Yup. Why would anyone want to do extreme sewing you ask? Wait, you didn't ask? Well, let's just pretend you did. To win a sewing machine!
U-handbag is having a contest. Simply take a photo of extreme sewing (my favorite so far is the ocean one), post it to her flicker pool, follow the rest of the rules on her blog and voila! you have entered the contest.
Grand prize is a new sewing machine.
Happy Extreme Sewing to All!
Achoo - oops. All the dust that has accumulated on this blog since my last post makes my nose tickle. Anyway...I finally used a serger that I bought this summer to make The Perfect T-Shirt from Pamela's Patterns. I bought the DVD to help me figure out how to sew the shirt. It was a fabulous investment.
I love this pattern. I love this DVD. It really helped explain things that I, having never sewn with knits or a serger before, needed to know.
This neckline is the standard jewel neckline. I'm going for the scoop and v-neck in the next two shirts. I can't wait to start on my next shirt!
Nectar of the Gods = Coffee
Well, to me it does. The only mom I know that does not drink copious amounts of coffee to get her through her day is my sister. She prefers tea or hot chocolate.
I love my Gracie handbag but really needed it to be slightly different to hold my handy, dandy, brandy spanking new hardcover calendar. Calendar to be used by me to keep track which child is in which school and when, who has to be at the Y for classes and when, when my husband isn't traveling - so I can at least pretend to cook him dinner, and when I can fit in sewing for me. :)
I made the center panel of the outer fabric taller so it was the same height as the two outside panels. I made the inside pockets wider and a tad taller as well (I think). I used the only zipper in my stash that was the same length as the bag.
What I would do next time...add a pocket on the outside and add the interior key fob holder that I forgot to sew in.
Oh - and many thanks to my model who agreed to this photo shoot on the condition that her ring be prominent in the picture.
Coffee Cup fabric by Timeless Treasures
"Coffee Talk" by Hoffman California International
(not shown in this photo) Lining fabric: "Big Ticking" by michael miller
Just got back from vacation. We visited a few bears.
Took the kids to see their 1st drive-in movie.
And - saw a rainbow.
H.A. = Halter Apron
This is Gracie. 
See that inside fabric. That was a free yard I won from Sew Mama Sew. I finally used it. And, there is enough to make the lining of another purse. Yippee! 
Watching informational movies about Tofu and whales.
The touch tank.
Lucy holding a sea urchin in the touch tank.
Lola posing in a boat inside the Seacoast Science Center.
Lucy posing as the tide comes in.
We found a net amongst the rocks. It was the perfect thing to hold Lola's rock collection.
Today we found a moon snail.
Mussels.
And, as we were leaving, we passed this woman who was playing her violin on the beach. 
What brand and model do you have? BabyLock Quest
How long have you had it? One Year this month.
How much does that machine cost (approximately)? $1,000
What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)? Clothes, quilts, aprons, reusable bags, crayon rolls, etc.
How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get? - I sew in spurts. I'll sew a lot for a few months (Autumn / Winter) and less in summer since my sewing room is the attic. Wear and tear - quite a bit. When I sew I sew for a few hours at a time.
Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name? I LOVE my machine. I went into the shop where I purchased this convinced I was going to get a different brand. After trying this one out there was no turning back. It is fabulous. She doew not currently have a name but now I think I should ask my children to name her.
What features does your machine have that work well for you?
Lots of lightbulbs to illuminate my sewing. I had Lasik done a few years ago and really appreciate extra lighting at night.
A stop / start button that I can use if I disconnect my foot pedal. I have actually used this feature when using the faux embroidery letters on this machine. It's fun.
The auto-lock button. The machine will automatically sew three locking stitches and then stop automatically. LOVE IT.
An independent bobbin winder on top.
It came with a bunch of feet. I have used most of them.
It came with an extension table.
Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine? It did not have a 1/4 inch foot so I had to buy a different ankle and a different foot and have to unscrew the one ankle to switch out to the 1/4 inch foot and it's ankle. AND the machine does not tell you when you are low on bobbin thread. So- you'll be sewing a quilt or a piece of clothing and eventually will figure out you are out of bobbin thread.
Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it! UMMMMM - my husband gave me a certain amount of money from our tax refund and said I could spend it on anything I wanted. I got this.
Would you recommend the machine to others? Why? Absolutely. It is a great machine to use. Easy to use. Easy to trouble shoot. Easy to thread. Easy to oil the bobbin area. LOVE IT. The independent button winder is amazing. See list of features I love above.
What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine? Do you like how it runs? Take it for a test drive. Bring something that you would sew at home into the shop to try out and see if it has the features you need. If you use a 1/4 inch foot a lot and a machine doesn't come with one that would not be the machine you would want to purchase.
Do you have a dream machine? No. I'm really happy with this one.
You can't really tell in the photo but there are purple dots - of pollen (?) on the flowers. I'm hoping the reaction to a skirt made out of this fabric is a tad more enthusiastic.
Sew Mama Sew has yet another great tutorial. This one is for a spring ruffled top.
The tutorial was pretty easy to understand for someone that has never made herself a shirt before. I'm not really a ruffle person but I figured I could try anything once. I must say - I do like the ruffles. I did add a row of lace around the top of the piece because I did not have matching thread and looking at the stitching bothered me so much that I had to do something to hide it!
Oh - and my summer hat matches! Love it!
Since it finally looked like spring (perhaps even summer-like) weather had arrived in New England I wanted to make a new shirt. I really wanted to try to sew one from a pattern last night but discovered I didn't have enough of the fabric I wanted to try. So, next best thing - I cut up this shirt, added some buttons, and some single fold bias tape. Voila - instant new shirt. Not completely flattering but it is completely comfy and that counts for an awful lot.
Hit or miss?
I've been trying to find a fabric to go with my Michael Miller Tea Time (looks more like coffee cups to me) and thought the Robert Kaufman Chef's Choice (the coffee swirl) would look good with it.
Does it?
A dear friend just turned 40. This apron is her gift from me (I'm sure she won't be reading this before tomorrow).
Paige - Happy Birthday!
I recently received an e-mail from one of my homeschool e-mail lists that said they were looking for someone to make bears for a local hospital. After reading about the need I decided that becoming a teddy bear would be a better use of the shirt. I'd love to volunteer to sew these but I needed to know (1) if I could and (2) if my oldest, whom I am homeschooling, would be willing / able to help.
I have been playing scrabble since I was a wee lass. My mom recently gave me her spiffy scrabble game that has a board with raised sides - so the tiles don't shift around. It is on a turntable as well. Very fancy!
My mom, older sister, husband and I played when my mom and older sister came to visit at the end of December. We had so much fun playing - we laughed so hard we cried at times. I never remembered Scrabble being that much fun when I was a kid!
One of the things we complained about during our play were the Vowel and Consonant fairies. Either they visited our tile racks - or they didn't. And either way - we complained.
And that was all it took for me to think...hmmm...scrabble fairies...I wonder if I could make some...
I searched for scrabble fabric and finally found some on e-bay. I made each of us a scrabble fairy. I am now working on wands - they are made but how the heck am I going to get the fairy to hold it? And - maybe a bag? Or would that just be too much. Maybe this fairy only needs her crown.
The words on the crown? My mom's bingo one night was JANGLERS (for those that don't follow scrabble - a bingo is when you use all 7 of your tiles. In addition to your word score you also earn 50 additional points). Spider Pig - is from The Simpson's Movie and was the name of one of the games we recently played on Facebook - and my sister won the game. So - her fairy's crown is Spider Pig.
I know - more scrabble info than anyone ever wanted to know but hey - the fairies are cute - right??? And scrabble teaches not only spelling but math and strategy. So, if you're staying in this evening and own scrabble, dust off the box and play a game. Print up a picture of the fairies and wave it over the board or tiles when you need a bit of help. Perhaps it will work.
Bingo! Beth
bald
with hair
Skirt with the fabric I chose to line / create the pockets form. Was part of my stash.
