Another Weekend Gone!

Where does the time go? It seems like yesterday it was just Monday and the week was starting. This week just went by too fast. I can't even remember what I did this week that made it go by so fast. That is so sad when life becomes a blur. Oh well, there is always this week to look forward to. I purchased a new sewing machine. Yes, I finally broke down and bought me a nice one. It is a Husqvarna Viking and runs like a gem. Wow, I didn't know what I was missing using that old 70's vintage machine. This one has some really nice bells and whistles too.

From this:

To This:

What an impressive machine. It has all these decorative stitches and I can even sign my name. Now I wonder if my sewing will improve with the improved machine? I guess you know what I'll be doing this week.

In other news I received my box of bead goodies from my bead soup partner. More of those pics to follow tomorrow.  They are very yummy and I can't wait to starting making something out of them. This will definitely be something I will keep for myself.

Oh, the joys of having too much to do and wanting to do it all.

Have a good week and be sure to come back tomorrow.

Small Spring Time Tote

The other day as I was scanning reading blogs I came across one that was a tutorial for making a fat quarter purse. Well I just had to try and I needed a new Spring bag...don't we all. Mine isn't exactly like hers since I didn't use her tutorial and winged it instead, but turned out pretty good for my first try. You can find the tutorial on Sew, Mama, Sew blog.

Of course since I'm a bling bling girl I had to add the pins, which you can remove and put on other purses. Since they are just tie tack backs, I may have to make my own. These were purchased at Joanne Fabric.

What I would change is the bottom, I wanted a contrasting darker color which looks good, but I think next time I'll make it come up the sides a bit more so you can see it. Also, I would add a pocket on the inside and one on the outside in a solid color as the print is pretty busy. The loops for the handles I would make a little bit shorter and I would top stitch around the top of the bag before adding my magnetic closure. Not much just little things to make it more usable. I like the size as it is about 11" across and down....now that I think of it, it is just about the right size for my little net book computer. Too bad I didn't put some quilt batting inside and it could do double duty.

If you like bags or creating bags you might like this one for a tote bag that also uses a fat quarter.

Have a good Friday!

Going Overboard

Anytime I get involved in a new project I tend to go a little bit overboard. Hence my latest endeavor of making drawstring bags for my jewelry. This first started out as the hunt for a small sewing machine and has bloomed into a fabric/bag nightmare. I will soon have way too many bags if I keep this up, so I'll be putting some of them on my ArtFire and 1000 Markets studios for sale.

I am so in love with all the wonderful fabric choices. I haven't sewed in probably 10 years and we didn't have the selection that you do now and I haven't even found the designer fabric section yet....maybe I better stay out of there.

Fabric is 100% cotton and is normally used for quilting but makes wonderful little bags. These are small at 9.25" diameter when laid flat, but when drawn up they are nice and compact. Great for slipping into a purse or tote bag. Some have pockets on the inside and some don't so those without will be about 1/2 the price.

I'm pleased with how they have turned out. I would love to hear what you think.

The Sewing Machine Hunt continued

Well today I went to my mothers and scrounged in her storage room to find this little sewing machine. It is larger than the White E-Z Sew and about 100 times heavier but works so much better. From the color yellow I would guess it to be a late 60's or 70's vintage machine. It has fold up sides and a carrying handle. It was made by JC Penney and is called the Swing 'N Sew 3. I really wish I had a manual since I know it hasn't been serviced as long as I have had it and I purchased it used over 20 years ago. Hubby did find a blog where a woman has just the Swing and Sew. I might have to e-mail her to see if her manual indicates how to clean and oil it as I'm sure they are very similar.

Back to the machine features. It has a straight stitch and several different types of zig zag in varying widths. I don't need much more than this. It does have a 4 step button hole stitch, but I couldn't get it to work correctly....probably user error. I guess I won't be looking for another machine for a little while, but I would still like to find one that is lighter weight.

Cute machine isn't it?

The Great Sewing Machine Hunt

For days I have been on a sewing kick and wanting to do some sewing. Now, I do have 2 sewing machines in storage (yes, Mom I know they are at your house) but if I remember right one is a big machine and the other is a very old heavy model. So, I went looking for something portable and compact that could travel with us in the motor home. Did you know there isn't such a thing. I did all kinds of Google searches and the best I could find was either a Brother or a Kenmore. Okay, both good brand names but finding them was key. First off I went to Joanne Fabric. They had nothing in the $150 or lower price range that was a smaller unit except for the small White pictured below, which by the way I did purchase for $39.99. I'll get to the review in a minute. Sears did have a Kenmore on sale for $89.99 that was lightweight, but was still a good size machine. Next I went to Walmart as they carry the Brother brand. They had a lot of spots where sewing machines were supposed to be but only two in stock and neither were the model number that received the good reviews. Next up was the Husqvarna/Viking Sewing Center....nothing there small and compact, but the owner indicated that she would sell me a Singer Pixie for $29.99, hummm it didn't get good reviews at all, I think I'll pass.

Okay now back to the White Sew E-Z sewing machine. You do get what you pay for. It is a cute little machine as you can see in the photo and seemly had all the necessary information and parts. It has a two speeds, does only straight stitches, forward and backward and will wind a bobbin (not that I could get that to work).  As you can see, I don't have a lot of room on my crafting table. I had to move my jewelry stuff over to make room for this so I really do need something small. So, after reading the required manual and attempting to wind the bobbin and thread the darn thing, I decided to sew something simple.

The result was a small drawstring baggie, smaller than I wanted, but gave me a good indication that this isn't the machine for me. The thread broke about every 10 stitches and no amount of adjusting the tension or rethreading the machine helped. The best thing about the machine is it's size and weight, oh and it takes batteries so you can sew without electricity which I thought would come in handy on the road when we are dry camping and we aren't running the generator. This machine is going back, already packed in it's box. Maybe someone else will have better luck with it, but I doubt it.

What's next, well I called my mother to see if she could remember where the sewing machines were and she does, so I'll be picking up the smaller of the two and attempt to get it to work for me. Wish me luck and if you know of a small compact, lightweight sewing machine that will do basic stitches, then please let me know, I may still be in the market for one.

To be continued........