81,244

That is the number of stitches that my embroidery machine stitched on embroidery day. I completed the embroidery design on my new shirt and on 3 baby sleepers. Then I also stitched 3 designs on 3 towels for  baby bibs. The final design I embroidered was a design on a blank for a Christmas present for someone.

All in all I had a great day, and it was lots of fun. Although I did not get the 4th or 5th sleeper done that I had the fabric laid out for, I do consider the day a success. I will post more details on the designs as I post the finished items, except for the Christmas present, but with only 48 days left until Christmas you won’t  have to wait too long to see a picture of it as well.

Right now, I am excited to get sewing and get these current projects finished so I can start more. Stay tuned!

The New Pin Cushion

We attended a craft fair last week and I purchased a new pin cushion. Of course, what caught my eye was the Coca-Cola fabric, but it was also large, constructed well, and had a nice price. My problem is I have used the same pin cushion for almost 17 years. My neighbor lady gave it to me when I started to sew. It is one that she crocheted. Over the years, the yarn has become fuzzy as many a pin has been pulled from it and then returned to it, but it is still quite functional. As I removed the pins from the old pin cushion, I became very sentimental. Do I really want to give up my tried and true pin cushion? What did I need a new one for? Why did I even buy the new one when my old one is doing just fine?

I removed all the pins from the old pin cushion and poked them into the new cushion. I then tossed the old pin cushion into the good will box, but then promptly turned around and removed it. I decided I would not part with it yet just in case I disliked the new pin cushion and needed to return to using the old one. So, will someone remind me in a month or so to get rid of the old pin cushion so it does not just live in the back of the closet with all the other sentimental treasures. Thanks.

Prep for Embroidery Day

In trying to decided what to sew next, I found a shirt I had cut out for myself many months ago, but had just never finished, tucked deeply in the depths of the closet. The shirt had become a UFO that I was going to finish someday, so I decided that it was someday and pulled it out of the closet. I finished the collar and side seams and decided to add some embroidery to it as well. After deciding on a design and putting it on the stick, it was time to pull out the hoops, thread and stabilizer, but I was out of time. I knew I did not have enough time to complete the embroidery on the shirt. So, I have decided to have an “embroidery day” on my next day off.

With that decision made, I hung the shirt in the closet and started some baby sleepers. I almost have 3 sleepers ready to embroidery. I have picked out some fabric for a 4th and 5th sleeper and I know what design I want on it, but I don’t know if I will have it ready for “embroidery day”. I also want to dig some towels out of the stash for bibs and embroider them on “embroidery day”. I can think of several other things I would like to embroider on “embroidery day”, but I do not want to schedule more than I can complete in that day. I am very excited for “embroidery day” and I am already planning the dates for “sewing days”. If I get all the embroidery done I want to do, I will need a couple of full “sewing days” to complete the shirt, sleepers and bibs.

Now What?

Does anyone else have this problem? I love to sew and I have many projects in mind to do next and I would just love to spend 6 months stitching away with no distractions. But, it seem that every time I finish a project, I get a mental block and I can’t figure out what to sew next. Should I do this or that? Should I create something new I’ve never done before or should I do something off of my to do list? I just finished my husbands new shirt and then wandered around my sewing room wondering what to do next. It frustrates me greatly when this happens. I am wasting precious time that could be used sewing or even crocheting. I know, I know. Most of you are saying “Wow! I only WISH I had that problem.” Still it bothers me that I can’t be decisive enough to just go from one project to the next.

I have decided that reason this happens is because I have so many ideas and I am over thinking the possibilities. I tend to over think things a lot because it is who I am. Because my sewing time is so limited, when I finish a project, I say to myself, “Ok, I will make me a shirt next, or would it be better to make the niece the new dress pattern you bought, or do I want to finish that sock monster that has been hiding in the closet for the last few months. Oh, don’t forget about the baby shower coming up at work, you had better get some more sleepers made.” By then I am so overwhelmed with things to do and I can’t decided how to prioritize what should come next. I want to do all the projects, NOW, but which would be the best one to do next. Argh! I have tried to make a list to help prioritize things but that does not seem to be much help. I have also tried to tell myself, “Just do it. They are all projects you want to do so it really does not matter what you do first.” But, that is not helping. So, my struggle continues as I try to figure out what to make next. It’s a good problem to have I think.

