Mending for K

I finally plowed through the pile of mending K had for me:

• repaired a camisole
• replaced a zipper in a favorite skirt
• mended a pair of jeans
• turned two XL t-shirts into medium t-shirts
• revamped a kick pleat in a new skirt
• repaired a zipper seam in a dress we bought at a discount.

Whew!

Fabric Therapy

I hadn't been too thrilled about some of the things that were going to take up some of my precious time this weekend (cleaning at the church, accompanying youth to a dance *yawn*, extra errands) but ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right?

So Friday evening, after dinner, dishes, folding laundry, and all of that kind of *fun* stuff, I got out a stack of clear storage containers (clear boxes formerly containing spinach, of which I use one a week, the topic of which is an upcoming post) and all of the little bags and envelopes and boxes of fabric that I have purchased online and in stores in the past few months. I lovingly petted and folded and sorted and boxed all of the pretty fabric. *sigh* Then I pulled out some other scraps and picked out fabrics from both sources for some Christmas present projects (can't tell, in case my duaghter somehow finds my blog {long story}) and made notes on my plans and figured out what else I need to buy and looked up some details on a blog tutorial.

I feel much better now.

Goals

I work full-time, forty hours a week plus five hours of driving to and from. I have a time-intensive church calling. I am the designated errand-runner and grocery-shopper. I am the designated house-cleaner and laundry-starter and folder. Due to our opposite schedules, I am the weekend-cooker. (I could say "weekend chef" but that would be giving myself way too much credit.) I have a husband who needs a certain amount of attention. (And, granted, probably doesn't get enough.)

The point is, I have a lot of stuff I have to do and not a lot of time left over for big (cleaning, organizing, fun, scrapbooking, sewing) projects. I do not, as a rule, have large chunks of time for, well, anything.

(I should post this disclaimer on the front door!)

Wait, where was I going with this? I got distracted!

Oh, yeah! My point is, while I would rather have long stretches of time for projects, the fact of the matter is that I have to break things down, sometimes into teeny tiny chunks.

Take the t-shirt quilt as an example. I was getting really frustrated that I was not busting through that pile of t-shirts fast enough. I had done one small session, then worked on them some more while waiting for the cable guy (don't get me started on that subject!) and later, cut a few more. Then I looked at the pile every time I walked by it on the way to do something else (something less fun, I might add!)

At that point I decided that I needed to break things down into really small (doable) steps. I set a goal to cut two t-shirts per day for the next week. That would leave seven to cut on Saturday. Just setting that little goal energized the whole process. I knew that no matter how busy my day was, that I could spare enough time to cut just two shirts. It worked like a charm! One day I even had time to cut four shirts, which worked out well because the next day I didn't have time to do any, but at that point, I was still on track. When I got to the weekend, the pile was really small, and I knew I could finish it off, and I did.

In the midst of being frustrated by my lack of project time, I read a blogger that said she only has 45 minutes a week to sew so she has to make the most of her time. I found that comforting. And inspiring. Then I read another blogger who said that she allows herself to sew for 30 minutes a day, guilt free. Also inspiring.

So that is my aim. To carve out those short spans of time and make them count for something.

Unsewing

Saturday I went to the beach. It was a breezy, cloudless day. The water was a dark, dark blue. The waves were rolling, and there was a huge contingent of sailing vessels on the horizon. There were people playing in the waves, and couple of sand sculptors pouring and packing and scraping away.

I love to watch the people coming and going. It is interesting to see what other folks find necessary to bring to the beach. As for me, I bring a chair, an umbrella, and a bag o' stuff.

In my bag I have a towel, (more for covering parts the umbrella doesn't shade than for drying off, because remember, I don't swim and I don't like being in the sun,) a water bottle, my cell phone (for the time, as there is rarely a signal at the beach,) something to read and something to do.

This time I brought both books I am reading and a bag of unsewing.

I have been looking for a "take-along" project for a while, something portable to take along when I may have to wait or have some down time away from home. I have not (yet) been carried up in the hexie craze that has been rampant on the internet this summer, nor have I been to JoAnn's to get the Kona White I need to start a little house quilt (scroll down for it).

