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Last night I made the easiest table runner ever! I had three gold place mats from the dollar store. I made 4 button holes and put ribbon through to attach the place mats. Done! I originally wanted black ribbon, but I was out so bluish-silver it was, for now.


I was so excited, I made another with two black place mats and white ribbon. I even took pictures before I pressed them.

Other variations are more buttonholes with more bows, or buttons would look good. I will be visiting the dollar store with those ideas in mind.

I also finished a lap quilt that needed binding. The quilt has been folded for at least 2 years, but now it is on my couch. Productive night!

Sewing during holiday break

I did not sew as much as I would have liked. Of course, that is my mantra everyday. If I could sew everyday, on a project I am totally excited about, my life would be complete. But that will not happen yet. (Once I finish my dissertation, sewing more is on the list of post-dissertation goals.)

I did get some things done:

I have new curtains in our bedroom and they look great. My friend, Brenda, went crazy when she saw them...and I was not even showing off.

I also had some Christmas fabric lying around, so I made a table runner and 6 place mats. Next year, they will be part of the decor. As you can see from the picture, they are reversible.

I have a few more things planned. I will keep you posted.

Week of Christmas

No classes on December 29th. We do have classes up until that date, including December 22nd.

A Returning Student

Last night, Vivian walked through the door and returned to sewing class! She has not been in sewing class for quite a while, but life is busy when you are 16. Vivian was the first of my students to make her 8th grade dance dress...and it was lovely. This time, we are making her prom dress. I am so excited!

Jennifer's Jacket

Another well done project! Again, I took the picture before the hem was finished. I just get so excited when my students complete something fabulous!

December 1, 2011

No afternoon class on December 1, 2011. I have a meeting to go to. If you are in the afternoon class and would like to come that evening, please do. The more, the merrier.

Updated Sewing Circle

There are many references to sewing circles throughout history. Women getting together to make or mend items of clothing all while sharing life experiences. Sometimes, that is how our sewing class is. It is not in a home, and we are focused on our own progress, but, there are different generations of women (sometimes a man) and we share stories of children, grandchildren, working, husbands, relationships, life, and death. We may not be with these people for a long period of time, but each one has something to offer to the other people in the group. Sure, I teach sewing, but I learn so much from all the students I teach. I hope they have the same type of experience.

Barb's Ghost

Barb is another teacher at the Sewing Center and she was looking for a project for her teenagers. She came up with this ghost pattern that she adapted from a woodworking pattern. Isn't it cute? And it is just genius how she kept the ghost transparent!

By the way, Barb was the organizer of the fashion show we had to raise money for ovarian cancer research--and she is a survivor.

Chair Covers

White upholstery chairs and four kids do not get along. I was not ready to recover the chairs and I had some upholstery fabric that matched my dining room in my fabric stash. A simple cover that did not use a lot of fabric was what I wanted. I was going to add fringe but the gold sequin matched perfectly. And, honestly, how many people have sequin on their chair covers? I think they look cool. So much for washing the covers.

Projects in the works

Now that fall is here, I have more students and more projects. Here's what's going on:

Raggedy Ann
Poodle skirt, red with black lace
Cecilia is coming to fix her outfit and finally get the waistband done on her pants
Ashley's dress is coming along
Ann and Eileen are coming back to sew (can't wait to see what they will work on)
Soon, Edie will be back to make another suit

Fashion Show

The fashion show to benefit Ovarian Cancer Research was a great success. We raised just over $2,200. For a first event, it was double our goal!

Here's a picture of my daughter who was one of our models. I will try to post more pictures soon. The models were great and their sewing was even better.

Happy Fall Pillows

I made these pillows from leftover fabric that I had hanging around. They were super easy and I just love them. All I did to get the leaf patterns was web search "leaf patterns".

NEPA Flooding

I hope that my students who live in the flood areas are all ok. Check in with me when you can.

