This and that; knitting and sewing machine embroidery

This past week has been extremely busy and unfortunately I didn’t even get to sew the Easter dress for my daughter. We had a slight change in plans since my six year old nephew was visiting us and so my free time was spent including him on the activities that my daughter and I do. He had so much fun during his week long visit, and so did we.

We went bowling, made playdough and played with it and we did lot of other fun activities. I also gave him his first sewing lesson.

Urban Threads - Mustang Sally UT1283
Urban Threads – Mustang Sally UT1283. I didn’t embroider this one, just want to show how it looked before I switched the colors.

 

My nephew loves cars, so yesterday I purchased this embroidered design, “Mustang Sally” from Urban Threads. Just to clarify, the above Mustang, isn’t what I embroidered, it’s the sample that is featured on the Urban Threads website. They had a few car designs on their site, but he liked this one the most. He wanted his car to be red and since I have plenty of embroidery thread, my “toughest decision” was deciding which colors to use.

 

Brother SE400 - Embroidering a car
Brother SE400 – Embroidering a car

 

Yesterday morning, I pulled out my Brother SE400, uploaded the design to my embroidery machine and let it start sewing. My nephew and daughter hovered around while it was sewing. My nephew is fascinated with my sewing embroidery machine (Brother SE400) and was excited to see the design come to life.

Eventually, I’ll write a review about the Brother SE-400. I’m really impressed with the embroidery function. In fact, that’s all I use the machine for, embroidery. The few issues I’ve ran into while using the machine have all been my fault and were easily fixed. With the above design I used two pieces of stabilizer (top and bottom of the t-shirt).  When I embroidered the doll design on one of my daughter’s t-shirts, I’d only used it on the bottom of the t-shirt and thought it might actually look nicer if I added it to the top of the t-shirt also… I was right.

 

My Brother SE400 did an amazing job with this embroidered car.
My Brother SE400 did an amazing job with this embroidered car.

 

It took over an hour to complete, but he was thrilled with his embroidered car t-shirt! Embroidery or embellishments are simple ways to dress up a plain t-shirt. The embroidered design isn’t the only item created yesterday.

Yesterday, when we took my nephew back to New Jersey, I was able to complete another small project. This time it involved knitting!

 

Knitting: Simple ribbed beanie hat for a NICU baby
Knitting: Simple ribbed beanie hat for a NICU baby

 

Since I didn’t drive there, I kept my hands occupied knitting  this simple ribbed beanie hat. I’m thinking I’ll crochet some type of embellishment to the hat or perhaps crochet a fancy border onto the hat? Who knows…

My nephew liked the hat and promptly put it on his head. Red just happens to be his color. I must say he looked a bit silly with the tiny hat on his head. I let him wear it for a bit but eventually took it away with the promise I’d make him an appropriate hat. I already gifted him with a knitted hat while he was here, the funny thing is when I made that hat I had no idea who I was making it for. I tucked it away knowing that eventually it’d find a home. My nephew is thrilled since it looks similar to the knitted hat I made for my father (his grandfather.)

I started another knitted hat, but wasn’t able to finish it since I drove back to Maryland from New Jersey.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Easter!

 

Sewing: Another skirt marker

The past several weeks, my free time has been focused on sewing costumes for the Passion Play. I could have been reimbursed for the material that I’d purchased for the play but I decided that the money and time spent making the costumes would be my gift to the drama ministry at our Lutheran church. As much as I enjoyed creating the costumes, I’m so glad they’re finished! Now, I can focusing on making items for my daughter and myself.

Remember that vintage skirt marker I purchased? I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet. I guess it’s not surprising since my focus has been on designing and sewing Passion Play costumes. Also,  my six year old nephew is here this week! Naturally, this means my time is limited as I spend time with him and my daughter.  We’ve done a lot, and over the next week or so I’ll share photos of some of the things we’ve done. While they slept, I have been able to work on my knitted blanket!

I must say, that I’m looking forward to testing it out since that skirt marker is excellent if you don’t have someone to help you mark a hemline. In addition to that marker, a few days ago I purchased another vintage marker, the only difference is it uses pins to mark the hemline. It’ll be perfect when I’m working on outfits for daughter or when I’m making outfits for myself.

How did I end up with two vintage markers? I wasn’t thrilled with the current I’ve seen in the local fabric stores most seem cheaply made, and are made from plastic. I did some research on “vintage skirt markers” and that’s how I found them.  The latest one I’m receiving uses pins to mark hems. Which works perfectly if you have a dress form or someone to assist.  I’m thinking skirt marker that uses pins, will be a great opportunity to show my daughter how to mark hems correctly.

Both of the vintage skirt markers were made in either the the 1940s or early 1950s. Since they’re made from wood and metal, they’re sturdier that the current ones I’ve seen.

Homemade Playdough

Yesterday, my daughter, nephew, and I had a lot of fun making playdough.

I gathered all the ingredients; flour, salt, cream of tarter, water, and a bit of oil. I then cooked everything in a large pot. My six year old nephew was excited, and helped me stir the playdough. My nephew is staying with us until this Friday. It works out perfectly, since my daughter is on Spring Break.

Homemade Playdough
Homemade Playdough

 

In the above photo, the dough started gathering around the spatula, that’s an excellent sign since it means that it’s almost ready. Of course, we had to wait for it to cool. Which was hard for them my daughter and nephew since they were ready to get creative.