I do, however have those red and blue quilt blocks (UFO # 3) that I want to revamp. And a seam ripper and a few quilt blocks are quite portable, in a zippy baggie. So, that is what I did. I brought some nine-patch blocks that need a bit of tweaking and did some unsewing at the beach. I got a lot more done that I thought I would, and I enjoyed it immensely. I am no stranger to the seam ripper, and I don't mind doing it. It is always worthwhile in the end.

Started

This weekend I finished two other projects which allowed me to start cutting up t-shirts for the quilt. Yippee!

I decided to shoot for 12-inch finished blocks whenever possible. Some blocks will have to be longer, which I will accomodate in some way when I get the blocks cut and sewn and start arranging.

What this means as far as cutting goes, is that I am cutting big designs (and lists) 12.5 x 12.5 when possible. The small designs I will cut 6.5 x 6.5 and sew together to form the 12.5x12.5 blocks. Some designs I will cut 12.5 x 6.5 and sew together. I am saving t-shirt remains in *fun* colors to add to odd-sized blocks to bring them up to 12.5x12.5.

I haven't decided whether or not to do any sashing and/or borders, nor have I decided on backing or binding.

My plan is as follows:

• Cut out t-shirt designs in pre-determined sizes as best I can.
• Fuse blocks en masse to light-weight interfacing.
• Sew smaller designs together or to more fabric to bring them up to 12.5x12.5
• Square up blocks.
• Decide on a layout and make decisions about sashing, borders, etc.

Wish me luck!

A Quilty Summer

Next on my summer list, it says to make two quilts.

It sounds innocent enough, "Make quilts."

Awhile back, before I started posting again but was thinking about posting again, I read about W.I.P. (Work In Progress) Wednesdays on some quilt blogs. "Hey," I thought to myself, "I have some of those!" Delusion, anyone? "WIP" implies progress, as in actually getting something done. Ahem... and therein lies the rub, as they say.

What actually have are U.F.O.s. UnFinished Objects. Yup. Way unfinished.

UFO #1

I have a quilt top done. It is made up of 12x12 inch blocks which are comprised of four 3x12 inch strips. Of velour. (Colors from the 1980s.) Made of scraps left over from several robes and other projects I made back then. Solids. It is actually quite modern looking. I think I was ahead of my time. I started cut the strips during one decade, finished the cutting and started the piecing in another decade, and finished the top in still another decade. When I finally got it put together and put it on the bed to see how it looked, there were parts of it I did not like. At all. And I had no idea how to finish it. I thought about tying it with ribbons. (Like I said, '80s.) But that would totally not look modern. And I had no idea what to back it with.

UFO #2

I have a bunch of different Christmas fabrics and a bunch of squares cut out to make a quilted Christmas tree skirt. This is also a decades old project, but one I am still interested in. It may, however, take a different shape that what I had originally intended.

UFO #3

I have a variety of red and blue quilt blocks that my students made when I was teaching in Washington (the state of). As I recall, it was a group project and it didn't get finished and then I moved to Montana. Some of the blocks are pretty sloppy and need to be redone. (Ok, most of them, well...depending on how well I can rein in my inner perfectionist...) However, there are a good variety of blocks and plenty of fabric left for more. I need to spiffy up the ones that need it and then take stock of what I have and decide what additonal ones I need to make. I am also thinking it will need some sashing. Maybe a tannish color? I would love to finish this quilt and donate it back to the school, or possibly to a charity.

UFO #4

The T-Shirt Quilt. K has saved all of her fun t-shirts from high school, marching band, (and there are many!!!) girls camp, etc, etc, etc. for me to make a quilt. Before she came home the last time, I washed them all, and while she was here, we sorted them and weeded out a few, and I made some notes on what she wanted and doesn't want. I bought a bunch of interfacing, and asked for some advice from someone who had made them for her girls...and that's it so far.

UFO #5

I would like to make a quilt called "The Boxer Rebellion." No comment.

