What Have I Been Up To...

LOTS!

Sorry there aren't any pictures with this post but that is the one thing I haven't been doing. It has been a very busy couple of months. Unfortunately, blogging has been at the bottom of the list. So what have I been up to?

Sewing--I have made a few garments but I think that only a couple were completely finished. I still have the hem to finish on my first pair of pants I have ever made. I think they fit fairly well. I am not sure why I don't have the motivation to finish them.

Traveling--At the beginning of February I went to Portland. I was there for a Bible Study Fellowship leaders retreat and to FABRIC SHOP! Both were fantastic! One highlight was spending 2 1/2 hours at Rose City Textiles and leaving with about 100 (not a typo) yards of fabric. I brought home so much fantastic high tech knits. I can't wait to sew them up. The other highlight was going to the Pendleton store in Washougal, WA. We took the tour of the factory and it was so interesting. I loved seeing how quality fabric is made. They also sell some fabric in their store there. A lot of it is flawed in some small way so there are fantastic prices. I bought quite a bit of luscious wool fabric. It is gorgeous and now I just have to figure out what to make.

My husband came with me and our 7 year old son (yes, they did go to all the fabric stores with me). It was a great time to spend focusing on our son. We also went to the zoo and OMSI (a science museum). We all had a great time.

Setting up a sewing studio--I decided in January that it was time to teach sewing lessons. I have been thinking about this for a few years but until now it just hadn't been the right timing. So January and February have been full steam ahead getting things in order. The most time consuming part (it took almost a month during which there was no sewing) was cleaning and organizing my sewing space. It was a cluttered mess that needed almost a total reorganization. I LOVE it now. Everything is labeled and has a spot. It is neat and clean and I can walk around the room easily. I joked to my husband that it is now the most organized and clean room in the house. It really helps that every Monday night it has to be cleaned for lessons the next day. I am thoroughly enjoying teaching my students. It is such a joy to do something I really love and make some money too.

Getting a couple new machines--I already had two sewing machines but in order to have at least 4 students in a class I needed buy one more sewing machine. I pondered and researched. I didn't want to pay a lot but I wanted a quality machine that would have a nice stitch and be durable. I was thinking about a Viking Emerald but ended up with a Janome Magnolia instead. It had some really neat features. It is a great machine for a beginner and I have really liked having it for my classes. I think it might become my go to machine for buttonholes. They are super simple on this machine and turn out quite nicely.

I also wanted another serger for the students. Again I didn't want to spend a whole lot but I wanted a quality machine that wouldn't break down a lot and be frustrating to the students. I originally wanted a Huskylock 910. I have a 936 and love it. I thought the 910 would be great because had the great stitch quality but not all the expensive features so I might be able to find one for $700 or so. I ended up finding a person on Craigslist selling an almost brand new Elna 925 for $400. It is an older machine (originally purchased in 1998) but since it hadn't been used much it is in perfect condition. It was high end in it's day. It can even do cover stitch (although I don't need this since I have a cover hem machine and the 936 does it also). I have used it quite a bit and I love it! So, I have been learning two new machines which has been a lot of fun!

Spring Break--My kids had Spring break last week. I am not sure what we did but the time certainly flew by. We got dumped with a few feet of snow so we did spend quite a bit of time outside playing.

Life is starting to settle down a bit and hopefully, soon I can get some pictures of completed garments. I am so behind. I don't think that I even finished up all of my before Christmas sewing. Someday. Today I am focusing on laundry and hopefully getting to some sewing. I should start on my daughters Easter dress. Since the fabric needs to be washed I might cut out a shirt for me instead. I better get started!

Thanks for hanging in there with me! Have a great day!

Until next time...

Computer Confusion!

Our computer was going very slowly so we decided to get a new computer. My husband decided on this:

It is a Mac Mini. I have never used a Mac before so this is quite new for me. So far it seems fairly easy but it is a whole new thing to learn. I liked my Word and now I have to learn something new. Uggh! Getting pictures is also quite a challenge so my blogging has suffered a bit. I have a couple more things to show you from the holidays but I am having difficulty getting the pictures together. I don't have time for this! Oh, well. I think I will be happy eventually. I hope so! At least the internet stays the same. :)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day.

Until next time...

Looking Back, Looking Forward!

A Few of my favorites from 2009

2009 is over. It was a good year for us. God blessed us in many ways and I am very thankful for His watching over us. I am excited to see what 2010 brings. Whether it be joy or sorrow I know that God has us in his hands all through the year.

Last year I wouldn't make any resolutions. As I said last year I don't like them because I never keep them. I just gave myself a list of things that I wanted to accomplish throughout the year. I thought I would reflect on last years accomplishments and add my thoughts for next year.

