More Fun Around the Sewing Room

One of the last projects for the band that I've been working on - my first foray into draping/designing - drum major capelets (by special request).  I worked for hours on making sure the front drape worked necklace-style from shoulder to shoulder, and that the back cape part wouldn't impede the conducting:

 Started with a drum major jacket with the existing
baldric (sash) removed.  After figuring out where the scarf/drape would hang, I cut out fabric in the approximate shape of the drape I was expecting.

 Pinch-pleating on and off the form, looking at the drape on the jacket and making sure that everything was even and symmetrical.  Then I pinned everything into place because I had to move it from the cutting table into my workroom to sew it into place.

 The pleats weren't hanging quite right, so I pinned the fold further into the drape.  You can see the result on the jacket at this point.  When I sewed the top of the pleats, it was great - but when I tacked the drape where the second set of pins were, then it lost its definition for some reason.  So, out came those stitches.

Now for the back part of the cape.  They wanted it to fall in a semi-triangular fashion, so I needed a trapezoid of sorts to begin with.

Pinch pleating on this one was pretty simple, and then I just sewed it straight across.  Back onto the jacket, and then narrow hemming on all parts, then some gentle tweaks here and there to put it all together.  Here is the semi-completed cape:

From the back:  you can see I trimmed off the bottom
of the trapezoid - I think the squared off bottom looked
a little better than the point.

This is the finished cape/drape, pinned into place.

Whew.  Drove it over to the school just in time to drop it off with the drum majors, who were on their way to a field competition.  Gave them brief instructions on how to pin it to their jackets and had sent photos to one of their moms (so they could see the finished product for pinning).  Imagine my surprise when they appeared on the field with the capes over their shoulder, but the other side of the drape pinned underneath the arm. I thought they had misunderstood me, and it was kind of like a valance on a curtain rod that was falling off the wall on one side - the drapes don't quite hang right when they're not level. *Sigh.*  Turns out that they decided that they liked that look better.  I'm probably the only one who noticed or cared.  As long as they are happy and confident, that's all that matters.


Having some fun today working on some embroidery for a special order.  I'd read on the internet that working with onesies was difficult for a number of reasons, so I did some researching and I'm really glad that I did.  General consensus is that it's easier to do a onesie through the neck opening (which I definitely would never have thought of), and better with the water soluble topper, even though it's a flat knit.  It's also easier to hoop by hooping the stabilizer only, then applying the onesie with double sided tape, spray adhesive, pins, or something to hold it down until you can fix/baste it in place.  Loads easier than trying to turn the little thing inside out, stretch it over a hoop, and try to keep the rest of it from curling over itself.  Most important thing?  Never, EVER leave a onesie in the process of embroidering.  All kinds of wonkiness must ensue, since that was the one thing I saw noted repeatedly in my research.

Other than a matte thread that refused to work in the machine for some reason, the onesie stitched out really, really well and I was pleased with the results:

Inside out, through the neckhole - only moved my hands out of
the way to take a photo and then quickly held the neckline
again - all the vibrations & motion makes it collapse inward in a second!

The finished onesie - done in a font called Swirl - so cute!

Closeup of the stitching - if you look carefully, you can just see
the basting stitch holes around the name.  These came out in
just a few seconds by pressing with a warm iron.

After that, it was on to a Minky blanket.  I had to disassemble the blanket for about 10 inches or so from both sides of one corner in order to get it situated in the hoop properly.  I did hoop the fabric along with the stabilizer this time, I didn't want to take a chance that the blanket could shift unexpectedly while stitching.

Dark brown on one side, light pink on the other with raised
polka-dots.  Name stitched in dark brown in a font called
"Nimbus."  REALLY glad this didn't show hoop burn
after I worked the fabric a bit!

Still to come:  a couple of new maternity designs; about a dozen cat mats for a local girl scout project; and maybe another purse for myself or to sell.  Will have to see how that fits in with the orders I still have for this week!

P.S. - The final note on the replacement Lovey;  the mother recently sent an email to my friend, who forwarded it to me:

"Jackie,

Thank you so much. We were able to retire Addisons old lovie doll. I washed sewed and put it away for safe keeping for her when she gets older. We told her her daddy washed and sewed her baby and it was pretty.. she loves it and believes its the old one.. THANKS AGAIN..

