Monday Morning Quarterback: Taking down 2 Q's in 1 Weekend

Agnes's arm whirled. The holy water spiraled out of the bottle and hit Vlad full in the chest. He threw his arms wide and screamed as the water cascaded down and poured into his shoes. "Look at this waistcoat! Will you look at this waistcoat? Do you know what water does to silk? You just never get it out! No matter what you do, there's always a mark."

--Terry Pratchett

Okay, the quote has nothing whatsoever to do with my post. But I was looking for an appropriate quote and found this one and I just couldn't resist... ;)

Do you ever have a time when you are just feeling desperate to sew? That's how it was for me this weekend - no matter what, I felt like I just had to do some sewing... So, I turned toward my queue.

The first project I tackled was not exactly what you'd call "sewing" - it was more in the nature of necessary precursors. Without further adieu, I introduce (ta da!) my cutting table:

Look - I have a cutting mat! I hadn't seen that for so long that I almost forgot I had it! ;)

Next, I turned my attention to a queue project that I thought would be practically instant gratification - my 60's peasant top.

It's a pretty straightforward pattern, with just a couple of interesting details. First, the layout for cutting - it calls for two separate pieces of fabric, not one piece folded in half at some point.


I don't recall seeing this before and I'm not sure of the point. Turns out, I was able to fit all the pieces on my fabric in the more traditional way.



Another interesting bit is that there are seams up the center front and the center back. The center front seam makes sense, as that is how you sew the little neck slit opening. But I'm not sure why the back couldn't have been cut in one piece. In any event, I should have thought more about getting my print to line up on these seams...

The last mild surprise to me was the neckline - looking at the picture on the front of the pattern envelope, I thought it was a drawstring neckline. But turns out you just add some gathers near the front center - no drawstring.

You cut a bias strip to make the neckline binding. My "instant gratification" project was slowed down because I didn't try it on until after adding the neck binding. (Dumb.) It hung too low for my taste, and I had to remove much of the binding, pull up the shoulder seams, and then replace the binding.

You also use the bias strip to form a single button loop. I found a perfect button! It matches both the colors and the design of the print in the fabric. :)

So, it's not done yet. I have the sleeves (true drawstring style) and hem to do - maybe another hour or so of work. But it's going to be cute and fun and it felt wonderful to get back into my sewing room! :)

I hope you had a wonderful weekend too!

Friday Confession

Thanks to you guys, I was browsing through my copy of Sandra Betzina's book, More Fabric Savvy, and I realized that I have barely explored the tip of the fabric iceberg in my sewing. Sandra covers ONE HUNDRED different types of fabric in this book, starting with "African Mudcloth", ending with "Woolens & Worsted" and picking up "Boiled Wool", "Hemp Cloth" and "Ripstop" along the way...

I've pretty much tried (1) cotton (oooh, be still my heart!), (2) eyelet (i.e., cotton with holes in it), (3) flannel, (4) fleece, (5) a few knits, (6) some lace trim, (7) a polyester brocade once, (8) silk organza as underlining and (9) silk (for the wedding dress).

Oh yeah, there was (10) that sequined slinky project I did for my niece, but I'm trying to forget that experience!

In other words, there's a ton of fabric that I've never tried! I'd estimate it to be at least (hmmm, 100-10...) 90 types!

How about you? African Mudcloth? Alpaca? Voile? Camel Hair? Charmeuse? Chenille? Corduroy? Crepe de Chine? Damask? Dupion? Garbardine? Georgette? Lame? Mohair? Moleskin? Ottoman? Pique? Silky? Viscose? Shantung? Silk Tweed? Stretch Leather? Suede? Taffeta? Tencel? Terrycloth? Velour? Velveteen? Viyella? Wool Challis?

What fun exotic fabrics have you worked with? Is there anything that you have vowed NEVER to work with again? Is there something that you are just dying to try someday, when the right project comes along? I'd love to hear your fabric stories!

Talk Back Thursday

Thank you so much to Kelley, Faye, Patti, Paulette, Cindy, Kristine, Mary, Alison, Carla, Julie, Elaina, Summerset, Mamafitz, Meredith, Ivalyn, Cindy C and Claire S for talking back to my confession a couple of weeks ago! I confessed that, while I do change my sewing machine needle pretty regularly, I'm not that good at matching the needle to the fabric.

