In my last few posts, here, here, and here, I’ve been talking about beads and beading projects. Here’s a look at another tool that allows you to do interesting things with wire and beads.
Tag: Sewing Room Projects Page 1 of 2
Posts about things that happen in the sewing room that aren’t a quilt.
In this post, I talked about how I store my beads. I use them to make jewelry and to embellish quilts and other projects. My Eternity quilt, that I talked about is this post, uses beads as the major stars in the galaxy.
When I was looking for a good storage solution for my beading supplies, I searched through a lot of options. I wanted something that would hold a variety of items and keep it organized. I ended up using containers designed for beads and containers meant to hold fishing flies. There are plastic boxes and watchmakers tins. Here’s a look around my beading stash.
It was a busy week last week, getting ready for GenCon. I spent some time making us a few new masks for the event. I didn’t think it would take as long as it did, so was finishing them up at 9 pm the day before the event.
I wanted a pattern that would showcase the fabrics well, so found this new pattern online. If you do the measurements and move to the next size if you are close to the top end, you get a great fit. I did add a wire using a slightly different technique.
After Walt did his tour of the shop in this post, I thought I should take a trip around a my sewing studio. It’s not as neat as his shop was in the pictures.
As you walk into the room, the first thing you see is the lower half of my mother-in-law’s old secretary. It moved into the studio while I was working from home last year as a place to keep my work computer and supplies. Next to it is an old spring rocker that my parents had when I was little. I have recovered it once and it is due for another.
I am using an old broom handle to hang one of my favorite quilts under a shelf with some mementos on it. My mother made the scarecrow quilt for me.
Next comes the wall of fabric. I use the colors of the tubs to help keep everything organized. The gray handles have upholstery and outdoor fabrics. The purple ones are apparel and costume fabrics. The blue are quilting fabrics. The smaller tubs have a wide variety of things in them, sorted by type.
As you saw in my post last Monday, we like to take Jaxon hiking in the woods with us. Since he is a short hair, we thought is was important to get him a coat to help keep him dry and warm. We found a very nice coat that fit him well. Unfortunately it didn’t stand up to the wear and tear of a dog running through the woods.
Our dog Jaxon loves to hike with us. I needed a leash that would work while hiking, sometimes with a large pack on my back. Since I use two trekking poles when I am on the trail, my hands needed to free.
I remember a quilting class where the instructor had a porcupine quill in her tools. It seemed like an odd item to find in a sewing kit, but when she showed us how she used it, I promptly got one for myself.
When you are making a quilt, you sew across multiple seams, and it can be difficult to get everything to lie flat while you are doing this. A stiletto helps keep things lined up and neat.
The long narrow tip allows you to guide the fabric through the machine without getting you fingers close to the needle. I personally have never (knock on wood) stitched through a finger, but I know a number of people who have.
You can use a stiletto to punch a hole in fabric or leather, either for stitching of adding grommets. It can be used to help turn the edge of applique under before stitching it down.
A fancy brass stiletto
I had seen a brass stiletto with a needle tip. It had a cap to protect the tip from getting damaged and reduce the risk of it poking anyone or anything when not in use. I showed it to Walt, and he decided he would try to make one. He made several, some which were used a gifts and some that were sold.
He will show you more about how he made them in one of his shop project posts.
I use mine every time I am at the sewing machine.
My Grandma James sewed, knit, and did other hand work. My mom taught me how to use a sewing machine and makes quilts and does beautiful embroidery. I have tried my hand at a wide variety of crafts over the years and still do a wide variety of things. I enjoy having projects I can take with me to fill time at appointments and when I am traveling. Knitting fills that wonderfully, and I enjoy it even more knowing I am using my grandma’s tools.
