Sewing Camp - Project One of Four

Sitting at the driver's seat for the first time behind the wheel of a sewing machine can be pretty daunting.  It is a real electrical running machine that seems to have a mind of its own when you put your foot on the pedal.  The motor runs so fast and the wheel starts turning so quickly you cannot even see it turning, then the fabric begins to pull uncontrollably under the feed dogs. With haste, you must gain composure and take control by placing your hands in the correct position and adjust the foot pedal speed to just the right amount - not too fast - not too slow, all while keeping that fabric in the same position on the stitch plate so you end up with a straight seam. 

A loomed sample of knit on the left and woven ribbon as a sample on the right.

The thirteen teens at the Fairfield Woods Branch Library sewing camp did just that - they conquered the sewing machine. They began with all the visual introductions of learning the difference between wovens and knits, types of fabrics, sewing notions, safety, the anatomy of the sewing machine and then hands-on with threading the machine and loading a bobbin.  They progressed to practicing on paper using templates from the book, The Best of Sewing Machine Fun for Kids. The paper practice allowed them to learn to keep a straight line as well as pivoting through their paper maze.

Now they were ready for their first project.  This was the easiest construction project for them, but with respect to the planning, it was the hardest.  The library was given a generous donation of gorgeous flannel cuts.  That was the challenge - they were curvy cuts - not the ends of bolts or straight cuts - curves.  What can you make out of curvy fabric? Got it! Small sized flannel rice heating bags.  The flannel was so thick and warm.  It was perfect for such a project.  

The project was made with two rectangles cut 11" by 4". Instead of using a straight stitch they sewed with an imitation serger stitch (as I like to call it) - a straight stitch combined with a zig zag stitch.  This combination stitch was to prevent the rice from falling out of the bag (believe me this happens). Once all three sides were sewn, they filled the bag with a half pound of white uncooked rice. It was easy to pour as we had pre-measured the rice and put it in quart size plastic bags.  When it was time to fill up the heating bags, they snipped the bottom corners of the bags and poured from the newly created funnel. It worked great - no one spilled their bag of rice. The hard part was keeping the rice at the opposite side from the closure so they could sew up the opening.  Success! Everyone had a functional rice heating bag. 

These bags are so practical and can be molded to fit your body.  Put them in a clean microwave for about one minute and the gentle heat lasts about twenty minutes. The next day some of the teens reported them lasting up to an hour.  It will vary based upon the strength of your microwave.

These bags are also so versatile and can be used without heating them.  Just use your imagination on all the different ways they can be used: 

~ warmed to soothe an aching neck ~ a book weight ~ a prop for a techy device ~ a smaller square can be used for a toddler's game of hopscotch ~ a large heated bag can be sewn for an old cat to lie on ~ small bags for a toss game ~ even tinier bags for pattern weights ~ a game of tic-tac-toe ~ sewn in a variety of colors for young toddlers ~ juggling ~ etc.

How will you use these bags?

Machine Embroidery for Men

Those of us who machine embroider regularly are usually a little obsessed with it.  I know I constantly look at things and think, "Can I duplicate that?' "Can I monogram on that?" Then there is the ultimate challenge - men!  

We love the men in our lives and our machine embroidery is an expression of our love, so we naturally want to gift our men with our embroidery. 

Embroidering for husbands is a challenge, but they love us so dearly that they will usually just smile and say, "Thank you, dear."  But try embroidering for the young 20-something men. I have six adult sons (well, one is still a mature teen) and I am constantly asking, "Can I make this for you?" Only to be disappointed again with the response, "No, Mom. Men don't do embroidery." 

One of my sons travels regularly, so when I saw this cute - oops - handsome collapsible tray for in-the-hoop projects, I just knew I had to try one. Now how to make it manly. A manly design in the center should do the trick.  The project that I purchased had four options - channels, grid, maze, and stipple. The channels were very manly with a khaki fabric and black thread when I gave it as a Christmas gift to a young professional man, but I wanted my son to have something that was uniquely him and a monogram was out - not his style.  In college he was in the equestrian club and his favorite horse is a Friesian.

Friesian Horse Sketch Design by Embroidery Library

My search for the Friesian horse design started at my favorite website for downloadable designs Embroidery Library. Unbelievable! It was there. They are the best.