Anyway, the two quilts on my summer list are the t-shirt quilt and the red and blue quilt. I have done a little (very little) on both of them. But I am almost done with a huge list of mending and altering that I have had since we got back from our trip in April. Then I will have more time for fun sewing.

Wish me luck.

Making Waterbed Sheets

In addition to the fact that we have no dishwasher or icemaker, we sleep in a waterbed. Yes, we do live in the dark ages. We bought the bed when we were first married, and we would love to replace it with a real bed but that hasn't happened yet.

Waterbed sheets are expensive, if they even make them anymore. Who knows?

Many, many years ago, before I was married, I saw a demo on making waterbed sheets. I didn't have a waterbed at the time but a couple of my siblings did, and since I am the designated sewer in the family, I took notes.

You can make a set of queen sized waterbed sheets from two double size flat sheets.

You used to have to trim a double sheet to make a sheet to fit a queen-sized waterbed. Now, in the age of downsizing, there is no trimming necessary. (I pre-wash everything first.)

The nice thing about making your own waterbed sheets is that you can customize them to your own particular quirks needs. For example, waterbed sheets are typically attached together (top and bottom sheet) at the bottom in the center. When I make waterbed sheets for my sister and her husband, she likes them attached all the way across the bottom and up the sides along the corner pocket. That way they stay tucked in better. However, when I make them for my husband and me, I do not attach them at all. When my husband is asleep, he will pull on the top sheet and if it gets stuck or doesn’t come up as far as he thinks it should, he (asleep) will keep pulling. And pulling. And pulling. RRRRRip!!! I didn’t learn this right away. It took a time or two. Or three. So now when he pulls there is no ripping involved. I just tuck them back in when I make the bed the next day. Much easier than mending.

So, all I do to make a bottom sheet for a waterbed is cut two 24” squares of fabric (Old sheets or pillowcases or muslin or any fabric will work. The pockets do not show so they can be made out of anything.) diagonally across so I have four big triangles. I hem the long edge with a 5/8 inch rolled hem and zigzag the other two edges. Then I pin a pocket right sides together to each corner of the full sized flat sheet and round the corners. A Tuperware Fix ‘n Mix bowl is the perfect size curve for this. Then just sew the pockets on with a 5/8 inch seam allowance and zigzag any raw edges (like the curve you cut.) Turn the pockets and you are done! If you want to attach the top sheet, do it now.

I can usually get great sheets on clearance. Even buying a full-sized set of sheets on clearance is cost effective even if I don’t use the whole set. It just depends on your preferences. I hesitate to give too much information. *snort*

So there it is. My waterbed sheet tutorial. Sorry there are no pictures. I have camera issues.

My Sewing Machine

So, on a blog called "Have Sewing Machine, Will Travel," you might wonder if there would be any posts on sewing. Well, yeah! There will be. I thought I would first talk about The Machine.

My first sewing machine was a Brother. I got it for Christmas my junior year of high school. It did straight stitch, zigzag, and a quirky, funky stretch stitch. Since it had zigzag, I could make buttonholes, and I could fake a pretty good hem stitch. I took it to college, moved it to a half a dozen states, sewed for friends and family, did lots of mending, made clothes, works of art, countless curtains, quilts, and costumes. It was with this sewing machine that I gained the motto, "Have sewing machine, will travel!" After 25 years of hard use it literally fell. a. part. Literally. I kid you not.

Fortunately for me, right around this time I was gifted with a substantial amount of money as a sort of pre-inheritance, so I went shopping for the sewing machine of my dreams. A Bernina.

I was hoping to find a good used one, but that was not to be. I was, however, given a really good deal on a new Bernina 1008. This sewing machine is the love of my life. It is my soul mate. It has 16 stitches, 6 feet, a built-in button holer, an open arm. I heart this sewing machine. With it I have taught my daughter to sew, mended dozens of pairs of jeans, replaced several zippers, made clothes, prom dresses, marching band uniforms, color guard flags, receiving blankets, and even machine quilted a quilt. It can do anything I want to do.

And, oh, I have such great plans! More quilts, more curtains, more zippers, more clothes, more fun!