Will I ever get it right?

Why is it when I come up with a really cool design, I botch the construction; when I do a really good job with the construction, the design is underwhelming?

I am giving a gardening gift and thought it would be oh so cool to present it in a nice vegetable theme market bag. I just happened to have the perfect fabric.

This was to be a really nice, lined market tote with a pocket. It was a new pattern (actually it wasn’t a pattern just an inspiration in Somerset Studio Haute Handbags magazine,) so I carefully cut the pieces and took my time stitching. Everything was fine until I got to the pocket; well let’s just say that didn’t go so well.

Time was kind of short as this gift needed to be mailed so I defaulted to a previous bag project from Linda Matthews Creative Bag to make a simple bag. The fabric I intended for the lining became the fabric of the bag. I used French seams and only had to rip one out due to sewing right sides together instead of wrong sides together, (if you have done French seams, you know what I mean.)

It turned out fine except when I switched thread from Coats and Clark to Sew-ology; the stitches were not as pretty. Is this a universal problem or could it be my machine doesn’t like the Sew-ology thread? Not perfect but then it is handmade.

Now that you have listened read my woes, I will leave you with a little tip; seam guides. I ordered this vintage Singer Seam Cloth Guide for Miss Wilma from The Featherweight Shop; it is invaluable, especially for top stitching.

The Sew-ology magnetic guide from Hobby Lobby works just fine on the Brother Machine.

Will I ever be satisfied with the design and construction? I will work on it, but for now it is all about Christmas in The Underground. The granddaughters are coming and I must be ready!

Second thought; after sleeping on it, I took another look at the bags. I really do like the original design; questioning if the stitching on the pocket will really be that noticeable. I think the gardener recipient may get the one intended for her.   

Meet Miss Wilma

Miss Wilma was gifted to me by HR’s first cousin once removed (at least I think that’s the relationship as she was HR’s father’s first cousin.) She once belonged to HR’s grandmother. The family lived in central Kansas and was very active in the Lutheran Church. Miss Wilma was frequently carried to the church for quilting bees. Okay, when Miss Wilma participated in the quilting bees, she didn’t have a name.

Actually this little girl was just a portable sewing machine back in the day. Not so these days; she is part of an elite group born manufactured between 1933 and 1968. Sturdy and reliable, these little beauties continues to be sought out by quilters and collectors. When Cousin Wilma offered this one to me, I didn’t realize what a treasure I was getting. (Yep, she is Cousin Wilma’s namesake.) I don’t think Cousin knew either. She knew I liked to craft and was traveling around in an RV, and thought it perfect sense that I would need a small sewing machine (and she was right!) Miss Wilma has become a very good friend and traveling companion, traveling coast to coast in The Wanderer and is very much at home and useful when we are hanging out with family in Texas and Florida.

I have learned so much about this little machine on The Singer Featherweight Shop website (where I can get parts and attachments) and Singer Featherweight 221 and 222K Facebook page, (with about 12,000 friends!) One of the things I learned is Featherweight owners quite often name their girls. When Cousin Wilma passed away a few weeks ago, I thought it only fitting that my little sweetheart should be named Wilma.

When gifting the Featherweight to me, Cousin Wilma had one stipulation; I was to never sell her. So, I am encouraging my granddaughters to become acquainted in hopes one of them will adopt her when I am no longer able to play with use her.

HR loves doing her checkups.

They are both 1953 vintages.

Carman over at The Singer Featherweight Shop has a free and very informative tutorial on maintenance of the Featherweights.

Miss Wilma is now back in The Underground, tuned up for Christmas crafting. 

Luggage Tag Travel Memory

What could be more personal than turning one's travel photo into a luggage tag? Here is how I made tags for each of my travel companions on a recent trip to Italy.

This is what you will need:

White fabric for printing photo, (I used a mid-weight muslin)

Freezer paper

Painter tape

Fabric for back of tag and strap

Heavy weight fusible interfacing

Clear vinyl

Let's print the photo first.

Cut white fabric and freezer paper to 8 1/2 X 11-inches.

Iron freezer paper to fabric.

Place painter tape across one of the short edges of the freezer paper and fabric to provide an even, sturdy edge.