I will also be sending my donation out this weekend.. Thanks!"

Now, THAT'S why I love doing what I do.  Just thought I'd share that with you!

The Final Count

Well, I knew it - if I posted finally being "caught up," then it would catch up to me in a big way.  But that's life.  It's what happens (at the speed of light) while you're planning other things.  And really, who would want to just sit and wait, and not be occupied, or not make a difference, or not help others to succeed?  Certainly not me - and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The final count for September:

• 3 pantry curtains
• 2 custom towel loops
• 1 pillowcase repair
• 1 blanket cover (sort of like a duvet, only one layer)
• 1 t-shirt refashion (I have to figure out a way to get more of these into my schedule)
• 2 pairs of pajamas
• 4 pairs of pants hemmed and repaired
• 2 appliqued onesie samples
• 1 sample baby blanket
• 1 baby blanket for a baby shower
• 13 appliqued baby bibs
• 1 35 foot by 35 foot veil (which the colorguard has dubbed "Veil-arie")
• 2 specialty pockets for the marching band's soloists
• shopping for fabric for the field blockout props (for colorguard to hide behind for their costume change)
• 11 maternity dresses
• 2 maternity tunics

Lots more coming down the pike - it's good to be busy.  I do suddenly realize why I'm so tired, though.  Like most people, I just need to figure out how to shoehorn in some "me" time.  If I'm sewing or crafting for myself, I can always claim that I'm a walking billboard for my business, right? 

Catching Up

Maybe I shouldn't title this post Catching Up - as soon as it's posted, I'm sure another avalanche of UFOs and work will appear from out of nowhere...

Got quite a few things done this week, and managed to find some band moms to help me with some of the more labor-intensive projects as well so I could actually get some sleep for a change.  Doesn't matter how much I get done, though, there always seems to be too much to do.  I think if I ever had a day completely free, I wouldn't know what to do with myself.  Nah, maybe I would - I'd probably spend half of it shopping to replace used notions & thread, and the other half trying to wade through all the undone things that have piled up while I've been so busy.  My family has gotten quite good at doing the dirty-dish-balancing-act in the kitchen sink....(cue circus music here).

First up: got the replacement Lovey done for that little girl who loved her old one to death.  Now it's up to the mom to figure out how to swap them out.  Still waiting to hear how that goes - if I get an update from my friend who does the Threads of Love projects here in Orange County, I'll put it in a future post.  Just hope it's successful, for both mom & daughter's sake.  Having a security like that is important when faced with medical procedures, tests, therapy, etc.

The old:

The way it was....

...and then became....

The beginning of the Remake

Adding the specialty stitching (with more on the hem of the hat).

The New and Improved Lovey.  

No matter how crazy busy it gets, I never feel quite right unless I'm doing at least one project for a good cause.  Now I need to get to the rest of the two or three bags of these Threads of Love items - I've really missed working with them.

Another hectic week with the band - after repairing the large field veil, I had to "outsource" the practice veil and the mini-veils, as my client work was getting pushed further and further behind.  Not good, since I had two big jobs to do for clients and another one coming down the pike any day now.  I got most of the maternity work done - here are a couple of new ones I hadn't worked on before:

An Ella dress, in navy jersey. 

Close-up of the cowl neck and the pleating.
Yeah, I know - sleeveless, with a big old cowl.
That would have driven me nuts when I was pregnant.
Too cold and too hot at the same time.

Here is an Erika dress, made with seersucker and
completely lined.  

My dressform is woefully UN-busty.  Poor Loretta.

Don't look at the stripes too long.  You'll get
a headache.  

Did three other dresses as well, but you've seen those already.

Picked up another order of onesies this week, also - I'll post photos of those when I get them done.  They are so cute they should come with a surgeon general's warning on them.  If you click on that link, you can see a couple of the ones I'll be working on (the Sweet Dreamy applique, a couple for boys and a couple for girls), along with two I worked up for her a couple of weeks ago (Grey and Pink Owl and Turquoise and Red Owl).  

Waiting for the snuggly blanket client to close up her co-op, and then I'll know how much work will be coming from that direction.  

