Sewing

My Seam Ripper Is My New Best Friend And My Sewing Machine Is Jealous

Do you ever feel like we “think” in our sleep? I know I do. I woke up this morning with the feeling that there was something wrong with the flower girl dress. The first thing I had to do today was get out my seam ripper. Again. I think this relationship I have with it has gone way beyond Best Friend to “It’s A Complicated Relationship”. It is definitely a love-hate relationship going on–IT loves me so much it wants to me to spend all my time with it, and I HATE it so much I feel like I could stab its eyes out with a seam ripper.

I had to take apart the seams I sewed up yesterday on the sides because while I was sleeping, I thought that I had put the lining on wrong. Well, the fact that I had stitched it to the any part of the dress yet at all was a mistake. So, rip rip rip. After that, I went back to the sewing machine, and sewed the side panels to the front of the skirt. OK, so that was easy, and I was ready to pin the bodice to the skirt, and sew it together. Except that when I started pinning, there was not enough skirt, or way too much bodice. How in the heck could that be?

I picked up the pattern instructions and read them again, for the 40th time. It didn’t tell me anything about where I went wrong. Then as I was sitting there, just looking at the pictures in the instructions, it hit me. I didn’t have enough seams in the skirt. Which meant I didn’t have enough PIECES of the skirt.

I took out all the pattern pieces again, and looked at them carefully, and sure enough, THIS piece says CUT 4! You see, it had a skirt side front and a skirt side back. To correct this error, I had to cut 2 more pieces of the skirt, and 2 more pieces of the lining. Then I had to rip out the stitching on the skirt and lining that already been done. Where I stand right now, is that the dress is LESS complete today than it was yesterday. And I am thinking of breaking up with my seam ripper.

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Pass The Tequila, Please

Karen · 4 Comments

P1190016 — The front skirt, the sash, and the waistband

I didn’t work on the flower girl dress at all yesterday. Today, I picked it up and got as far as putting the front skirt together, adding the waistband, and sash. I also spent some time looking up a tutorial on how to install an invisible zipper. While I have made plenty of totes with zippered pockets, and plenty of those little zippered cosmetic bags, I have never had to do an invisible zipper for a garment. Back when I worked in an office and made skirts for myself, I found a cute pattern for an a-line skirt with side pockets that did not require a zipper. I made tons of them to wear to work–it was easy. But this dress requires that invisible zipper, sooooo I am learning a new technique. And I am not looking forward to it, because I can already envision myself picking out the seams at least once.

Pass the tequila, please, and that lime too!

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Making a Flower Girl Dress

Karen · 7 Comments

In case you are wondering where I have been, and why I haven’t been showing you all sorts of fabulous sewing projects, it is because I have been working on this dress:

flower girl pattern Stef — The dress that is kicking my butt

My niece, Stefanie, is getting married in June. She asked me to make a dress for her flower girl, and I, apparently in stupor that day, said I would. If you read my blog much, you may have noticed that I don’t make clothing much. There is a reason why. I don’t like to. but, since Stefanie is so sweet, and my sister’s only child, I figured I could make her flower girl dress and never have to ever make one again. If you sew at all, you may also notice that she picked the MOST. DIFFICULT. VERSION. At least for me, it is.And it doesn’t help that I am 300 miles away from Stefanie–if I have questions or need to discuss something, it is through Facebook or phone tag.

The fabric for the dress is slick as the proverbial “Owl um, Snot” and is lined with an equally slippery fabric. I picked it up from Stef and my sister in November and it has been sitting there on the sewing table, preventing me from doing anything else, since then. I finally put my big girl panties on on Saturday and cut it.

Today I sat down to sew. I got the bodice done, but not before I had to pick out the stitching twice on one side to get the shoulder strap positioned right. Tomorrow I start the skirt, and try to install a zipper without it looking like dog doo.

Stay tuned–if this thing doesn’t drive me to drink, I should have it completed by the end of the week.

