Solving a Problem

My problem? I have a pegboard over my Studio worktable which holds some of my frequently-used sewing and craft tools. I'd hung it on the wall with some Command Wire Toggle Hooks, which worked well for a number of years. But last year, the adhesive failed and I wasn't sure how I wanted to re-hang the pegboard. 

Then I learned about these double-headed picture hangers. Best described as fancy push pins, they're great for hanging light framed pieces on the wall. They leave a very small hole behind. (Rather renter friendly, I'd say). The bottom "head" is flat and lies flush against the wall. The top head is spaced about 1/4 inch above. This way your frame can rest on the post between the two heads.

I highly doubt this is a new invention, but I only learned about it a month ago.

I was able to put a line of five or six of these pins in the wall. It's as easy as pushing in a thumb tack. No tools needed. With Dale's help, I lifted the pegboard onto the hangers. The frame surrounding the pegboard rests easily on the little posts. The weight of the pegboard is evenly distributed across the line of pins, so it feels secure.

Getting this pegboard back on the wall was the exact incentive I needed to clear my work table. That, in turn, helps clear some of the clutter in my head and is a first step toward helping my creative spirit to return. My creativity has taken a nose dive ever since we received Dale's difficult health diagnosis at the end of January.

I still haven't been able to latch onto a craft or sewing project to work on. But I did put my cleared work table to use by constructing a small jigsaw puzzle for the first time in months.

A Julie Gem

 As I decluttered the sock box in my closet, I came across this pillow/sachet gift.

Considering the date, it was very likely a handcrafted Easter gift. These were some of Julie's first efforts in hand sewing and embroidery. Finding it again warms my heart.

It's approximately 4" x 6", made of a gauzy-ish fabric, stitched with a single strand of brown sewing thread, stuffed with polyester fiberfill. 

What a precious gift from my "11-1/2" year old daughter.

Micro Organizing

One of my favorite ways to spend time when life's been unsteady is to over-organize my belongings. This Threads and Bobbins Project has been on my radar for years. 

I've got around 50 spools of thread, each with their matching bobbin. My previous organizing system involved spool toppers that held the bobbin to the top of its matching spool of thread. The problem with the system is that because the spools are not of even height, the lids to my thread boxes wouldn't close. The stack was quite tipsy.

So I got myself some bobbin cases to hold the threads and bobbins separately. But how to match each thread to its corresponding bobbin? I decided to number them. My first attempt, using paper reinforcers, nearly worked. But not quite. 

So today I used a black ultra-fine tip Sharpie to mark the front and back of each bobbin, and the top of each thread.

Voila!

Completing this organizational task makes my heart go pitter-patter. 

When there's chaos in our world, in our household, and in my brain, having a small corner of order and calm delights me.

Square Neck Alteration

This is such a cool, easy hack!

I've always liked how a square neckline looks on me, but I have problems with tops I purchase because the neckline is often too wide. My bra straps show. Not good.

I purchased this top last July but haven't been able to wear it for that reason. 

I finally took the time to research how to make a wide neckline narrow. I found several methods, but this looked like one that would work on this particular top.

It took very little time to complete the alteration, once I found this method. The little tucks bring the sides of the neckline in just enough, and without messing with the shoulders or the bust, which fit me well. 

I found a lone pink button in my stash that fits the bill for this casual top.

Here's what it looks like when I wear it.

So often, the hardest part for me to learn a new technique or fixing a problem is simply starting.

Bonus: Learning this technique brings me one step closer to my 25 Goals in 2025.

Conjuring Momentum

I need a place to rest my head.

I got emotionally overwrought again this week. (Thus, missing days of posting on my blog). You know, medical stuff. Family stuff. Stuff stuff.

When I get like this, my Studio gets turned inside out with all kinds of partially finished projects strewn across my work table. Chaos in my Studio becomes chaos in my head. Or is it that other way around? Who can say?

But I woke up this morning hurting and sad and crying and overwhelmed. So I took my meds. I had a good breakfast. I started making order out of chaos. I returned to my "bed piles" technique. Each project was removed from my work table and put in a neat, compact pile on my bed. Then I can tackle the project piles one at a time.