In the meantime, I took a little time off last night to watch the marching band perform what they have so far of their show in their first competition of the season.  Took the camera, so you could see that giant grey veil in action, only I couldn't get my camera to behave very well with the stadium lighting.  I'll need to take it to Wednesday night rehearsal and fool around with it until I can get some better photos.  In the meantime, if all you remember is this, here are a few pics that will explain things a bit better.  Or not.  It's supposed to be mysterious, and I think we've nailed that part of it, anyway.

Setting up.

Oooo, pretty lights.

Round and round and round....kind of like a bizarre sort of Maypole.

The Unveiling (if you'll pardon the pun).

Colorguard dances with the fabric, which billows in a strangely
mesmerizing way.

And then carries it around the field. 

So, we've gone from a Lovey that's been carried around and loved to death, to a field show that features a different sort of fabric "creature" being carried around.  Let's just hope they don't love it to death.

More of That Story and Some Fun - Just Because

If you read my last post, you know that I was able to make a wish come true for a very special little girl, due in part to my penchant for procrastination, LOL.  Well, the story continues.

Today I was supposed to play catch-up on some projects for the maternity wear client.  While I was cutting, sewing & serging today's dress (see this one), I checked my email during a break and found another plea from my friend who does the Threads of Love in our area.  Turns out that not only was this little girl's original Lovey in that fabric that didn't exist anymore (except in the dark reaches of my craftroom, LOL), it also had a custom stitching job done around its skirt and hat:

The original star stitching on the first Lovey

And the matching stitching on the hat.
You can see how much this thing has been loved. 

My friend's plea:  did I happen to have the same stitch available on my sewing machine?  I checked, and believe it or not, I did.  As a matter of fact, even the "new" used Janome had the same stitch on it - so I was covered either way.  And it was done in purple thread.

Hold on, now - did you go to the second link I posted above?  Did you notice something oddly....familiar?  See anything uncanny?  (Give up yet?)  Amazingly enough, I had my serger and my sewing machine ready to sew up another Frankie dress in.......

...wait for it....

PURPLE.

The newest stars.  Which I just realized are upside-down
from the way they were on the original.
OOPS.

I don't believe much in coincidence these days.  I don't want to risk offending anyone by a post, but I believe that everything happens in God's own time.  The way that it should, even if it's not the way you want it to happen or might have expected.  We don't always see it right away.  So my embarrassment over not having done these charity projects in a timely fashion have ended up blessing a little girl I have never met and bringing some peace of mind to her mother, who has a lot to deal with as it is.  And that's the best thing that has happened to me in awhile.

And now for something completely different (the Some Fun - Just Because part):

Went to Kohls today and bought myself one of these kitchen toys:

A mini donut maker by Babycakes!

Small, but nom-tastic as my son's girlfriend put it!  My son was busy elsewhere today, so after she was done with the project she was working on over at my house, we put this thing to the test - and here are the results (and trust me, there were plenty more earlier today - most of them are already gone):

Powdered sugar, cinnamon-sugar, and plain donuts

Mmmm....maple glazing!

Extreme close-up of all the maple-y goodness!

More flavored extracts (like blueberry), along with sprinkles & possibly some cake mixes, are already on the shopping list.  We have plans, his girlfriend and I....pumpkin donuts, anyone?

Things That Come Around Again

Life has a funny way of bringing things full circle.  I'm busy sewing away here in my little workroom with all kinds of jobs lined up around me:  projects for myself (that always seem to get short shrift); work for clients; the big grey veil is back for repair after only being used for about two weeks and will soon be joined by another 35 foot practice veil and a big chunk of the 150 mini veils that will be used in this fall's field show;  purses that have been cut out like, for forever; knitting projects that have been in progress for years (I know, I know - I'm a quick project starter but a slow knitting finisher); and tucked away for a rainy day, some projects for one of my favorite charities, Threads of Love.  As embarrassing as it is to admit, they've been sitting in my workroom for the better part of a couple of years, waiting for me to have time to finish them up and get them back to the gal who distributes the material & supplies, picks up the finished projects and then distributes them to local hospitals where they are used for preemie babies.  I don't know why I sat on this particular batch of lovies & isolette covers, but I do know this:  everything happens for a reason.

