Crafting Rehab

Doing some clothes mending today, I think. I have 2 pairs of identical jeans from Old Navy that are 3-4 years old and about to go in the inner thigh area, so I’m reinforcing them with some iron-on patches on the inside. I’m going to try and hand-stitch around the edges to make sure they don’t peel up, but making them invisible may take some doing.

I’ve got a lot of practice at hand stitching, however: mom’s quilt is almost done. I just have a couple of the binding edges to go and it’ll be ready in time to send as a Christmas gift instead of a birthday one. :P

Today I’ll also be removing shoulder pads from a couple of used jackets I purchased at Goodwill (I already have broad shoulders, so shoulder pads make me look like a freak). If I’m lucky, I’ll have time to make a shirt for work as well! It’ll be my first time working with machine knit cloth, but I’ll try anything once.

I start my first job in 2.5 years tomorrow (well, actually, there are 2 days of orientation before I actually start at the library), so I’m pretty antsy. I hope filling my day with practical things will help ease the nervousness.

• Patch Jeans x 2
• Hem work pants x 3
• Remove shoulder pads from jackets x2
• Adjust fit on work tank tops x 3
• Sew work shirt

Hand Embroidery Network

The Sometimes Crafter: Tutorial :: Hexagons

There’s a baby coming! No, it’s not mine; my friend Krissy is pregnant with her first, which is due in April. I can’t not knit for a baby! I’m pretty sure it is listed as a requirement somewhere in my Knitter’s Manifesto.

I promise to take it easy though (hence why I’m starting now). The bad part is that I have to work with cotton (hello washables!), which can be rough to work with. I’m going to keep my non-greasy lotion on hand (it’s called Sew Help Me! and was a gift from Tam) and I’m going to go slow. There isn’t a rush, so I have to keep my eagerness in check.

I remembered how to knit though, and it’s really hard to keep my excitement in check.

I’m starting withBaby Bib O’ Love by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne. I might do a few of these, depending on how I like the pattern. After that, I’d liketo do a baby blanket…but we’ll see how my hands are doing. Oh, and at least one cute toy. Maybe a T-Rex. ;)

Other than that, I’ve been hand sewing mom’s quilt, which isn’t quite as hard as I thought it’d be. My stitches are far from perfect, however. I’ve also been weaving a little bit. My selvages are pretty horrible, and I have a tendency to slouch while using the loom (this is probably due to the tiny loom I use).

Okay, enough updates–I’m going to go knit! Um, slowly. Right.

Today the quilt backing was stretched and pinned to my carpet in the living room (the only room with enough floor space to lay the quilt flat). I then carefully laid the batting and then the pieced top over the backing, smoothing carefully. I used my curved basting pins to pin the layers together, keeping them about a hand’s-width apart (I don’t own that many pins, even with two sets). I actually got a little vigorous in my pinning, as I somehow managed to hook my carpet as well. D’oh. I then proceeded to unpin the backing from the carpet and pull the quilt (slowly, with some carpet threads attached) off the floor.

Now it stares at me from across the room. I have only to quilt it, bind it, and wash/dry it, and it will be done!

But…I’m afraid.

I’m afraid I’m going to mess it up again. That the backing will insist upon puckering in that horrible way. That my sewing machine–or myself–is not up to the task. The very thought of trying to quilt freehand makes my hands hurt, though.

The quilt will stare at me for awhile more. I have no time to quilt it tonight…but tomorrow, well, I’ll just have to get over my fears.

And hope I don’t screw it up again.

I was able to undo all of yesterday’s quilting last night while listening to Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History podcast. Needless to say, after a 2+ hours of picking out stitches I felt quite cross-eyed for awhile.

I also had pogle pick me up some more curved basting pins, so today I’ll be working on getting the backing stretched properly. Then attempt #2 at pinning and quilting.

I’ll make sure to read up on stretchy backing fabrics beforehand. Just in case.

Working within a quota system of production is not like weaving for oneself. It is no longer fun, nor does the weaver get the benefit of extra effort put in. Mass production is not at all like making single pieces at will; there isn’t time to do a careful job. This economic principle is illustrated many times in history.

For instance, in Mesopotamia, when people first figured out how to make pottery, they painted it with truly exquisite designs, but when the potter’s wheel was invented and it suddenly became possible to mass-produce the pots, the designs rapidly degenerated into a quick swish of the brush for a little color. The same effect is visible in Cretan textiles made for the central palaces, under Mycenaean rule, as they rapidly becamse plain with at most a fancy edging. Elsewhere on Crete, however, in remote areas that the Mycenaeans failed to subjugate, the Minoan women continued to make their elaborate fabrics…

Barber, Elizabeth Wayland. _Women’s Work: The First 20,000 Years._ New York: W. W. Norton, 1994. 225.

quilt backing puckering

Trying to use a stretchy flannel cloth for backing (her choice); I’m going to have to undo all of today’s work, it looks so horrid. >.<

*sigh*

I’m never pre-washing a quilt batting again. What a pain in the butt! I’ll happily settle for that “antique” look that involves not pre-washing. :P

I’m currently working on a gift for my mother, who attempted to make her first quilt last winter and ran into some, erm, problems. I’m using her quilt top, but I’ve replaced her batting (she didn’t have enough) and her backing (she didn’t have enough of this, either). I’ve also picked up a binding material that I hope she’ll like; the only pattern I could find that worked well was in flannel, which causes some wear concerns. Oh well, I can always repair it in the future. Because that’s what a good crafter does, right?

http://www.handmadenews.org/article/index.php?id=3674

At this rate I’m going to have to add a clay category. :P