Working out kinks on the bag

I was dog-sitting today.  Hiccup sure misses the warmer days with that window open, but he still likes to hang out there and watch for cats, and stray dangerous people.

I've got three of the pockets complete.  I'm lining the largest, simplest in striped mattress ticking, and these two front ones used lining/bias binding in the bumble bee fabric that will line the inside of the bag.  Hard to see, but I did free motion around the embroidery in some metallic thread.  It worked well for the first half of the bag, and then it broke and broke.  I rethreaded, I played with tension.  Could the needle have gotten just a little more dull?  I don't know, I just slogged through it as it's a very subtle effect anyway.

With the zipper in the front flap pocket, I tried it out for size with the cannibalized zipper and found it just toooo big.  I put the original flap on top to compare size and there was quite a difference.  I left a little extra on the pattern for seam allowance, and then allowed more for shrinkage during embroidery/embellishment.  I didn't know how much I'd want to do back while I was cutting, and it's always easy to trim down.

After this step I forgot about the camera and just sewed, so I got quite a bit more done.  I sandwiched this zipper between lining and webbing so I didn't have to fold or finish the edge of the denim when I got there.  I did securely sew it 3 times on the raw edge before doing two lines of stitching through all the layers.  These zippers are NOT pulling out of this bag.  And if I do get a rip or a tear, the fabric is tough enough to take a mend.  My current nylon bag is disintegrating at an alarming rate.  If I don't finish my denim one this week I'll have to carry my stuff in a pillow case!

I am so grateful I've got that 15-91.  It didn't slip through the thickest parts "like butter", but I didn't break a single needle.  I had to slow down, but it went through.  I was trying to hand stitch down some binding tonight and after the third hole in a finger tip I quit and ripped it out.  That's wrangler jean's weight denim, Alice Cooper "they're hard, and feeling mean" jean stuff.  I was considering waxing at least the bottom, but I think it's fine without.

I wish this were my design.  I copied it and then figured out how I could best put it together. I'm enjoying sewing this bag and want to sew some other styles.  I think with a little practice I could start designing my own.  What fun that would be!

two at a time

well, maybe three projects, if you count the rarely worked on afghan that I carry to work with me every night.  Since that is mostly UFO status I'm only counting the two I am actively working on, the periwinkle quilt and now a new work bag:

 
The job gives us one bag on hire and I usually ask for and receive another each year (though they will let you "buy" them with your special "bucks" you earn for picking up extra shifts).  The bag is designed rather nicely for what we need it for, but the fabrics are cheap and mine starts falling apart in the first 3 months.  By 9 months or so, it's usually pretty shot.

My current one isn't quite this bad yet, but getting there.  I had saved the last 2 previous, thinking I'd use one for a pattern, and that I should get the zippers off the other.  There are quite a few zippers and most of them are in very good condition yet.  I ripped one bag down to be able to trace a pattern most easily from the sections and take any hardware I wanted along the way.  Having the second still together was a bonus for looking at after I had cut out my pieces. It helped me figure out the best sequence to put the new one together.  I also needed one more zipper than just one bag could provide. 

I'm using my new-to-me singer 15-91 and free motioned the embroidery.  So it's not perfect, but obviously personally made, I'm pleased enough with it.  I was tempted to go with more and a little more, but there's a lot more to do with the bag and this is just a prototype.  If it goes well enough I may do another and let myself play more.  Or, before this gets attached to the backside of the pocket it might fall under the darning foot again. The yellow peeping out by the zipper is some home made bias from the same fabric I'm using for lining, some cute bees.  Top stitching is done with some cranberry jeans topstitching thread I got from Taylor Taylor  a while back, and a size 18 needle.

FLASH photography because that's what you use at 2 am.  I was happy to revisit one of my favorite marking tools, soap.  I haven't used it for a while so there wasn't a little sliver in the top sewing drawer and I had to use an unopened hotel bar. Usually the lines are not so thick.  Still, so easy to remove, and much easier to see on this fabric than anything else I have, including the frixion pens.  The ball point pins up in the corner were just waiting to go into a drawer for a knit sewing day, I have only sharp pins in the pin cushion.

I had to break on the periwinkle quilt a little as I ran out of  the pool green background fabric.  I ordered more and it's been washed and is ready for iron and starch.  I've just bought a June Taylor "special shapes" ruler and I'm looking forward to seeing if it makes cutting strips as painless as they made it look.  No picture of that, if you wonder what I'm talking about there you can google it (or you tube, they have a lovely video that was probably the hook that got me) or come back here in a week or so to see if I wrote an exciting review on THAT.

No sewing of Christmas Jammies this year.  Let them learn to sew if they want them! I would be happy to give lessons.  Actually, I'd love to teach beginner sewing.  One day, maybe.

What's on my audio books this week? The Filter Bubble, Eli Pariser- good non fiction about the personalization of your news (and pretty much everything) feed by Google and Facebook, I'm sure you tube is on the list or should be.  And, Spring Chicken, Bill Gifford- another non fiction about anti aging I think.  I haven't delved into it yet.  Not as good as Rick Bragg's stories of the south that I just finished, but some interesting fodder.

sewing lots

Mostly quilting.  I started out with the idea of doing a video of quilting with rulers on a vintage machine.  I got lots of stuff to put a video together, but this new tablet/laptop with windows 8 has been very difficult to put together with learning a new editing program and I haven't yet got it put together.  I also made video of machine darning, the one mending chore I actually enjoy (because it's so like free motion embroidery or quilting).

