More pine cones and looking for a pattern

I am looking for a pattern - Simplicity 8618. Long shot, but if you happen to have one or see one or know where I can get one, I'd be ever so grateful.

Update: Found it! eBay, of course. (01/31/14)

So I made this little pine cone. I instantly became addicted. Totally addicted!

I made another one! and then another and another and another. I gave 5 to friends and have 3 left. 

I hope to make more. I have enjoyed using up all my brown scraps. I like the alternating colors of dark and light. And I figured out how to cover the bottom - I use a  textured felt that I found at Joann's. I just cut it in a sort of higgledy piggledy fashion and glue it to the bottom. 

There are directions all over the internet for making these fun pine cones. I have some sphere foam pieces to try making Christmas ornaments with folded fabrics. It's a fun and inexpensive way to spend some time with your stash!

Update (09/14): Found the pattern. Made a top. It wasn't as wonderful as I remembered it. 

Sewing, fabric folding, and fabric covering outlet covers

I've been busy again! A custom order on Etsy for outlet covers, a Halloween lap quilt/wall hanging/doll quilt, a jacket for my high school reunion, fabric folding and styrofoam making pine cones, and more sewing. Let's start with the light switch covers.

A person who had bought one of these from me before wrote and asked for more. Then she wrote to me again and asked if I could make some for her mother! So, I rounded up the last of my M&Ms fabric and some covers, and set to covering. They're fun to do, but do take several days for drying the Mod Podge and vinyl coating between layers. 

I went to Dallas in July and needed a hand sewing project to take with me. My go-to travel project is a hexagon piece or a cathedral window.With Halloween around the corner, I started a small lap quilt which could be a wall hanging, a table runner, a large doll quilt, or whatever. I finished it with receiving blankets as the batting and a Halloween fabric for the backing, and tied each corner with variegate black and variegated orange threads combined.

 

Then it was time for a Halloween jacket for a child. I tried a new pattern and it came out okay, but I made a big mistake. Not on the front.

Not on the back. 

But on the pocket. I lined the jacket, which meant I took a seam allowance that wasn't accounted for with the pattern. Ooops. It's still cute!

I also made a jacket to wear to my 40th high school reunion. I washed it after I made it. Well, I had lined it with receiving blankets (I use them a lot!), and the linking shrank in the dryer while the jacket did not. Argh. Couldn't wear it, so I had to run out and buy something lickety split. The next day, I took all of my receiving blankets and washed them and ran them through the dryer. I won't let that happen again.

And I've been playing with folded fabric. I saw a picture of the pineapple made with folded fabric. I'll post pictures of the group when they are done, but here's the first one:

The second one turned out much nicer and more pine cone shaped.

Lastly, my son moved recently. He left behind the curtains on the windows. They are dark blue and aging somewhat, but perfectly usable. I have an old cutter quilt top that I've been saving and now was the time to put it to use. I cut it into four 8" strips, reinforced all seams with zig-zag stitching as they were hand stitched (rather poorly, too!), stitched them to the tops of the curtains and added ribbon to embellish and hide raw edges. The room is rather bare right now, but there is a bed, bedside table, and nice curtains for our visitor coming for Thanksgiving. 

The quilt on the bed is one I made about 10 years ago out of patriotic fabrics and denim cut in 4" squares. 

I am finishing the  hand sewing on my second twin hexagon quilt top, completing the tying on the Halloween hexagon piece, and have been making a few items of clothing. I've been searching for a vintage Simplicity 8618 pattern for a two-fer top. I found it in a size larger than I need. I will be trying to adjust the paper pattern next week. I have a really tacky knit fabric that would make for a nice, warm, casual top to wear with jeans. 

Lastly, I've collected a couple more pieces of Peter Max fabric and was fortunate to attend a Peter Max exhibit in Richmond, VA a couple weeks ago. 

I think I need more sewing to do!

Button Art Mannequin is Done -or- What I Did Over Summer Vacation

It started out simply enough. I framed a few buttons several years ago. Button art. Done. Nope, I saw a piece in a window of a Richmond gallery that caught my eye. The seed was  planted. I had to make one of these myself. My mannequin was just waiting to be buttonized.

So the summer began with this obsession with buttons and glue. 

Recently, the piece was completed. I wasn't crazy about the colors, so decided, after naming it, to give it a little destructive look to sort of represent the downturn in the number of people who sew. Okay, that's a little dramatic, but you get my drift. I did a couple squirts with the paint and liked how it looked not completely painted. And so, out came the acrylic coating and it's done. I present to you, Buttons and BBs, a collection of buttons from the early 1950s to the present along with BBs filling some of the gaps. Read into that what you will.