The actual in-the-hoop tray was digitized by Zippy DesignZ. It stitched up just great and had no problem with substituting the design for the center part that quilted it together.

In-the-Hoop Tray Design by Zippy DesignZ

The best part of this project was that my son actually loved it and uses it when he travels.  Success! Love expressed tangibly!

Have You Made Your Bed Today?

Well, did you? Did you make your bed today?  Now what does that have to do with sewing? That is exactly what thirteen teens thought when I asked them the first morning of their sewing camp at the Fairfield Woods Branch library.

Naval Admiral William McRaven, ninth commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command, told thousands of people at the commencement of the University of Texas on May 17, 2015, "Make your bed every day!"

To have a navy seal admiral tell you to make your bed is even more alarming than a motherly-type woman at a sewing class.

This was the first of his ten tips to the graduates. He said, “Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. If you can't do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.”

The little things in life do matter.  Sewing is the prime example.  Everyone wears clothes that were made from thousands, and some millions, of tiny little stitches.  We all take them for granted, well unless, you were not wise and pulled that bobbin stitch and the whole seam unraveled.

Each teen in the sewing class learned that each stitch mattered.  If they went off track, they could see it.  They could visibly see when their item had some misaligned seams or if the seam was too tight to allow the elastic to slip through easily and then they had to use their seam rippers to start all over again.  It was a lesson well learned.

This lesson is important in our day-to-day lives.  We must learn to complete the little tasks well so we are ready for the big tasks.

So have you made your bed today?

Sewing Camp at the Library

Libraries are branching out into different venues, as seen with the “branch” public library of Fairfield, Connecticut, where they offered a free four-day sewing camp during mid July to the patrons of the library who were entering grades 6 – 8. 

It was an exhilarating four days.  I had the privilege to be their instructor for two hours each day, and astonishingly, with almost three hours on the last day for many who willingly came in early to finish their projects from the day before. There were thirteen wonderful teens, who came to have fun creating on the six sewing machines in the library’s sewing studio.

Sewing Machine image courtesy of the Fairfield Woods Branch Library

It all began back in April, when I was contacted by LinkedIn with a “link” from Volunteermatch.org who thought my credentials would be a good fit – current volunteering and sewing skills. The library had listed their need with that organization.  It was a great match.  Not only did I volunteer, but three other women volunteered to help with the sewing camp. The sewing class would not have been as successful without all their hard work and that of the two awe-inspiring staff members from the library.  They were all invaluable and I am so grateful for them.

Sewing Notions from the Fairfield Woods Library Sewing Studio

During the four days, the teens learned how to sew on the sewing machines, all about sewing notions, how to cut fabric, iron seams, sew an elastic waistband, insert a zipper and all the other skills needed to complete four sewn projects. They made a flannel heating pad, cuddle-soft pillow, pajama bottoms, and zippered pencil bag (I will show you each project in a separate post).  That is an incredible amount to learn in just eight to nine hours. They all just soaked up all those skills so quickly and just kept up with the fast pace of the class. They were an awesome group of teens!

The goal of the four projects was to use existing fabric – you know what I mean – their stash. Even the library had a fabric stash.  Who would have guessed! This goal is what drove the specific projects so that the class could be offered at no charge to the students.  The library did purchase a few items, but nothing over their budget, and the students were requested to bring in a 16 ounce bag of polyfil for their pillow projects.  That was quite a feat – four great projects for just the cost of some polyfil that I hope they purchased with a 50% off coupon at their local chain sewing store.

Graphic used on the Sewing Camp Student Manual

We did not use a purchased curriculum, but I designed one specifically around the four projects.  If you are interested in setting up a sewing camp for your library or another organization, please contact me and I will send you the proposal and the sewing manual.

Thank you Fairfield Woods Branch Library for a wonderful four days.  I will never forget each one of the teens that greeted me each morning with eager smiles on their face.

A New Twist on Handbag Handles

Eileen Roche and Nancy Zieman are so creative! They devised a way to make the difficult task of constructing a handbag into the easiest process ever by creating it with machine embroidery.  The embroidery machine does all the work for you.  If I had to sew each stitch myself on my tote bag, I would have given up a long time ago, but take a look and see how much their designs ease the process.