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Getting Organized In A Small Space

Karen · 9 Comments

I have had several people email me recently asking me how I manage to find the space to sew and quilt in my tiny RV home. One of the ways is to be organized, with a place for everything.

I found a sturdy table with shelves underneath for about $35 at Wal-Mart last year. It fits in between the dresser and the bathroom sink in our bedroom. It is just the right size for cutting and sewing fabrics for all kinds of projects:

sewing, organizing, storage bins, sewing machine, notions — The sewing area

On the left side of the table, there is a space about 5 inches wide, that is the perfect place to store my folding chair and counter top ironing board when they are not in use. Under the table, I have two stacks of plastic drawers for holding sewing notions and supplies.

storage solutions, organizing, small space storage, sewing notions — Small drawers hold small items

On the dresser within easy reach, I have a stack of smaller drawers that hold small but necessary notions that I use all the time when I am sewing. Things like scissors, bobbins, needles, markers, buttons, and measuring tapes are literally at my fingertips. Although you can’t see it much, the stainless steel dish on top of that drawer stack has a strong magnet in the base–it holds my pins in place even while we’re traveling down the road. You can get a really good one at an auto parts place–it was intended as a dish to hold nuts and bolts.

orginzing, storage solutions, sewing notions, small space organizing — Larger drawers hold patterns, thread, zippers

The larger drawers under the sewing table hold zippers and other closures, thread, bias tape and trims, patterns, and fabric scraps. The little container on the far right holds scraps of batting that I use when making cosmetic bags, and other smaller items.

storage spaces, RV organization — The TV cubicle stores rulers and my iron

We have never watched TV in the bedroom, so that little cubby hole is used for storing my rulers and iron, among other things.

organizing RV spaces, storage solutions — An over the door rack holds projects in the works.

I found a nice sturdy over the door rack that fits over the cornice board at the back door of the trailer. I use it to hold things like projects in the works, a clip on light for my sewing area, a bag of fabric, and a lint roller. That lint roller is THE BEST for picking up all those little threads and pieces of fabric when I am through sewing for the day!

RV storage spaces, organizing solutions — Bolts of interfacing and batting on a shelve in the wardrobe closet

You might not be able to see this clearly, but this is where I store bolts of interfacing and batting. I buy things like that when they are on sale at Joann Fabrics for 40-50% off. There are three bolts in there right now, with room to spare for some mailing supplies like padded envelopes, and priority mail boxes. They really don’t weigh a lot, but because it is a bolt, it is pretty large. Keeping them in the wardrobe closet is a pretty good option.

fabric in the linen closet, fabric storage, organizing — Who needs that many towels?

I store fabric in one side of the linen closet. Who needs that many towels anyway? And because I always need more fabric than that:

storage solutions, organizing a sewing area, RV storage solutions — A wicker trunk in the living area

I have a wicker trunk in the living area. I bought this trunk more than 10 years ago when we bought our first travel trailer. It serves a dual purpose–it is a coffee table most of the time, but the inside is full of fabric:

fabric storage, sewing organization — My storage area for fabric

When we travel, everything is packed away. The sewing machine, the folding chair, the ironing board, the rulers and iron, all go under the bed. All of the plastic drawers are on the floor, in front of the back door. The sewing table is either put on the bed, or in the back of the truck, depending on how long we are going to be traveling. The wicker trunk is pushed sideways next to the door. In the more than 10 years that we have been traveling, everything has always stayed put while we were going down the road.

The next question people always ask me is “How did you get your husband to let you have all that space for sewing?” Well, the answer is, he knows this is what makes me happy. If I were a fisher woman, or a kayaker, I would make space for the items I needed to be able to enjoy those activities. I am a crafter and quilter–I need these tools and supplies to make me happy. Life on the road is not just travel–if you can’t have the things you need to make you happy, no matter what that might be, you might as well just stay home.

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A Visit And Another Project

Karen · 6 Comments

One of the very best things about living the RV life is meeting new people along the way. We have made so many friends along the way, we have lost count. It is always so nice to see them again, even if just for a few minutes. When I heard they were coming to pick up the RVQ Grill they won in my auction, I was so excited you would have thought the Pope was coming!

