Sewing Sunsets

We are at the end of a year, and looking forward to the beginning of a new year.  Most of us make New Year’s resolutions that we don’t keep.  This year, I’d like to encourage all of us to make one resolution that we might actually keep by doing one simple thing, and that is to think about helping others by using your talents of sewing, quilting, crocheting, or knitting, even if you are just learning these skills.

When I taught sewing out of my home, my clients learned to sew a child’s dress because they would learn many different basic sewing techniques just by sewing one garment.  They could then apply those sewing techniques to other sewing projects.  Some of my clients asked what to do with the garment when it was finished, and I told them that they could keep it so that they could one day look at it and see how much their sewing skills had improved.  I also suggested that even though the sewing might not be perfect, they could also donate the item to a charity.

This year, I would like to encourage all of us to use our talents to help those in need.  I like to sew children’s garments and plan to donate them to my favorite charity, Mission of Hope (www.missionofhope.org) .  Others like to sew, quilt, crochet, or knit blankets, and I’m sure that many charities would welcome donations of these types of items.  Let’s donate in 2008.

Happy Sewing!

Happy New Year!

www.sewseamless.com

In spite of very good intentions yesterday, I still haven’t spent any quality time with my sewing machine, and I didn’t get to go fabric shopping either.  Real life keeps intervening, and I really need some sewing and fabric therapy!

I love spending time with my sewing machine because I have “bonded” with it.  That may sound silly, but it is really very important that you like your sewing machine or you may get frustrated with sewing and quit sewing, especially if you are a beginner.  Finding the right sewing machine is a lot like finding the right car–you have to find the sewing machine that best fits your sewing needs.  There are many good sewing machine brands on the market; it’s up to you to find the one that is right for you.  I always suggest buying from a dealer so that you can have dealer support when you need it. It’s also important to “test drive” a sewing machine before buying it.  Most of us wouldn’t dream of buying a car without test driving it first; the same is true of a sewing machine.  Any good reliable dealer should allow you to test the sewing machines on display in the store.

It’s important to remember that you are “purchasing” the dealer as well when you buy a  new sewing machine.  Over time, you will develop a relationship with the sewing machine dealer.  When I bought my serger, I had a very unpleasant experience with a dealer, and she lost my business immediately because of her words and her attitude.  Prior to buying the serger, I bought a new Janome computerized/embroidery sewing machine.  While I was researching the sewing machines, I visited several dealers, and this one in particular sat down and showed me what the machine could do, but she never seemed to want me to touch any of the machines, and she kept trying to show me other sewing machines brands when I had told her that I was specifically intersted in Janome.  We were in her shop on a Sunday and had asked about the price, and when we went back to purchase it from her the following week, the shop was closed.  One thing that always bothered me about this dealer is that she never could answer our questions without calling her husband, but if she had been nicer on our next visit, I could have overlooked that, but instead, she lost my business.

When my husband announced that he was going to buy me a serger for a gift, we went to this dealer once again, I announced that I wanted to look at the Janome sergers, but she kept demonstrating another brand, and continued to do this for quite some time, making it clear that she didn’t want me to touch the machines.  As she was demonstrating the brand of serger that she wanted me to purchase, she then said the words that infuriated me.  She basically told us that she wasn’t going to appreciate it if she spent all this time with me showing me the serger (the brand I wasn’t interested in), and then we would purchase elsewhere.  I was livid!  However, I kept my cool, and continued with her, finally getting her to demonstrate the Janome.  It was clear that she didn’t know much about the Janome machines and was going to push the other brand no matter what.  I left the shop that day and have never been back.  By the way, I didn’t purchase a Janome serger, even though I love the brand.  The right serger for me turned out to be a Husqvarna/Viking.  We have bonded well.

Happy Sewing!

www.sewseamless.com

www.sewseamless.com/Page1.html –tips for buying a sewing machine

My husband gave me a gift cards to my local JoAnn’s for Christmas.  The great thing is that JoAnn’s is also having a great sale on fabrics for the next few days, and I have a 40% off coupon as well.  I should be very happy after my fabric therapy session.

If you are just learning to sew, the fabric stores can be fun, but they can also be a little intimidating at first, especially in the pattern section.  The pattern books are usually located on a table, surrounded by filing cabinets filled with the patterns themselves.   It’s fun to look through the books and pick out the patterns that you might like to sew.  When you pick out a pattern, look for the company name (McCall’s, Simplicity) on the drawers of the filing cabinet.  These patterns are arranged by number and will have the numbers on the front of the drawers as well.   Once you find the pattern in the drawer, you also must be careful to choose the correct size.  I have learned to look at the pattern itself to make sure I was getting the size that I wanted.

