish.  One judge had the audacity to scream about not having any time management skills to a contestant who didn't finish a shirt.  Um, design, shop, construct, and fit a three piece outfit in a day and a half?  They certainly weren't allowed to go to the nearest Joann's to pick up a pattern.  What was that judge smoking?  He's some muckity muck designer that has people sew his clothes for him.

I admit I used to be faster.  I could sew a blouse in 45 minutes and a dress in about 8 hours.  I think I'm still pretty quick.  Today I designed three new aprons, repaired a hole in a wool coat, and cut out a dress but maybe I didn't manage too well since I didn't sew all three aprons or the dress for that matter.  I guess that's the my reality.

Although I'll still keep watching Project Runway I just have to classify it more as a fantasy than a reality show.

Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days

Dynamics have changed this week.  The kids are off spelunking and so it's just me and the dogs.  I only wish that I was as exciting as the dogs seem to think I am every time I come downstairs or walk in the front door.  If they want to talk about hems, pattern layouts, or other sewing related topic--I'm there. 

I don't know if it's the heat or the quietness of the house, but I've had to self-motivate a little more than usual.  This morning on my way back from the bank I stopped in at Habitat for Humanity's ReStore to scout out some clothing to make more aprons.  They've been received well and I want to keep the momentum going while interest is there.  I scored nine shirts and blouses.  My intention was to get out early and get back so I could work on several waiting non-apron projects.  I started the pre-wash process while my mind  raced with all the new color combinations and possible configurations.

I couldn't go to just one place, could I?  So, I rationalized that if I get all my treasure hunting done today I can stay home and dedicate myself to my machine the next few days.   I scored another load at the Goodwill and even found some "color of the day" tagged items.

There should be a law about going out so many times in one day but while I did my level best to stick to my guns; I ventured back out into the wonderful world of retail one more time to get some supplies for another idea. 

The day did end well.  I got a little work done on my alterations and all the bounty from today's hunt is washed, stacked in neat piles, and I did a few beauty duties on my work space so I'm ready for tomorrow.

Follow the Leader

I follow a few sewing blogs that inspire me and help me to feel like a part of a larger community instead of the Lone Ranger sitting in front of my sewing machine for hours.

One of the blogs I follow is http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/.  Last week she extolled the virtues of just sewing without any thought for deadlines--you know, just for the fun of it.  She made a black lace dress.

My project wasn't so ambitious.  I did a little work this morning and planned to do a little more but then thought, "hey, it's Sunday!"  I hadn't taken time to make any purses lately and have been getting flack about the large size of my bags (I mean the ones I carry not the ones under my eyes!).

This afternoon a more compact version was born.

I

Although, in real life, I think the flap matches better than it looks like in the pictures.   I used some upholstery fabric I found on my way to Nashville last year for the outer purse.  For the flap I used a skirt I got from Goodwill and the lining was leftover material from a skirt I made for my sister.

The insides have the usual zippered pocket on one side and a plain pocket on the other.

Tomorrow it's back to work!  This week it's outdoor cushions and altering a linen jacket for starters.

Road to the Ivied Halls

Today Jack graduated from Emmanuel Episcopal Day School.  Next year he's off to Chase Street Elementary to go to school with big sister Josie.

About a month ago Jack brought a sandwich wrapper to school and while I was waiting for him to finish his lunch his teacher, Ms. Riley, said what a good idea it was and that maybe they could make some as a class project.

An idea was born!  I was off to the fabric store to buy oil cloth and cotton duck.  Using the wrapper we had as a pattern I cut out 32 stop sign shapes; sewed them together; and voila--the wrappers were born.

Two days ago I went to Jack's class armed with the wrappers and crayons ready for the class to give them their special touches. Some drew pictures of their families, one drew an awesome dinosaur, and all were very original.

This is the front and back of the wrapper.

This is the wrapper folded around a sandwich

I had planned to take pictures of the finished wrappers but the kids did them all at different times and when they were done they busied themselves with all sorts of activities in the classroom.

Here are pictures of Jackie and Jack decorating their wrappers.

Now Jack's class can go off to kindergarten and help the earth be a little greener and a little more beautiful with their artwork.

Rubbermaid and Ruminations

Here I go again harping on organization.  Although, there are only a few times I really think about it.  One, when I'm in a bookstore and I page through the Where Women Create magazine and see these phenomenal work spaces that have everything in order (some even by color and type).  I'd like to go to these spaces when the cameras have all gone home to see what they really look like.