It’s all some kind of whacked out conspiracy!

It was time to make the husband a new shirt and here it is. It is made from some of the  $1 a yard fabric bought on the last trip to M&L fabric so I did not have to dig too deep into the stash. The fabric cut and stitched so gracefully that I was wishing I would have bought many more yards of it. My husband looked at the fabric color and texture and then picked out his embroidery design for it. It was a fun design to stitch. It is shadowed so that the penguin is supposed to look more realistic. Although the design called for the lettering to be the same color as one of the oranges in the beak, the next time I do this design, I will pick a different color for the lettering, changing threads in the middle of the stitching to give it more contrast. I am still pleased with the end results and I think you can read the words fine.

Don’t look at the collar too closely though. As with all my sewing, my patience must be tested and this time it was on the tab front. I don’t know if I just stitched unevenly or if I cut unevenly, but the bottom of the tab will not lay straight. I unpicked and re-stitched this several times, but it just would not work. I finally notice that my redoing was causing more damage than I was getting results, so I finally decided it would have to do. On the hanger it does not look so great, but when my husband is wearing it, you really don’t notice so I guess that is where it counts.

The Results are in…

And a conclusion has been made. In the opinion of this researcher, the Susan Bates crochet hook is a better hook than the Boye or Glover hooks.

Although all three hooks are extremely functional, the glide factor became the determining factor. The Susan Bates hook seemed to glide through the loops of the crocheting better than the other two for a smoother and quicker stitch.

Because of the pencil holders that I had added to the other two hooks, the wider handle of the Glover hook did not add anything to its functionality, and it failed the glide test quicker than the Boye hook. Without the pencil holders that I added to the other hooks, I probably would have chosen the Glover hook because of its wider handle even though it failed the glide test.

What I found was that with all three hooks sitting on my desk, I always reached for the Susan Bates hook over the other two. I will not get rid of my other hooks, but I definitely will favor the Susan Bates brand when I buy new ones in the future. I will have to add the pencil holders to the hooks I buy though, to give them a wider gripping surface so it aggravates my hands less as I stitch.

Old Glory

For many years we have had a flag flying in our front yard. My husband being a veteran is a little bit anal about his flags and since ours is lighted it stays up 24/7/365. Occasionally when the weather is bad, the flags fabric tears or the seams on the stripes break and my husband pulls the flag down for some minor mending. At first I was a little uncomfortable mending the flag. I somehow felt like I was being disrespectful to it. After some thought though, I decided it was fine, if not even respectful, to mend the flag. My choices were to leave the flag tattered, which is unacceptable, buy a new flag, but at $40 a piece that is not feasible, not have a flag at all, which didn’t settle well either, or mend the flag. So for years, I have mended our flags until they are too tattered to mend at which time my husband burns them. After the last low front moved through and the winds calmed down, I found myself needing to mend the flag again.

This time was not as easy a mend as most times. Several of the stripes had come unstitched and the fabric frayed on the edges of them. I almost declared the flag too damaged to mend, but I thought I would give it a try. I had to use a little bias tape to replace some of the frayed fabric, but I think all in all it mended well.

For years I have used fray check on the flag to try and preserve the edges, but the fray check did not seem to make very much difference. After using several bottles of fray check, I asked the best seamstress I know, for something other than fray check to seal the edges of the flag. My mom’s answer was clear fingernail polish. Brilliant. So, off to the dollar store I went to buy the cheapest clear nail polish I could. I must say, it works great. It sealed the seams and stopped the little frays spots from continuing, and holds up great it the weather. I can think of several places to use nail polish instead of fray check. I am very generous with the polish when I apply it, so my only problem with using the polish is that my sewing room is always a little smelly after I do it and I get a little dizzy from the fumes.

