Practice Makes Better

Okay, so I wrote last time that I was going to make Toria's Tea Party dress. But my skills with the sewing machine are awful. If my hands didn't hurt so much I would probably just do it by hand. But I have to use the machine. So, I have decided to practice. Little projects, easy projects, so I can get at least a little better at machine sewing.

I bought the current issue of Sew Simple Magazine. There is a pattern to make a billfold. I needed a new wallet so I chose it. First problem. They used laminated cotton. I've never heard of laminated cotton. It is supposed to be like oil cloth, but the local fabric store didn't have any. Since I want to stash bust anyway, I raided my stuff and chose a knit I bought a long time ago with a geisha pattern on it. I used fusible interfacing to stiffen it up and cut down on stretch. Then I used one of the scrap pieces I bought in Fort Bragg last month, a batik in blue with what looks like bamboo images on it. The blue was simialr to one in the knit and the bamboo fit with theme, so I gave it a shot. An interesting pairing I admit, but I like it. It didn't take too long to make, a couple of hours but that's because I spend a lot of time arguing with the machine. Here is the finished product.



Its not bad. Even though I missed the seam allowance in the pattern I got it right on a guess. I did however put the elastic on the wrong side when I sewed it. It's supposed to be beside the ribbon accents, but it isn't. It's also off center, so I put the button a little higher to even it out. May make the billfold slip off center, but oh well.



I've already filled it up and am using it, because I do like it. I even like the fabrics together.



But the sewing is questionable. Oh it will stay together, but take a look at those stitches. I used the wrong thread (rayon- it shredded every once in a while) an old needle (yes, I use needles until they break, which I am surprised didn't happen this time), the wrong size needle (It was really thick with the two fabics and the interfacing so the needle would slide too far and jam) and sometimes the wrong thread tension which I am still trying to figure out how to use. I'll figure it out.



My sis wants a bag to carry her MP3 player (and its accessories) in and wants the same geisha fabric too. So I have another practice item to work on. Hopefully, I'll figure out the things I did wrong this time. I really want Toria's dress to be nice, that includes and stitches that might show in the finished product. We'll see what happens with the bag.

Grandma's B-day, Oh And Easter Too

April 12, was Grandma's 91st B-day. So we took her out of the nursing home for the day to celebrate. It was Easter too, but really, for the most part, we were celebrating Grandma. I mean 91, come on, so much more worth the celebrating.

Grandma is my Dad's mom. She was living with us at Mom's house up until the end of January when a particularly frightening seizure made it clear we could no longer help her. She didn't care much for the home at first and sometimes forgets she lives there and wants to go home (the home she shared with grandpa in Chester more than a decade ago), but mostly she has adjusted.

She never wants anything as a gift, which we all hate because we love to give gifts. Up until Saturday night I hadn't gotten her anything except a plastic egg I decorated with flowers and ribbon and filled with Chocolate Kisses (I also made ones for Mom and my sister), but I really wanted to make her something, but with limited time and hurting hands I had to go small. Inspiration came in a book club catalog featuring a book of crocheted food. I thought about doing a slice of cake, but instead opted for a cupcake. I searched my stash for a suitable color combination and crocheted my first cupcake. It has its faults but Grandma liked it.





She only stayed a few hours. A really big meal, picture time, two kinds of dessert and warm weather (we were outside under an awning in the backyard) left her a little sleepy and she was ready to leave. By the time I got back from taking her home, I was ready to sleep as well.

It was a good day, we all enjoyed it, and so did Grandma, and that is the most important part.

Blessings,
Agate

No hooks required

Okay, so this post has little to nothing to do with crochet, but it is crafty.

My friend's daughter, Toria is having a fancy tea party for her birthday this year and guess who gets to create the fancy dress. Yes me. Now I am totally happy to do this, Toria is the child I never had and always get to send home when the temper tantrums start, but its sewing.

If I could do it all by hand, I would, but thanks to some issues at work I can barely hold a N hook, not so much a little needle. But my sewing machine and I have issues. I just want it to work, and it doesn't always want to. I am sure the tempermantal machine would blame me for our issues: I'm not threading it right or the tension is wrong, but that doesn't explain how it works for the first 75% of the project only to stubbornly bind up on the underside halfway through a line of stitching.

I will persevere though. I will make a lovely dress for Toria's seventh birthday come Hell or tangled thread.

The shopping trip for the fabric was an adventure. Not only my first trip to a big JoAnn's store (our store here in YC is very small and cramped and doesn't carry half of what I saw that day), but choosing fabric was somewhat difficult. First there were my rules to what fabric. Now Toria and her Mommy might think I am a crafting wiz and can work miracles, but I know my limits, especially when it comes to sewing. Nothing too stretchy (I haven't sewn stretchy fabrics yet and don't want to experiment on this project) and nothing that frays too much on the bolt. Oh and the pattern had to be simple, clothing doesn't always work out for me.

Here is the pattern she chose. She wants version D, the blue version.


I also picked out a pattern that I think I will do for her, either as a b-day gift, or a little later. I love the shape of the hem. Mom wants all three pieces for her.

Why would I make another dress if the first is such a big deal. Well, I've made her one other dress, a simple tank dress out of Tinkerbell cotton. I figure if I can manage the party dress, then I'll try the next which has a more difficult hem to it. I've decided I want to start making some of my own clothes anyway, miniature child versions seem like a good place to start.

Okay, so simple is done. Now the fabric. She wanted Leopard print (she calls it baby jaguar, but either way its animal print for a tea party, but its her party), not only leopard print, but true to color print. She had her heart set on a silky print, that I actually thought was pretty ugly, but then I am not partial to animal prints. Note however, I said a silky fabric, and silky (rayon) fabrics fray a lot. So we had to find a way to steer her away from it and still find something she liked. (Toria was somewhat disappointed in me at this point because I could not fulfill her fantasy of a silky leopard print)


Mom and I really liked a pink and purple fabric with silver threads in it, very light and pretty, but she was not excited. We ended up in the quilter's cotton section. Now this I can sew, if only we could find something she liked. There was a rainbow striped fabric she liked, and we even found leopard print, pink leopard print to be exact. So we had four fabrics in the cart to chose from.

Remember, this is a fancy party and plain cotton is not fancy even if it is pink leopard print or rainbows. We headed to the trim aisle and she began picking out a variety of trims.

Once we had a selection of lace, ribbons, sequins and fur we set about establishing which she liked better. In the end she chose the pink leopard (Yeah, no fray) some pink bead fringe on light pink ribbons and a strand of gold sequins.


From my own fabric stash I have included some gold mesh for the waistband (maybe) and I may need more sequins. Soon I will face off against the machine, but I swear I will create a lovely piece of seven year old fanciness, even if I have to sit down and finish by hand.

Blessings,
Agate