Project overload!

So many projects, so little time! I'm still working away on my 50's apron, and hope to have a finished product by the end of the week! I'm also plugging away at a crib quilt (IPG on the cutting... ya we all know how that goes) and sewing the pieces of a throw quilt from a jelly-roll. After this one's finished I might have formed an opinion on the jelly-roll concept. In theory, I like the idea- many fabric choices, little waste and much of the cutting is conveniently done for you in advance.  But I'm still not overly thrilled... I've never encountered one in which I liked all of the fabric selections, and the pinked edges create a substantial amount of fabric dust that settles in the machine (constant cleaning required). It's a tough call... I do hate cutting!

Last but not least, I had to dedicate a bit of time this evening to come up with two new cards for my etsy store collection. That's my mini-goal: 2 a week. It's a meager goal, but one I'm still likely to fail to meet on more than one occasion! Here is the fruit of this weeks labor. I spent part of the morning playing peek-a-boo with a kitten (yes, I'm an adult....really I am) and the game inspired me to create these animal peek-a-boo style cutesy any time cards. I like the concept, but feel like they are missing something. Maybe tomorrow, an idea will come to me.

And we all know that no crafter is complete without a plan for the next project to add to the pile. So, to top it all off, I ordered a new sewing pattern today, to try my first attempt at a blouse. This will require a degree of success in the fitting department, so it should be an interesting new challenge for me. Updates to come!

Donna Reed in the making!

I am a planner. A fabulous planner. It's the execution (specifically the initiative to begin), that I lack. Once I start something, it's as good as done. But that point in time in between planning and beginning is where I tend to lag. A couple of weeks ago now I purchased a pattern for a 1950's style apron. I had the fabric, the practically perfect shears, and the desire to create... but became paralyzed at the cutting stage (I mean, those patterns are tissue paper thin!).

I have officially broken through my road block, and not only cut out all of the needed pieces, but I've finished constructing the flower pocket! It has a soft yellow binding (that will also trim the seams of the apron- I love the 50's!). This was my first attempt at attaching binding using only a machine. Typically, I will sew the front with a machine, flip it over and blind stitch the fold line to the back. The machine-only method used here was so much simpler, and faster! I'm very happy with how it looks, but I still have the feeling that I will revert to my conventional binding method for my quilts. The stitching on the top is easy to control with a piece this thin... but something tells me that using a machine, I will lack the control to achieve the precision I want with something quilt-thick.

I've also purchased some fabulous childrens fabric to create a quilt for a friends new baby. Hopefully I'll have a good start on it to report on soon (hey, maybe I'll even try a new binding method on this one!)!

Wrong is right

For the left-handed crafters of the world, finding the perfect scissors is a never-ending challenge. Most of the best manufacturers don't make them (or they do and they're no where to be found) and the rest put no effort into them; Crappy ergonomics, poor quality construction and dull blades abound in the land of scissors for the lefties! For the most part, due to a lack of availability at the time of need, and the poor options available when they're there,  I've taken to using the right handed version in the wrong hand, and turning them upside down so that the cutting blade is on the correct side (picture fingers in the thumb grip and thumb in the larger grip). Over the years, I've grown pretty used to this orientation.

With shears, this strategy doesn't really work, because of the angle between the handle and blade surfaces. If you turn them upside-down, the function of the angle is defeated... and frankly, they're useless. I've been working with a beautiful pair of Gingher feather light shears for the last two years that I recieved as a gift. They are the right handed variety, so I've had a hard time using them, because to hold them at the correct angle in my left hand, the cutting surface is in the wrong place, which makes the cuts difficult to predict...but really didn't want to let them go!

To celebrate a recent success I decided to invest in a new pair of lefty Ghinger 8" dressmakers shears. They arrived today and they're so pretty, so sharp, so comfortable and practically perfect in every way. They even came in their own little Gingher tin. I've been cutting away at scraps all night, just to get to play with them! And the best part? They only set me back $22 on Amazon.com, with free shipping!

The first project for my new scissors has been descided! I am going to branch more into garment-type clothes and make a circa 1950's smock-style apron using the fabric pictured above. Donna Reed, here I come!

Holiday crafting

The big upside of holidays is that little bit of added time, to your otherwise jam-packed weekend. I spent a little of that time today, working on some new cards, so that my etsy shop would look a little less bare. There were a few definite discards, and one that is increasingly growing on me. I was playing with a few different embossing powders, and it is amazing to me how they all react to heat so differently. One of my newest additions is a "glassy glaze" enamel powder. The grains are much coarser than most powders, and it is significantly more difficult to control precisely where it goes because of this. It's not such a big deal with this card, because the stray spots provide a dewy effect. But I could certainly see this aggravating me under any other circumstance! Unless I figure this one out, this powder may be designated as a nature-card-only product!

A new banner is born

I have been playing around with a trial version of Adobe Fireworks for a couple of weeks now, and have finally finished a banner for this blog and my for etsy store (which actually has a couple of items listed in it now!). It wasn't as straight forward as I thought it would be, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. What do you think?