Turns out, I'm in the minority on this. Only 2 people reported being a little like me - shaky on the whole matching thing; while over a dozen people pay attention to at least the type, and usually the size, of the sewing machine needle that they are using.

Regarding sizes, Cindy explained that typically the lighter weight (or finer) the fabric, the smaller the needle size you want to use. Several people echoed this and reported that they try to use the smallest size needle possible for each project.

As you would expect, no two systems were exactly the same. The biggest discrepancy seemed to center around the use of the universal needle. While most people agree on things like, "use a stretch or jersey needle for knits", the opinions on the universal needle ranged from "never" to "usually" and hit most everything in between. ;)

I was especially intrigued by an idea that both Julie and Summerset proposed - they actually try several different needles on scraps of fabric and then pick the needle that gives the best looking stitches. Julie said that it's worth the extra time.

Finally, people provided a number of excellent resources for learning more about needles and fabric:

• The most recommended resource was Sandra Betzina's "More Fabric Savvy", which I am embarrassed to admit that I own, and clearly need to consult more often! ;)
• Apparently I also need to check my sewing machine manual and any sewing encyclopedia!
• Patti provided this link to a resource by KwikSew
• And Cindy provided this link to another resource - this page explained why there are 2 numbers on the packages of needles that I see - one is the American size and the other is the European size.
• Alison pointed me towards Schmetz and, not surprisingly, their web site has a helpful page here.
• And Ivalyn pointed me towards Thread magazine. A quick search of their site produced a number of relevant articles, including this one on needle types and this one on needle sizes.

Have I mentioned lately that you guys rock? Thank you so much for all your input on the selection of the best sewing machine needle! :)

In the Queue Wednesday

Thank you so much to everyone for your words of understanding, encouragement and advice regarding my experience at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo! Every time feelings of failure try to rise up and overwhelm me, I just re-read your comments and feel better.

Well, I didn't spend the entire time at the Expo sitting in our booth trying not to cry - I managed to squeeze in some fun shopping! ;)

Remember this baby bubble pattern designed by the Scientific Seamstress?

I made two of these outfits for my vet's baby daughter last December...

I thought of it as a kind of girly pattern, but a good friend at work who is expecting her first child - a boy - later this Spring, fell in love with the pattern and was pretty adamant that, without the sleeves, it's a perfectly fine romper for a boy!

So, I picked out these fabrics to make a reversible baby bubble for her baby's wardrobe:

I really like using a solid/geometric pattern for one side and a cute print for the other - I think that makes it more versatile. The baby's room colors are blues and browns, so the fabric is perfect! I think she'll love it! And I'll get to it soon - it's in the queue! :)

Failing Big

It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.

-- Theodore Roosevelt

This week was my first experience as a vendor at a show. Christine and I had a booth at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Tampa, Florida. Here are some shots of our booth:

Here's Christine behind the table, wearing one of our "gwyn hug" shirts, embroidered by Lori (Girls in the Garden).



The cards were included in the New and Noteworthy section of one of the Threads magazines, and we had the blurb framed and on display.



My favorite bit was our cartoon banner. It got a lot of smiles. :)

So, let's get the bad news out of the way. We didn't sell anywhere near enough sets of cards to even cover the booth fee, never mind all of the other expenses that went into going to the Expo. Truthfully, it was pretty discouraging. There were a lot of quilters there, who weren't interested in garment sewing. I still believe that the cards are a good idea, but I'm pretty disheartened regarding my ability to manage a small business. I really lost a lot of money... :(

(Don't get me wrong - my husband and I each have full time jobs. It's not like our mortgage is in jeopardy or anything. You don't need to worry about us - we're fine.)