Sometimes beginning sewers are confused by the information located on a pattern enevelope.  Most of the time, this information is located either on the back of the pattern, or sometimes on the flap of the pattern.  The back of the pattern envelope will suggest the types of fabrics appropiate for the sewing project, and also tell you what notions you will need.  (Notions are things like buttons, zippers, elastic, etc. ) On the back of the pattern envelope, you will also find how many yards of fabric you will need for this project, as well as other information (www.sewseamless.com/Page2.html)

When I buy fabric, I buy the best quality cotton fabric that I can afford, and I also like to buy 1/2 yard more than the pattern suggests because this gives me some “goof room”, and also allows me to have some large scraps that can be used in other sewing projects.

I recommend that beginning sewing enthusiasts choose a print cotton fabric because this will both help to more easily distinguish between right and wrong sides of fabric, and it will hide some beginner sewing “oops”. (www.sewseamless.com/Page1.html)

When choosing  sewing thread to match fabric, remember that the rule of thumb is to buy thread that is one shade darker than the fabric.  If the fabric is a print, choose the fabric to match the background color. 

For those of us who are addicted to love sewing, fabric stores are lots of fun!  Beginning sewers will soon find themselves addicted to  loving sewing as much as those of us who have been sewing enthusiasts for quite a while.

I think I might have to indulge myself in a little fabric therapy at my local fabric store today.   And then I will simply have to come home and continue indulging myself in some sewing therapy.

Happy Sewing!

www.sewseamless.com

I am happy today because I actually got to go into my sewing room and start working on a project yesterday!  This is a project that will be donated to charity when it’s finished.  Before that, I will share this sewing project here as well.   I am sewing a long sleeved flannel pajama top, and when it is finished, I’ll also be making a spaghetti strap top and pajama pants out of the same fabric.  This kind of sewing is fun!

As I was pinning my pattern and beginning to cut it out last night, I noticed that the quality of the flannel was much better than I had expected.  This is fabric that I purchased at Hancock’s on sale, and I’m very pleased with the quality.

Buying good quality fabric is very important, and many beginning sewers don’t realize this.  I always encourage beginners to start sewing using 100% cotton fabric, but I also  know that most beginners don’t want to spend a fortune on their very first sewing project.  For this reason, I always encouraged my clients to buy the fabric that was on sale.  Quilters know that the very best fabric quality is found at the quilt shops.  This fabric costs more per yard, but is worth it because it will last for years, while the cheaper fabrics won’t hold up as well.

I learned the lesson about fabric quality some years ago when I was first learning to sew.  I had made my girls matching jumpers out of some really cute fabric that I found for about $2 per yard at Wal Mart.  As my sewing skills increased, I began to purchase more fabric at Hancock’s and over a very short period of time, I noticed that the Wal Mart fabrics weren’t holding up as well.  Those jumpers faded and looked worn and ragged after just a few washes.  Now I know that Wal Mart often sells the test runs of the fabric prints and this is printed on the lowest thread count of cotton, which is why they can sell the fabric for a dollar or two dollars per yard.  Chain fabric stores, like JoAnn’s (www.joann.com)  and Hancock’s (www.hancockfabrics.com) , usually sell the middle grade fabrics, and the quilt shops sell the highest quality/thread count fabric.  Personally, I rarely buy fabric from Wal Mart for this reason.  I prefer to buy my cotton fabrics from JoAnn’s or Hancock’s, and when the quilt shop in my area is having a sale, I purchase my cotton fabric there.

Just as you want to purchase a good quality fabric, you also want to purchase a good sewing pattern.  Personally, I like McCall’s (www.mccall.com)  patterns the best, and I think they’re good for beginning seamstresses because the illustrations and instructions are usually easy to understand.  If you are a beginning sewer, I would recommend staying way from Vogue or Butterick patterns until you get some more sewing experience. 

Now that we know it’s wise to purchase a good quality fabric and which patterns might be easiest to sew, I think we should take a trip to the fabric store (www.sewseamless.com/Page2.html) !

Happy Sewing!

www.sewseamless.com

www.sewseamless.com/Page1.html

Christmas is behind us and the new year is upon us, and many of us make New Year’s resolutions.  Of course, most of us don’t keep those New Year’s resolutions.    However, this year, perhaps you could just commit to learning a new skill, such as learning to sew.

When I lived in my previous city, I taught beginning sewing out of my home and loved it!  During that time, I discovered my own way of teaching sewing, and my clients seemed to like it, so I continued teaching until real life intervened.  Now I sort of “teach” via the internet. 

