Art, Craft and Needlework, November, 2015

A place for Artistry, Crafts and Needlework; Decorating and Holidays.
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Harriet
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Art, Craft and Needlework, November, 2015

Postby Harriet » Sat Oct 31, 2015 8:08 pm

Are you going to have time for the hand made gifts you hope to give this year?
Everyone agrees we love to make them.
And we know it makes others feel special.
But are you finding the time? How do you find it, OR how do you deal with it - SIGH - if you can't find much time?

In October,
BookSaver planned for a sewing camp, and for handmade gifts for library co-workers
Nancy took a knitting class, made lots of hats, and has been working at her table loom
Elizabeth made the crown for her Halloween costume
Sunny shared sewing video resources and gave hemming advice!
Sadie's dh and ds made a wedding banner for her son and new ddil
Harriet learned about hemming knits and sewed the hat for a Halloween costume for her dd
blessedw2 came in to encourage!

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Re: Art, Craft and Needlework, November, 2015

Postby Harriet » Mon Nov 02, 2015 7:28 pm

My Christmas handmade gift-giving thoughts -
Had made a few pressed-flower bookmarks and was very pleased. But then stalled on them after I got the things to laminate them better, using full 8 x 11 laminating sheets instead of one at a time. I imagine I am procrastinating because when I make a mistake now, it will be a mistake on 4 arrangements of blossoms at a time. But I do need to set aside a morning (thinking of steady hands?) for that experiment.

The first few don't have to be perfect, and don't have to be made out of my favorite blossoms, either. I am probably reacting too much to that man at the print shop who had given me a wild-eyed look when I asked about having them do it. He didn't want to mess up an arrangement of blossoms someone cared about - didn't want that responsibility, plus had a fear that they would be thick (probably not) or that little leaves would be falling into his equipment. These are things that are unlikely to bother me here at home!

So I need to get brave in November.
:| I can be cool about this. 8-)

I doubt I can make a whole lot of these anyway, just would like the enjoyment, mostly.

It's funny that the other gift craft (sewing) dd and I had talked about was also bookmarks with images of whimsical houses on them. wondering if I should put that idea to the side, since they would "compete", lol.

Always on the lookout for gift tags that can be handmade. Some fabric ones, also with house images, are on my radar. If I do not have time to create hand made gifts for many people, I could still have tags that could double as lasting ornaments. We'll see.

Makes me remember that other fabric ornaments I've made in the past have been greatly admired, nearly to the point of requests for more... ... maybe I should revisit those things that have been hits in the past.

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Re: Art, Craft and Needlework, November, 2015

Postby Nancy » Tue Nov 03, 2015 1:36 am

I am thinking on a pouch to put on the dog's collar.
Got a skein in the current piece I am doing up.

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Re: Art, Craft and Needlework, November, 2015

Postby Harriet » Thu Nov 05, 2015 10:36 pm

Realized I never came back to comment on this method I've been using:

Shortening jeans more simply, keeping the original hem.

I hemmed a pair of very flared boot-cut jeans today, so it was a real test of this quicker method. I pinned well. Had both dd and HRH look after I'd finished, and neither noticed a difference between the look of this hem and the hem on any ready-made jean. Another short cut is that since you will not see the thread you use at all, there's no need to change thread from whatever color you happen to have in the machine. I think for this pair I will keep the turned up part there, just tacked down, as the original poster of the method (link within the above link) says she likes to do on flared jeans. I think I see her point about how it fills out a flared shape, so why bother to cut away.

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Re: Art, Craft and Needlework, November, 2015

Postby BookSaver » Mon Nov 09, 2015 11:19 am

Back from sewing camp. Project report:

1) Hand-sewn pink & white quilt top that is so badly stained that no one else wanted it at the library fund raiser, so I was able to buy for $2.50: I had thought that I needed to stabilize it before washing by sewing a muslin backing to it. I was told instead by expert quilters that I should serge all 4 sides and then soak it in Dawn dishwashing detergent. I don't have a serger so one of the other campers offered to serge it for me. Unfortunately, she was having trouble both with her serger machine and with her eyes after cataract surgery, so it didn't get done. Therefore, I will do an overcast stitch around it with my regular sewing machine. Since sewing group meeting is this Saturday, I will take it to show them how stained it is now and hopefully I can make it look a lot better before next month's meeting.

2) Chameleon Purse: That's the name on the pattern instructions that came with the purse, but when I googled it to find a picture I couldn't find the same one. The version I was given is a very small leather purse with a zipper on top, and then 2 metal clips that hold a decorative flap that can be changed. It came with a flap in a 4th of July print cotton fabric. I took several pieces of cotton prints to make more flaps, but after I made the 1st one I decided I didn't like the batting I used to stiffen the flap.

Side note: I was given several yards of Thinsulate batting so I tried it because I'm trying to use up what I have on hand. I didn't like the texture of it for this project. Also, the plastic coating on the Thinsulate means that it cannot be pressed with an iron, which makes the purse flap look unkempt. I'll try to do some decorative stitches on the flap to make it look better. In the meantime, another camper was using Thinsulate inside 2 layers of fleece fabric to make dog beds for a rescue organization. I will give her the rest of the batting, and that will free up a lot of space in my sewing supplies. Win-win! :)

3) 2 nylon net scrubbies for washing my cast iron pans

4) Knit top: Drafted the pattern using instructions from a recent class, cut out the fabric and sewed the whole top. That was my Friday project, so I wore the top all day Saturday to test it for comfort before I make more using the same pattern. I like it and I received several compliments.

5) Heart shaped pot holder for myself: quick project, finished! from this tutorial:
http://leafytreetopspot.blogspot.com/20 ... orial.html

6) Small insulated lunch bag: Cut out and sewed 2/3. I forgot to take a zipper with me so had to stop at that point in the instructions. Will finish it this week because I need it for work, plus I want to show it at Saturday's meeting.

6) Mug rug idea for coworker Christmas gifts: Started cutting the fabric pieces yesterday morning but ran out of time.

It seems to me that I finished another small project Thursday night, but I'm blanking on it right now. [Edit: I think it felt like I did another project because for the lunch bag, I had to convert/enlarge the pattern from the instruction sheet before it could be cut out of fabric. Same with the pattern for the knit top.]

I took fabric to cut out another knit top. I had washed & dried it, but didn't use fabric softener or a dryer sheet. The knit was so full of static cling that I was struggling to get it to lay out flat to cut out the pattern. I decided I didn't want that much stress, so I stopped trying. I'll fluff it in the dryer and cut it out later this week.

That is a lot more sewing than I am usually able to do at sewing camp. There were only 9 of us this time, and I think having such a small group made a big difference in the number of interruptions to my fun.

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Re: Art, Craft and Needlework, November, 2015

Postby Harriet » Wed Nov 18, 2015 8:50 pm

BookSaver, I think having to convert/enlarge the pattern from the instruction sheet WAS another whole project. :shock: That can really use up brain-power. That's a pretty potholder. I would see it in a not-so-bright color, maybe a calico print or homespun. I hope your mug rug gifts are fun to make. Great report!

Tomorrow I work on quiltmaking studio table surfaces, to declutter and organize the room and give myself space for crafting.


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