Now, to the fun and interesting stuff. First, we met some of the nicest people! The other vendors at the Expo were especially wonderful! The ones with the booths around us took us under their wings and gave us lots of pointers and advice. Wendy has her own sewing center in Ft. Myers, Sewing Boutique, where she sells machines and teaches sewing and quilting classes. She had the Tin Lizzy booth - demonstrating a free-arm quilting machine. Trisha and her husband, of Salem Manufacturing Company, sell cutting mats and templates made right here in the USA. And Teri's booth, Thread & More, was a treaure chest of notions and gadgets for sewers and quilters. They all made us feel immediately part of a family. :)

There was also some interesting behind-the-scenes drama. A major chain sewing store was there, and the rumor was that they had worked a deal with the show producers and hadn't had to pay for their combined SIX booth spaces. They were offering most of their merchandise at a 40% discount, undercutting the small business owners and taking away a lot of their business. All of the vendors that we met were really upset about it. A mini-version of what is going on everywhere, I guess... :(

All in all, it was quite an experience. I think it's going to take me some time to process the lessons I've learned and regroup and figure out how to proceed from here... But I'll never forget the kindnesses that the other vendors showed us. They are special people and I wish them all the best! :)

Missing In Action...

I'm going to be MIA this week, as I prepare for and participate in the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Tampa, Florida. It will be my first time as a vendor (selling the "How Much Fabric?" Reference Cards.) It's exciting and nerve-wracking all at the same time! Wish me luck! I'll try to post some pictures of the booth over the weekend, and will be back to my usual schedule next week. :)

Friday Confession

This is a bit of a extension of last week's topic, but it seems worthy of it's own post. While I am OCD about changing my sewing machine needle every project, I am not particularly good about making sure that my needle "matches" my fabric. I mostly use universal needles, and I periodically put in a denim needle if my fabric is quite heavy and a stretch needle if I'm sewing a knit. But I don't really know what I'm doing and I have NO idea what the sizes mean... :(

How about you? Do you have a system for matching needle to fabric type? Do you pay attention to the needle sizes? I'd love to know what works for you! :)

Talk Back Thursday

Thank you so much to Faye, Webfrau, Linda, Julia, Mary, Amelia, CarlaF, Casserole, Gaylen, Karin, Gwen, Julie, Becky, Shannon, Mamafitz, Summerset, Claire, and Meredith for talking back to my confession last Friday! I admitted that I’m somewhat OCD about changing my sewing machine needle, and asked how often others change theirs.

With some questions, it’s easy to divide people into distinct groups – but this time there was a lot of partial overlap between different people’s responses. So it’s more difficult to get a clean count of how many people do one thing versus how many people do another.

There were three clear motivating factors for a needle change:
Fault-based: A major problem with the old needle, such as it breaks, the fabric starts snagging, the stitches look “off” or it starts making a “punching sound” when it goes through the fabric
Materials-based: A change in the type of fabric being sewn, for example, going from wovens to knits
Time-based: The start of a new major project (not just some mending or a couple of seams) and/or at intermediate stages during a large project

Almost everyone switches needles for major fabric changes – but some use that as an excuse to throw out the previous needle, while others save the old needle and re-use it until it eventually breaks or causes a problem. Similarly, some only change their needles when there is a major fabric change, while others also change regularly whenever they start a new major project, or when they feel they have been working on a single project for a long time.

Amelia mentioned that her shop recommended a more specific time-based approach – they said that a needle should be changed after 8 hours of use. I have never heard this one, but it seems a bit more precise than the rule I heard, which was “every big project”.

So, should we try to err on the side of changing needles well before they start getting dull? Or is it okay to use them until you see a problem? Obviously this is a decision that each person must make for herself...

But we did hear from two “converts” who had experiences that convinced them that it was worth replacing needles frequently – when Julie was working on her wedding dress, she found that this made the sewing easier and eliminated a lot of little problems with her stitching that she had previously been attributing to operator error. And Webfrau came to the same conclusion when she got into creating surface embellishments for quilting projects.

Speaking of changing the needle for different types of fabric, a few people mentioned their policies – and I realized that this seems like an excellent topic for another confession! For today, I’ll just pass on Gwen’s breakdown of her preferences, as it was the most extensive one that anyone laid out:

Use / Needle Type
Most wovens / Sharp (over universal)
Knits / Ballpoints
Lycra / Stretch
Faux suede / Microtex
All purpose / Denim (all sizes from 70 to 110)

Only a few people mentioned serger needles, but the ones who did were in agreement – no one voluntarily changes their serger needles very often! ;)

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to comment! As always, it was very interesting to read your experiences and I learned a lot! :)

In the Queue Wednesday

Well, I haven't cleaned my sewing room yet, but I did accidentally wander too close to a local Joann's and was, of course, sucked in by their tractor beam and forced to buy this cute cotton print and peasant shirt pattern.

