In the Mood to Sew

I have been struggling with a Vintage Vogue jacket pattern from 1954. There are no markings and it has been cut. How did they know where to cut back then? Little holes for markings, like darts, roll lines etc. Whoever cut it out was very sloppy and they altered it in places. I actually spent HOURS taping pieces back together, lining up cut edges, matching nicks and notches from prior cuts. I feel like a CSI agent. But I can't finish tracing the pattern until all the pieces are in their original shape. There is a beautiful piece of Pendleton Wool black and white houndstooth fabric waiting.....no doubt a muslin or two before then.

Just finished these pants for KK. The outfit was supposed to be for Christmas but I didn't get the pants finished in time.

Great Christmas

We really had a wonderful Christmas, in spite of the snow and ice, which set records here. There was a small window of opportunity to drive over the river and spend the day with the family. My small sewing projects were a hit and KK loved her Cinderella dress and her doll house. The best part of Christmas was learning that I am to be a grandma again.....KK is having a cousin in July! Yay!! Here are the parents to be.

People are buying my bibs

Word is getting around, locally, about my bibs. Several people have asked for them. I have sold 13 in the last couple of weeks but am worried I am not charging enough. They cost a bit to make and take forever. I really must work out a little spread sheet of the true cost, not counting my time of course. They are very cute, if I do say so. Here is an example of one I made for a little girl named "Amelia".

Sewing Frustration!

This tiny apartment is getting to me. I have 5 machines (so far), a computer desk and toys all over my living room. My couch is long gone in favor of a smaller loveseat. My bedroom is crammed with bedroom furniture, a cedar chest my father made in about 1928 or so and a rollaway bed for KK. There is also a hobby table I use to cut things out. I cannot have the rollaway bed and the hobby table up at the same time so I am constantly putting up and folding down. All the closets are full and the space under the bed is taken up with bins. I am so frustrated!

I just embroidered these for KK. She will be 3 on the 17th.

Where did the year go?

Oh, my Goodness!! KK is going to be 3 soon. Where did the year go? She is learning to ride a 2 wheeler with training wheels already.

My Janome 6600 did come home and it has been a struggle. I do miss the free arm. The first 3-4 months were really awful. This is my first computerized machine and that was part of the problem. But, this machine is far too sensitive when it comes to presser foot level. I am learning to use the "jiminy jig" tool which helps, but if I had known about this problem, I would not have purchased this machine. Another sewist who has forgotten more than I will ever know about sewing has the same complaint with this machine. She has other machines including Bernina, Pfaff and Janome and knows full well what to expect from a sewing machine. The fabric does not feed evenly unless the presser foot is perfectly level. This is true whether I am using the Accufeed or not. My old Viking 6460 does not have this problem so it is very frustrating. My new machine does have features that I like.....especially the needle up and down and the thread cutter. I have done quite a bit of successful sewing this year so I will continue to learn it as best I can.

Last week I traveled to my dealer about 70 miles away to spend the day seeing Sue Hauseman. It was fun to spend time with other sewists and see all the machines on display too. I did bring home a Janome Coverpro 1000CP which I have not had time to play with yet.

One of these days I will learn how to post a photo to this site.

Tomorrow is the Day

I am so excited! Tomorrow morning I am going to drive about an hour and a half to the dealer and pick up my new 6600p. I live so far away that I cannot just drop in for lessons, so they are going to give me a 3 hour lesson. Since I do not quilt, I hope this machine was a wise choice because it was really designed for quilters. It doesn't have a free arm but Big Red has one and she will still be out. I wonder what name my new machine will end up with? I hope she has a cooperative personality.