Two, when I need something out of my storage space and it's on the bottom of a big stack of Rubbermaid.  I must say though that's a lot better since I did my recent clean out.

And, finally, when a customer comes over unexpectedly and I'm in the middle of a project that looks like WWIII happened the night before.  Then I just lower my eyes and put my tail between my legs and mumble something mildly coherent like "you should have seen it before I cleaned it up!".

Now I'm pretty comfortable with my mess.  I think that's better than "sorry Ms. Customer, I couldn't finish your dress on time, I was cleaning" spiel.  I just meet them at the door downstairs with the finished product.

There they won't see one living room chair that holds two concert dresses that need to be hemmed, a blouse that needs to be altered, and a bag of black fleece that will become a new cover for a white pillow.

There are three jackets on the back of the other living room chair that need to be taken in while on the seat is the material for bright green polka dotted roman shades for a little girl's room.

On one ottoman there is a winter coat that I will reline and another winter coat that needs a hole repaired.  The other ottoman holds a bench that is getting recovered.

Moving on to my desk there are four dining rooms chairs waiting to get recovered (my next post unless I come up with something brilliant to say in the meantime).  I finished one today and that's on my coffee table.

Along with the chairs is a secret project that I will chronicle by next week.

Can't forget my shelves next to my storage room that have two cashmere sweaters waiting to be made into bears and a mock-up for a skirt that I copied waiting for the customer to bring some material.

A dining room seat is eagerly awaiting the morning light so that it can be added to the finished pile.

So now, instead of disorganization, I am grateful to see lots of different projects.   I see Job Security!

Behind Closed Doors

I had my day all planned out.  A consultation at nine a..m.; a few errands; and then back to my projects.  I wanted to set myself up for my upcoming deadlines so that I didn't need to run out and get the supplies I needed while I could have been working.

My original plan for the weekend was to straighten out the storage room but I decided that there were too many things I needed to get done and since it was behind a closed door--who would know.

There's been documentation that if you store things under your bed you won't get a good night's sleep.  That was remedied several months ago.  I don't know if dust bunnies count but true to their reputation they just keep multiplying so I'll just have to learn to sleep with them.  Others say that if you want to get your life straightened out, begin by organizing your bathroom.  Could this be true for that dreaded area behind the door.

I don't really pay attention to studies but tonight when I went into the storage room and wanted to slam the door and forget about it something made me straighten just one thing.  Then, I thought, what if I move this here?  

All of a sudden automatic pilot took over.  Several hours later the bins were organized, things I know for a fact that I'll never use are in a box ready to go to Goodwill and I even cleaned out the shelving in my workroom.

Even though a little voice in my head kept telling me to stop, you don't have time for this, I'm glad I ignored it.  I feel such a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.  There's no taunting coming from behind the door.  Now on to organizing my projects by deadline. 

I am seamstress, hear me roar!

Om

 

One little . . . two little . . . three little yoga cushions . . . . twelve little yoga cushions sitting on a bed.

My latest project.  I have a customer who is starting a new yoga class and couldn't find the shape of yoga cushions she needed so a friend recommended me.

The outside pillow is made from 100% cotton duck.  You'd think with a name like that the fabric would love water.  Not knowing the manufacturer's recommendations when I started the project I did my usual prewash.  Imagine my surprise when I pulled the six yards of material from the washing machine to discover a very wrinkled mess.  A LOT of ironing later I managed to tame the crumpled chaos. 

I started the cutting process and lo and behold I was three cushions short.  What!  I re-did my math to make sure I asked for the right amount of material.  Was I quacking up?  The next step to solving the mystery was to measure the fabric.  There was only five and a quarter yards out of the six I had requested.  Boy, that fabric store is going to hear from me!

There was a deadline so I trotted off to my usual fabric store and told them my tale of woe and they were as surprised as I was.  This time I watched the fabric being cut so there was no mistaking how much I purchased.   The fabric went right into the washer when I got home.  

This time I wasn't surprised at the wrinkled mess.  I was hoping for less shrinkage but alas the same thing happened.  Plus, there was a two inch shrinkage in the width.

At least I learned a lesson about this kind of fabric.  Luckily I had another customer who didn't want her cotton duck washed (this was a bright pink polka dot) or I would have had egg on my face.

This is the side front view.  It has a handy-dandy handle that covers a zipper so when you want to wash the outside it's easy to take off.