What can I say? I may not have experienced much of the 60's the first time around (I was only 8 years old when the 70's rolled in) but I guess I'm just a flower child at heart! ;)

I'm hoping that this is a fun, quick pattern! Don't worry, I'll get to it. It's in the queue. :)

Weekend Project: A Surprising Turn of Events

I'll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box

when there's evidence of any thinking going on inside it.

--Terry Pratchett

Mr. Pratchett's pessimism notwithstanding, it worked! Tying the threads for the new set of towels to the still-warped threads from the old set of towels and then gently pulling them through all of the pieces of the loom worked! I bet I cut 4 hours off the time it usually takes me to warp the loom! Yay! :)

At this rate, my 2009 Christmas presents should easily be completed by May 2010... ;)

I hope your weekend was also full of happy surprises. :)

Friday Confession

I change my sewing machine needle after every project.

Am I being obsessive and wasteful? Or is this a good idea? How often do you change the needle in your sewing machine? In your serger?

Photo courtsey of House of Sims

Talk Back Thursday

Thank you so much to Cindy, Julia, CarlaF, Gwen, Ivalyn, Shannon, Elaina, Becky and an annonymous commenter for talking back to my confession last Friday! I confessed that I've never made a sloper.

I was half expecting the same kind of response that I got on pressing seams - a landslide in the "you must do it!" camp. But apparently slopers aren't as popular with this crowd as they might like to think they are... ;)

Cindy gave a nice definition of a sloper - it is a simple, no-frills pattern for any type of garment made to fit certain measurements, that is used as the basis for constructing a wide variety of patterns (that will fit the same person) with different styles. She explained how the different pattern companies (Simplicity, Vogue, Burda, etc.) each work from a different set of slopers, which is why you might find that one company's patterns fit you well "out of the box", while you have to tweak patterns from another company to get a good fit.

Reading between the lines (which sometimes gets me in trouble!), it sounds like people make their own personalized slopers mainly for one of two reasons - either they plan to use them to draft their own patterns from scratch or they plan to use them to improve the fit of commercial patterns.

About six people fell in the "not a huge fan" category. A couple of those (like me) have never actually made a sloper, and Becky has made one, but hasn't had the chance to use it yet. The other three have all made slopers in the past, but currently don't use them.

The main reasons people gave for not using slopers in their sewing routine included:

(a) using commercial patterns, rather than drafting patterns from scratch,

(b) generally not having fitting issues with commercial patterns, and

(c) mostly sewing for children and/or with knits - cases when fitting isn't as challenging.

People also proposed alternatives to formal slopers. Shannon has a favorite t-shirt pattern (made years ago by tracing a t-shirt) that she now uses to adjust new patterns, in lieu of a made-from-scratch sloper. Gwen makes a muslin before applying any new pattern to fashion fabric. And Elaina drafts her own patterns straight from her body measurements, as shown one of her favorite books, Dorothy Moore's classic, "Pattern Drafting and Dressmaking" (pictured above, courtesy of amazon.com).

It wasn't all one-sided, however. There were two strong yes votes for slopers. Ivalyn made a sloper to use with her Wild Ginger software. She lets the computer do all the adjusting of the pattern pieces to fit her measurements perfectly. And our final commenter has significant fitting issues with commercial patterns, so she paid a local seamstress to measure her and create a sloper for her, and she now uses that sloper to draft her own patterns from scratch. Both very cool and smart ideas!

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to answer! You really make this series fun and informative! :)

In the Queue Wednesday

Sometimes I can't fit in any sewing because I am too busy with other things. But sometimes I find myself disinclined to sew because my sewing room is a mess. And I think I am in that situation now... (But you can judge for yourself - look at my "cutting table" - yikes!)

