Sewing – Page 3

The list

Yeah! Vacation for a week. Our school district takes President's Week as a holiday and I have a few things in my head that need finishing. To keep myself accountable (and to remember everything), here's the list:

HST quilt top

Chalkboard in the kitchen (paint and frame out)

Playdough mat for Liam

Fabric baskets for Liam to put his toys

Put sod in the backyard (weather permitting)

Start the bookshelf in the dining room (maybe finish?)

Block and maybe finish Solaris

Of course, there will be spending time with Jordan and Liam, and visiting some stores that I never seem to have time to do during the week or want to do on the weekend when time is so precious.

What are you up to during the long holiday weekend (or week)?

Inspiration

Where do you find it? How does it impact your creativity?

I have a stack of books and magazines with pages tabbed and web sites saved in a folder called, "Inspiration". The web sites stay in that folder continually growing as I see something new and exciting. The books and magazines sit on the shelf or in a drawer (the books on the self need to be moved out of Liam's reach, but that is a story for another day). I think I've only made one thing from sewing books that I own and maybe 3-4 items from the knitting books and magazines.

The problem is that my inspiration is tucked away in a folder on my computer or on a bookshelf, or in a drawer. I think, "Oh, that would be cute to make." But, I never get around to making it.

My inspiration needs to be more visible, so when it catches my eye, I'm reminded that I really did want to make that item. So, I'm going to go through my Inspiration folder and print out pictures of the things I want to make, go through the books and magazine and copy the pictures and post them up on my wall.

Then, of course, I saw these this morning and added it to the folder instead of hitting print. Maybe I'll start printing tonight, after work.

Mr. Frog

At the end of last month I made Liam a frog. It was part of a class I was taking. This was the first time I'd worked with minky fabric and that stuff gets all over the place! I think we're still cleaning it up. It came out pretty well.

The important thing is that Liam loves it. He's constantly chewing on the nose and the eyes (that's why they're all wonky). This is the only thing he has out of minky fabric and I think he likes how it feels.

Would I make it again? Maybe, but it wouldn't be my first choice for a gift. I think I'll stick with quilting, way less pinning and mess.

New cutting area

With a new kitchen came a new cutting area. The peninsula is within feet of my sewing machine and is a perfect area for cutting and ironing.

With Liam being more mobile, a full-size ironing board isn't as practical or safe. So, I purchased a table top ironing board. It's the perfect size for my purposes, but I'm still not sure if I'm sold on it. It's a little to squishy. I'll use it for a while and see if I get used to it or if the padding compresses. I did lower it so that it sits flat on the counter. It was a little too tall when extended.

You know how they say you should design your kitchen in a triangle with the major appliances and sink being at each end of the triangle? My sewing area is set up in a similar way. Efficiency and comfort are the key. Maybe that will mean more sewing and quilting!

Design Wall

My sewing area is a wall in our dining room. We have a small townhouse, so there is no other room right now. When we remodeled our kitchen, which is to the right of this photo, all my sewing stuff was moved and stored. We put it back a couple weeks ago, but I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my design walls. We took out a large wall between our kitchen / dining rooms and I can no longer prop the design walls against this wall.

I have two large foam boards covered with batting. What you see is one. I attempted to mount it to the wall with removable velcro, not wanting to damage the wall. Well, that didn't work too well. It's now sitting on my sewing table. How do you mount this thing? I'm okay with light damage to the walls as we own the house and can easily do repairs. Mounting would be better. Then Liam couldn't knock it over.

My crafting area, from left to right: a basket of knitting that has sat there for months, a small side table with drawers of fabric, a glass container of scraps, a basket of fat quarters, and a box of sewing notions, my sewing table with several projects on top, a nightstand which doesn't fit in our bedroom that serves as overflow.

The list

Inspiration

Mr. Frog

New cutting area

Design Wall

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