This was a pretty huge hole that will never rip again.  No patch to peel off.  The heavy build up of thread is stiffer than the surrounding area but the recipient was willing to trade that for keeping her favorite jeans.  I've seen a business online that repairs holes on jeans with thread build up matching the warp/weft of the original fabric.  It would be fun to be that good at it. 

Playing with the quilting and darning reminded me that the 201's foot pedal sticks after extended use.  I intend to buy a new pedal one day but decided to just switch out the feet with a machine I'll probably never use.  It's an old vibrating shuttle that works ok but isn't much joy to use- it is a pretty cute 3/4  size to look at with it's old godzilla finish.  6 minutes of work and the pedals were switched.  No further issues with the 201 if I want to zone and free motion for hours.  It would race and have to be pumped to stop.  The 201 is one fast machine anyway and racing is a pretty furious pace.  I have been enjoying having speed control again.

A warning to anyone who uses vintage machines and free motion quilts:  you may not want to use a supreme slider on an antique finish.  The gold crackling above was the result of having the slider on for about 1/2 hour of quilting on a little orphan block.  I noticed the paint flecks on the back of the slider before I saw the deck and was very shocked.  This machine isn't  most prized for it's paint and so I wasn't devastated but I won't be using the slider again on it.  I have not had any problem using the slider with newer machines.  Truthfully, I have never felt that it made that great a difference in ease.  When I have quilt dragging I stop and redistribute the weight and I'm happy. Likewise I have found the quilting gloves unnecessary.  Sometimes if my hands are dry and the fingertips don't seem to have enough grip I use a little of that stuff office people use to moisten fingertips for handling paper- works great and doesn't affect the fabric.  God knows this technique might not be great for a quilt that will never be washed and is being entered into some world class shows and then museum bound.  But for my purposes, it works great.



 

The last thing I have to say is goodbye to one slightly brutal winter.  I've lived on the shore of Delaware for 25 years now and never seen ice on the beach before.  It was cool for the experience, now I'm more than ready to move on to blossoms and the beginnings of fresh local produce. Yay, spring!

Sewing plenty

At least, much more than my norm.  I got my pants sloper done.  That's it below the envelope, with painter's tape to white paper, spreading it out.  It actually needed much less adjustment than I thought.  After I had a significant crotch depth increase done, the rest of the proportions fit better than my measuring tape led me to believe,  I went ahead and used the sloper to modify my butterick jeans pattern and I wish I would have made a sloper back in 8th grade home ec.  That teacher just did not have aspirations for any of us that high.  We were an ill mannered rotten bunch, as I recall.

ANYWAY, other progress as promised are the machines I had sitting and waiting for rebirth.  Complete success with the 401a, so I rewarded myself by buying some new feet and thread spindles for her.  This is a slant shank machine, I can't use my low shanks that have worked well for all of my other Kenmore and Singer models.  I believe the presser foot height is still not correct.  I had to switch back to my Kenmore for sewing over thick seams on my jean shorts.  The older 306k though.....I had gone ahead and purchased a new bobbin case and the special needles it takes, all excited because I knew I was going to love this machine.  BUT, when I oiled her up and started wiggling her stuck stuff, snap!  The darn stitch regulator lever that controls stitch length and direction just snapped off.  Everything else is pretty groovy, I can see very beautiful fine stitches, I just can't have any other size or go backwards unless I get a new regulator, and get it correctly inserted up in there.

As far as quilting goes, the sampler is on a serious stall.  I hope I live long enough to see it done.  I totally gave up the mini quilt idea after sewing one eighth of the first mini block.  I have discovered the therapeutic claims of paper pieced hand sewn hexi blocks are true and I am amassing quite a pile.  I plan on using them to applique onto a duvet cover.  One scrap per flower, none used twice.  I may use up all those singles as the centers, or in another project entirely.

 

I did a quick muslin of the jean pattern just to check out the yoke and waistband part of the jean.  Satisfied, I pulled out my denim to find the stash I've had more than a decade was only a yard or so.  I decided making shorts would be good practice sewing with heavy fabrics and topstitching thread.  Turns out I needed the practice.  I also learned I need more than a 5/8 seam to do a better flat-fell seam too.  It just doesn't look right that narrow.  I've picked more seams out from these "practice shorts" than I probably ever have on any other project.  I guess I'd throw out anything that required that much work for real.  Also frustrating is trying to find the right denim.  I've purchased unsatisfactory stuff from Joann's and Mode.  I'm aware of Taylor's selvedge denim and I bought hardware and thread from him, but I don't want high priced narrow-width denim- it just feels a little pretentious and wasteful for where my jean sewing level is.  I do want old fashioned, stiff, heavy, thick, non stretchy dungaree style denim.  I think I've found a source in NYC after calling a manufacturer in TX and begging the lady who answered the phone for a lead on one of their customers that might sell yardage.  60" wide, 14 oz good stuff.  If it goes through, I'll post it when ever I can.  I'm seriously thinking of buying a damn roll and selling it myself!!!

 

 

It's almost jammie sewing time again.  I've been accumulating flannel.  I really hope I find some denim and sew my jeans before Christmas!