On my worktable – Seams to Me

While snooping through my Christmas stocking from my Mom on December 22nd, I discovered a Borders gift card. I get really, really excited about buying books. The Narrator just happened to bring home a 40% off coupon for Borders the same day, so I spent my Christmas money, before Christmas. It was sooo worth it!! Housemate and I headed out that night so The Narrator could help the kids make my Christmas gift (very fun t-shirts they painted for me!). I have a habit of spending a lot of time in the hobbies aisle at Borders. I pretty much know every sewing book on the shelf, so when I saw a new book that I’d never seen before I squealed!

I purchased Anna Maria Horner‘s new book Seams to Me. Anna Maria is a talented artist and designer and mother to 5! With one on the way! She has a line of fabric that I’d love to get my hands on too. This book is half instruction and half projects. Even though I’m an experienced seamstress, I found the instruction section to be very helpful and informative. There were a few hand stitching techniques that excited me. The projects have a wonderful variety to them from an adult skirt, to a couple of adorable girls clothing items. Every book these days has an apron pattern in it, and this one does not disappoint with 2 very cute ones. From home décor, kitchen items, baby items – oooh I just can’t wait to gobble up a stash of fabric and make some items to keep and give away. You must take a peak at this book! Whether you are a beginner seamstress, or a skilled one, you’ll be inspired by Anna Maria’s designs and the vibrant colors she uses.

Save Handmade!!

Baby stacking rings I made for my nieces. (Heather Bailey pattern)

During a phone conversation with my Mom the other day, she sadly told me that the charitable organization she works with that provides handmade baby items to area hospitals is temporarily shutting down. WHY??? was my astonished response. This particular organization is doing such an incredible work providing needed items for so many families with babies in intensive care units and families with multiples, why would they suspend their work??

It turns out, there was a poorly written and hastily passed law that goes into effect in February that has charitable organizations such as my Mom’s who provide handmade items for children shutting down until they get further clarification on how it impacts them. It also has all the small toy manufacturers in an uproar. The law was intended to provide regulations for large toy manufacturers to hopefully prevent a repeat of all the issues we had coming from China in the past year. However, the wording of the law is so vague that it could be interpreted to apply to ALL items made by ALL people that are intended for children. The testing that this law requires is so expensive that it has the potential to shut down many reputable, trust-worthy small toy shops as well as charitable organizations who are providing precious handmade items for free to families who desperately need the help.

PLEASE, take a moment and check out these links, and then write letters to your senators and congressmen. I wrote both of my senators using the forms on their websites. It took me less than 15 minutes. I value the ability to purchase handmade items from small shops, not to mention being able to make things of my own to give to the children I love. If left unchanged, this law could have disastrous results, limiting our options to the giant manufacturers. Please act now before it’s too late!

Cool Mom Picks

Handmade Toy Alliance

Handmade Toy Petition

The day he won husband of the year award

(Also known as the hottest day of my life. Ever.)

Two years ago my Very Social Friend asked me to teach her how to sew. I was delighted to pass along my love of creating with fabric, and we began her lessons with a few pairs of shorts. Then she moved away. Then she moved back and got a sewing machine for her birthday last fall. We try to get together once a month to hone our skills. During one of those gatherings not long ago, she mentioned there was going to be a craft show at the coffee shop she worked at. She asked me if I’d be interested in having a table at the show with her. Since I’m trying all kinds of new things this year, and already had a stack of baby blankets and bibs made, I agreed. While we were at the coffee shop show, a lady came around from the church we attend and invited us to have a table at their craft show Memorial Day weekend. We thought about it for a second, and since we were having such a good time, we signed up.

Little did we know that Saturday would be the hottest, most humid day ever. You would think since we live in Florida we would have expected that for the end of May. But no, that Saturday was BAD. Really BAD. We were setting up our tables at 8:30 a.m. and we were already dripping with sweat, wishing we had worn cooler clothes and that the canopy we had borrowed from her cousin would have worked on the cement.

The Narrator showed up with the kids just about then to see if we needed anything before he took the kids to a birthday party. We asked him to please take a look at the directions for the canopy to see if maybe we had misunderstood them, hoping for a miracle so we wouldn’t end up as poached eggs on the sidewalk. He looked the instructions over and gave us a sad look. “So sorry, but it’s not going to work.”

We put on our smiles, determined to make the best of it. We do know how to have a good time, even if it’s while fighting over a battery operated fan in 95 degree heat with 100% humidity! We sent The Narrator and kids on their way and then slathered on the sunscreen. About thirty minutes later, Very Social Friend says, “Hey, aren’t those your kids?”