So, before I can get to ANYTHING else in my queue, job number one is to clean up my sewing room! I think I'll find my good scissors, my seam gauge and my sewing mojo! ;)

Don't worry, I'll get to it... It's in my queue! :)

Weekend Project: An Idea

"The old lemon throbbed fiercely. I got an idea."

--P.G. Wodehouse

After a couple of weekends with no progress on the Christmas towels, I was inspired to get back to work on them and measured out most of the warp (length-wise threads) for the next set of four. Here are a couple of my thread chains:

What inspired me was an idea that just might help me shorten the time it takes me to prepare the loom. "Threading" (or warping) the loom is the major time sink (for me) and it takes me on the order of 6-8 hours. This week it occured to me that maybe I could borrow a trick from sewing.

What do we have that is difficult to thread? The serger. And what method is recommended for threading the serger? Tie the new threads to the threads that are already in place and just pull them through...

There are some differences, of course. Mainly the 4 or 5 threads on a serger versus the over 400 threads on the loom... But, I'm hoping that it will still work. So, when I pulled the most recently completed set of towels off the loom, I left the threads on - ready to be tied (one at a time - yikes!) to the new threads...

Keep your fingers crossed for me that this works!

Meanwhile, ever helpful, Oliver checks out my most recently finished set of towels:

I think they pass inspection! ;)


Don't worry too much about Oliver - these pictures (and the one where he was chewing on my point presser) do not represent typically allowed behavior. I just let him get near my stuff for a minute or two, long enough to get a picture! And then my sewing tools and finished products are tucked safely out of his reach.

At least Ana got some sewing done this weekend. On Saturday she (basically) finished her patchwork purse:


She wants to put appliques on the lower left and upper right quadrants - that's why the seams aren't showing there. But we have to go shopping for just the right patches. It's not really my style, but she loves it! And that's what sewing is all about - getting to make exactly what you love. :)

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and are ready to face a new week and a new month!

Friday Confession

Today's Topic: SLOPERS

Ooops - not THAT kind of sloper! That's what we call a "sloper" in climbing - a hold that you can't get a good grip on, because of it's slope.

But my confession has to do with garment slopers. I have never made one and while I (vaguely) know what they are, I am not 100% sure how you would use one once you had made it. (My hope is that, if you leave it in the same room as a new pattern overnight, they merge and the new pattern automatically fits you!)

How about you? Have you ever made a sloper? If so, for what type of garment? A top? Pants? Was it difficult to make? Did you find it useful for adjusting other patterns? Did it solve all (most?) of your fitting issues?

Talk Back Thursday

Thank you so much to Julia, Julie, BConky, Gwen, Cindy, Becky, Mamafitz, KnitMachineQueen, CarlaF, Faye, Mary, Gaylen, Amelia, Patsijean, Summerset, Sarah and Meredith for "talking back" to my confession last week! I asked how faithful people are in pressing their seams open as they sew a garment.

The Reader's Digest Condensed Version of the comments (with apologies to Nike): JUST DO IT! ;)

In fact, only one commenter joined me in the "I don't press as often as I know I should" club - everyone else is pretty seriously committed to the slogan (with apologies to former Chicago mayor Richard Daley) "Press early and often!" How committed? Judge for yourself, here are just a small sampling of quotes:

• Mamafitz - Press, press, press! You should be spending at LEAST as much time at the ironing board as you do at the machine.
• CarlaF - Not pressing my seams is like not breathing... it just doesn't happen.
• Faye - Someone once called me a career presser, meaning that I press like I was getting paid to do if. Can't help it, I'm a press fanatic.
• Meredith - Nothing will make more of a positive difference in your sewing than excellent pressing.
• Patsijean - I press every seam I can get my hands on. "Sew with my Iron" is my motto.

Other comments can be organized into three categories, addressing the why, how and with what of pressing.

As to the "why" of pressing - beyond the general "it makes your clothes look professional" statement made by many, Julie explained that it helps the stitches sink into the fabric to reduce some bulk, gets rid of minor waviness caused by stitching and Cindy said that is the only way to get all of your seams to line up properly.