So if you ever have something that you need to seal the seams on and you want something that will hold up better than fray check give the clear fingernail polish a try. It worked for me!

What types of Crochet Hooks do you use?

Does the brand of crochet hook you use make a difference? That question depends on who you talk to. My mother with tell you, “No, the brand does not make a difference.” On the other hand, my sister with tell you, “Yes, the Susan Bates hooks are superior hooks.” I have always just crocheted with a Boye hook because that is what my mom gave me when I started out crocheting. So, I am going to conduct my own experiment with different hooks and see what results I get.

While checking out the hooks at the Joann’s Store, I saw the Glover soft touch crochet hook on the rack. Since I tape a pencil grip to all my crochet hooks, I decided to included this hook in my experiment since it was similar to my hooks with the pencil grip on them.

So, the experiment is: 3 hooks -size G, one Boye brand, one Susan Bates brand, and one Glover brand, with a pencil grip taped to the Boye and Susan Bates hook and a new amigurumi pattern. Stay tuned for the results.

No, I didn’t forget about you…

This sleeper was supposed to be finished and sent to the little brother of the two nephews receiving the Pokemon shirts. But because I wanted to get the shirts to the older boys for school, the sleeper did not make it into the package since it wasn’t done at the time, but it is done now and on its way.

I made the sleeper from the larger size pattern I have and left the elastic off the back, thereby not defining a waist line. I also ran the stretch up and down instead of around. Hopefully, these two modifications will give the sleeper more grow room. (Special note for the nephew’s parents: Please let me know if leaving out the
elastic gives more grow room or if you would rather have the elastic in the back next time.) I am fairly sure that the vertical stretch will increase the grow room. I used some fabric scraps from the stash to make this sleeper and I used every inch of the scraps. Hurray! another piece of fabric out of the stash and in use. The sleeper sewed up great.

I was suppose to put a Pokemon design on this sleeper to match the nephews shirts, but I just couldn’t do it with all the cute designs I have. The wearer of this sleeper is young enough that I don’t think he really cares what is on his clothes and I don’t think his brothers really do either. While sewing the sleeper, the stripes kept saying baseball to me and of course, my favorite baseball player is…Snoopy, so Snoopy playing baseball was the correct design for this fabric and this sleeper. I think it is the perfect match.

Skip Stitch Blade #1 Vs. Flannel: FIGHT!

According to the information on the skip stitch blade’s web site, blade #2 is designed for flannel. As you read in a previous post, that is what I used on the first flannel blanket I tried. This time, rather than matching the skip stitch blade to the fabric of the blanket, I matched it to the yarn and I am happier with the results. Before I skip stitched the blanket, I decided that I wanted to use regular weight orange yarn rather than a baby yarn or a crochet cotton. With that decision, I used the skip stitch blade #1 instead of #2 even though the blanket is flannel. The slits are farther apart with this blade and so it accommodated the heavier yarn better. It did not seem to make a difference on the flannel whether it was cut with blade #1 or #2.

I also trimmed my seam allowances so that I could make the skip stitch slits closer to the edge of the blanket. I cut them at 1/2 inch this time. Because I was closer to the edge, I did not have to fold over the edge and that made for less bulk. Although the 1/2 inch margin is far better than the 1 inch margin of the previous blanket, the next time I think I will try to cut even a little closer to the edge. The more blankets I crochet the more I like the drop into the slit to be smaller. I like the look of the smaller drop and there is less yarn to get caught in the use of the blanket.

The first row on this blanket is chain stitch in the slit then 1 chain stitch, then 1 chain in the next slit, and so on around the blanket. The second row is chain 2, skip 2 stitches, 5 double crochets in the next stitch, chain 2, skip 2 stitches, then chain in the next stitch, then repeat. This blanket could be for either a boy or a girl, although the second row makes it a little more feminine to me. I am pleased with the end results of this blanket, both with the use of skip stitch blade #1 and the pattern I used for the second row.

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