My method of teaching sewing is probably very different than other sewing instructors.  Most sewing instructors will have beginners sew a simple pillowcase (www.sewseamless.com/Page41.html) or some other sewing project that only requires straight sewing.  I have a very different theory, and that is if you learn to sew a child’s dress, you can learn most of the basics of sewing, and then be able to transfer those skills to other sewing projects.  At the time that I taught, McCall’s (www.mccall.com) had a great pattern that included in-seam pockets, a collar, and the option of sewing long or short sleeves.   Unfortunately, that particular pattern is no longer in print.     (McCall’s M4432 seems to be similar to the pattern that I really liked.)

Once the pattern is chosen, there are many other things that need to be considered before sitting down at the sewing machine.  Choosing the right fabric is very important!  I highly recommend that beginning sewers choose a 100% cotton print because cotton is easy to work with, and the print both makes it easy to distinguish the wrong side from the right side of the fabric, and also it hides some beginner sewing “oops”. 

Today, I’ve told you a little bit about my own theory of learning to sew and have given you a few tips as well.  More information can be found at www.sewseamless.com and www.sewseamless.com/Page1.html

When I decided to get serious about learning to sew, I experienced a lot of frustration in the process.  I hope that I can help beginning sewing enthusiasts avoid some of that frustration.

Happy Sewing!

www.sewseamless.com

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends yesterday.  If you sewed pillows (www.sewseamless.com/Page22.html) , www.sewseamless.com/Page24.html, blankets (www.sewseamless.com/Page46.html ), or pillowcases (www.sewseamless.com/Page41.html ) for holiday gifts,  I hope that the recipients were happy with their gifts.  And I’m sure they were!

Today, many of us may be out shopping the great after Christmas sales–in the fabric stores, of course!   Even though I got a great gift card for JoAnn’s Fabrics, I plan on staying in and catching up on some chores today.  Once these chores are done, and the house is back to some kind of order, I plan on spending lots and lots of quality time in my sewing room.  

If you are a beginning sewer, or you don’t know how to sew and would like to learn, I plan on starting a tutorial on learning to sew, so be looking for the learn to sew type posts soon.  Learning to sew can be sew much fun!

Happy Sewing!

www.sewseamless.com

Merry Christmas!

 I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful holiday with family and friends.  My wish for you is that Santa brings you lots of fabric and sewing tools for Christmas!

 Merry Christmas!

www.sewseamless.com

         It was the night before Christmas and, in a room in the house,

I was frantically sewing, not asleep by my spouse.

The stockings weren’t hung by the chimney with care

Because all of them needed some mending, repair.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds

With pillowcase dreams still alive in their heads.

I was still sewing, with quilts in my lap;

Oh, how I wished I could take a long nap!

When the sewing machine sputtered, it made such a clatter

That I began to wonder what was the matter.

The needle was new, the tension was fine;

The machine was threaded correctly, but I might be in a bind.

I still had to sew all through the night

Because unfinished gifts the next morning would create such a fright!

As I sat there still stewing, the machine started spewing!

It spewed needles and thread and made such a racket

That I truly thought I might need a strait jacket!

When I thought about all the gifts left to sew, I looked out the window and saw some snow.

Wait, it’s snowing, but what is that falling?

No, not the white stuff, but pajama pants calling!

It seems there’s a storm, but not of white snow;

We’re having a sew storm with more pajama pants to sew.

“A sew storm!” I cried.  “Oh, what a sight!

But now I’ll have to sew with all of my might.”

But wait, my machine was still spewing,

Oh dear, what was I doing?

I ran into the sew storm

With flannel softly falling

And wondered who I heard calling.

Then I soon began to feel that I had nothing to dread

Because there stood the jolly man dressed all in red.

Santa was there to help with the sewing,

But wait, where was dear Santa going?

I followed the man, a right jolly old elf

And then I saw them sitting there on the shelf.

There was Bernina, Elna, and Singer, Janome,

Pfaff, Viking, and Babylock, too.

They were sitting there waiting, all ready to sew

But I didn’t know if I could go on with the show.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear

But lots of Santa’s elves who all seemed so dear.

The elves were all sewing and the storm seemed to be slowing.

All those pajama pants I had left to sew

Tomorrow would be finished and wrapped with big bows.

It soon became clear that Santa’s work here was done,

So he turned to leave before day had begun.

I thanked him and thanked him,

But he said not a word,

And yet as I listened I heard

The words that he said as he drove out of sight,

“Happy Sewing to all, and to all a good night!”

Happy Sewing!

Merry Christmas!

www.sewseamless.com

Because this is the holiday season, I’ve mentioned lots of gift ideas in my posts this month.  Most of these ideas have been related to sewing in some way–sewing pillows (www.sewseamless.com/Page24.html), shorts  (www.sewseamless.com/Page33.html), pillowcases (www.sewseamless.com/Page41.html), and blankets (www.sewseamless.com/Page46.html).  Along with giving gifts that we sew or craft ourselves, I’ve also mentioned giving the gifts of time, friendship,  and hope, which I believe are truly the greatest gifts you can give someone.

