A Little Bit of Everything

Last Wednesday the Sewphisticuts met for an evening of working on a little bit of everything.   We had decided to use the meeting for UFO's or any project that might be in need of advice.  Judy, Maryann and Maura used the time to decipher the ASG Wish-Pillow directions in preparation for doing some service sewing.  Peggy, both Pat's and Kathia brought along some hand sewing projects, while Sue brought her machine to sew some quilt blocks from a layer cake pattern.  So it was a busy and varied night.  Pictures follow.

Maryann's quilt from her Florida chapter friends

Bag for Maryann's quilt

Quilt that Kathia was working on

Pat's English paper-piecing project

Pat's hand-sewing sampler

Sue's layer cake quilt project

Button, Button, Who's Got the Button

Does anyone recognize that phrase?  I vaguely recall it as a childhood game but I don't remember actually playing it.  It came to mind as I began to write this since our topic at last Wednesday's Sewphisticuts meeting was "Making a Dorset Button".  According to Wikipedia, a Dorset button "is a style of craft-made button originating in the English county of Dorset. Their manufacture was at a peak between 1622 and 1850, after which they were overtaken by machine-made buttons from factories in the developing industries of Birmingham and other growing cities."  There are many variations of the style, which are described here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorset_button

The basic button is formed by wrapping a ring with fiber, creating spokes by running the fiber across the center, then weaving around these spokes.  We used plastic curtain rings with a one-inch diameter.  Some of us chose a white crochet cotton thread, while others used sock-weight or light sport weight yarn.  The most difficult part of the process was creating the spokes;  most of us had to try the wrapping several times before getting the yarn as evenly distributed as we liked.  But then the weaving went quickly and everyone created a button within an hour.  Typically these would be appropriate on a hand-knit item since the buttons would made using the same yarn as the item, allowing the buttons to match the garment.  But another use we thought of was embellishment on quilts or craft items, where a custom-made button could lend a unique look.

Directions for making these buttons can be found on-line at various blogs and in many Youtube videos.

We also had some show-and-tell.

Sue's quilt top

Another quilt by Sue

Judy's one-seam pants from Louise Cutting pattern

Judy's velour robe

Embroidery on Judy's robe

Cyndy's jacket from scuba fabric

 

Connie's tool caddy from serger workshop

Maura's denim bag

Musings on Space and Time

The topic was organization; specifically, how do you keep track of your sewing stuff (assuming you do) and how do you maximize your sewing time and output?  A lively discussion ensued among the group about sewing space and time.

Most of us have sewing rooms that were carved from an extra bedroom or basement room in our homes, so our spaces were not designed to be sewing studios.  As a result we've had to make-do with imperfect lighting or less-than-ideal configurations.  Many of us have hit upon similar solutions to the problem of storing supplies and organizing projects.

Variety of clear storage boxes and drawers

Two favorite things cropped up in our talk:  clear plastic, whether as bins, bags or envelopes; and office supplies repurposed for sewing use.  Peggy uses a desk carousel for a sewing tool caddy.  Maura likes the Really Useful Boxes brand storage containers that come in various sizes from tiny to large to organize drawer contents and shelves.  Quite a few of us use the rolling carts with clear drawers to give us extra storage near our sewing area - they are a good size to hold sewing and ironing supplies and often fit under a table.  Clear storage bins were popular for storing fabric (because then you can see what's in them) and clear plastic sheet protectors (sleeves) for patterns.  Clear plastic bags are great for packaging all the elements of a project:  pattern, cut-out pieces of fabric, and notions. 

Beyond these items, Mary Ann uses a flannel back tablecloth for a quilt design board.  It can be hung on the wall or laid flat on a bed or table.  She lays out her design on the flannel side.  If she needs to move it before it's done, she just rolls it up and the plastic side protects the whole thing.  She also finds that a pegboard on the wall is a great way to keep a lot of sewing tools handy. 

Labelled fabric swatches

Judy deals with the seasonal aspect of sewing garments by sorting her fabrics according to season, so spring and summer fabrics are stored separately from fall and winter fabric.  Then she can rotate them in and out of her sewing room as needed.  She also keeps binders of swatches labelled with fabric content and yardage to stay aware of her stash.

Kathia found that having a sunny room was important - dark rooms require extra lighting which can heat up a room uncomfortably and take up valuable space.  And natural light is important for quilters to be able to see the true colors of fabric.

Another part of the discussion was about making time to sew.  Some of us have scheduled times (often early morning) to sew; others fit it in whenever they have a few moments.  Some set goals, which can be as varied as sewing an item a week to sewing one seam before dinner.  Some of us make lists of projects we want to make;  these might be prioritized by season or need.

At the end of the meeting we had discovered that although we all have adapted similar ideas to aid our sewing, there were enough differences to give us all some new ideas about maximizing our sewing time and space.

There were a few Show-and-Tell items.  Next month Peggy will be presenting a program on making Dorset buttons.

Peggy's fabric box, opened flat

The fabric box assembled

 

Maura's Map quilt

Brown Bags and Old Projects

Our March meeting kicked off our Brown Bag challenge, as each member brought along a half-yard of fabric to swap.  Then we have until September to be creative with it and use most of it to make something with whatever additions we choose.  This ought to be interesting!

We continued with planning our calendar, discussing various topics and ideas.   One change is that we decided to meet in August and skip December. since the holiday time always seems to be too busy.
Here's a rough schedule, subject to change, as always. 

April:  Organization tips from your sewing room - bring photos or descriptions of whatever you do to make sewing easier for you.  Let's share ideas and help each other to make more or store more or find stuff more easily.

May:  Peggy will lead us through the process to make Dorset buttons.

June: possibly a sewing room tour or guest speaker

July:  service sewing - perhaps preemie clothing

August:  upcycling - idea still to be developed

September:  Brown Bag challenge results

October:  prepare for Make a Difference Day project

November:  cork fabric investigation

December: no meeting

Two other topics for back-up are stuffed animals / soft toys and cathedral window quilting.

We had some Show-and-Tell including some OLD items, some unfinished.  Perhaps now that we've dug those UFO's out, we'll be inspired to complete them!

Peggy's silk jumpsuit from 1994, and it still fits!

Ribbon sweater knit by Peggy's mom

Judy's 70's era shift that she still wears!

Doll skirt made by Judy as a girl

Maura's dollhouse people, made in the 90's

Evening gown for Judy's doll

Peggy's knit top

Shirt-jacket for her husband that Judy still needs to complete

Judy's skirt from many years ago

Judy's tailored jacket - waiting for the style to come back "in"

Judy's new project - embroidered dishcloth

Maura's knit shirt