Still Sewing

Hubby found a wonderful older portable Kenmore sewing machine at a local salvation army and I fell in love with it. I found a website, Sewing Educational Warehouse, that had copies of instruction/repair manuals for a very reasonable cost. So I ordered a printed copy and it came within less than a week. I have already sewn a Jacquard loose fitting jacket on this machine and it sings right along. I now have a Viking/Husqvarna, 2 Kenmores and a Babylock serger. My sewing table is getting very crowded.

I'm still trying to decide on my next project and am leaning toward something that uses a quilted/pieced look. A couple of weeks ago I found a treasure trove of lovely colorful quilt fabric pieces at a local thrift store. For six bucks I ended up with three shopping bags of good quality cotton fabric in both patterns and solids. I still have to wash and press all the pieces but I can't wait to play with them. Also, at the bottom of one bag was 7 or 8 pieces of upholstery fabric that will be perfect for a carry-all bag or project tote.

Yep, you gotta love those thrift shop bargains.

Hint of the day: Have trouble saving money? Here is a suggestion published in a recent Woman's Day magazine. Open an interest bearing bank account and every time you receive a $5 bill, stash it in the account. DON'T be tempted to dip into this little windfall until it has AGED for a year. You will be surprised how much has accumulated by just denying yourself one Starbucks coffee, or a McDonald's quick meal or that pricey magazine.

Have a great day and keep on crafting.

Good Grief, where does the time go!!!

Geez, even finding time to write a quick blog entry seems to have escaped me. I did manage to "de-decorate" the house. What a job. Why is it always much more fun to "put up" than to "tear down"? Anyway, I have the furniture back to looking more like a living room. I can actually watch the TV without leaning over in the chair to see around the tree....LOL.

OK, so I wonder if you all have gone back to a less frenetic crafting pace. I know I have. For now I have set aside the crochet hooks and in their place I've begun sewing once again. Way before Christmas I had cut out several items but with all the holiday hullabaloo, these projects were stuffed back into the closet. This month I have emptied the pile of sewing projects onto the table then picked out two of them to work on. I finished the chemise (more like a camisole) and found I truly like the fit. So I will now make a couple in a more expensive fabric like tricot.

Next, I put together a light weight bath robe made of a cotton fabric. It turned out well even though it is from a pattern that can be used for either gender. In fact, hubby liked it so well that I will be making one for him as well. I offered him the one I had just finished but I think the Chinese Red color didn't really jazz his jets....go figure.

I am now down to only about 6 or 7 items in my "crocheted gifts" blanket storage bag. Before the holidays I had two storage bags filled to overflowing. Guess it was a great gifting Christmas.

Tip of the day: Drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve headache pain almost immediately. (Grandma's Cures)

Hope you are having a great start to the New Year and keep on crafting.