There are many people in the world who feel especially lonely and hopeless during the holiday season, and while these people would appreciate receiving a new blanket or robe, they would especially appreciate receiving the gift of  someone’s time. There may be a nursing home resident who never receives visitors and would love nothing more than to have someone visit them regularly.  Or there may some less fortunate child who has big dreams, but feels that his or her situation is so hopeless that they could never achieve those dreams, but if someone gave just a little of their time and friendship, perhaps this child would then have some hope that their dreams could be realized one day.  Sometimes I think we all get so rushed and hurried with our lives that we tend to think more about “stuff” than about other people and the fact that we’re all human beings with feelings, hopes, hurts, disappointments, and joys in life.

One Christmas when my children were small, they had whined and complained and fought, and were very demanding in what gifts they wanted that year.  As a result, I wanted them to experience giving to someone else who couldn’t afford to buy “stuff” or perhaps didn’t have any family and felt lonely during the holiday season.  We told both girls to choose what they wanted to do for someone else; my oldest sewed a heart shaped pillow out of some left over fabric; my youngest baked cookies.  If I remember correctly, they made homemade cards as well.  There was a nursing home in our area, and we took the girls there to give their gifts away.  One woman especially touched me because as we walked into the room, her face lit up.  My daughter gave her the pillow, and this woman seemed so delighted that this pillow was for her.  Although this is a vivid memory for me, what I remember the most are the woman’s words.  She said that God must have sent us to her that day, and then she went on to tell us a little about her life story and why she felt especially lonely during the holidays.  She thanked us over and over as we left that day, and I would like to think that my daughters learned a lesson about giving to others as well. My youngest was probably a little too young to remember, but it must have made an impression on my oldest daughter because she now has her children give something to less fortunate children or others in need every holiday season.

I have often thought about the woman in the nursing home over the years, and I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t take the time to visit her regularly after that day.   During those years, life was busy with the hustle and bustle of raising children, and I hadn’t quite learned the lesson of the importance of giving time and friendship myself at that point in my life.

Since that day, I have learned that while we all enjoy receiving gifts that we can touch and see, the gifts that we will remember the most are the gifts of hope, time, and friendship.  This year, as we look forward to the beginning of a new year, let’s all determine to give a little more of ourselves, and slow down enough to take the time to care about other people by showing kindness in simple ways. 

The gifts of time, friendship, and hope are free no sew projects that are some of the most valuable gifts that can be given,  and these gifts will truly keep on giving throughout the year.

I’m sure that most of us are busy either frantically sewing holiday gifts,  shopping for those last minute stocking stuffers, cleaning house in order to get ready for holiday guests, or beginning our own holiday travels.  The holiday time of year is often portrayed as a wonderful, magical time of year, when, in reality, this is often one of the most stressful times of year for many of us because of the extra work that we have to do in order to prepare for the holidays.

Because of the extra work load, many of us may find ourselves exhausted and stressed out.  Instead of being on our best behavior, both with family and friends, and people we may meet on the street, we may tend to be impatient with others and even a bit grumpy. I think this is sad. 

When we think of holiday spirit, we may think of the spirit of generosity and kindness, which really should be present in all of us year round.  I have a neighbor who personifies holiday spirit.  This man is 78 years young and very robust and healthy, and also very kind.  My husband began to notice that on trash days, our trash cans somehow mysteriously were returned to their rightful place after the trash had been taken away.  We soon discovered the answer; this wonderful, generous man returned our trash cans to their places every trash day.  He doesn’t just do this for us either; in fact, this man does this for about three of his nearest neighbors.  This may seem like a small, insignificant thing for someone to do, but I believe it embodies the spirit of kindness. 

This year, I would like to see all of us decide to make a sincere effort to show kindness to others during the year, and not just think of others during the holiday season.  Kindness can be shown in many ways.  For those of us who sew, it might be nice to go to the after Christmas sales at the fabric stores and stock up on fleece to make fleece blankets.  Wouldn’t it be a great feeling to donate these blankets to elderly residents of a nursing home after the holidays, at a time when it isn’t expected?!   You might even meet a resident there that you could adopt, and perhaps visit once a week or so.  This small gesture could make a huge difference in someone’s life.

Another way to continue holiday spirit throughout the year is to sew clothing and other items and donate them to a favorite charity, such as Mission of Hope (www.missionofhope.org), which is one of my favorite charities.

I really like the concept of “pay it forward”.  If someone is especially kind to you, return the favor by doing a kind deed for someone else.  Just think what a different world this could be if we all decided to show kindness every single day. 

This year, I would like to encourage all of us to keep the holiday spirit alive throughout the coming year by giving of ourselves and our time.

Happy Holidays!

www.sewseamless.com