The "how" of pressing was really interesting to me - turns out I've been doing it wrong! Most people reported starting by pressing the seam as it was sewn (neither open nor to one side). I didn't know you were supposed to do that! From there, some always press open next, and then press to one side if necessary; while others either press open or to one side, depending on the seam. And some folks stressed the importance of letting your seam cool before moving it - another thing I didn't realize was important.

Folks MAY differ a little bit on how they intersperse ironing with sewing. While no one came right out and said this, it sounds like some folks (maybe those like Julia who keep their ironing board right next to the machine and at the same level) basically iron each seam as they sew it. While a couple of other people, like knitmachinequeen and Amelia, go out of their way to sew as many seams as possible (none overlapping) before doing a solid chunk of ironing.

Finally, in the tool topic, several people mentioned tailor's hams for pressing curves. Most people who brought up irons grumbled a bit about having trouble finding one they liked. Patsijean was an exception - so far she really likes her Reliable i300 steam generator iron and vacuum board combo (purchased last Fall from Allbrands). Other tools mentioned included sleeve boards, pressing cloths and a point presser / clapper.

Speaking of point pressers, Oliver is considering making an instructional DVD series for amateur seamstresses and, in the photo above, he is demonstrating his innovative approach to working with a point presser. I am reasonably certain that you will not find this approach described in ANY of the sewing resources out there right now. What do you think? Should he go for it? ;)

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to comment! As usual, I learned a lot from you! :)

In the Queue Wednesday

I'm afraid I may have been a bit gloomy lately about my queue. I'm sorry about that. :(

I thought I'd work on being more positive... So, look what's waiting for me as soon as I have a few minutes! FOUR gift certificates to Joann's! They were all Christmas gifts from assorted friends and relatives. That's going to be a fun day to look forward to! :)

I don't know exactly when, but don't worry, I'll get to them! They are definitely in my queue! ;)

Weekend Project

I'm visiting my Grandmother this weekend, so no weekend post. I'll leave you with this shot of Ana (my sometimes sewing student and always friend), receiving an award for being the "Exemplary Student" in her ESOL class:

Wishing you a wonderful weekend full of plenty of time for everything you want to do! :)

Friday Confession

I have a real confession for you today. I don't always press all of my seams open.

Now I do press open the long, straight ones that I want stitched open to reduce bulk when two pieces of fabric are sewn together.

But those little curved ones, that are hard to access and that eventually I want pressed to one side anyways (to tuck under some overlapping piece of fabric) - well, some of those never get pressed open.

How bad is this? I've heard that pressing a seam open "sets" the stitches somehow. But I don't know exactly what that means...

So, how about you? Do you press all of your seams open? Do you think it makes a difference?

Talk Back Thursday

Thank you so much to Julia, Kristine and Cindy for talking back to my "confession" last Friday! I never can predict how many commenters a particular confession will draw forth. Last week's topic - sewing blessings or toasts or sign-offs - was low on the quantity of responses, but made up for it with quality! :)

Julia suggested: May your creative juices continue to flow and may you never have a wadder!

Kristine suggested: May your stash never leave you wanting, and your patterns always fit!

Cindy suggested two:

Enjoy your moments ~ make them "sew" much fun!

Enjoy your sewing moments!

All wonderful sayings! Thank you all! :)

In the Queue Wednesday

Here is the last of the Vogue patterns that I got on the Club BMV buy-1-get-2-free sale - Vogue 8571. At least it's a little different from the other 2 patterns I got! ;)

Although, the fitted bodice and flowy skirt seem to be a definite draw for me. :)

Have you ever been so overwhelmedly busy that the thought of signing up to do ANYTHING else - even something that normally would be wonderful - seems like too much? Well, I've just renewed my membership in that club and I'm thinking of running for president (except that that would be one more thing to do!).

But, I'm going to do it anyways... This pattern... Someday.... Maybe... It's in my queue...

Monday "Morning" Quarterback

No pleasure endures unseasoned by variety.

-Publilius Syrus

This weekend was seasoned with the spice of life itself - variety! On the sewing front, Ana came over on Saturday to work on a patchwork purse with this pattern:

The interesting thing about the purse is that you expose all of the seams and fringe them. I'm not overly impressed with the directions, but luckily the construction is simple enough to not really need directions. She took it home with her to work on the fringe (sore finger alert!), but I'll try to have a picture for you soon. She is feeling pressure to finish it, because she bought the pattern at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Tampa last year, and she wants to finish it before this year's Expo! ;)

I also continued to weave on the "Christmas" kitchen towels. (Sigh...)

