Unfinished Objects and Other Crafty Musings

I Need to Remodel the Craft Room

2011-02-13T19:22:00.001-07:00

Now that I’ve been working more often in my craft room, I’m starting to notice that it’s not set up to make the best use of the space. I do have my triangle from the sewing machine to the cutting table to the iron, but the iron blocks some of my drawers. And since the cutting table sits against a wall, I really only have access to what I’m cutting from one side.

I’ve been playing with the room layout in Visio, and I think I can rearrange the room so that the cutting table is open on three sides while still having room for everything else. My room isn’t large at all – about 13’ by 10.5’ – but I should be able to make it work better for me.

I’d like to pull up the carpet and put down laminate flooring. The laminate would be easier to sweep up than the carpet, and I hope that finding errant needles and pins is easier on laminate. The floor will be colder in the winter, but I think that that will be a minor inconvenience in the long run. I’d also like to put in some built-in storage. My free-standing shelf unit doesn’t allow me to use all the space it takes up. A storage unit designed to store quilting and sewing supplies would be perfect.

So, the plan is coming together. Now I just need to get hubby to work on it!

Rocky Mountain Sewing Festival Feb 4

2011-02-08T09:56:00.000-07:00

My friend Diane and I went to the Rocky Mountain Sewing Festival last Friday. The festival runs Thursday through Saturday (with some classes on Wednesday), and we usually just go on one day. Once again, I had to add to my fabric stash.

I found a great fabric with clock faces on it. I've been looking for clock faces for awhile, because I want to try something Steampunk. OK, so now I've got the fabric -- I need to figure out the project. At one of the other booths they had no sew projects that involved stuffing fabric into a pre-cut design. Some of the designs -- crazy quilt, ornaments, tea pots -- could lend themselves to Steampunk, so I'll have to order a few to see what I can do.

I also found a fabric that had wonderful citrus fruits on it -- oranges, lemons, limes. Hopefully I'll make some placemats out of this fabric. I'll have to figure out prewashing and a backing, but the assembly should be straightforward.

And I had to stop by the hot fix gem booth and pick up some more gems. I picked colors that would work with a Steampunk theme -- topaz, copper, black, etc. I had lots of fun using the gems on my table runner, so I'm looking forward to using them in other projects.

New Furniture

2011-01-31T17:13:00.000-07:00

Back in December, while I was working on my table runner, I decided that I was no longer happy with my sewing table. It was a 6’ long folding table that my sewing machine sat on. The surface of the sewing machine where the needle was located was a good 3-4 inches above the table. This made sewing a bit difficult since my hands kept going up with the fabric as I was sewing.

So, off I went to Rocky Mountain Sewing and Vacuum to look for a new sewing table. They had two models to choose from, and I went with the Horn. It is awesome – the machine now sits flat with the surface of the table. The machine can be lowered completely below the surface of the table, or I can raise it to sit on top of the table. When the machine is completely lowered, I can fill in the hole with a supplied board to make a great surface to work on. The table has a surface that flips up to double the depth – it’s awesome for larger projects.

The table also comes with a rolling unit with drawers. The drawers are shallow so that items don’t get lost easily. The unit can be rolled out from under the table to provide another surface – and we all need more surfaces to put our projects on, right?

Not long after I brought home my new table, I decided that I needed a new sewing chair. I had been using a regular task chair that didn’t provide good back support. I found a new chair at Rocky Mountain Sewing that is perfect for me. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that some sewing chairs have, but it’s great for my long legs.

Watch out – now I have no excuses as to why my projects aren’t getting done. Right?

I Finished a Table Runner!!

2011-01-23T20:44:00.004-07:00

Yes! I finished a project, one that I bought last summer. Every February and July my friend and I go to the local sewing festival (Rocky Mountain Sewing Festival). I always end up buying something, even though I probaby have enough projects in my sewing room to last me a lifetime. Maybe two.

One of the projects I bought last summer was a kit for a winter table runner. It had pre-cut squares and applique snowflakes. I don't do applique -- the A word -- but I love snowflakes and these were cut and included fusible webbing. I just had to iron them on and sew them down.

A the end of November I decided to work on this project, hoping to have it done by today for a party I was throwing. I finished it just last Thursday. It was my first real experience with free-motion quilting and using metallic threads. I also used my Bedazzler Pro -- which I acquired at last summer's sewing festival. I put sparkles on the runner where I had added some free motion snowflakes.