There's a heart shaped button over the heart of the form. Awwww.

Closeup of the concrete paint. 

Here's the front. It's about 14" tall and used to be on a stand that added a few more inches. I like it better not on the stand. 

Both arms have the large yellow buttons. 

The top has a large pink button. I believe the large buttons were my mom's. 

You can see a big button on her rear. Accidental. I swear!

I wasn't sure where I was going with this when I started it, but there you have it. I like that I was able to use up some of my really old buttons. I did buy some 1/4" buttons for the smaller holes. I just didn't have enough! My summer project is now done. Sort of a scrap stitching project, don't you think?

Caftan completed - Simplicity 5718

I learned a few valuable lessons sewing this pattern. The pattern was indeed what I wanted. I found it on Etsy:

It was new and uncut, dated 1982. I generally liked patterns from that era and wanted something very simple in lines and construction. The bodice is about the right size. The sleeves fit well at shoulder insertion, but man, they're full of way too much fabric. I added elastic to the cuff because I don't care for hanging sleeves. I also ran out of fabric! I pieced the sleeves. Remember, this is just something to throw on in the morning; I won't be wearing it outside the house. Whew! Lastly, the body of the caftan is huge. I will cut at least 4" from the center of the front and the back next time, and I do have another set of fabrics ready to use. I added a matching ribbon here and there, and am showing a closeup below.

The sleeves look a little funky in the picture because of the piecing, but you can see where there's way too much volume in the gathered portions. That's easily corrected. The non-checkered fabric was used for the cuffs and I used 2" elastic because the cuffs were so large. I will make them half the size next time and perhaps use 5/8" or 1/2" elastic.

I happened on the ribbon at Joann's and it matched the flowery fabric perfectly.

Overall, I'm okay with the pattern itself. The fabrics I chose are too heavy and, as mentioned, I ran out and had to do some not-so-pretty piecing. Live and learn! I have some lighter fabric that I've had for years and wouldn't use for a garment that is perfect for this type of garment. It should be a quicker sew as well. The pockets from 1982 are cut kind of funky, so I adjusted them and made them a little deeper.

This caftan will get worn a lot this winter. I can see me frumping around with this, socks, and slippers when I take the dog out in the morning.

I have a cardigan cut out and ready to go next! Plus, my package of sale knits came today, so more cardigans are in the works!

Keep sewing, even when it's ugly. You will learn something and just might get some wear out of it too.

Update (09/14): Hated this house dress. The yolk is now gone and I used the rest to make a really nice summery skirt. I have a salmon colored tee that goes well with it. 

Sewing and finishing stuff! (And always more to come)

I finished the button mannequin project. I'll have photos when the sun is bright enough to get a good view. I coated it with a concrete-like paint and finished it with a vinyl coating. I actually like it a lot. More to come!

I've lost a considerable amount of weight and need clothes. I don't want to buy them, so am doing a buy-a-few/sew-a-few combo. For the summer, I had bought a few pair of shorts, some solid tees, and made a number of skirts. I want to share one of the skirt sets as it's a recycle project, where I took a business suit and turned it into summer casual. More to come here too!

I've been working on tote bags too, like this one:

It has a recycled blue jean pocket in the lining and the lining itself is the large M&M fabric. All my M&M ribbon is finally gone!

I've cut out an open weave cardigan and am almost finished with a caftan that I'll throw on in the mornings. I want to make two of them. Next comes a couple pair of pants for the fall and winter. I plan on making several cardigans to go with the pants I have and use the tees from this summer underneath. I have a ton of receiving blankets that I use inside Christmas stockings and placemats, and they'd make the best liner for a woven fabric cardigan. I did buy two pair of jeans at Walmart. A girl's gotta have jeans, right? I'll be ready for the colder weather in nothing flat! More to come!

I'm sewing just about every day - how about you?

Old dogs can learn new tricks and tools of my trade

I make a lot of tote bags to keep and to sell, but I never mastered the bottom of the bag corners.

For a quick tute - Sew4Home How to Box Corners.

I did not use the cut out instructions; rather, I used the basic instructions. I didn't want to try this on a big bag that I might mess up, so I did it with a mini-bag. I had some 6" squares of M&M fabric and some M&M ribbon. Here's the end result:

I think it turned out pretty good. And guess what? I'm no longer scared to make boxed corners. I can do it!

