Just plain CUTE!

Lately, I've been a little distracted from my sewing. There are a couple of reasons for that.  I haven't had a show yet this year, and have a lot of inventory, so didn't really 'need' to make too much. 

More importantly (no, really!), we got a new couch about a month ago, and all the sudden I have a great seat with my Ott light again where I can cross stitch.

I had a small project started and finished it, and then I started another one.  I was obsessed with getting it completed.

I finished it last night.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it, although I think it would be adorable with a round mat and purple frame.

Happy Sewing!

Susan

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Pouch Pyramid

I've been making a couple of sizes of box pouches for a while now.  These are great cases for just about anything.  I put a d-ring on one end and just a fabric tab on the other, which makes it easier to zip them up! 

You can check out my current selection in my etsy shop.

Recently my husband said that he liked the pouches, but that I needed to make some even bigger ones, and I needed to make some in less feminine prints (what, guys don't want a case with flowers or cats?)!

So the stack here is the four sizes that I will now make for these,  The two larger sizes will feature an exterior pocket, a small strap on one end along with the tabs, and larger zippers, so the pulls are more accomodating for larger hands to use.

Look for the new sizes coming soon to my shop!





Happy Sewing!

Susan

Covering a Lampshade

One of the projects that I had from the interior decorator is to cover a lampshade.  I thought, I've never done one, but how hard can it be?

Well, hard, maybe not, but easy, not that either.

Here is the lampshade she needed covered.   A side view and a top view.

I read up a little on covering it, but none of what I found seemed to apply to the shape of this shade.  Because not only is it tapered, but it also has a curve - kind of like princess seams on a dress.

To make it a little more interesting, the fabric, is a directional print - so if I cut it as one piece, the pattern would lose it's direction.

So I got my handy dandy tissue paper out, and traced just a portion of the shade to get the general shape.

Then I used a leftover piece of curtain lining and cut one out and tested it against the lampshade.

It kind of reminds me of a gored skirt pattern.

I needed four pieces to go all the way around the shade.  I cut them and sewed them together using a 1/2" seam, then tested it on the shade.  My pattern was a little too big, so I took all the seams in another 1/2" from the previous seam and trimmed the old seam off.  That worked like magic!

I pressed all the seams to get them flat - I don't want any bulk in the seams if I can help it.

I turned the cover inside out, and turned down the top to create a finished edge.

Then I started pinning the seams to get the shape of the shade.  After pinning each seam, I took the shade off, marked and sewed the new seam and tried it on again.


Finally, I felt like the top and sides were fitted as good as I could get them, and I turned up the bottom for a finished edge there.

The last step is to use a fabric glue and glue the top and bottom edges to the shade.

And here is the final product!

I'm not sure I'd want to do one again, but it was an interesting experience!

Happy Sewing,
Susan

Just enough

Yesterday I worked on a wallet for a custom order.  The black and white fabric was fun to work with - it turned out really great, I think!  

This style wallet has a pocket for your bills, a zippered section for your change, a see through id pocket, 5 credit cards slots, and places for your checkbook and register.  If you want to see the ones I have made, you can see them in my etsy shop.

I'd always be glad to make you one from your fabric selection also!

So when I was done with this wallet, here's how the thread looked on my machine.

I was almost out of black thread on the spool. 

Nothing worse than being just almost done and having either the bobbin or spool run out.  But this time, I had just enough!

Happy Sewing!

Susan

A Frame for my cross stitch

I used to cross stitch a lot.  Somewhere along the way, I got away from it, my lighting and seating changed, I got busy with other things.  You know how it is.

Since we got our new couch, I once again have a good seat with great lighting, and I've been back at it.

I've done a lot of wedding and baby samplers, and for myself I love to do houses, barns, buildings, etc.  I also like to do cats.

So here is the one I just finished - and I made this frame for it from the same fabric I used for my dining room valances.  Although I didn't put it in the dining room - I put it on my 'cat' wall in the sewing room.

Happy Stitching!

Susan

Completed Box Cushions

Another completed project.  This is the stack of the three box cushions that I just completed for the interior decorator.

The fabric was a lovely textured stripe - some of the blue stripes were a little like velour - very soft!

It was an upholstery weight, so the multiple layers were interesting to work with (ok, difficult), mainly where the welt ends overlapped.

Really, the hardest part of making this kind of cushion is getting the padded foam in correctly.

If box cushions are something you are interested in, feel free to contact me.

Happy Sewing!

Susan

It's not that bad!

Mimi is embarrassed.

My sewing room tends to become a mess quickly.  I pull different fabrics out of the shelving trying to decide if I want to work with them, and then don't put them away.

Recently I cleaned up my den downstairs and there was a small stack of things that I needed to file - in my file drawer in the sewing room.  Of course the stacks of fabric and other stuff in front of the drawer made it difficult.

So today I started out by cleaning up this mess.

Mimi can uncover her eyes now!

Happy Sewing!

Susan

More Decorator Projects

I think in my last post I said along with the box cushions (which are done except for putting the foam inserts in the covers - I'll get to that and take photos later this week), I also had some pillows to work on.

Just ignore the ugly purple chair in the background.  What a fun print!

Happy Sewing!

Susan

How Much?

As you may know, I do some sewing for a local interior decorator.  This week she brought me supplies for a set of three box cushions, 2-3 pillows (depends on the fabric) and I have a lamp shade to cover also.

She was most interested in the box cushions, so this morning I started cutting, and cutting.  I've made more than this, but not in a while - 13.5 yards of welt for the edges of the cushions.

It's a great fabric!

Happy Sewing!

Susan