I looked up to see Little Miss Sunshine and T-Rex running across the courtyard toward us. Not far behind them was The Narrator – with a case of bottled water in one hand and a quick shade green canopy in the other hand. Very Social Friend and I started to squeal like little girls. In about ten minutes we had shade, glorious shade!! We gave him hugs and kisses (I did the kissing, that is) and then sent him off to the birthday party.

That is the day he won husband of the year award and saved me and Very Social Friend from heat exhaustion. And since we now own a fun, quick set-up canopy, we put it up in the drive way on Memorial Day just so we could have a picnic with the kids under it. Just for fun!

I won!!

Gasp!! Can you hear me shrieking?? I got an email first thing this morning from Scribbit saying that my story Competition in the Closet won this months’ write away contest. Thank you so much to the judge at Ice Cream Diaries who chose my post as the winner, to Scribbit for hosting the monthly contest, and to Payless ShoeSource for the $50 gift certificate and a pair of their new friendship shoes!!

I’d like to extend a warm welcome to those visiting from Scribbit’s link. I am blogging anonymously as Story Girl from hot, sticky Florida. I’m a stay-at-home mom to a three-year-old girl (Little Miss Sunshine) and a year and a half old boy (T-Rex) and have been married to The Narrator for eleven years. We live 1200 miles from the rest of our family, having moved to Florida from the North five years ago. I’m a seamstress and scrapbooker, God-follower, and story lover. I have a brief intro under My Story. To get a feel for who I am, you can also check out these stories:

The Littlelest Client
Thanks for the New Tires
Credit Card Girl
Things that Go Bump in the NIght part 1 and part 2
The Lonely Fish

And now, seriously, I am off to Payless to see if they have any tap shoes, which is another story forthcoming!

The littlest client

I spent the day behind my sewing machine working for a very important client. And talk about pressure. She was standing over my shoulder all day long supervising my every move.

The request started simply with a dress for her baby. No problem. She had been asking for clothes for the baby for awhile, so I had her pick out the fabric and the pattern from my stash and a cutting and stitching we went. By lunchtime, the dress was complete, and the baby was happy. As she swayed with the baby back and forth my little client sighed, “I’ve been waiting sooooo long!!” I looked at her and said, “For Baby L’s dress? Well, now it’s all done.” She looked at me with wide eyes and said, “Noooo, for MY dress!” That’s when I knew it was going to be a long day.

Next thing I knew, she was picking out matching fabric and a pattern for her own dress and that’s when the “Is it done yet? Is it done yet? Is it done yet?” began. My machined whirred away under her watchful eye. As soon as the bodice was assembled, she whisked it away from me and wriggled it over her little shoulders. She pranced around the sewing room singing, “It’s sooo beautiful, it’s soo beautiful!” I looked at her and said, “Yes, honey, but it’s sooo not done. It needs a skirt yet!” It took some convincing, but finally she handed the bodice back over so I could attach the skirt. It didn’t take her long to realize this wasn’t a simple process.

“NOOOO! I don’t want pockets! Just put the skirt on so I can wear it!”
“Honey, you love pockets! Where will you put your treasures? These are treasure pockets!”
Sigh. “Fine!”

I moved as quickly as I could, and finally it came time to put the skirt on. And she was convinced that I had no idea what I was doing.

“You’re putting it on upside down! Why are you doing it like that? It’s upside down, it’s not going to look right! You’re going to ruin it!! Why are you putting it on upside down???”

And somehow, I just knew that my mother had prayed that morning, “And dear Lord, please help my children to appreciate me and all that I have done for them over the years.” I get it, Mama. I love you for so patiently working with me when I was three. And ten. And sixteen. And thirty-one!

As I watched my little girl wait so impatiently for the beautiful dress that would match her baby doll’s dress, it was like I was looking into a mirror, seeing myself when I was three, hanging on my Mama’s arm while she whipped up a pretty dress for me and my dollies. I felt such a sense of pride that I was passing on the legacy – a heritage of creating with fabric and thread to my own little one. Where else can a girl get matching outfits for her and her baby that she designed herself? Not to mention, it only cost Mama no more than $5.

At long last, the hem was in place and she wriggled that bright yellow dress over her head and danced around the room. The first thing she did? She put a flashlight in that pocket (a flashlight that also doubles as a microphone for singing very long songs about walking down the street).

featured patterns: Simplicity 5419 (dolls dress) and Simplicity 3510 (inspired by Project Runway)
featured fabrics: Tutti Frutti, on sale at JoAnn this week for $1.99 a yard in a great variety of coordinating patterns.