As I was ironing the seams open on another project this morning, I started thinking about what I use when I sew that I consider required tools. I started a mental list:

1. Seam ripper. I know, that sounds like an odd must have, but it gives me the confidence that if I 'mess something up,' I can take it apart and start again.  It's my mistake fixer. I have a few around the house in all the areas where I sew. I happen to use the Clover flat seam ripper. 
2. Good sewing needles. I buy Sullivan's for hand sewing and Schmetz for my machine. Without a sharp, proper sized needle, for hand or machine sewing, it's difficult to make a good seam. I use my sewing machine and hand sew about equal amounts of time. It took years to settle on Sullivan's, but I have never regretted it. Great needles have made all the difference for me. 
3. My Bernina 1130 and my 3-thread Bernina serger. I purchased the 1130 about 28 years ago. I love it. I take it in religiously to have it serviced and cleaned. My guy at Nancy's Calico Patch in Newport News, VA keeps it running like a top. He's tried to interest me in newer models, but I'm still that old dog and I won't change if I don't have to. I use the serger for finishing seams and that's about it. I'm fine with that too. I know there are fancy sergers that will do just about anything. Mine was free with the purchase of the 1130. I don't have an embroidery machine. All embroidery I do is by hand.
4. Quality thread. Guttermann makes about the best thread for my purposes, in my opinion, but I do use Coats and Clarke too. It is so annoying when a thread breaks while I'm hand sewing. That's a function of either the needle, cheap thread, or both. I'm a stickler for making sure I have the same thread in the bobbin that I have in the needle when I machine sew; I've had too many bad experiences with mix-and-match experiments. My new thing is variegated thread. I have embroidered in the past with variegated threads and I'm glad it's available for sewing now. 
5. Amazing scissors and pinking shears. Find a brand you like and keep them sharpened. I have two pair of "don't you dare cut paper with these" scissors. They fit my hand well and cut like a dream, but only when I keep them sharpened. Again, my guy at Nancy's keeps them in good shape for me. 
6. Ironing board and iron. I keep the board set up. A friend came by once and said, astonished, "you iron?" I press fabric, seams, fusible webbing, fusible interfacing, transfers, and who knows what else. Yep, I iron. A lot. As I sew, so shall I iron.
7. Marking pencils and pens. Love them. Can't find the perfect one, but before my rotary cutter was ever used, I was marking and cutting with scissors. 
8. Rotary cutter. I was late to the rotary cutter game, but I use mine often. I have two. The hard part is finding 65 mm blades. (My cutting mats tie with the cutter. I have a rotating one, a large one, and a couple small ones.)
9. Rulers! I have a 4" wide, a 2" wide, two wedge shapes, a 4" square, and several others. I still have the first see through ruler I bought back in the stone age. 
10. Fabric glue, fray stopping agent, bias tapes, pins (they must be long and with a beaded head for me), magnetic pin cushion, tomato pin cushion, clear plastic containers for fabric and notions, and bookshelves - these all tie. They're all super necessary for me. I have to stay organized or I lose track of what's what. The containers are clear so I can tell what I have!
11. Oh, and let's not forget fabric. I have years' worth of fabric squirreled away. I could use more! You can never have enough. I have Sponge Bob, firetruck, Halloween, Strawberry Shortcake (both vintage and new), Christmas, Hanukkah, rainbow, fruit, Peter Max, and oodles of other theme or print fabrics. Don't forget my box of receiving blankets that I use for the center layer of placemats and my heat resistant batting for potholders. Oh yeah, I have a lot.
12. Plans. I have thousands and thousands of projects in my head ready to come out at any time. Potholders, tote bags, placemats, kids' clothes, clothes for me, quilts, and gosh knows what else. 
13. My dog. She's great at feedback, listening, hanging around, being supportive, and in general, giving me dog looks that reassure me that maybe I'm not a crazy fabric lady after all.

Okay, there are probably a thousand more things, but that's the start of my list. What's yours?

Loads of scrap stitching ideas

Are you hooked on Pinterest like I am? Even if you're not, take a look at this board:

Sewing Scrap Inspiration

Heather Valentine explains it as: "What to do with those pesky little bits of goodness."

Heather keeps a blog worth watching too:

The Sewing Loft Blog

I just had to share when I saw all of these great ideas. Anyone who loves to make do or sew with scraps will love some of her ideas. Enjoy!