There's an inside pillow that's filled with buckwheat hulls.  They come from a company in North Carolina called It's Lagniappe (that's a little something extra for good measure) that creates employment for folks with special needs.   http://www.buckwheathull.com/

The inner pillow is made from a sheet I bought at Habitat for Humanity - reduce, reuse, recycle!

Namaste!

 

Beyond the Bedroom

Pillowcases have been used to make little girls dresses for at least 80 years.  They were born during at a time when nothing was thrown away and time was precious.  They're very simple to make and there's no end to the pillow case designs whether they're vintage or contemporary.


So, when a mother of one of Jack's classmates asked me to make some for her daughters I agreed.  Even though they've been a staple in children's clothing I never made one for my daughter or granddaughter and I wanted to give it a try.


Another little hitch, she didn't have pillowcases but some fabric that the girls just loved.  It reminds me of a vintage quilt.


Bear in mind that Alice, my dressmaking assistant, is a little big as a model but I think you'll get the idea.

Won't they be cute with their Easter bonnets and all the frills upon it?

A is For Apron

Even though I was an average student, I have a fondness for education.  Some of my happiest moments were spent in the downtown library where I cruised the shelves for hours at a time.  I beamed with pride when I got a bookworm stamp on my library card.

Watching my daughter and granddaughter devour books like candy makes my heart skip a beat.  My grandson doesn't read much yet but he does love to be read to.

So, when there's an auction to help raise money for education I try and contribute what I can.

Here are two aprons that I made for Emmanuel Episcopal Day School and their Family Night on April 27.

They're intended to be a his and hers set but they can be used separately.

Almost Makes Me Want to Do It Again

The operative word is almost!  I'll never say never because I don't look good with egg on my face or a foot in my mouth but this wedding dress was so beautiful it got me thinking for a second. 

I didn't make these dresses (the picture of the bridesmaid's dress is next); just did a some minor alterations.  Everyone who has seen them has fallen in love with how pretty they are so I thought I'd show them off in my blog.

Congratulations to the happy couple!!

Playing Hooky

Every once in a while I put my projects neatly to the side, clean my sewing machine, and sweep up the thread from the floor and take a weekend off.  I knew it wouldn't be a couple of lazy days when I drove up to Nashville to visit my sister but then I'm not ready for a rocking chair either.

After arriving on Friday evening we went to meet my sister's friend at one of my favorite Nashville restaurants called Fido.   They've been serving dinner for a few years and offer lots of farm to market food.  It tastes as good as it looks.  My sister had butternut squash ravioli with basil pesto sauce and her friend had a salmon dish.  I almost had the ravioli but the local burger was too tempting.  Now I not only crave that burger but I still dream about their homemade oatmeal with fresh fruit that I usually have for breakfast.

Still too early to leave for Vanderbilt's Great Performances we trotted next door to Hot and Cold--a new ice cream place next door to Fido.  Flavors include:   Sweet Potato with Torched Marshmallows; chocolate with chilies (this about blew my head off when I tasted it); a bourbon butter pecan; a lemon that really makes you pucker; and my choice a blackberry and cream.  Okay, I played it safe.

On to the evening's festivities.  An Afro Cuban band.  I can't say I enjoyed it.  I appreciated the talent but I'm not into jazz.    Hopefully I didn't embarrass myself in front of my sister and her friends with some hastily placed tissues sticking out of my ears. 

The following morning my sister made a wild mushroom bread pudding to take to a brunch with another one of her friends. This was followed by the annual Mule Day parade in Columbia, Tennessee.  There were huge mules, albino mules, decorated mules, miniature mules, mules from Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Georgia.  I don't think there were any mules left for miles around.  Two hours later I think I saw enough mules to last a lifetime; or, at least until next year's mule day.

After a short visit to my niece's for an open house of her Thirty-One Gifts business we readied for dinner at my second favorite Nashville restaurant--Sunset Grill.  More delicious food; short rib with sweet potato johnny cakes and greens; and trout for my sister.  No time for dessert because we were off to see Cats.

My sister and I have never seen it and thought that after thirty years maybe we should.  Again, I enjoyed the talent.  There were some amazing voices.  "Memory" was the only song I recognized but it was worth hearing it.  A twice in a lifetime experience--first and last.

Sunday I got a little rest.  My sister is training for a half marathon and also walks with a friend who is training for a marathon at the Grand Canyon.  Now I know I should have gone, and I certainly was invited, but I knew when to cut my losses.  Besides, I would still be working on finishing those 8.14 miles and they were done in a couple of hours.