Put the freezer paper/fabric sheet into the printer so the print will appear on the fabric (not the freezer paper.)

Using a photo manipulation program like Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, open the photo you want to print.

Size to fit the project, in this case, 4X6-inches.

Print using a 300 dpi resolution.

Remove freezer paper/fabric from printer, remove painter tape and pull the fabric from the freezer paper.

Cut printed image from fabric.
Detailed information about printing on fabric can be found on Linda Matthews Creative Cloth website. 

Note, photos can be printed on printable fabric such as Jacquard Ink Jet Fabric.

Cut a 4X6" piece from the back fabric and from the interfacing 
Cut a 2 X 12-inch strip from the backing fabric

From the vinyl, cut a 2 1/2X4-inch piece

Following manufacturer’s instructions, iron interfacing to back fabric.

Use painter's tape, tape vinyl to the back fabric; place the tape about 1/8-inch from the edge of the vinyl. The tape will serve as a stitching guide. Stitch around three edges. (Yep, that is my little Singer Featherweight, Wilma, doing the stitching.)

I trimmed the edges after stitching to make it neater.

Fold the strap in half, press.

Open and press each side to the center

Fold the two long sides together to create a 14-inch strap.

Sew the two long sides together

Top-stitch the other long side.

Now you have the strap.

I pressed the strap after I took the photo

Fold the strap in half and baste to the short edge of the back. Keep in mind how the tag will hang on the luggage; stitch the strap to the end where the vinyl is open.

Whoops, forgot to photograph this step. (Obviously I am a novice at writing tutorials.) 

Stitch the two pieces, right sides together with the strap sandwiched in the middle, stitch around three edges,

leaving the end opposite the strap open for turning. 

Trim the seam to 1/8th inch, clip corners. (Important as Wilma does not do thickness well.)

Turn right sides out (Do you really need a photo of  the turning process?)  and press. (I place cardboard inside the tag before pressing to protect the vinyl.)

Fold the unstitched end under, press. 

Top stitched completely around the tag

Ouch, this is a pretty poor photo!

Back of the tag

I used Kraft-tex on this one; more on this amazing product in a future post.

There we have it, memories of

The Amalfi coast,

the villa where we stayed

and, of course gelato.

As one of my few attempts at writing a tutorial, let’s just say this is a work in progress.

I would be remiss if I didn’t give credit to my friend, Cathy, at Cathy Neri Quilts for lending me a tag to copy.

 

Look how neat her craftsmanship is; you can tell she is a professional.

I am back in The Underground, at least for another week. And I have a new sign above the door!

Since my last post (which was 2 ½ months ago), we returned to Paducah for a couple of weeks before a three week trip to Italy.  We were home a few days and then spent Memorial Day weekend in Washington D.C. Between trips, I am attempting to gain control of my garden (so far the weeds have the advantage.) Needless to say, I have not done much crafting! But I have been inspired. I have some cool ideas (at least I think they are pretty cool) for doing something unique with a few of the thousands of photos from Italy.

Remember those funky gals I drew while traveling around in the RV during the winter? And those photos of my little Featherweight and my sewing projects? Well, I found a way to put it all together.

My first Funky Folk purse. 

back

front

I kind of like her.

I have another one on the sewing table; hopefully she will be completed this week.

Next week the Featherweight, Silhouette and a bunch of craft supplies will head to Florida with us where we will hang out with our youngest granddaughter. We have no specific project in mind, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.

After Florida, we will spend a couple of weeks with family in Texas.

If all goes as planned, well I just might get a few weeks in the studio before we load up The Wanderer to head southeast. That's retirement! The challenge is deciding what craft supplies to carry as I travel.  

Have Featherweight, Will Travel

And oh how I love this travel companion!

She allows me to continue to make these handy dandy phone sleeves which I carry much more often than a purse. Following Sher Hastings directions, I increased the size to accommodate a larger phone. I can slip a small coin purse, shopping list, coupons, etc. in the pocket. Note the prairie points, my first. I continue to be amazed at all the free online instructions! I found these at PatchworkPosse.