But how do I decide where to start? Decision-making is a test when my mind's off kilter. This time I decided to make a game of it. I used the "fish bowl" approach of putting categories of projects on slips of paper, then pulling one paper to lead me to which project to start with.

My first pull said, "Easiest thing." So I cut up scrap paper, disposed of recycling, put yarn and crochet tools away, put the things that belong downstairs away.

My other categories include:

• Want to do the most
• Biggest dent
• For someone else
• Want to do the least
• Waiting the longest to get done

My second pull said, "For me."

I decided it was time to finish my Penguin Pillow. I'd put it off for over a month. It's time to treat myself to finish a project I get to keep.

Since I was dealing with a plaid fabric again, I decided to applique the stitching onto the front pillow fabric, rather than piecing the fabric to the edge of the stitching. This time I sewed some red piping to the edge of the stitching, then centered the stitching on the pillow front and sewed the penguins in place.

I hadn't worked with piping in years, so that was a fun technique to revisit.

'Tis done! 'Tis done! We have a new decoration for this coming Christmas.

Very satisfying.

I think I'll stop for a meal (it's 3pm), then pick my next project. There's a chance I could finish something else today.

A Return to Garment Construction

Though I do all kinds of crafts and needlework and sewing, it's been a while since I've jumped back into making clothes. But I have an excellent excuse to do some sewing now. Our Jodie is ready for some maternity dresses.

She bought a pattern online that we printed out and taped together. Since I'm out of practice and it's a new pattern, we decided to make a "muslin" first ... make a dress from inexpensive fabric (in our case, some old curtains from our Post Falls house!). Usually, muslins are finished just enough to check fit and make alterations, but not actually worn.

The first thing we needed to change was the neckline and shoulder slope. I turned the jewel neckline into a V neckline. Then I drafted a neck facing instead of using a bias binding as called for in the pattern.

I sewed the rest of the dress together and had Jodie try it on. More alterations were needed. The pocket placement was far too low. The front was still too big, so needed to be narrowed.

Even though we didn't make this muslin to be worn, Jodie thought she might as well wear it anyway -- at least around the house. It's pretty sheer so she'll put a tank top and bike shorts or slip underneath.

I made a pleat in the front of the bodice and sewed buttons in place for decoration.

To make the "real" dresses, we bought some sheets at a thrift store. The color is quite pretty. The fabric was awful to work with. It was some kind of poly-blend that was very soft to the touch, but frayed terribly. I relearned a few sewing techniques along the way, including a seam finish, interfacing at the neckline, under stitching, and stitch-in-the-ditch.

I made this dress with the new pattern alterations. The top fits much better now and the pockets are almost in the right spot. It's wearable, anyway.

I'll be making at least one more dress from this pattern out of more thrifted fabric Jodie chose. And possibly a matching dress for Abby.

Friends and Flowers - Fini

She's a cutie, alright!

She gave me some heartache and trouble wrestling her into her final form, but she's worth it.

This 12" x 12" pillow took me a full three months to complete. I'm out of practice. Sigh

Yet I'm pleased with the outcome.

Decisions, Decisions

I'm like the old woman who lives in a shoe.

I had so many children crafts, I didn't know what to do.

All the surfaces in my Studio were cluttered up with partially done projects. So I decided to create a little order today. Layer by layer, project by project, I cleared my work surfaces. I put each project in a pile on my bed. Now I can tackle them one at a time.

These are thrifting finds I bought last week. Some are gifts for my granddaughters. Some is geocache swag. I've washed the fabrics. Now everything needs to be put away. 

This box is a card-making kit. I want to make a bunch and send them out to "my ladies" to let them know they've been on my mind.

Here are a couple pen-pal letters started for my Idaho grandkids.

I've done some measuring, so will cut these boxes to size, line them, and work on my "fat quarter project" wherein I sort my fabric, fold each identically, and organize them in boxes that will fit their shelf. This way, finding an appropriate fabric will be much easier than the current toppling stacks. This project is one of my 25 Goals in 2025.

And, of course, I still need to finish my cross-stitch pillow. I haven't worked out all the math yet.

So ... tomorrow? I tackle the first project tomorrow? 

One small problem: where do I sleep tonight?