I just finished repairing the huge grey veil, and it was so disappointing (and a little unnerving) to see how it had been damaged after only a short time of use - after all, I had advised the director on the purchase of the fabric based on the idea he had for the show - I had just never used that much sheer fabric in a project before and hadn't accounted for the sheer weight of all that fabric (if you'll pardon the pun).  Unfortunately that meant that it tore right out of the stitching because the needle had punctured the fabric every time it pierced it, even with the smallest needle available for a sewing machine (a 65/9).  Which meant that no matter HOW I fixed it, it would still rip along whatever stitching line came next.  Sort of like those advertisement cards in a magazine.  I went over to my local fabric shop and picked the brain of one of the best seamstress/clerks there - how to fix the fabric tears & reinforce and stabilize the seam, without adding yet another perforated line.....  She suggested using an iron-on interfacing, but not your typical one - one that sort of looks like cheesecloth imbued with adhesive.  I'd never used anything like that before but figured it would be worth trying.  The director was so impressed with the sample that he wants to have a coronation for my friend at the fabric store:

Reinforcing the seam joins between each 5' x 35' panel.

The reinforcement, seen from the other side.
From the stands, you probably won't be able to detect it.

A close-up of the iron-on interfacing.  I had to cut the
length that I bought into one inch strips.  They were ironed
on, but they didn't really want to adhere completely to this fabric,
which had a high polyester count.  

This didn't help, either.  Sheer fabric is lightweight until you
have 85 yards of it pulling what you're currently stitching
right out from underneath your presser foot.  Take another
look at the photo above - you can see the fabric being
yanked down and to the left, where this HUGE pile of veil was.
Forget trying to feed it over the other end of the work table.  

I think that this reinforcement will get them through the rest of the season, if I can just get the practice veil done soon for them to use during rehearsals and maybe even football games.  Now it's on to that and the bulk of the mini-veils that still need doing.

Yesterday I was able to finish working on a project that I can't show you (rats - you'll just have to take my word for it on this one), using my newest machine - a Janome MC6500.  This is a workhorse of a home machine, with a pretty strong professional motor and lots of great attachments, including a walking foot that I desperately needed for this client's project, as well as other things I will be working on in the near future.  It's quiet, dependable, and sturdy, and it will save a lot of wear and tear on my much more expensive Husqvarna.  Worth every penny.  The Sewing Assistant, of course, had to give it his trademark seal of approval:

"Seams" to be working alright, LOL! 

The threading path taste-test.

Ok, mom.  I think it passed.  You may use it with my blessing.

Now for an amazing (but true) story about how even procrastination can happen for a reason.  I've seen the project for Threads of Love hanging around my workroom for a long time, but every time I saw it, I was always in the middle of something else and figured I'd get to it later.  Later became a lot later, and then became rediculously later.  To the point where I was embarrassed to admit that I still had these things, and how was I ever going to apologize enough to the nice people who had given me these so long ago?  Sigh.  While checking my email on a break from the veil repair (which took up the better part of today), I read one from the TOL gal to all of us who sew the Lovies - she forwarded an email from the mom of a little girl who received one of these Lovies while in the NICU where she was born and struggled to make it - turns out she did make it through all the challenges and is now a thriving 2-year-old, though still facing treatment & therapy.  She became quite attached to her "baby" as she called it, and went everywhere with it - they even had to turn back to the house if they accidentally left home without it.  Now, of course, it has fallen into a state of disrepair and the mom was emailing to see if anyone could duplicate it exactly - her friend had made another one, but her daughter knew right away it was different and wouldn't accept it in lieu of her older one.  She did, however, christen it the "baby sister."  So my friend was hoping against hope that someone had fabric that matched the original Lovey.  Bear in mind that she collects and distributes HUNDREDS of these every year with an army of sewing volunteers' help - finding the fabric they used two years ago was a real shot in the dark.  (Is the lightbulb going on, yet?)  I raced to the bags I had put aside so long ago and went through the first one - no luck.  Went through the second one - and just about went into cardiac arrest when I pulled the last set of Lovey material out of the bag - it was an exact match.  And my friend had the exact material needed to duplicate the hat we sew on - so now between the two of us we can duplicate this little miracle's Lovey for her to carry for awhile longer.