What's better than a little pampering after a nice long walk?  A pedicure. 

With a few hours to go we did a little visiting until the family dinner at my niece's house.

Good food and a fun time.

To finish off the weekend my sister and I watched Anna and the King.  Good movie and quite different from the musical version.

Lest you think I totally forgot about sewing.  I got several wool sweaters and jackets to make purses out of.  Plus my oldest niece wants teddy bears made from two of her cashmere sweaters that the moths have taken a liking to.

An early reveille this morning and I'm ready to get back to business.  Prom's coming up and I have two projects for that.  Plus I have those wedding and bridesmaid dresses to finish.  Oh yes, calls are coming in from the Athens Choral Society from women who need help hemming their dresses.

I Just Look at the Pictures

I like talking about sewing, reading about new techniques, seeing other people's projects, and following sewing blogs.

When I watch a movie I look at the costumes as much as what the movie is about.  Old movies are marvelous with their costuming.  They are so over the top with their detail.

While watching an old movie yesterday I noticed my buddy Doris Day was wearing a plaid, pleated apron.  It was with this in mind that I designed my newest apron.

The top is made from a woman's shirt and the bottom from a man's.

Now it's back to alterating but I do have another manpron in the works.

Maybe I can be (don't laugh) organized!

I always said that if I ever get organized I'd be dangerous.  I've spent many hours sorting, rearranging, and making sure everything has a place.  Then, voila, a project starts and all that good intention goes out the window.

Once the creative juices start flowing it's hard to stop.  One idea blossoms into another which leads to another and before I know it my ideas are all over my workspace.

A couple of weeks ago after pushing one of my scissors into the wastebasket while concentrating on a project I threw my hands in the air and said, "there's got to be a better way!"  After all, this wasn't the first time and probably wouldn't be the last.  Not only that, I've lost lots of time looking for scissors, seam rippers, and other notions.  They did have their places in drawers for when I wasn't sewing but that's not a solution I was happy with.

I needed to keep my sewing table free and yet have everything close at hand.  My first thought was pegboard nailed to the wall.  A 4x8 piece of pegboard was way to big; plus the 1x2s that needed to be nailed to the back--wait!  That's more project that I had bargained for.

My next stop was to Google pegboard and I found just what I needed.   It arrived several days later and even I could install it.  After all I had so much experience putting shelving up in my closet.  At least enough so I wasn't scared to press the button on the electric drill.

It's been so nice to reach right over and grab what I need.  I've forgotten a few times and started searching for an item only to realize it's right where it belongs.

I've also started following other sewing blogs.  This idea I'd wish I'd found years ago.  I have my bobbins pinned to my bulletin board on the other side of my machine.

But, alas, I still have a long way to go.

Any ideas for my storage room?  I'd suggest a bomb but it looks like one already went off in there.  Just another product of getting an idea and buying out the thrift stores to make it a reality.  I thought about shelving but that wouldn't solve the problem of whatever I need is on the bottom of the stack.  Probably should go through it AGAIN to see if I remember what I was thinking and if I can't--take it back to the thrift store.

Right now it's out of sight and I have lots of projects with deadlines.

Ta Da!

I started giving sewing lessons and today my student completed the wraparound skirt she's been working on.  She did a wonderful job and I look forward to working on the blouse pattern she picked out for our next project together.

As a bonus, I sent home the directions for a pin cushion for her to try on her own.  Look at the great job!  So fancy with all that decorative stitching.

What You Got Here is a Slipcover Virgin

I've re-covered lots of cushions and pillows, etc. but when I was challenged to do my first slipcover job  I knew I needed to get over to the library for some books to tell me how to measure and create.

I didn't take a lot of pictures but here's my attempt at making a muslin pattern; or, in this case, a sheet from Goodwill.  Things went pretty well until I got to the back part of the cushion.  There were numerous attempts to get the pleats right and the seams where they should be coupled with some hand wringing and head banging.  I was about to give up after what seemed like forever when I came up with a way that worked.  Or, to put it another way--the only way I could think of.

Add in the expectant mother who needed to have the chair covered for her new little boy who will be arriving on Thursday and the pressure was on.  I planned to burn the midnight oil last night to get it done, or else, but when 9 o'clock rolled around mistakes were started to pop up and I thought I'd better cut my losses and start early in the morning.  Good thing, it took most of today.

Gratefully, she was ecstatic over the chair and I have a new skill to add to my repetroire.  Here's the finished chair.