Kerry'd Away

Can you believe that September is coming to a close today? I always say this, but where did the month go? Actually, I know where mine went… a good portion of it was spent blogging for National Sewing Month.

My hope is that at the very least you were entertained by my rambling nonsense. Perhaps I even managed to accidentally inspire you!

Let’s see, what did I get accomplished?

1- I bought a new sewing machine

2- I finished up a set of wing bags

3- I cleaned and oiled my machines

4- I practiced making ruffles on my serger

5- I did a LOT of researching for this blog

Hmmm… not a lot of things got done, did they? I think that it’s because I spent all of my sewing time on the computer blogging about sewing.

I do have an update on something that my mom did… she put the binding on the Footprints quilt that I had purchased a few weeks ago. I placed it on my baby grand piano and it wasn’t very long at all before both of the cats had to test it to make sure that it would work. It received their Paw of Approval.

So now that the month is over, what am I going to do? Hopefully I will get a chance to do some sewing! Here are the things that I need to get done before Christmas:

• Drawing supply tote/carry-all for Raven
• Lunch bag for me
• Dresses for Missions
• Dresses for Missions
• Possibly an apron for me
• Dresses for Missions

Were you inspired to start or plan a sewing project during National Sewing Month? Did you learn anything new? Have you been prodded into maybe checking out a sewing charity or a sewing expo?

It has been a fun month. I obviously won’t be posting every day, but I’ll definitely keep you updated on my various projects. Thanks for hanging out with me this month!

In a previous post I told you how I go about finding inexpensive/bargain fabric.

Now that you have some inexpensive fabric, what should you sew?

Don’t go out and buy a pattern right away. Instead, spend a little time online because there are a LOT of free patterns available.

I really like wearing aprons when I cook because I tend to make quite the mess. I have one apron that I love, but I think that I’m in the market for another one. The first place I looked for a free pattern was Craftsy. If you go under the Pattern area, type in whatever you want to search for, and then sort it by lowest price all of the free patterns will come up first. When I did a quick search on Yahoo for free apron patterns it came up with over 6 million results. Now, obviously not all of those results are actually free patterns, but you should be able to find a decent selection to look through.

Growing up my mom refused to buy me a Cabbage Patch doll. My grandma found one that had been sewn by somebody and so I played with that one at her house. Which made me wonder if I could find a pattern for one. Well, I haven’t looked through all of them, but I did find a pattern for a life-size baby doll.

There were over 14 million results for ‘Free Doll patterns’.

Finally, I did a search for ‘Free Cat Sewing Plans’ and came up with over 16 million results. Including one for this Crinkle Sack that cats love.

A lot of this stuff would probably be simple enough to make on your own without a pattern, but there are some people who are so afraid of doing something wrong that they HAVE to follow a pattern.

Now, what I like is that I can take two different patterns and mash them up together. For example, when making an apron I might find a skirt that I like on one, but prefer the top on another. Using some common sense and logic I can take the two patterns and mash them together. You just have to be brave. And remember, if something doesn’t work out you can always save the material to cut up into smaller pieces for other projects.

I know that this post today wasn’t too enlightening, but the fun thing is doing the searching yourself. Look for obscure things to sew and see if anybody else has already done it for you. When I was originally going to make Jay the first set of wing bags I couldn’t find many resources at all. There were plenty of places selling the actual bags, but nothing that could tell me how to make my own. My blog post on how to make your own wing bags gets at least one hit every week. You just never know what people are going to want to make.

I have to be honest. Posting every day on just the topic of sewing is really starting to become difficult for me. I suppose that I could post about quilting or something, but I don’t know much about it so I’ve been side-stepping it. Part of the motivation for me to post every day was to post something that I was either interested in or had some experience doing. Or wanted to do. Unfortunately, at this point, quilting doesn’t fall into that category.