Their book, Designer Handbags, comes with the CD to download the machine embroidery designs.  When you first look at the back of the book with the embroidery designs illustrated, you cannot believe your eyes.  They look so simple.  They took a complicated process and simplified it.

So that you will understand the different parts of this process, here is a picture of my finished tote bag that I created using their CD. The twisted cord handles are not really handles at all.

The design on the front of the tote bag was an Urban Threads Parisian Bee design that I had in my digital library and wanted to use for a long time.  Since the leopard fabric was bolder than my usual comfort zone, I decided to go all out and add the design. I convinced myself that it was just a tote bag that I was using to practice their designs.

Since I was going all out, why not add a bold monogram on the inside.  I used the Family Tree font by Anna Bove Embroidery.  I just loved it.  It added the touch of class I wanted.

The corners were the first part of their process.  They are a combination of applique and designs. The main black part is black fabric that has quilted stitches on top of it. The tan line is also fabric that has been appliqued, but the black satin lines and darker tan dots are all machine embroidery designs.

The bottom seam, side seams and the corner seam perpendicular to the bottom seam that gives the tote its depth, are all sewn on the machine, but the insides are well constructed so that they will keep their shape. I will keep that a secret so that you buy the book. Actually, if you go onto Nancy Zieman’s website Nancysnotions.com you will find all her tips there. Adding the feet gave it that designer touch!

The book gives instructions on how to make your own handles, but I love the feel of handles on my purse (so kinestic!) and I wanted something special. Plus, I was feeling really creative.  I had two black-corded curtain tiebacks that were just sitting in my closet - just the trick. Ugh! They were trickier than I thought.  My bamboo stick came in pretty handy as I held my breath trying to get the loop of the tiebacks to stay in place while it stitched close to the main part of the cord. This was very difficult and at the top of the stitching for the handles, I had to slow the machine down to its slowest speed and at a certain point I would stop the stitching, readjust, start, and do that several times.  I loved the look and feel, but it was stressful.

The rest of the construction was a breeze with a bias trim around the top and while they recommend sewing it with the machine, this is one process that I just love doing by hand even when I quilt.

Eileen and Nancy, thank you for such an easy process. I cannot imagine how many times you had to practice before you got it right for us.

What do Sewing and a Public Library Have in Common?

What do sewing and a public library have in common? Why, anyone who knows what a public library is can answer that question – books!  Of course!  The public library has every possible book on sewing that you could ever imagine.  While not every library will have them all, put them together and anything that has been written on the subject is there.

Public libraries are evolving though.  They do not just contain books as our forefathers first envisioned them.  They started out slowly with the onset of books on tape, then CDs, then DVDs, to today with just about anything you can imagine can be borrowed.  Libraries contain items that you never would expect.

Would you expect your public library to offer sewing lessons? Maybe. You could see a person coming in and providing sewing lessons for an hour or two to introduce the public to the concept of sewing since libraries are a place where knowledge is discovered.  Well go a step further.  Would you be surprised to find a sewing studio in a public library?

Photo courtesy of Fairfield Woods Branch Library

The Fairfield Public Library in Fairfield, Connecticut has a sewing studio with not just one, but six modern sewing machines. This sewing studio resides in the Fairfield Woods Branch Library that is “Fairfield’s neighborhood library.” The idea was conceived by one of the enterprising staff members who presented her proposal fearlessly to the Friends of the Fairfield Public Library, which in turn graciously funded the sewing studio.

The sewing studio abounds with all the amenities of an individually owned sewing studio with all the necessary sewing notions for each station. It would be the envy of any sewer with its own fabric stash stored in a shelved closet with another room breaming with stacks of donated items such as buttons and zippers just waiting to be used. Fabric and other donations have come from all across New England from generous individuals as well as a national sewing magazine company, a manufacturer of fabric and a clothing manufacturer. Each donation is a grateful addition to the studio.

The new sewing studio was announced in the library’s Winter 2015 newsletter with classes beginning later that month.  The classes have been quite successful and have been expanded to include a weekly “open sew” on Thursdays and a mini summer camp for teens during the month of July (but that is for a later post).

Congratulations Fairfield Woods Branch Library on your new venture!

What does your library offer in the way of sewing?