Pillow Progress

I washed and dried the stitchery. Then I picked the fabric for the pillow cover -- a petit yellow and white gingham.

I found a suitable zipper in my stash. It's got be be at lease 35 years old. I enjoy finding ways to use old supplies. Though the zipper is only 7" and will be used on a 12" pillow cover, I should be able to make it work. 

I made a 12" x 12" pillow insert from an old sheet and some polyester fiberfill.

Now comes the math part ... turning a rectangular stitchery into a square pillow.

Say, look! I have crystals hanging in my Studio window. Today they gave me a rainbow!

Happy Pride Month, y'all.

Another Thrift Haul

It's been a couple months since I browsed a thrift store, so I gave myself a treat yesterday and headed out to one I haven't been to since last year. I did have a couple specific things in mind to purchase, and I got lucky with one of them.

I wanted to find a 12" x 12" binder so that as I learn my advanced sewing techniques, I can put samples all together for reference. I found this binder right away. It's actually one of those "magnetic page" photo albums that are quite bad for photographs because it discolors them. But it's just right for my purpose because I only need the binder, not the pages.

I found this pack of unopened sewing machine needles for woven fabrics. They're always good to have on hand.

Then I found an unopened bag of cotton balls. Good. I was going to need some more by the end of the month.

The red fabric is very unusual. It's pliable, but metallic, it's vinyl-ish on one side, and cloth-ish on the other. It's very, very shiny and catches the light beautifully. I'm not sure what I'll use it for, but it feels like Christmas. It's very intriguing and gets my imagination going.

Then I found some fabric for counted cross-stitch. There are two pieces of folded aida yardage by Craftways. It retails for $25.00. I got this plus some floss for just over $7.00.

There is a tube of 15" x 18" aida that retails for $10.34 that I picked up for $3.

There's a roll of 15" x 18" raw linen and another of antique white linen that retails for $18.39 each. I bought them for about $2.50 each.

Here's the bag of 36 skeins of Craftways floss and a couple project floss organizers. They were in the package with the aida yardage. The floss retails for $.40 each. I'm not quite sure what I'll do with the floss since I rarely use off-brands. I'm sort of a DMC/Anchor/Gentle Arts snob when it comes to embroidery fibers.

You'd think that the cross-stitch fabrics would be the find of the day, but I found something even more amazing. 

It's another Pashmina! If you recall, I found my first Pashmina in January for just under $10.

This scarf/wrap is 70% Pashmina (cashmere) and 30% silk! The tag said it was an astounding $5.99.

BUT because it was a yellow tag it was on sale. Between the sale price and my senior discount, I bought a Pashmina - worth between $150 and $200 - for $3.00!!!!!

Altogether I spent a bit over $25 for everything. What a haul!

Zip Fix

Ruh-roh

The zipper tab broke off my favorite fleece vest. The loop that holds the tab broke, not the tab itself. 

After a bit of research, I decided to replace the tab with this product. The zipper can be repaired with no sewing involved. It was a little more expensive than a regular zipper pull, but it's a neat design that can snap onto the existing zipper -- in less than 30 seconds! Just make sure you get the correct size.

The directions look simple enough.

But cutting the existing tab off with the snips was not easy. I didn't have the strength to do it. Dale didn't even have the strength to do it. So I chipped away at the little metal part bit by bit using both snips and a hacksaw. 

That took an hour or so, but I got 'er done!

Snapping the new zipper pull onto the zipper teeth took less than 30 seconds. It went so smoothly and quickly that I didn't get a chance for a photo of the process.

This video explains how easy it is:

When I tried my vest on to see how well the zip works, my finger got pricked on something. What that heck is that? Is it a mistake? Did I get something defective?

It took me a bit to figure it out. It's a feature, not a bug. That pokey-outy thing can be snapped into that little indention. So I can pull the zipper tab up, say half way, then snap the pokey thing into the indentation thing and the zipper will hold in place ... sort of park itself where I want it to stay. Huh. I could have done without that feature. I don't need to poke myself inadvertently every time I put my vest on.

But look! Nice, eh?

That's another of the advanced sewing techniques I wanted to learn this year. Whoo-hoo!