And my husband and I (and I use the words "and I" loosely) tackled a very novel project - furniture restoration. I needed a good way to store my fabric yardage reference cards - they have been stacked up on our dining room table since last September. I stumbled across a used library card catalog on Craigslist. It had been kept in a garage, and used to store hardware, so it was in pretty sad shape. All of the outside was that stuff made of sawdust held together with glue:

My husband covered it with a sturdy white laminate, corner-trim and all:

Is that cool or what? The drawers are a bit wider than necessary for my card sets, but it still makes an excellent storage cabinet for me! I am so happy with it! :)

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Until next time, may your needle stay sharp and your grainline run true! :)

PS - No, I did NOT make up the name following the opening quote. ;)

Friday Confession

In addition to resolutions, the New Year always makes me think of toasts, blessings and sign-offs.

Friends of ours are amateur astronomers, and they always toast "May you have dark, clear skies".

The traditional sailor blessing is for "...fair winds and following seas."

I've seen weavers sign-off with "Treadle on!"

Of course, all this got me wondering about sewing toasts and blessings. I've been trying to come up with my own. The best I've got so far is: "May your needle stay sharp and your grainline run true."

How about you? What are some of the sewing blessings (or toasts or sign-offs) that you can think of?

Photo credit: zenobia_joy

Talk Back Thursday

Thank you so much to Lori, Gwen, Cindy, Carla, Julie, Petra, Patsijean, Webfrau, Alison, Faye, Mary, Gaylen, Meredith, Summerset, Claire and Sanhan for talking back to my confession last Friday! I asked how people open their buttonholes.

Ten people use a dedicated tool called a buttonhole cutter or chisel (see picture above).

Okay, since when is there a dedicated tool for opening buttonholes?!?! I feel I have been denied, critical, need-to-know information! What other cool tools are you guys using that I have never heard of? ;)

Other approaches included:
- Seam ripper (regular or surgical): 3
- Xacto knife or other retractable razor blade: 3
- Tiny snips or needlework scissors: 3
- Combination of seam ripper and tiny snips: 1

As usual, I also got some excellent tips:

Webfrau folds the buttonhole in half and uses tiny needlework scissors to start the hole.

Petra uses a seam ripper, but she works from each end to the middle, rather than from the middle to the ends.

Faye sews all of her buttonholes twice, and she loves the way those look.

The “tip of the day” award goes to Gwen, who recommended applying fray check to the inside of the buttonhole (both sides) with the head of a pin (Alison uses q-tips) before opening it. Some others (3) do this too, but lots of people commented that it was a new idea and they were going to adopt it posthaste.

And a couple of people recommended using fray check on the back side of buttons, to prevent them from coming off down the line.

Speaking of fray check, Meredith hinted that she has quite a story that ends with the moral of “Don’t apply fray check directly from the bottle!” if we are interested in hearing it. Count me in! So, Meredith, why not?

Gwen also suggested using colored markers if the interfacing shows around the inside edges of the buttonhole.

Finally, Sanhan, I hope you did not inadvertently doom your next buttonhole by mentioning your success to date! Knock on wood! ;)

Thanks again to everyone! I’m always surprised by how seemingly minor questions can bring forth so much good advice! :)

In the Queue Wednesday

This is the second pattern that I ordered under last month's Club BMV special (buy 1, get 2 free) - Vogue 85544.

It's funny, at the time I thought I was picking out 3 different patterns, but when they arrived in the same envelope and I saw them side by side, they are actually quite similar. As with the last one, I was drawn to the v-neck and the full skirt.

I'd make the version with the sleeves for work. Still no fabric - just a couple of Joann's coupons burning a hole in my pocket...

Thanks for all the reassurance last week, regarding the nature of queues! I'm trying not to be discouraged, but even though I love most everything I'm doing these days, I hate how busy I am!

As for this dress? Someday... It's in my queue...