1. I want to purchase better quality fabric. I have a tendency to gravitate toward good deals. I need to put more quality stuff into my stash that I would actually want to wear. I also want to concentrate on coordinating fabrics and not just purchase things singly that I later have to find something else to match. I did pretty well at this this year. I purchased quite a bit of nice fabric (most of which I got for great prices). I ended up with lots of nice wicking knits, high quality fleece, some nice wools, quality cottons and nice fashion knits. I am very pleased with what was added to my collection this year. My problem now is that I do not have very much to use for muslins. I would like to continue this through 2010 (hopefully at the NY and LA garment districts).

2. I want to spend more time crafting and not just vegging out. My main time for crafting is the evening and I am often pooped. I don't want to do anything but when I don't do anything I feel like I wasted a bunch of time. I will still veg out I would just like to do it a bit less. I did better at this also. My completed garment count will verify. I completed a total of 37 garments using up 61 yards of fabric. This certainly is not as many garments as some but I am very happy with what I completed. I did veg out a bit but I did a lot of sewing too. This is a goal for 2010 also. I don't necessarily have a goal to complete more garments than last year or to use up more of my collection but I want to spend time sewing consistently.

3. I want to finish sweaters (and sewing projects for that matter) within a reasonable amount of time (not two years). I have been getting better at this and want to continue this success. Totally failed! I don't think I hardly picked up my needles all year. Maybe I will pick up my needles this year. No pressure though. Only if the knitting spirit moves me.

4. I want to sew more for myself which would then include increasing my fitting skills. I definitely worked on this this year. I made 10 garments for myself. A few turned out to be wadders but I learned from my mistakes. I definitely want to increase my fitting skills this year. There are quite a few Burda garments that I am itching to make.

5. I want to make a chart to keep track of my projects. I really like the chart Karen made and want to borrow the idea. This will really help me see my accomplishments and be a motivator. Then at the end of next year it will be easier to count up my projects and yardage. I would really like to know exactly what I made and how much fabric I used. Oh, and I would like to fill the chart by the end of the year. Completely neglected. Hopefully I will do this soon.

6. Lastly, I would like to figure out my camera and learn how to take better pictures. My pictures don't have to be museum quality just better than they are now. I really want to get some good pictures of my kids. Worked with my camera some. My goal for 2010 is to take a picture every day. I have a separate blog for these pictures. I haven't done well in the past with this challenge for myself. Hopefully this year will be more successful.

2009 Garment breakdown
Made for Me--10
dresses 2
tops 5
skirts 3
Elianna--9
dresses 3
tops 3
pants 1
skirt 1
jacket 1
Seth--8
shirts 6
pants 2
Silas--5
shirts 5
Nieces--4
kuspiks 2
dresses 1
skirt 1
Nephew--1 robe

I have quite a few garments to show you (11 to be exact plus one I am finishing as soon as I post this) over the next little while. So stay tuned.

Thanks so much for stoppin' by. Have a great day!

Until next time...

Happy New Year!

My kids got creative with their new Bendaroos.

I have so much to tell you all. So many projects to review. I have been busy sewing and not wanting to take the time to do reviews. I will fill you all in on what I have been up to soon.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great New Year's Day!

Until next time...

I'm Still Around!

I know it has been a while since I have checked in with you all. Life has been happening and not as much sewing. I have finished a couple more garments from my wardrobe challenge and sometime soon I will get pictures and review them. I wore them today and forgot to get pictures (as usual).

It seems like my motivation for sewing has been a little lacking lately. The skirt I made took way longer than it should have but I like the results. I think I have been a bit frustrated lately because that garment haven't gone together as I would have liked. I did get a Jalie shirt made up last night that went pretty quickly so that was a nice boost.

Well, enough rambling. I will hopefully be back soon with some garments.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day.

Until next time...

Just Checking In

But nothing interesting to say. I haven't had much time for sewing or anything. I have been busy keeping my daughter focused on her homework. I did get my Burda (from July '09) knit shirt mostly finished. I still have the hems to do. I also got a pair of Burda trousers traced out. At this rate I certainly will not finish my wardrobe by the end of November. This weekend is my birthday and I am hoping to get some focused time to sew.

That is all I have to say. Next time I will be more interesting.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!

Until next time...

I Just Want to Sew!

My kids are home. My youngest son is sick. I don't feel so well. The house needs to be cleaned.

BUT, all I want to do is hole up in my sewing room and sew, sew, sew!

Oh, the tortured life of a seamstress!

Until next time...