Friday, January 25, 2013

Welcome to my sewing room!


Seriously!

If your first thought was “It’s a big pink box.”, congratulations!  Give yourself a chocolate chip cookie (or the equivalent that you happen to have on hand).  Go on.  I’ll wait. 

Now that you have a nice snack (and perhaps an adult beverage, or some nice cold milk) we can get on with the tour.  The box is indeed pink, courtesy of Rubbermaid.  It lives under my dining room table, hidden away from prying eyes.  Should we have family/friends over for dinner, it can be slid off into the master bedroom without scattering my precious things along the way.  I have been sewing out of this box for going on 2 years now.  This just goes to prove you don’t need a room devoted to sewing to have a productive habit.  Not that I don’t dream of a space devoted to my creativity that doesn’t have to be cleared and tidied for the various daily meals.  I certainly do and before the year is out, I shall have that space.  In the meantime, this box does everything I ask and more. 

Ignore the mess.  I was mid project when I thought
to take a picture of my sewing setup.  Giraffe skirt in progress.

What’s in the box? My sewing machine, of course!  My Janome Harmony 8080 was purchased at Sears over ten years ago, after the untimely death of a Brother.  The Janome far outshines its measly predecessor. Beyond being a work horse of a computerized machine, it’s really not that fancy.  50 stitches that have held up under my demands.  If I were to replace Miss Harmony, it would most certainly be with another Janome.  Most likely, the MC6500. 

The box also houses my serger.  One of two I own.  I tried to kill the loopers on my beloved EuroPro serger.  The over the phone estimate to replace them and tune up the machine was a bit startling.  The hubs, being the awesome man he is, bought me an inexpensive Brother serger that serves me moderately okay.  He (it is most certainly male with its occasional contrariness) and I have had a few discussions on how each of us believes he should work.  So far, I’ve won most of the time.  I’ve learned lots about how a proper serger should work in the process and I’m to the point that I’m willing to pay a shocking amount to have the EuroPro repaired and back in service.  Because I despise threading him, the Brother stays loaded with white thread.  Since it is used for finishing seams that never get seen, what people can’t see, I don’t have to rethread. 

It's tight, but it all fits.

The machines take up considerable real estate in the bin, but there is still room for a stack of neatly folded fabric, usually pulled for the next project or three that I have planned.  This picture is from July and I’ve made a few changes to how I store my projects since then, but that’s another post.  The remaining space is occupied by my rotary cutting mat, 5x24” ruler and my small but growing collection of sewing supplies.

All packed up and ready to slide back under the table.

So there you have it.  My tidy little sewing space.  The little boxes are getting upgraded with a massive ArtBin storage box, but I’ll save that tour for another day.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

I want to talk about me!

If you don't hear Toby Keith jamming in your head, well, you're not living in my head.  :)

Welcome to my sewing world!  I'm V, a full time mom, full time wife, full time production scheduling specialist and sometimes sewist.  I am not, nor will I ever be a super mom.  So how do I do it?  I have sacrificed sleep, sanity and the occasional Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookie to sew.  Who needs sleep anyway and I'm pretty sure sanity is over rated.  Let's not talk about the cookie, okay?

So what can you expect to find on my blog?  Inconsistency!  Gosh, I'm not the best at math, but if you add up all the things I am already doing, there just isn't enough of me left for blogger of the year.  So I'm not going to make any promises about when or how often I'll post.  I have enough content to last a while at this point, so you should have a good run for a while anyway.  I've also joined a stash busting sew a long, more on that in a later post, so additional content opportunities there.  I will promise detailed photos of my projects in process and discussions about techniques I use.

I have been sewing for as long as I can remember, but my first wearable completed project was a red wrap skirt when I was 10.  Since then I have sewed in 4H and FHA, participated in County Fairs (even won a few ribbons), made my senior prom dress and more Christmas gifts than I can count.  I have yet to meet a fabric I didn't like and wasn't willing to horde.  I have a considerable collection of knits which is amazing since I have never sewn on knit and frankly, am terrified by the prospect of it.  Recent cheap-o fabric additions to my knit collection will hopefully change that.

As for actual content, I primarily sew for my oldest child, Thing 1.  I occasionally sew for myself.  I mend for the hubs and Thing 2, well I just haven't found the right project to sew for him.  Thing 1 is a demanding client, but recent fabric purchases have been all about me, so I expect to sew more grown up things this year.  In my next post, I will give you a star studded tour of my sewing space.  Stay Tuned to the same bat channel at the same bat time!

Questions?  Ask away!  I'll round them all up and answer them in a later post.  Go on, you know you want to ask!