Credit Card Girl

I’m sitting in a Panera Bread at the mall (insert fear and trepidation here). I’ve never been a mall gal. In fact, I really don’t like to shop. I prefer to know what I’m after, go in, buy it, and get out, and I always work off a list, whether mental or written. But tonight, I really needed to get out and I needed a place to read and use wi-fi, so Panera it was. Only there’s a concert playing outside. And it’s really busy. So much for a quiet place to read, write and think.

On my way in, I thought I’d stop at one store – New York & Co. Outside of the department stores, this is the one shop I’ll hit in the mall on those rare occasions I’m here. For some reason, their style strikes me most out of the other stores that scream at me to look like this and smell like that and accessorize like this. I’m in the process of creating a new wardrobe for me, and t-shirts are cheap enough to just go ahead and buy. While I was trying a few on, I remembered that I had an old, old gift card in my wallet. What I didn’t realize was that it had $15 on it! I got 2 tees for $5 out of pocket. Totally worth it.

As I was checking out, the cashier asked me if I wanted a rewards card. Why not? It’s about the only place I’ll shop for new clothes, infrequent at that. As she was handing the form to me, I clarified that it was a rewards card, not a credit card. Her reply was one of the best compliments ever, and said in the friendliest way.

“Oh yes, you didn’t look like the credit card type, so I didn’t even ask about that.”
“Aha. You’re right. I’m more of a cash girl. So there’s a ‘look’ for the credit card type?”
“Most definitely, and you don’t look like that.”

I would have probed further to see what she had been trained to look for when pushing the credit card, but there were people in line behind me. Instead, I smirked as I handed her $5.42 in cash. I glanced down at myself and my new knit top (made by me) and my not-so-new olive green linen shorts (made by me) and my glittery $5 clearanced wedge sandals (that the fitting room attendant liked).

She was right. Definitely not the credit card type!

Wedding dress WOWs!

After my terrible nightmare last week, I cut out the muslin for my friend’s wedding dress and had it assembled in one evening. Then I had to wait. She was out of town and couldn’t come try it on until tonight. Fortunately, I haven’t had any more wedding dress nightmares in the mean time! And tonight, I should be able to dream happy wedding dress dreams because the dress fits her like…well a good dream!! I was amazed, absolutely amazed, and she was ecstatic. I have two very minor, minor adjustments to make to the pattern. So minor I can’t even describe it. She had so many concerns about the way she wanted to look in a dress, and this dress was the absolute perfect style for her. All her concerns vanished under the drape of the fabric. If you are ever concerned about getting a good fit in a dress (ladies that is!) pick one with princess seams.

I’ll cut out the actual dress this week and begin to construct it. Now I just need to pay close attention and say many prayers that I don’t do something silly like melt the fabric with my iron. Looow settings, looow iron settings, and a pressing cloth please!

This dress will definitely be added to my New Things in ’08 list. Let alone have I never really made a garment for anyone outside of my immediate family (toddlers and babies not included) I’ve certainly never tackled anything so important as a dress for a bride!

Serger Story

The night before I went to my serger class at the sewing expo I moaned to The Narrator, “I just know this class is going to make me want a new serger.” He replied, “That’s a given!!”

I got my old serger about a year and a half ago used for $50. It’s what you call a “workhorse,” which is a nice name for a sturdy old metal machine that can work hard, but not do anything other than the very, very basics. If all I ever wanted to make was pajama pants and tote bags it would be perfect.

The class had been labeled with a subtitle of “tricks that will work with any serger.” Except for mine, of course. About half the things I wouldn’t be able to replicate at home because there’s a standard feature on machines made today that mine, one of the first ever made, did not have. If it hadn’t been something so useful as easing in a sleeve cap, or making piping in a snap, or making ruffles in 1 step instead of 5 painful steps – I wouldn’t have cared. But I cared. Because I realized I could be doing 90% of my sewing on a good serger and it would look nicer, more professional and take half as much time (or less).

What I also didn’t expect in class was to discover that all the machines used in the classrooms at the expo would be for sale, sold as new with warranty and classes, but at a really really big discount – like 2/3 of the price of a new machine. I’d been looking at machines for a couple years and knew it was a brand I could trust (same brand as my sewing machine, and same as my Mom’s serger). I’d also sewn on my Mom’s machine a few times – same machine, but one step down, and I knew I liked it.

So I went home and talked to The Narrator. We slept on it. Then we talked some more. Then he cut me a deal. He told me that if I could come up with half the cash on my own he’d take care of the other half. Now lest you think we have separate money, we don’t. I just happen to have some ongoing side gigs right now. So I sat down with my calculator and realized it was a done deal. In “the bag.” He told me to go ahead.