Wedding Surprises in LA

Surprises are always fun! Well maybe not, as surprises can mean a good or bad thing depending upon what the surprise is. Then there are occasions when you really do not want any surprises.  Weddings are generally one of those times.  Most people when they have expressed that their wedding had a surprise did not mean a good thing.

On December 6, 2014, the musical band, Maroon, pulled off the ultimate surprise at numerous weddings across the Los Angeles area by showing up unexpectedly and singing "Sugar."  The faces of the stunned people in this youtube tell it all!  Watch as they go from, "What is going on?" to "Look who it is!" One man, presumably the father, clearly looks as if he did not pay for this intrusion and is about to manage the situation.  Some brides look as if it is the greatest gift from their new husband and clearly share their loving gratitude with them. 

It may have been a clever publicity stunt, but whatever their motive or the actual facts of the filming, it is fun watching and dreaming that maybe surprises can be a good thing at a wedding!

Your Wedding Should be as Personal as You

Weddings are unique to each couple and this should be reflected in every detail of the ceremony and reception. Some people just exude their style every minute.  You know these people – they stand out in the crowd.  There is no doubt that their wedding will continue in their own unique genre, but what about the rest of us?

 Monogramming is the most personal expression because it reflects your name(s) and it is so trendy.  The wedding venue is just the place for such personalization. Just about anything and everything can be monogrammed.  For every type of product there is practically a different method of monogramming.  You can print, decal, paint, stamp, machine embroider, etc.

Machine embroidery stitched by Colleen Bell and initial designed by Embroidery Online

 Maybe you do not want to go all out and personalize everything in your wedding, then think of different areas that are important to you that you want to reflect the personal you: the bride’s accessories and gown, the bridesmaids, the groom, the groomsmen, gifts, decorations for the ceremony, the reception, etc. Just like planning your wedding in general, just take one area and concentrate on that, making the project of personalization much easier to handle. 

Take a look at each area of your wedding focusing on all the items that can be monogrammed.  Then set up a plan for personalizing your wedding. Reflect on making your special day as just that - as special as you. 

Mono-Gram : One-Letter

If you judge by Pinterest, monogramming is very popular. You can monogram anything and everything.  It truly is a reflection of the person.  Are the monograms ornate or minimalistic? Maybe you even think it is quite egotistical to monogram and would never wear one.

 When you think about monogramming, how many letters do you think of – three – two, maybe even four with families of today?  Well, technically “mono” is a Greek word in its origin (“monos”) and means “one” or “single” and yet it has come to mean any number of initials. One definition I saw even defined “monogram” as two or more letters.  Well, they clearly forgot the origin of the word!

Machine embroidery stitched by Colleen Bell and designed by Sonia Showalter

You would think that the “grams” part of the word had to do with math or science and was a weight of measure, but not when it is combined with the word “mono” and has a Greek origin too. The Online Etymology Dictionary (www.etymonline.com) sets us straight by showing us that it comes from “gramma,” which means “letters” or “written,” like learning your grammar.  Now I know that is going too far for some of you.

Whatever your opinion is of monograms, they have been with us for many years, dating back to the ancient of days, and they are here to stay at least for a little while.

We all have one – A Name!

Your name – is it unique to you? Probably not. If you are like most of us, your name is not as unique as you are as a person.  Just try googling it.  You will be surprised how many people have exactly the same name as you. So what makes it unique? It is you that makes it unique.  There may be other people in the world that have exactly the same name, but none also look like you, unless, of course, your twin was named exactly the same name.  Seriously! Who would do that!

So how popular is your name? Check out the Social Security website to find out exactly.  Let’s take the name Rachel.  In the year 2000 it was ranked as number 21, but in 2013 it had decreased to 138 place.

Machine embroidery stitched by Colleen Bell and font designed by Embroitique Embroidery Designs

 Maybe you named your daughter Rachel thinking it was a beautiful name, but did you really look at the meaning – ewe.  This is the meaning according to A Dictionary of First Names by Oxford University Press (2006).  Do not feel bad most of us have animals in our family.  We have a cow and a gazelle in our family and believe it or not, we knew that when we named them.

No matter what you think of your name, it is the way that we are identified in this world.  It is your name that represents your reputation. "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.." (Ps. 22:1 KJV) So much is wrapped up in those few words, so cherish them.