Winter Sewing

On Tuesday evenings, I'm teaching a sewing class called "Return to Sewing". The class is designed for those who want to learn to sew & those who want to brush up on their sewing skills. I'm a firm believer that if no one tells you that you cannot do something, then you will be able to do it. That's why I chose Simplicity pattern #2447 for our project. The pattern incorporates a lot of details like set in sleeves, plackets, yokes, pleats, collar & neckband. I have about 3 students in my class & so far we've taken measurements & cut out the pattern pieces. We will cut fabric at our next session. I love to teach sewing. While I'm not perfect or an expert by any means, I share my passion for needle, thread & fabrics with others. There are no fees for my classes & I ask the students to make a donation to their favorite charity or the church if they are able. My question to you is what do you do to share your love of sewing with others?

More Christmas 2010 Sewing

Here are a few more items that I sewed for Christmas 2010. I did all of Christmas sewing the week before Christmas & the week afterwards. It sure kept me busy.

Christmas 2010

For the past few weeks, I have been busy embroidering gifts for my family members for Christmas. This post is photo heavy as I show y'all what I have done. Not all of the gifts are on here as some have not been sent so I will hold off on publishing them until they are received. I hope everyone has had a good Christmas & will have a Blessed & Happy New Year.

Button Bibs

These are some "button bibs" which I created for my husband's friend. He had asked me to make him a set of 4 napkins with his initials & that of his wife on them. He asked that I add buttonholes to the opposite corner of the monogram. He called them "Button Bibs". They were quick & easy to make using a 3 thread flat hem on my serger to finish the edges. I used Embird software to create the monograms & a font that I had purchased some time ago called Script. They stitched out beautifully on my "Ellie". The only problems were caused by my being in too much of a hurry to get them done. I think that they turned out very nice.

My Birthday Gifts

My Baby Girl gave me this book on Patternmaking & Tim Gunn's new book on Fashion plus a lap desk for my laptop for my birthday on Tuesday. She swore that she wouldn't get me anything sewing related but in the end, she knew these books would make me very happy. I've got the sweetest daughter.

Ellie's a Dream

My new sewing machine "Ellie" is a dream to use. On Friday, I hemmed a top that I had made using the triple stretch stitch. It looked great. I did break a needle & got thread knotted up at the beginning as I started too close to the edge. Couldn't find the tip of the needle so I'll call the dealer later today to see if I need to bring it in. After I finished that, I wanted to try out the embroidery feature. So, I pulled out an old hand towel & selected a Nancy Zieman floral design & proceeded to embroider the towel. About halfway thru the 3rd color, the bobbin ran out of thread. Well, it was easy (so I thought) to wind a new bobbin. Got the bobbin thread all tangled on the bobbin spindle. I spent almost an hour getting that mess cleaned up. Finally got the bobbin wound & changed out & then lined up my design again. It would have been easier if I had saved the original settings but I didn't. The design may be a little off but I couldn't tell. Hubby thought it looked great. Will take photos later. I do love my new machine especially the auto threading feature which is great for my aging eyes. Even with bi-focals, I trouble seeing. Darn that old astigmatism. Hope everyone is enjoying their machines & creating some wonderful projects. Happy Sewing!

My Early Birthday Gift

My birthday is in 2 weeks but yesterday my gift arrived. My sweet hubby bought me the Babylock Ellisimo sewing/embroidery machine. Sadly, I gave up my Pfaff 7570, the manuals, the attachments, embroidery cards, etc. However, this machine is awesome. If you haven't had a chance to test drive one, I urge you to do so. I was mesmerized by it & that is how my hubby knew that it was the right for me. I had told him that I wanted a new serger for classes as my Pfaff 4874 is too heavy to lift. I had looked at some of the Babylock sergers & the Janome ones. I was thinking that he would get me one from Hancock Fabrics. Well, last Saturday, my friend, Harriet, called & told me about a deal from Babylock. If one bought the Ellisimo, then one could get an Eclipse DX as part of the package. I told my hubby this & he just nodded in his usual way when he is half listening to me. Never in my wildest dreams that I would get this. Later on, we went to Cokesbury bookstore & bought a new Wesley Study Bible plus another book that we wanted. As we were leaving,hubby asked if I wanted to go to Memphis Sewing Machine (Singer/Babylock/Pfaff dealer) & of course I said yes. He asked me to show him the machines that I was interested in & the one Harriet had told me about. Well, I showed him & played with the machines. I thanked the staff & we went home. We talked about it over the rest of the weekend. On Monday, he told me to go see what type of trade-in I could get for my Pfaff. So off to the dealer I went. I called hubby after talking to the owner & he came over to the store & bought me the Ellisimo which came with the Eclipse DX serger (has auto-threading). I am so happy. The machine is just awesome & can do so very much. I am still reeling from all of this & my new "Ellie" is sitting on my sewing cabinet for all to see when they come in the front door. By the way, I sew in the living room as we have no space for sewing room. I think I have the sweetest hubby in the world & he knows how to spoil me the best. In a few days, I'll post photos of "Ellie" in action. Happy Sewing!!!