Sewing repairs and Walmart

 Can Sewing be boring? 

The last 2 weeks has mostly kept me busy with  sewing repair work,

I hemmed 2 pair of slacks for my husband,
Serged around some towels to keep them useful for as long as possible,
I fixed a State flag
I sewed a button on my husbands dress shirt.
repaired1top  and 1 jacket for my daughter
I fixed binding and replaced Velcro on some lead x-ray vests
I darned a couple of favorite socks.  Does anyone do that anymore?

I reinforced some dog leads for my friends Dog grooming shop.   I also embroidered a chair back for her about a year ago but she has since moved her shop and wanted another chair embroidered.  I did this and then I wanted to cover the embroidery up on the back of the chairs because they are seen from the sidewalk, especially when you see I had stabilized one chair back differently a year later.  The fix was easy, I  just cut 2 red rectangles of scrap fabric, finished the edges and applied them with double sided tape so you couldn't see any extra stiches on the front.  The different red is not noticeable  through the window and now looks much neater.

 

 

 

The conclusion is that none of those sewing jobs was boring, it is nice to have a useful skill.  I did get a new top made this week as well as a skirt for my daughter.  I'll give you details later.

 

 

 

The Franklin Indiana Walmart has a fabric department again, it  includes thread, interfacing  and zippers.  There was fabric on both sides of the aisle.  I remember buying fabric for many out fits for my daughter and niece as well as some for my self.   I think that having fabric at Walmart helps beginning sewers as well as young sewers like those in 4H find affordable fabric in a place they are already shopping. 

 

Thank you Walmart.

 

 

 

 

I took this picture while walking in the woods recently.  These flowers were only about 3 or 4 inches high and a treat to see.  I am not sure what they are but it I find out I'll let you know.

Upcycle floral skirt

 I found this skirt in a thrift shop and fell in love with the colors.  It is a little redder than it appears here but it is a orange red, a very pretty color.  The skirt was too large and too long and rather shapeless.

I cut off the waistband

I  shaped the skirt making it narrower in the waist and hip area and taking more off the top.   I straightened up the right side seam a bit more than you see in the picture below then,   I serged the new front and back together.  I had considered using a real waistband and zipper but I decided that I wanted to wear the skirt sometime this year so I serged the top edge, turned it under and added an elastic waist.  I  saved a lot of time by using the original skirt hem by  opening the hem up on each side seam and re-stitching  after the sides were serged. 

Here is my finished skirt after about an hour of cutting and sewing time. 

 

 

 

My cost for skirt and elastic is about $3 but the important thing is I am happy with the results of  this upcycle project and it is no longer in my sewing room.

 

How about a chipmunk or two?

Even though these little mammals are absolutely adorable and fun to watch fill their cheeks up with food from the bird feeder,  they had to go.  They were digging holes in my flower beds and digging all the dirt out of the flower pots.  But the real problem is the holes they make by the house foundation.  I was really afraid that would do some damage so I have caught both Chip and Dale and transported them to a new very nice location a couple of miles from my house.   I think they will like their new home much better.

McCalls 6604

I won this really pretty pink gaze crepe fabric from Sew Exhausted  earlier this year and thought it would be a pretty spring blouse.  The problem was that January in Indiana is cold.

 

But now it is finally getting warmer (slightly) and spring is on the way,

 

 

 

 

 

So I made Mcalls 6604

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This top went together very quickly and would look nice in many different fabric types both knit and woven.

 

The scoop of this top looks more like the line drawing rather than the one pictured on the model.  I will raise the neckline a bit the next time. When I attached the binding I did not sew it down by hand on the inside.  I instead folded the binding in half, sewed it to the inside (wrong side ) of the neck then folded it to the front and topstitched.   This picture shows the binding and the front pleat detail.

 

 

 

I finished  the sleeves with a 1/2" double turned hem.  I wanted a deeper hem for the top but I did not want to use to much length so serged a 1" band to the bottom pressed the serging up and then top stitched the serging down.