We met Stephen and Phillip last year when we were here at Payne Lake. They live on Dauphin Island down by Mobile, Alabama. They have an RV and go camping whenever they can. Stephen said they went to the Grand Canyon over the summer, but since they only went to the south rim, I had to tell them they missed the best side! Sadly, they were only able to stay for about an hour, then be on their way back to the island.

quilted messenger bag, hand made messenger bag — My new messenger bag

Today I spent some time sewing, this time it’s a messenger bag. I put some padding in it, so I can use it for a laptop bag. It’s big enough for the laptop, my mouse, the power cord, and some pens and paper. There’s a zippered pocket on the outside underneath the flap, which wasn’t on the pattern but I am in love with those zipper pockets since I learned how to do them.

I haven’t finished this yet, I still need to make the lining. I’ll do that tomorrow, and it will be done in time for our trip to Georgia on Saturday. And just look at this, with the cutie cute travel trailer embroidered patch!

PC290067 — Travel Trailer embroided patch

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My Sewing Machine Stared At Me Sadly Today

Karen · 1 Comment

So I had to tear myself away from the computer and the website work, and sew something. I had promised my daughter a backpack for her birthday, which was in November, so that was the first thing I picked up today. The thing has been sitting there, all cut out and ready to sew, for weeks.

Becca is a HUGE Harry Potter fan. I found some embroidered patches with her favorite house emblem on them, Gryffindor:

gryffindor patch — gryffindor house emblem

That patch will be on the front of the backpack. I’m using orange fabric on the outside and for the pockets:

The whole thing is quilted and padded, and the pocket is big enough to hold her netbook or her e-reader. Or whatever. I used a piece of green corduroy that I found in a thrift shop for the inside. It is very soft. This backpack will be very sturdy, and has some very stiff interfacing in the middle.

And because she is a knitter, I made a pocket that goes all the way across the inside, with small divisions to hold knitting needles. At least I hope they will fit in there. Those pens and pencils fit in there pretty snugly, so maybe the needles will stay put in there. And one bigger pocket to hold a notebook or something. Tomorrow, I have to make the sides and top, and then put the whole thing together. I think I accomplished a lot, and made my poor neglected sewing machine happy.

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Oh, The Cuteness!

Karen · 4 Comments

While we were on our way from Arizona to Alabama, I was buying these embroidered patches, and I told you I had a plan for them. Then my daughter asked me if I could make her a backpack. I have two backpack patterns, and this one was really the best one, but it wasn’t exactly what she wanted.

So, I fiddled around with it and came up with this:

It has a big zippered pocket on the outside, and a handy pocket on the inside:

And look at that cute little patch on the back! It’s a travel trailer, imagine that!

The straps are adjustable, but on the next one, I need to make them a little bit longer. If Emily doesn’t want this one, I’ll be putting in my Etsy store for $25 plus shipping.

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I LOVE A Challenge!

Karen ·

I have been making these wallets for a couple of months now, using a pattern called Koin Keeper from This & That by Sherri K. Falls. I bought it on Etsy, and have good sales from the completed items.

P9160003 — A black print zipper pocket wallet also for Donna M

Then, the other day, one of my best customers, Froggi Donna, asked me if I could make her one with the zipper pocket on the outside. Well, I took that as a challenge to see what I could do. And here is what I came up with:

PA230006 — With the zippered pocket on the outside

PA230004 — and six card slots on the inside!

This design also gives three extra card slots, and an open “pocket” on the outside. This one closed with velcro, but I have magnetic snap closures too.

So, what do you think? Is it a “love it” or a “back to the drawing board” solution? What challenge do YOU have for me? For instance, my sister wants a zippered bag to hold her wireless mouse when she travels. I’m just waiting for the measurements for that. I am going to give this purple one away to one of my readers. Just comment, telling me what your challenge for me would be. I’ll pick a winner by random number generator. Remember to leave me an email address where I can get in touch with you if you are the winner. Give away ends November 6, 2010.

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