True Inspiration

Ann's Frenchmaid costume, along with the mimosas she brought to celebrate the completion of her project is what "made" me start this blog. I have a feeling she will be wearing it prior to Halloween...

Do's and Don't's

I thought this was a great list. It came from the burdastyle.com website and it is the blog from that site. Do's and Don't's for sewing, check it out.

Fashion Show to benefit Ovarian Cancer Research

Students in my sewing class along with students from other teachers at the White Sewing Center will be modeling their projects in a fashion show. Proceeds from the admission, basket raffle, quilt raffle, etc will be donated to support research for Ovarian Cancer.

The fashion show will be held on Sunday, September 25th. For time and location, send me an e-mail. There is going to be a fantatic master of ceremonies (hahahaha, I'm talking about myself!).

Allie's dress

Allie is a beginner and her dress came out fantastic! This pattern has lots of detail in the bodice. I don't think the picture does it justice. It still needs to be hemmed and just ignore the safety pin in the top...that also has to be sewn.

Susan's Purse

Susan, who has been coming to class for a while now, just finished this purse. Her next project is a flamingo costume for her daughter for Halloween. Susan completed many nice projects including a princess and the pea quilt. Some people who sew are messy, threads not cut and corners not trimmed, but not Susan, she is very neat when she sews.

No Sewing Class

I will not be teaching sewing August 11, 2011. I need to be in NYC for the Rockettes Christmas in August. See you next week.

Functional sewing

Your machine is a vehicle to express creativity and art, but it also makes some things function better. Towels, for example. You can make a number of creative things from towels, you can decorate them and embroider them. But today, I made my everyday towels function better for our household.

I have four children and a husband. That ends up with lots of showers and towels to wash. The kids are not great at hanging their towels to use them more than once. And, let's face it, towels are a little hard to hang for a 6-year-old. Today, I attached leftover ribbon to one corner of my towels so the ribbon can loop over the towel hook.

Now, I did not stress over the color of the towel and the pattern of the ribbon or the color of the thread. These are everyday towels. And now they function better and will hopefully find their way to a hook.

Betty

This is how my classes work...

I teach at the White Sewing Center in Scranton, Pa. The sewing center sells and repairs sewing machines as well as sell machine accessories and some sewing accessories. There are some notions, mostly what the the instructors use for classes. I teach the basic (beginner) sewing, and I also teach some people who are a little more experienced. Other instructors teach, kids, teens, quilting, embroidery, and whatever else we can come up with.

I get my students by word of mouth, the store's website, or people who stop in. Once they leave their name, I call them and we set up the day they will start and what they need.

A few days ago, I called Betty. She hasn't sewn in about 15 years and has a new sewing machine in the box. She was afraid of breaking it and was hesitant to start on her own. She also wants to make some skirts for herself. Why write about Betty? Because when I called her, she was so excited to strat sewing again. Her words, "I will be sitting 6 feet off my chair when I get there because I will be so happy."

That is why I teach sewing!

Cape making

My last project was cape making for the Northeast Theatre Dance Academy. I made 16 capes for the annual recital. When I'm totally finished we will have 20 capes for the studio to use. I combined 3 patterns to get the shape and size the director, Miss Lisa, wanted.

I did start out with the pattern pressed...


The worst part of the cape project was that my sewing room was in the process of being relocated in another room of our house and I had to use the dining room. I knew the project would take a while and I hate having the table not looking nice. Luckily, the weather was nice and we could eat outside.

When I learn how to upload a video, I will.

So much to come...

Last weekend was dedicated to sewing dance capes and getting the "new" sewing set up. Pictures and more posts will be available soon. Keep posted.

Past Projects

I have had many students come to my class and unfortunately, I do not have pictures of all the projects that have been completed. That is going to change right now.

Together we have completed a mother of the bride dress, coats, 8th grade formal dresses, aprons, business suits, quilts, curtains, dresses, pants, and everything else I forgot to mention.

Feel free to comment, follow, and ask questions about the projects.