For a friend, my Featherweight and I made this flag. After helping launch Tipsy Tuesday on our patio, my friend is now living in Montana. She wanted a flag with cows and mountains so she could continue the tradition out west. The cows and mountains were created with stencils using freezer paper, my Silhouette Portrait and craft paint.

I think my granddaughter also likes the little Featherweight and the Silhouette. 

She made a purse tissue cover for her friend who, like Camille, is a ballerina. The image is a silhouette of her friend which I created in Photoshop Elements (yes, I am exploring the PSE 14 and I like it! The magic eraser is really great for removing backgrounds.) With assistance Camille created a freezer paper stencil using my Silhouette Portrait. Since both girls had the role of a dragonfly in the recent production of Cinderella, she added a little dragonfly.

Wanting to add a Cinderella photo to my digital picture frame and knowing photos from the Northwest Florida Ballet Company were copyrighted, I got creative.

Camille’s mom took some good photos at the dress rehearsal, but they had an unflattering background.

Once again, PSE 14 to the rescue! Using that marvelous magic eraser I got rid of the background. Using the gradient tool, I created another background on to which I moved both photos.

 Viola!

You can take the crafter out of the studio, but that doesn’t stop her creativity! I will be back in the studio in a couple of weeks.

Meet a couple more of my Funky Girls. I believe they are a bit of improvement over the previous week's attempt. I get a bit of a charge in seeing them develop as I draw.

I saw on a photo of a artist on the Featherweight 221 and 222 Facebook page sewing at a picnic table in a campground. The weather here in Arizona has not been that conducive, but I did get out my Featherweight to make this little phone sleeve.

The highlight of my crafting this week was a Susan Lenart Kazmerworkshop at the Tucson Mineral and Rock Show. As you may know, Susan is the creator of Ice Resin; this workshop was on using Ice Resin in transparency. A lot of information was shared during the 3-hour workshop. I left with several different components and a mind spinning, trying to process it all. Susan was very generous with supplies, ephemera and knowledge. The show is HUGE with hundreds of jewelry related venders and lot's of workshops. Knowing what to expect, I am hoping to return next year and spend more time (and I'm sure more money.)

Sorry about the poor photography here. 

Feathers coated with Ice Resin.

Greetings from the Road

If you remember, in my last post we were almost retired and were making plans to do some extensive travel in our RV. It has happened!  Handy Randy has officially retired and we have been away from home for over 2 months. Although I am enjoying every minute of it, I do miss not being able to run to the studio and try a new technique that I read about on the many blogs I follow. Even so, I have been able to quench my thirst to create.

So, did I actually do the embroidering for which I had planned? Yep, mostly while HR is driving or watching baseball. Here is what I have done so far on the Dropcloth Sampler purchased at Ephemera Paducah in preparation for our trip. (Please don’t look too closely at the stitching.) 

I continue to make entries in my Bible Journal, but not as often as I had imagined. 

Encouraged to keep a travel journal, I have started one but sadly I am pretty far behind.  It is a bit of an effort to get out pencils, pens, gesso and glue to work a little and put it away to make space on the table for food.

I have done a little tangling.

Missing the classes at Paducah School of Art and Design, I am taking an online hand drawing class; in addition to practicing in a sketchbook I did this charcoal drawing and have another one on the easel. (Handy Randy gave me an awesome travel easel for my birthday, such a thoughtful guy!)

Don't you know it, I have added another interest for my every expanding AADD. While visiting relatives in Kansas, I was gifted a 1953 Singer Featherweight sewing machine that once belonged to HR’s grandmother. It is a sweet machine that stills sews beautifully. To be honest, I was not familiar with the Featherweight and was surprised to find it is such a coveted treasure. I have discovered there is a Facebook page Singer Featherweight 221&222 Sewing Machine. Also I found a lot of information on April’s 1930 Featherweight web site. Can’t wait to get home and actually make something with it!

So this catches you up for now. We plan to be home in about 10 days. I am making a list of things I have read about and want to try once I get back to The Underground. Next week I will share some free tutorials and downloads I have come across.

Oh, if you are REALLY curious about where we have been and what we have done these past two months, you can check out our blog for family and friends at www.livingrichlyinretirement.blogspot.com