Out with the

 old broken  plastic brown sewing box, the latch was broken and if you lifted it up by the handle..."stuff" could fly everywhere.  I have had that sewing box about 50 years.  I think I got it for Christmas one year. 

 In with the new...also a Christmas gift from Far Guy.

All organized...I hardly ever use it but I have it just incase I need to hand sew something.  The crayon and colored pencil boxes from Michaels sure come in handy!  AND the best part is nothing will go flying everywhere. 

Who ever heard of a sewing box without a scissors??  I do have razor blades and a seam ripper!  I am sure I can find a scissors someplace for it.

We had a quiet day Friday, most everything is put away from the move.  I did a bunch of laundry and cleaned the bathroom.  We had salmon/pork burger no bun, baked potato, salad and raspberries for supper. 

Far Guy is maybe(knocks on wood)...maybe a tiny bit better. 

Far Side

Scraps

 Jen is taking a beginning quilting class and had homework to do during retreat.   The instructor is apparently very accomplished but unable to write so that beginners can understand what to do to create an 8 pointed star ( which I think is very complicated and more for advanced lessons)...needless to say we had many scraps while trying to create that square.  We were supposed to use the tri rec rulers...which proper quilters with experience possibly know how to use.  I helped as much as I could with my very limited quilting skills and barely a C in Home Ec sewing class years ago ( the C was a gift...because my Mom finished my sewing project for me...a pleated skirt.)

I admire my daughters persistence...and anyone that can sew a straight seam and make beautiful quilts. 

This art work is made totally from wood scraps.  Jen designed it and Andy helped put it together. 

It is the perfect addition to one of the walls in the hallway at Gather in Laporte.

Far Side

Kitchen Window

It warmed up.  Well it is above freezing at 36 degrees or 2 C eh!  Warm enough to take the kitchen window apart get rid of the gross dead Asian Lady Beetles that are everywhere and properly wash a window. ( When it was window washing weather last Fall we were invaded by the horrid little bugs.)

I have been waiting for the weather to warm up so I could do that project and hang up my new curtain…the valance that my Mother made me for my birthday.  The fabric is part of The 2017 Minnesota Quilt Project…but I saw the material and just knew it would make a really pretty valence in our kitchen.  This window also has blinds…hidden by the valance. Not that we use them very much…when it is really cold or really hot.

Of course one little project turns into a little bit bigger project as you go along.  My “stuff” on the ledge of the window needed a wash.

My extra large ice cream bowl that is full of petrified wood and agates from Washington State and a gift from a friend is one of my favorite things….and a real dust catcher especially when the window is open.

Loon and Lady Slipper hangs in the window to discourage birds from flying into the window. Most of our snow has melted for the moment.

One window at a time….it is exercise for my bum hand.

 

Far Guy was cooking his famous chip dip; a chili cheese italian sausage mixture as I finished up my project.  It was really yummy.

Sewing Challenged

Far Guy went shopping.  He bought some new pants, with cargo pockets for his new fancy smancy phone.  After the pants were washed they needed to be hemmed.  IF he would wear his cowboy boots all the time they wouldn’t be too long.

He lugged down the sewing machine from it’s box upstairs…I reminded him that the cardboard box is not as sturdy as it was 43 years ago…it is really his sewing machine….he bought it.

I had to buy some thread the same color as the new duds. Some pants had to be cut off and then hemmed..one pair I just tipped the hem over once and sewed it.  Far Guy asked me if I shouldn’t be measuring?  Well if he wants them measured vs eyeballed he should take them to a real seamstress.

Now instead of looking at men’s cute butts I am looking at the hems of their pants.

Far Guy’s sewing machine is not as old and rusty as this one…but it is 43 years old…a Sears Kenmore  practically an antique…if it were a car it would be in mint condition with only a few miles.

In my dreams I can sew!

Yes, anything is possible in my dreams.  I can sew perfectly, I have no wrinkles and my boobs are perky.  ( I know this because I shopped for coral and turquoise lacey little bras in my dreams one night..all the over the shoulder boulder holders I have are far from the lacey variety.)