The other night as I was searching for one thing I suddenly thought, “I wonder if you can still get those t-shirt kits that we used in Home Ec class?” This is me in Seventh grade working on my t-shirt. This picture was in both our school newsletter AND the local paper. I was quite the celebrity 😉

I tried looking for a picture of me actually wearing the t-shirt that I made, but I couldn’t find one. I know that I wore it once in a while. It was made out of a fleece-type of cotton. Very similar to a cheap sweatshirt so it was a very warm t-shirt. I remember that we were given catalogs to look through and we could pick either a t-shirt, sweatshirt, or something else to sew. They all had to involve a pattern so that you could learn how to lay it out, cut the triangles in the fabric, and then have to correctly piece it together. If you chose a t-shirt you had the option of what color and what design. They were designed to have an image panel horizontally sandwiched between whatever color you chose. So when you cut out your material you had three pieces to sew together for the front and three pieces to sew together for the back. I chose a bright blue color and the image was that of a kitten. It was cute!

This is a Singer 6215C, which is very similar to the models we used. I’m not sure if it’s the exact one, but it’s close enough. For some reason this machine seemed so much easier to use than my mom’s Kenmore.

I’ve just had a thought… come with me on a little derailment for a moment…

Here is my current Singer. Perhaps that’s why I feel so comfortable with my machine… it’s VERY similar to the machines that we used in school. Very simple, not much to it, and easy to use. And as you can see from my picture up above I was happy while using it. I can’t say that’s always the case when I use my current machine….

The next year in Eighth grade we were allowed to choose to sew a tote bag, a pillow, or a locker organizer. As you can see, I chose the tote bag. We were allowed to pick what color bag and bottom that we wanted, and then you could pick whatever image they offered for your bag. Yikes. Now you guys know how old I am, if you didn’t already…

Every time I sew nylon straps onto a wing bag I always flash back to sewing the straps onto this bag. I don’t know why. This bag has really stood up well to the test of time that I have put it through. At least I still have it, unlike the t-shirt. In fact, this is one of my favorite bags. I just don’t use it very often if I have to go out in public because I really don’t want people knowing my age. I like to keep them guessing. I know that I also made a locker organizer thing that hung in my locker. If I remember correctly, though, I had to fix it at least once because the kids in my school cut the piece of Velcro that wrapped around the top vents of the locker. I don’t have many fond memories of my classmates…

Even though my mom sewed at home, it was nice to be able to tackle projects like these in Home Ec. Do they still offer Home Ec? Probably what they ought to do is teach kids how to do basic sewing tasks like sewing on buttons, hemming pants, or patching a hole. I think that those kinds of skills would serve everybody better. After all, how many people who had to make something in class could still sit down and use a sewing machine? There are times that I think it might do the community some good to hold a class like that at church where people of all ages can come and learn how to do that kind of thing. I suppose that you could say that they have YouTube for that now, but it’s still not the same as having somebody right there to show you exactly how to do something and give you practice.

Maybe if the younger generations could learn useful skills like sewing, basic carpentry, or even some cooking skills then they wouldn’t be bored and causing trouble. Put them in front of a sewing machine or behind a paint brush and give them something constructive to do! Now that I’ve solved the world’s problems I need to go take a nap… 😉

While trying to figure out what I wanted to post on my blog each day for National Sewing Month I would occasionally run across people calling themselves ‘sewists’. What?! I determined that this wasn’t just some individual who hadn’t paid attention in English class as there were numerous people using this term.

Sewist? Really? When I see somebody using that term I automatically assume that they talk with a Valley accent, type as if they are texting all the time (OMG!) and they always had to try to find ways to fit in with the cool kids. “Maybe if I use a term that sounds cooler than ‘seamstress’ or ‘sewer’ then people won’t think that I’m a nerd for enjoying time spent with a needle and thread!”

Have you run across this term? How do you feel about it?

Again, my first impression was that it was another one of those stupid politically correct terms that are coming into fashion so that everything is gender neutral and you can’t offend anybody. Well, it failed big time because I’m offended! Sewist?! Seriously? If we have to make everything gender neutral then we have to stop calling the people who write books or articles, “authors” due to the fact that the end of the word sounds like ‘her’. Instead we should start calling them ‘writists’ or perhaps ‘wordists’.

