So it's been a very long time since I've written anything here. Turns out that having a career, a toddler, and a household to manage takes up most of your free time. Lately I've been toying with the idea of getting back into blogging and that journey of a thousand miles has to begin with the first step...so here we go. This blog is going to be a mix of craftiness, geekery, things to do in Indianapolis, and whatever else comes to mind. This may be a bumpy ride at first, but stick around and things will surely come together. Feedback is always welcome so fire away!
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Sewing from Patterns
Life has been pretty hectic lately with working and chasing a 13 month old around. I got a chance the other day to take another class at one of my local crafting stores, and it was a much needed break from the hustle and bustle of my day to day life. A couple of years ago for Christmas my mother gave me a sewing machine. It's nothing fancy, just a basic Brother machine. I've done a couple of projects on it out of old T-shirts (pillowcases and simple grocery bags) but I decided it wanted to learn how to do more. This class just happened to fall into one of my few days off and I was able to arrange child care, so....ME TIME!!!!
Now I had taken a few classes before to hone my cake decorating and knitting skills but this way my first attempt at doing any "real" sewing. I showed up with my machine, fabric, pattern, and all supplies in tow.
I learned to "read a pattern," (okay, the instructor helped us quite a bit), and iron on fusing, line up the straps etc. 
Then it was time to start the sewing. I was suprisingly nervous sewinging in front other people for the first time, but started off slow and soon felt comfortable with what I was doing. My biggest trouble was keeping my stitching straight. Luckily with my first project the thread blended in and you couldn't see it at all. 
Then it was time to start the sewing. I was suprisingly nervous sewinging in front other people for the first time, but started off slow and soon felt comfortable with what I was doing. My biggest trouble was keeping my stitching straight. Luckily with my first project the thread blended in and you couldn't see it at all. All together the project took about 4 hours from start to finish. It was a great beginner project and the results were beautiul. Our instructor did a couple of small modifications to the pattern to make the bag reversable. My fabrics were pretty similar so there's not a start contrast as opposed to the other student in my class. 
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Back?
So it's been a while since I've posted on here. In that time, I've been raising my now one year old daughter, I got married, and we've moved into our new house. Now that things are finally starting to settle back down, I'm going to try and blog a bit more. Stand by and we'll see how this goes!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Scarves and Hats
I finally managed to complete Jay's hat and scarf set and they both came out really well! I would have liked for the scarf to be a bit longer, but 2 skeins in and I was done. I tend to get a bit bored with scarves. Back and forth, back and forth, same pattern over and over. I really love this hat pattern though. The ribbing seems to make it extra warm and there's a bit more room for sizing errors due to the stretchiness of it.
The ribbing on the scarf, like mentioned before, is very similar but still a bit different from the hat. All in all Jay's happy with it and I'm happy to be done with the both of em!
More projects to come in the near future, been pretty busy lately with overhauling the apartment.
The ribbing on the scarf, like mentioned before, is very similar but still a bit different from the hat. All in all Jay's happy with it and I'm happy to be done with the both of em!
More projects to come in the near future, been pretty busy lately with overhauling the apartment.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Russian Joins and knitting scarves!
My boyfriend recently decided that he wanted me to make him a hat and a scarf for the winter time, that he could also wear at work if needed. He's an "ambulance driver" as most people call him. So the last time we were at the craft store I let him pick out a color for his stuff. He meticulously walked up and down the aisle, touching and examining yarns, comparing and going back. It was fun to see him going through the same anguish I go through when picking yarn for a project. He finally settled on a lovely Denim Ombre done by Bernat. Going with his uniform coordination, the yarn was done in deeper shades of blue.
The hat was just a basic 3x2 ribbing with a very lovely decrease pattern for the crown, and really didn't take any time to do at all. Next time I think I may decrease the circumference a bit, but the hat is very stretchy so it's not really all that noticeable at all.
The next project was the scarf to go along with the hat. I wanted something very similar in pattern, but that was still a bit different. I found this pattern on Ravelry and knew it was it! The first skein had gone by quite quickly and today it was time to join my next skein. When I was first starting out learning to knit, i would just tie a big ol ugly knot and hope it blended in somewhat. Today I was determined to do something nicer. I came across the Russian Join and found a wonderful video on Knitting Help that gave a step by step on how to do it. So I gave it a try and it was a success! It's probably one of the nicest joins I have done to date!
The hat was just a basic 3x2 ribbing with a very lovely decrease pattern for the crown, and really didn't take any time to do at all. Next time I think I may decrease the circumference a bit, but the hat is very stretchy so it's not really all that noticeable at all.
The next project was the scarf to go along with the hat. I wanted something very similar in pattern, but that was still a bit different. I found this pattern on Ravelry and knew it was it! The first skein had gone by quite quickly and today it was time to join my next skein. When I was first starting out learning to knit, i would just tie a big ol ugly knot and hope it blended in somewhat. Today I was determined to do something nicer. I came across the Russian Join and found a wonderful video on Knitting Help that gave a step by step on how to do it. So I gave it a try and it was a success! It's probably one of the nicest joins I have done to date!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Birthdays!!!
I recently celebrated another year closer to....eek!...30!!! Not quite there yet though. I was most excited when I opened the card that my mother had sent me and inside was a check and a picture of a sewing machine! While visiting her earlier this year on vacation, I had mentioned how I would like to have a sewing machine around for fix-it's and little projects, lo & behold I was soon to have my own in my possession.
After doing some research, I decided to settle on a Brother brand (which is also what my mother has). Joann Fabrics is currently having a sale since it's National Sewing Month...hmmm didn't know that existed...so I purchased mine through them....a few days later my Brother XL2600i arrived!!!
After doing some research, I decided to settle on a Brother brand (which is also what my mother has). Joann Fabrics is currently having a sale since it's National Sewing Month...hmmm didn't know that existed...so I purchased mine through them....a few days later my Brother XL2600i arrived!!!
I haven't worked with a sewing machine since my botched attempt at making a pair of shorts in middle school home economics, and that was well over 10 years ago. I found some scrap fabric around the house, pulled out my trusty manual and set forth at reacquainting myself. I remembered how to fill and load a bobbin, and how to thread the machine (this model even comes with a nifty built in needle threader) and then moved on to playing with the stitches. After a few botched attempts I had finally gotten the basic hang of it again.
Now it was time for a simple little project! Enter the boyfriend's Nirvana t-shirt that was way to big and was going to be thrown out...perfect for a pillow! So after cutting...and lining up fabric...and pinning...and stitching...and stuffing...and attempting to stitch the last hole closed...I present to you.....
So I'm excited to see that I can remember how to do the basics and got a cute little project out of the deal. Next project is going to be some privacy curtains for the girl's bunk beds!
New Beginnings
I've finally decided that I need one centralized place where I can gather all of my thoughts and ideas. So here it is...
Who am I...I am a 911 dispatcher, a hippy at heart, a green freak, a crafter, a geocacher, a lover, an amateur chef/baker, and a DIY fan....now I can put it all here!!!
Who am I...I am a 911 dispatcher, a hippy at heart, a green freak, a crafter, a geocacher, a lover, an amateur chef/baker, and a DIY fan....now I can put it all here!!!
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