Before I headed back to the expo I began to question. A machine like this is a big comittment. I had no doubt I’d recoup my money spent within a year not to mention all the side jobs I keep getting would probably repay the cost within a year as well. But just because you can doesn’t always mean you should. As in most cases, there are half a dozen places you can put your money, is this the right place at this time? So, I started asking and double checking with The Narrator. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t being selfish and just wanting a new toy. He replied with one of the nicest compliments ever.

“I don’t want this to sound bad, because I mean it in the best way possible. I view this purchase as a household appliance. This is necessary for you to do your job and do it well. Not that I view being wife and mom as a ‘job’ but in a way it is. And you need the best tools you can get to do your job well. I love that we have this sort of 1950′s way of living in that you sew and cook and stay home with the kids. I love that you’ve put your touch all over our house with your machines, not to mention the money it saves, but also the way it personalizes our life.”

Wow. That meant the world to me. As we were standing in the living room having that conversation, out of the corner of my eye I could see the curtains in the dining room, the kitchen curtains, new curtains on the sliding doors, another curtain in the family room (we have a pretty open floor plan) and the jacket I was wearing – all things I had crafted on my machines.

So I went forth and purchased. Friday night I have the first class to learn how to use it, which is perfect timing, because I need to get cranking on this wedding dress next week. If I can find the charger to my camera I’ll post some pics in the near future of projects. I’ve done one quick thing on it already with a trick from the class. As for my old serger, a local friend that I’ve been teaching to sew over the past couple years, who only wants to make pajama pants and bags , is buying it from me.

Wedding worries

I had a very crazy dream last night last night. I haven’t been sleeping well for a few weeks and my dreams are getting quite bizarre.

I’m making a friend’s dress for her wedding. That’s not a dream, that is reality. It’s the biggest sewing project I’ve ever done. And even though it’s not a full-blown white Cinderella gown (it’s classic and pretty and pink), it’s still a VERY important day for her and she will be photographed a lot in this dress. If it doesn’t look good, people will know that I’M TO BLAME!!! IT WILL FOREVER BE MY FAULT! I’m a bit nervous. I feel a tad like the designers on project runway, and I’m really under the Gunn, I mean gun. At least I have a new serger to help the project go along better. Ahem. That’s not a dream either…um…back to the story.

So, last night I put off cutting it out because I was tired and groggy and I went to bed instead. And all night long I dreamt about wedding dresses. Some person that I don’t even know in real life, just a dream person had a friend (another dream person) who was getting re-married and wanted to wear her original wedding dress, but didn’t want it to look like her original wedding dress. She wanted me to re-make her original gown. We were on a beach for some reason when she brought me her original wedding gown and told me to add 40 YARDS of fabric to the skirt. FORTY YARDS. I kept thinking to myself, this dress is going to be huge, it’s going to be enormous, it’s going to fill the whole room, I’ve never even worked with 40 yards of fabric at one time, will it even fit in my sewing corner? It was completely and totally random.

I woke up quite unrested and determined that I had to cut out the muslin dress today and get started on it so I would feel more confident about my skills for this project. And so, it is cut out and ready to be sewn tomorrow.

And now, let’s hope I don’t dream about 40 yards of fabric tonight. I mean, I love fabric, but not that much all at once!!!

Over.Load

Brain. Over. Load. Can’t. Think. Straight.

The whole coveting thing? Yeah. Didn’t work. I’ll just leave it at that.

I can’t even begin to tell you how funny I thought it was that the 6th World Congress on the Aging Male was held at the same time as the Original Sewing and Quilting Expo. The hallways were filled with old men falling asleep over newspapers and old women knitting and crocheting. For some reason I found that to be so ironic. And funny.

I was the youngest person I saw all day on Friday. I got a lot of nice smiles and even a hug from one instructor who upon talking about something from 1974 and then asked to make sure we were all born by 1974 and I had to sheepishly raise my hand and admit that NO, I had not been born yet in 1974,  gave me a hug and said she was so glad I was there because sewing is a dying art and those who have been sewing for 50 years are so sad and so forth.

I never realized that if you joined the American Sewing Guild you got a discount at JoAnns. I will be joining. I’ll even participate in the local meetings. The local area president was showing off everything in the booth (I met her over dinner). She wants me to join. Bus trips where I’m the youngest person by 30 years will be FUN! I’m serious. I love that.

Now I need to put my fusible thread and shrinking thread away and find a home for all these zippers that were $.10. And the 5 yards of elastic for $1. I’m so tired, but I doubt I’ll be able to sleep because my brain is whirring with ruching ribbon and curves and darts and draping and sewing on the bias and…..