Here is her original Lovey

Here is the first part of the replacement Lovey, before going
to my friend's house for the hat.  

I have never been more embarrassed to say how late I was finishing a project, yet never more excited and happy at the same time.  Somewhere down the line, God must have known that this little girl would need a duplicate (and that I would procrastinate for so long).  And a time to every purpose under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

A Break!

Wow, I didn't realize how long it had been since I last posted - I've been so swamped with orders from Jules Ford Maternity that I literally haven't had a moment left to myself to work on blogging - only time I've had to myself was spent on two days' worth of migraine, ugh.  Yeah, it's a break - just not the right kind.

Since I last posted I've added six more maternity dresses, 13 bibs, 2 onesies (samples that might show up at the Sweet Tart Lab), a baby blanket for the marching band director and his wife's baby shower - which I totally forgot to photograph, as that was finished just a few minutes before the freight train went crashing through my upper cranium - a blanket cover and another pantry door curtain for my neighbor, and a meeting with the newest client to my ever-growing list of projects completed.

Oh, yeah.  Add one 35 foot by 35 foot Magic Veil to that list.  The one that nearly did my serger in.  Sheesh.  That project took two days' time all by its lonesome.

That's me, there - buried in my work.  Literally.

I wish I could say that I was glad to see it go - I mean, I was - but now we have to plan and execute the production of 150 matching mini-veils for everyone in the band and colorguard.  This is going to be one very interesting show.....

So now I have a bit of a break.  My client (from Jules Ford) is going on a trip for about 8 or 9 days, and left me with about 7 garments to make up while she is gone.  That seems almost too easy, considering the amount of production I've been doing lately, LOL.  If you had told me even a couple of months ago that I would be able to have this kind of output, I would have told you that you were crazy.  And yet, here we are.  

Most of the dresses I've been working on lately have been duplicates of ones I've already done, but here are a couple of new styles you haven't seen yet:

Meet Frankie.  She's available at Jules Ford Maternity.com

Doesn't look like much on the manni - but just
picture it with one of those trendy "bib" necklaces.
Dusky purple satin crepe.  

Now meet Andie.

Andie comes with these lovely over the shoulder ruffles.
Which are supposed to be narrow hemmed on a regular
sewing machine.  MEH.  Never liked how it looked.  So...

Here you can see I've roll hemmed it on the serger.
A MUCH nicer finish, I think.

The cap sleeves are a bugger to sew, especially because
this baby is completely lined.  I solved the bulk problem
a bit by basting both layers together at the armhole, then
trimming off most of the seam allowance of the lining.  Then I
turned the hem and it laid a little flatter than it had in
previous renditions.  

The back of the dress.  

The Sewing Assistant is feeling much better these days, more like his old self again - chasing the older cat down the hall, begging to be played with, eating up the new prescription diet dry food and whizzing up a storm (which is VERY good - better for his urinary tract).  Still sleeps on the job a lot, though:

He did help us set up the newest cutting table, though.  My old one - around 15 years old and made of cardboard - was in the process of completely falling apart and had bowed in the middle so badly that cutting something out was becoming an arduous process due to unexpected dips of the scissor blades - that means making mistakes in the cutting, which isn't good.  Unfortunately, the newer table I bought at Joann's Fabrics turned out to be a minor headache for my two sons - every single pilot hole for the screws needed to be redrilled, as they were ALL in the wrong place and would have rendered the table unusable, had we placed the hinges where the holes originally were.  Pretty pathetic.  But it was made in China.  Should I have been surprised?  

Neko's version of "helping."

We had to put him in the bedroom before he broke one of his teeth on these table legs.  I guess he was giving us his opinion on matters.  Either that, or he thought it was one giant kitty treat. The table is on rollers, though - he thinks it's great fun to go for one of his Kitty Bus Rides on top.

Off to bed - tomorrow is my day to play with the new machine (a Janome MC6500, for those of you who haven't been following all the time) - along with its walking foot.  Then a project for the newest client, and maybe I'll actually have some time to do something for myself!