Back to sewing.  I am not a seamstress, but every once in a while I get a notion that I could be one if I learned how to properly measure and cut and oh yes sew straight.

One of the things on my March list was to make Nancy some quilt squares for the Quilts of Valor she is working on.  I wanted to be a part of her project in some small way.

The first day I came up with a pattern and cut everything out..measuring twice cutting once. I sewed strips of fabric together..and cut them for length. I was doing great humming along as I worked.   Visions of a beautiful quilt danced in my head.  After six hours I had three quilt squares..one was way crooked..I threw it in the garbage.  I measured the other two..they were 12 inches ..not the 12 1/2 inches that was needed.  What did I do wrong?  Was my seam allowance off..math never was my best subject? I piled it all on my desk along with the freaking sewing machine that belongs to Far Guy.

The second day I came up with a new pattern.  This time 4 -4 1/2 inch squares.  When I started sewing them together I realized that 4 was too many..I needed 3.  Duh..math again.  I cut some of those squares out of the two squares that were only 12 inches..better to use them than throw them away..it was too late to recycle the one I threw away in a fit of sewing frustration.

I sewed them all together again..crossing my fingers and toes...they measure a little more than 12 1/2 inches..so Nancy can square them for me.  I am mailing them off to her today.

Two days of working for nine hours and I have three quilt squares.  P.A.T.H.E.T.I.C.

If Nancy doesn’t want to use them I  won’t be offended..but I tried.

My first design involved three pieces sewn together and they were reused in this design..it is a crazy quilt now..not only because of the weird design but because it almost drove me crazy:)

All sewed up!

That is correct..I finished the blankety-blank curtains. Far Guy did such a great job upstairs finishing the window trim..I told him I would have the curtains sewn by Thanksgiving..well that didn't happen..but I did get them done in time for Christmas. They are up..it was a struggle. I designed them..they are lined..I will never line another thing in my entire life. I got better using a seam ripper..I got to be a better measurer. Jo came over and offered suggestions... about hems ..etc..she sews. Far Guy even helped me one day..I worked for ten minutes trying to get my bobbin filled with thread..I began to bawl and he came to my rescue. I finally admitted defeat, my sore shoulder just would not allow me to work with the heavy fabrics anymore. I asked Far Guy for help and he measured and trial fitted and I sewed and he helped to hold the heavy fabric and we got it done.

I had just enough fabric..my in the ballpark guess was pretty close. I think I need some decorative round tension rods..I just used a couple of older rods that I had lying around. The fabric is heavy..it is upholstery fabric. Why did I use upholstery fabric? Because I liked the print!

I designed the curtains for the French Door upstairs. French Doors are a pain in the butt. I did not want curtain rods..I just wanted something simple. So one day when I was in a Designers Challenge mood ..I thought up my design and sewed it up in my head.  It is so much easier to sew in your head!!  When I was reasonably sure it would work..I gave it a whirl. I wanted something that looked sleek with no rod. So i just sewed a panel..note I did try to match the horizontal seam.. the left curtain is perfect..the right curtain is way off..but life is not perfect all the time. My sewing skills leave much to be desired.

The panels look nice when they are down and when you want the panel up..you just roll it up and use the tabs to hold it in place. I still need to take them to Jo's one day so she can serge the edges for me..I just want a serged edge. The top and bottoms are hemmed nicely..and the curtain is held in place with Velcro..the kind that is glued on! If I could have glued the entire curtain together I would have. Many times during this project..which took six weeks to finish..no I did not sew everyday..some days I would just sit there and imagine it sewed.. ..I wanted to quit. I bellyached and bitched..I just do not have the tolerance or the talent to sew. At times I thought that I would never finish them, at times I hoped I would just be struck dead so I could be put out of my misery.  Far Guy wanted out of my misery too.  The tabs that I sewed together for the french doors were supposed to be simple.  Just strips of fabric sewn together and then turned right side out..the material was so thick I had to turn it with a strong pin..thread by thread.  Finally I got them done and attached the Velcro..and the glue was not strong enough to hold..I tried to hand sew them on..the residue from the  glue made it so difficult that Far Guy had to use a pliers to pull the needle through.   I am sure that there are lots of you gals that sew that could have whipped these together in an afternoon.. I procrastinated way too long with this project..I am really glad it is all sewed up:)