I went looking to see how this word came about and I quickly found that I’m not the only one who has an issue with this term. Back in 2010 Ardeana Hamlin wrote a piece called, “Don’t call me a ‘sewist’.” In it she says the same things, essentially, that I just did in regards to my feelings on this ridiculous word. I realize that the English language is constantly changing and evolving, but there are many words added to Webster’s dictionary each year that I don’t agree with or even think belong in that book. Ms. Hamlin went to the Word Spy website to find the origins of the word, which basically shows that it’s a recent phenomenon, with one exception. The entry reads as follows:

Then I came across another article on Threads magazine website that asks for readers comments regarding which term they prefer, sewer or sewist. The meat of this is actually in the comments section. Instantly I realized that the majority of the women who like the term ‘sewist’ would also probably identify themselves as feminists. They are the word warriors who have fought and bled over changing words like stewardess to flight attendant or waitress to server.

Perhaps I shouldn’t be allowed to comment on this topic. I know for sure that the Feminists would tell me to keep my mouth shut because I’m tossing aside all of the hard work that women have done to earn their rights over the last 100 years. I suppose that if it makes them feel better to refer to themselves as ‘sewists’ than ‘sewers’ or ‘seamstresses’, then whatever. As a conservative woman I don’t feel the need to change words to fit an agenda or make headway in a movement. I also don’t feel that a word diminishes the work that I do as a stitcher or a sewer. If you want to refer to yourself as a ‘sewist’, then more power to you. However, I will continue to refer to you as a ‘sewer’. I refuse to fall into the trap of bowing to your progressive agenda.

I apologize for the ‘political’ side of this post. I promise that I will not do another politically charged post for National Sewing Month. I just had to get this one off my chest!

Have you ever been to a sewing or quilt expo? I have been thinking about it and I’ve only been to one quilt expo/show. I’m not much of a quilter, but my mom is so I went with her. The quilt show that we attended was a smaller one and it was spread throughout various buildings on the campus where it was held. I really wasn’t impressed. There’s one, though, that I’ve been thinking about.

I think it was around 10 years ago that my mom discovered the Original Sewing & Quilt Expo. As a birthday/Mother’s Day gift my sister and I gave her a bunch of spending money for the vendor hall. And let me tell you… I think that she spent every penny we gave her PLUS some. If I’m remembering correctly, she came home with a new machine that year. I want to say that it was a serger, but don’t quote me.

If you don’t have quilt shops or sewing centers near you, but one of these Expos is within driving distance I highly recommend checking it out. Here is their calendar of upcoming events:

Fredericksburg, VA – October 1, 2 & 3, 2015

Minneapolis, MN – November 12, 13 & 14, 2015

Atlanta, GA – March 10, 11 & 12, 2016

Lakeland, FL – March 17, 18 & 19, 2016

Cleveland, OH – March 31, April 1 & 2, 2016

Worcester, MA – April 7, 8 & 9, 2016

Fredericksburg, VA – September 29, 30 & Oct 1, 2016

Minneapolis, MN – November 10, 11 & 12, 2016

Can you imagine going to a conference center and walking into the vendor hall that is filled with nothing but sewing stuff: fabric, machines, notions, books, patterns, filigree, etc.

If you plan on attending one you might want to start saving money for the vendor hall right now. And you also might want to skimp on Christmas…

The great thing about the Expo are the classes.

They don’t post the class lists for the individual shows until 12 weeks before the show takes place, so to get somewhat of an idea as to what they offer you can look at one of the shows coming up soon.

Looking at the Fredericksburg show I would be interested in taking these ones:

Leather & Lace – learn sewing techniques to use these two different materials in your sewing or adding to ready-made garments.

Elementary Fleece – learn simple techniques for working with fleece, including adding zippers.

Flowers, Buds & Leaves – using ribbons create flowers and fabric to create a beautiful bouquet that can be added to clothing, bags, hats, etc or add a pin to make it into a broach.

Business Set Up, Start Up and Launch – explore the basics of taking your business from idea to reality.

Fine Tune Your Sewing Skills – learn techniques to concentrate on the little details that are usually buried deep in books.

Anyway, take a look at the list to get a better idea of what they have going on. Based on the classes that I saw I think that I’m going to try attending the show this spring. I’m within driving distance of one of them, so maybe I can talk my mom into going with me. Hopefully they will offer the same type of classes at that time.

If you can’t get to one of the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo events do a search to see if there are any in your area. Sometimes these aren’t really advertised very well and you have to know where to look. They really are worth checking out.