It won't win any quilting prizes, but I really like it!

Yikes! Where has the year gone?

2009-07-01T08:21:00.003-06:00

I have been remiss in keeping my posts up-to-date. Hopefully I'll do better now. In the past year I managed to finish the two comforter covers for my dad, and I sewed new buttons onto a shirt for my brother.

WHAT??!? Is that all?

Well ... not really. I managed to start a bunch of new projects. Hmmm, I think that goes against what I'm trying to accomplish here.

I started several postcards out of fabric. I'm hoping to finish some in a Halloween theme to mail as invites to my annual Monster Game Night in October. I'm not too optimistic that these will get done this year. *sigh*

I also started a Halloween-themed Happy Village (from the book by Karen Eckmeier). I've got the houses down; I'm adding the walkways and windows. Hopefully I can get this done before Halloween this year.

I started a tote bag with a cat theme. I've got the outside done, working on the inside now. It's been awhile since I've sewn anything with zippers, but I think it's coming along nicely.

My cats managed to create a project for me, too. We had a fly in the house a couple weeks ago, and the cats were trying to catch it. Before I had a chance to knock the fly out of the front window, the cats had climbed up the plastic blinds. They managed to break several of the slats. The blinds came with the house, so they were at least nine years old, and they weren't my favorite blinds. I just hadn't needed to think about putting something in that window. After researching what window covering might be cat resistant, I decided upon Roman shades. I found a great web site at http://www.terrelldesigns.com/howtomakeromanshades.htm. I bought her book on piecing shades, and I'm working on the design that I'm going to attempt. If these work out, I'll probably end up making shades for the other windows in the front.

I'm almost finished with a watercolor quilt that I started some time ago. I just need to do a bit more quilting and sew down the hanging sleeve. Wow ... a project almost done!!!

Finished a project .... mostly

2008-04-04T13:08:00.002-06:00

I finally finished a comforter cover that I was working on for my Dad. Unfortunately it doesn't count as an old project since I only started it in February. I need to make sure that it's the right size (I had his old one to measure and go by), and then I can make the second one. The new machine did great. I used a triple stitch for the seams (so he hopefully can't tear a seam open), and then serged the seams to keep them from fraying. I used velcro for the opening. I had thought of maybe using buttons, but the iron-on velcro was easier.

Next on the list ... I have to finish matching bag purses for me and Kelley in time for a sci-fi convention in two weeks. They are denim with silver stars and silver strap. I need to sew on gold buttons that look like stars and moons and put a gold cord on for the closure.

I'll start taking some pictures of these things. It'll be good to see my progress in pictures.

So ... What Is the Plan?

2008-01-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

Now that I have my machine, what am I going to do with it? Well, other than try to finish some of the UFOs that I have sitting around, I'll come up with some new projects. I'm thinking I'd like to quilt and sew primarily, but I also like polymer clay and I'm starting to get into beaded jewelry. So, maybe I can make purses and pillows and quilts and embellish them with beads? Maybe I can come up with a line of decorative pillows or purses that I can sell....

So many choices ... so much fun!!

Taking the Plunge

2008-01-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it. I bought myself that new sewing machine. Now I have no excuse to put off all the sewing projects I want to get to. Right?

It's a Janome 6600 quilting machine. It sews wonderfully, with many decorative stitches. Yes, most of what I sew uses straight stitching, but it's nice to know that I can get fancy if I want to. I'm excited that it can do a blanket stitch -- I have a quilt top that I've been working on for years that has applique. I HATE applique, and to put all those pieces on by hand is just too much. But if this machine can do the blanket stitch and get these pieces on the quilt -- WOOHOO! One project on its way to completion.

In the Beginning ...

2007-12-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

How did I get into this predicament? From as long as I can remember, I've been drawing or painting. I colored in numerous coloring books, did paint-by-numbers, and was always gluing this and that together to see what new object I could come up with. I'm not sure where that creativity went in high school or college. I took math and science courses, but no art courses. I'm not sure why.

Now I'm all grown up ... er, older anyway ... and I'm interested in many types of crafts. I think it started with a quilt class that I took in '96 or '97. I'd never done any quilting, and I thought it could be fun. I sewed a little bit, but nothing as organized as quilting. I loved the quilting class. I loved how the quilt blocks were pieced and put together. I hated the applique block. I still don't like applique. I caught the quilting bug ... well, the piecing bug. I love piecing the blocks but I seem to have an aversion to actually finishing the quilt. In fact, my first quilt from that first class is still waiting to be finished. I'ved quilted about 3/4 of it. It's on my list of UFOs to complete.