Seamstress Project #1

I am not a seamstress..yet why do I think that I should be able to sew? Just because I was born female..I should be able to sew, cook, shop and talk on the phone..I am a failure..I have never been truly in touch with my inner seamstress. Remember I only passed Home Economics because my Mom sewed my skirt for me..she saved me from failure and herself from embarrassment in the seamstress community.

Where was I when God handed out the special qualities? You know the lines you stand in to get your specialness the sewing line..the cooking line..the shopping line.. I never made it past the B's. Books, Breasts and Bitching.

I guess you could say I have been gifted with the ability to collect enough books that I will never be able to read them in my lifetime..I admit it I am a book hoarder. I wonder if I should think about going to some sort of support group..speaking of support.. will there ever be a comfortable support bra? As for the bitching part.. Far Guy says "You must have been the most difficult child ever." Perhaps I was, I know as a teenager..my Mothers friends called me a bitch.. and I totally agreed with them.

I am attempting to be a seamstress. When I asked my youngest daughter..the one who sewed her finger in Home Economics if she wanted to come help with my project..she said " Really Mother, just hire someone to sew for you." Then she mumbled something about people that don't understand their own limitations...


I have been sewing in my mind. Sometimes I have to do things in my mind first..before I really do them. Sometimes just doing something step by step in my mind is enough for me..once I have it all figured out..I no longer have the desire or need to do it. No so with my sewing projects. Just because I did them in my mind..they did not magically appear. Yes, there are four different projects. Do I have a pattern ..NO. Did I have a clue when I purchases all this yardage? NO..I was swept away with visions of perfectly sewn window seat cushions...

They are not perfect..but they will do. Today I am starting the next sewing adventure.. lined Drapes/Curtains... two windows..four panels..all lined..I have never lined anything in my entire life..why the lining? Because they are south facing windows and because I never want to do this project again in my lifetime:)

My Mom Sews

My Mom is a wonderful seamstress. She sews, she has a sewing room and everything, a fancy sewing machine and a serger. She even has a cutting table, and a dress form. She has a room full of fabric and never passes up a fabric shop. Her ironing board is set up continually in her sewing room. She always has a hundred projects going at once.

I have none of this machine sewing know how. I do have a sewing machine. I would much rather hand sew something than drag out my machine..which is stored in it's original box..upstairs. My sewing prowess began in high school when I was going to flunk Home Economics sewing..my Mom saved my project..but she only got a C. Later in life, when I was pregnant, I bought some material to make some maternity tops..I sewed the sleeves in backwards..I cried. When the girls were little I tried to sew them some flannel nightgowns. The girls looked so pathetic in them I threw the gowns in the garbage and cried. I still have the remnants of some of my sewing projects upstairs, pieces of quilts..started..never finished. Beautiful patterns for wall hangings..that I would love to sew together..but I know they will never turn out the way I want them to. Part of my problem may be..I hate to measure anything..and apparently just eyeballing something doesn't work in the sewing world.

My Mom always comes to my rescue. I needed new kitchen curtains.. I designed them in my head. When I went over to pick out the fabric from her "store" ..she had four or five matching fabrics for me to choose from for the lining. She sewed them..she didn't like the way they turned out..the Loons in the pattern were not swimming evenly across the material. She whipped up my valence in no time flat. I like it... Want to see some before and afters??
Before: The old flannel ones that she sewed for me, about six years ago. I whined about my sewing skills back then also.


After: A simple valence, lined of course, the buttons are old treasures, some from my Grandma D and some from one of my Mothers old coats from years ago. No, the buttons do not match..they are all individual and unique. Kinda like me:)