Back to Basics

It began with buttons...learning to sew a button was the first sewing task I learned, waaayyy back when it was actually interesting. Now, sewing buttons is a task I loath...probably because the end product is so very minimal...that satisfaction of completing a project is almost non-existant. However, sometimes going back to basics is necessary. With both of my kids in school, it's time to step up this little hobby I have been playing with for the past few years (or rejoin the work force !@#^@!)...which means sitting down and writing a plan? ...a business plan? Maybe not, but laying out some clear goals and a specific timeline is something that needs to get done...has been done and one of those goals was reaching out...putting to use this blog I created quite a while ago and then left by the wayside...this poor neglected blog that was supposed to catalogue my creations, chronicle my process...entertain?... So, I begin....again...horrible grammar and all! I'm not making any promises...but...I need to get organized, I need to reign in my creative process, dial down my crafting ADD, find focus...so this is where I will start. Hopefully, with proper grammar employed (because the disconnected stream of thoughts flowing through this post will soon annoy me and voices of English teachers past will haunt my dreams), I can share this journey. So it's starting with buttons...my husband needs buttons sewn on his work shirts, something he jokingly asks if I could arrange via some Etsy seamstress because it generally takes months to get it done when he goes through me. He should be pleasantly surprised when he returns from work to find not one shirt done, but two!

Machine

This post is a tribute to my machines...I use three different sewing machines for different reasons. I know it's a little excessive and probably a little bit unnecessary, but....My first sewing machine was a Janome 5700. My husband gave it to me for Christmas because years before I had mentioned that I wanted to learn to sew so that when we had children I could make their Halloween costumes. It's a great machine...a plethora of stitches and also an embroidery machine. Then I started sewing and selling on Etsy and using heavier fabrics and stitching through more and more layers. I decided it was time to get a workhorse that could take all that so that I didn't tear up the "fancy" machine. I bought myself a used Juki TL 98 E. It's a bare bones machine...one straight stitch and reverse. It does have an automatic cutter that I love. One of my machines was acting up so I took it in...in the meantime, I decided to borrow my grandma's machine. She used to sew quite a bit...making clothes for my mom and aunts and then for my sister and me. She has Kenmore from the 1950's and it is a blast to work with. It only has about 5 stitches, which at the time was a pretty big deal. What I love it for is the attachments....a binder, a ruffler, a gather foot....a few others that I haven't even tried yet. I know I could get those feet for my existing machines, but it's so much more fun to sew on the machine that created some of the cutest Easter dresses I wore.
I recently used all three for one project! The ruffler attachment on the Kenmore was used to ruffle the tiers for the latest ruffle valance I made. Then I use the Juki to stitch the tiers together and then the overlock stitch on the Janome finishes all the edges.