  This is also faster than double turning the hem and gives a bit more weight to the hem than if I just serged, turned up and top stitched.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  The back shoulder area was also a little snugger than I prefer but it did not look tight while I was wearing it.  Maybe if the front of the top was brought up through the shoulders it would fix both the neckline and the back shoulder area.  I'll try it next time and let you know how it works.  I also wore this top on Easter with a pink skirt and was happy with the look.

 

I think I was able to make this top in about 1-1/2 hours  which is another reason to like it. 

 

ASG meeting

Last Thursday during our monthly American Sewing Guild meeting.  Anita told us about Superior University and the threads and lessons she received for her "classes".   Superior Threads are more expensive than the threads that you normally find in JoAnns and Hancocks but they are supposed to be a higher quality thread supplier.   One of the strong points for Superior Thread is the education they provide in regards to how their threads are made, and how you should sew with it for best results.  Anita feels that she is getting a good value for her monthly class costs.

One of the community service projects  the Indianapolis chapter is involved in again this year is making Christmas stockings for our troops. Last year we make over 3150 stockings that other organizations then fill and distribute.   Our Chapter goal for this year is 4000 stockings. 

Rather than wait and make a lot of stockings in October our neighborhood group has decided that we each will make 1 or more stockings every month   so far we have made 80.  Below is a sampling of this months stockings.  You will notice that even though the stockings are all the same size we can use any fabric we wish.  It doesn't even have to be Christmas fabric.  The stockings can be made quickly are are great for stash busting.

I am also lucky enough to belong to a group that has a couple of very prolific sewers in it.

Renate made 15 of these cute  little fabric boxes,  enough for each of us.  These little boxes are perfect for holding a spool of thread, needle, thimble and small scissors, just the right size to use while  sewing in front of the television.  Thank you Renate!

I enjoy our meetings, it is good to talk with others who not only understand my fabric and pattern obsessions but have those same obsessions them selves.   I always come away with more ideas and techniques to try.

McCalls M6603

I made McCalls M6603 view A with long sleeves and pocket of view C  as a lightweight jacket.  The back of the pattern description is "Oversized pullover tops" and that is correct.  I used a medium weight  stretch cotton blend  that I purchased a few years ago at a Sewing Guild Annual meeting.  I purchased about 5 yards for $17.00 and since I used about 2-1/8 yards for this jacket I have plenty left over for a skirt.

 I had originally cut out the hood but since the fabric back was much lighter  than the front  I didn't want to have such a large contrast and I could either double the hood or make the cowl neck version.  I chose the cowl neck. I also made the front pocket but rather than just sewing a hem on either end I cut 2 pockets, stitched them right sides together, turned them, top stitched  and sewed the pocket on the front of the shirt.  This way the underside of the fabric will not show at all and I think this is a nicer finish.
This jacket worked up very quickly and needs no fitting because it is very large and has lots of ease.   The instructions tell you to sew the side seams and sleeve and then insert the sleeve breaking stitching at the underarm seam.  I feel it is much simpler and faster to sew the sleeve in flat so I did.


 The only issue I had was that my machine and I disagreed on what the top stitching on the hem should look like.  I had to take part of the hem out  twice before I was happy with it. 

I wore this shopping with my husband and was quite comfortable going in and out the stores and car all day.  I might make this again in a lighter weight fabric but if so, I  but I would go down at least one size.

A Lovebird named Esther

 

Late last week, our Peach Faced Lovebird Esther died.  She was a sweet pet, we often said she was the best pet in the house.  She was about 11 or 12 years old.  Sometimes we called her our love to bite bird but unlike some lovebirds she didn't even nip at you  unless she was protecting her cage  and then she meant business  She was an incredible flier and had the agility to land anywhere with ease and grace unlike her fried Elizabeth who is a very clumsy flier.  We miss her and so does Elizabeth .

If you are looking for a pet bird a Lovebird makes a good choice.  It will readily bond to humans if you only have one bird.  If you have a pair they will probably bond more to each other than to you. Just remember that birds are flock animals and require lots of attention so make sure you do your research before buying any bird or other pet for that matter