I did completely finish a mystery quilt that was cat-themed. It's called twisted tails and it features four cats, one facing each side of the quilt, with their tails intertwined. It turned out really cute, and I hand quilted it just to see what that would be like. It was an interesting experience, but I'll probably stick with machine quilting from here on.

I started dabbling in other crafts not too long after that. I took a few classes in decorative painting (or tole painting as the instructor preferred to call it). It was fun to see how easy it was to take a plain piece of wood and make it mine. Soon after that I discovered Donna Dewberry's OneStroke painting around 2002, and in 2003 I went to Minneapolis to do the certification for a OneStroke Certified Instructor (dragging Kelley along with me). I'm not sure why I needed to do that. I think I had delusions that I'd make oodles of money teaching OneStroke. If Donna could do it, why couldn't I? I did try teaching some private classes, but it didn't turn out like I thought. I gave up teaching and focused on painting for myself. I painted on just about any surface that doesn't move. I have enough paint brushes, paints, and unpainted surfaces to keep me happily painting for a long time. Unfortunately, painting doesn't seem to hold my interest as it once did.

I took a few classes on faux finishing. I thought that maybe I could combine a OneStroke painting business with a faux finish business. I painted the entire main floor of my house in various techniques. My favorite is the Tuscany effect in the kitchen complete with grape vines and breakaway wall. The sunflower border in the kitchen, achieved by using a sunflower stencil with a plaster compound, is a close second. The border blends in with the wall. I decided that faux painting is too hard on my back; I won't be doing that for clients.

I took two sessions of a mosaic class. In the first one we made a jar lid and a tray. They turned out great. I went to the store and bought mosaic-making supplies. For the second class we covered a bowling ball. It was wonderful. I dragged Kelley to that class, too! Mind you, she wasn't kicking and screaming. I love my bowling ball, but I won't put it in the yard since I don't want it to get dirty. I have bought many mosaic tiles and surfaces to mosaic ... but haven't done a thing with them.

I took a crochet class soon after I found a crochet book with gorgeous sweaters and blankets. I love sweaters, so why not learn how to make my own? Well, the class was fine and I learned the basics of crochet, but I don't think I have the desire to make my own sweaters or blankets this way. I do know that I'm going to purge all my yarns and crochet needles from my craft room. I'll find a friend who wants what I have.

Kelley dragged me (kicking and screaming .. um, not so much) to a cake decorating series at Michaels. We made some wonderful cakes. I bought all the tips and other products that you need for decorating cakes. I've decorated a few cakes since the classes, and I'm sure I'll decorate a few more. Probably not enough to justify all the tools I have, though...

I found a wonderful medium called Polymer Clay. Ok, I'm late to the party, but isn't it wonderful? Kelley and I went to a demo class at Michael's, so of course I had to buy a pasta machine and all the cutting tools. Oh, and clays and books. Books could be a topic all their own! I even bought a new toaster oven so that I could use the old one for baking clay. So far I've only baked one batch of clay, but I really want to make beads out of clay.

Somewhere along the line I discovered Gallery Glass. It's painting on glass that gives the effect of stained glass. I really like Gallery Glass. This is one craft that I'd like to keep doing. After all, I have all the tools, paints, empty surfaces ... and books.

More recently I've started getting hooked on making jewelry with beads. I find the charm bracelet look really appeals to me. I think it would be great to make a chunky bracelet and hang a watch off of it. Perhaps a bracelet made out of Polymer Clay beads? Hmmmm...

There have been many other crafts that I've tried, but these are the ones that seem to have made the biggest impact on me. I think if I can find a way to blend these all together, I'd be very happy. I'll talk about what I'm thinking in my next post.

If You Can't Sew 'em ....

2007-12-26T12:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome! I'm new to blogging, but I'm hoping that by talking about my stash I might be motivated to work on existing projects rather than adding new ones. Perhaps I will receive great tips from you on how to kick the stash habit!

I was staring at my ever-growing pile of material and other craft objects not too long ago. So many projects ... yet I can't stop adding new finds. I've made a list of the projects I have waiting for me, but that doesn't stop me from buying more. Who can resist the fabrics, the beads, the mosaic tiles? Do I limit the crafts that I work on to two or three -- and how do I pick?

Join me on my creative journey. Together we can conquer the pile!!