 

We dyed our homemade playdough with food coloring.
We dyed our homemade playdough with food coloring.

 

After the playdough had cooled, we separated the playdough into sections and dyed it with food dye. This was a simple project, but we enjoyed it immensely and my daughter and nephew were entertained for a few hours while they worked on their creations. Towards the end, they decided to make Minecraft zombies, and let them dry. Once they’re dry, I’ll make sure I post a picture.

You can have fun without being glued to a technology gadget…

This week, my nephew is taking a break from his technology toys. I told him, you don’t need all those gadgets to have fun. I’m limiting their technology time And you know what? He’s still having fun! I always question the amount of time that some Children (and some adults too) spend with technology gadgets. They’re great, and I truly appreciate mine but I can’t help think that they can be a hindrance also since it can reduce social interaction — if you aren’t careful.

Interaction is very important in our household, and so I make that time. Yes, sacrifices have to be made on my part, but it’s worth the effort.

…And that’s a wrap!

 

Not too much is left to do with the Passion Play costumes

Let’s see, I still need to understitch the neck edge on the angel costume, blind stitch hems (resurrection and angel costume) and one last toss into the washer and dryer. Of course, they’ll need to be ironed and pressed once more before they’re whisked off to my Lutheran church for the people who’ll be wearing them.

Sewing: Angel costume
Sewing: Angel costume

The director wanted “shiny fabric” for both costumes and seemed to be gravitating towards satin. Satin has been around for centuries, I don’t think it existed in the first century, which is when Christ was on earth. However, even though I’d have preferred to use linen, I honored his request and I still had fun with this project.

Next up on my list are sewing a few pretty outfits for my daughter and I’m planning on designing a few outfits for myself to.  I really love how my sewing machine (Brother PC420) and my serger/overlock (Brother 1034D) did with these projects.

Armhole & neck facings: Don’t forget to clip or notch the edges…

A few of the costumes that I’m designing for the Passion Play have neckline facings.

Pinning the neck facing to the neckline
Resurrection costume: Pinning the neck facing to the neckline

 

Facings are great to use when turning or creating a professionally finished hem is impossible. I like using facings around armhole openings or necklines since it’s quick and produces professional results.

Neck and armhole facings: Don’t forget to clip or notch the edges

Sewing the neck facing with my Brother PC420
Sewing the neck facing with my Brother PC420

 

Neck facing: Clipping close to the seam so that the facing lies smoothly on the inside.
Neck facing: Clipping close to the seam so that the facing lies smoothly on the inside.

 

In the above picture you’ll see the notched edges around this costumes neckline. Why make notches? Doing this step enables the facing to curve and lie flat against the garment. This is a step you really don’t want to skip since if you avoid it, you might notice that your facing won’t lie flat and an unnotched/unclipped facing can cause the fabric to pull in odd ways. I’ve noticed with the major pattern companies they leave out this reminder since at times they assume that a sewer will know this. That’s not necessarily true, especially if the person is new to sewing.

 

Wiss Pinking Shears
Wiss Pinking Shears

I used my old Wiss pinking shears that I inherited from my mom. These shears are older than me (over 43 years old) and they’re still doing a great job. I really love these pinking shears, they’re heavy and they’ve obviously lasted a long time! If you don’t have pinking shears you can either make notches (using scissors) like the ones above or simply clip close to the seam.

I must say that the seams that my newly acquired Brother sewing machines did was excellent. My Brother PC420 did a wonderful job sewing straight seams and my Brother 1034D serged everything quite nicely. Thus far, since I’ve used these machines, the only issues I have were my fault and those mistakes were easily corrected.

 

 

Just one more yard…

Well… it looks like I’ll be headed back to the fabric store today. I decided to modify the costume for Jesus’ ceremonial robe, so that’s why I’m headed back.

I’m short about one yard (the director wants the robe to have a hood).  Since I need it ASAP, I’ve decided to purchase the fabric locally at JoAnn Fabrics. These days, most of my fabric is purchased online I can find better deals and much better quality fabric at reasonable prices.

Fabric Mart, is one of my favorite places to purchase fabric online. It has great customer service, nice selection of fabric and a quick turnaround time. It helps that the fabric store is located in Pennsylvania.

The good news is that I should be finished the Passion Play costumes today! Yesterday, I received my vintage skirt marker. It’s in like new condition. Oh, I’m really loving my chakoner, I’ll have to write a post about that soon, and of course, take pictures of the lines it makes.

Tomorrow, I most likely will start creating my daughters Easter dress. I purchased some lovely fabric from Fabric Mart, I just haven’t had a chance to post a picture showing the fabric.

A bit behind…

I was hoping to have all the Passion Play costumes sewn by now, but it looks like I’ll just have them completed by this Saturday. Which is perfect since the first performance is Sunday evening. In all fairness I didn’t get the last set of measurements (angel costume) until this Monday.

Mary Magdalene’s costume was done and was worn at the full dress rehearsal last night. Christ’s resurrection robes will be finished by tomorrow. They would have been done by now, but I decided to tweak my own design a bit. Let’s say I received additional inspiration while watching the full dress rehearsal last evening.

This weekend, my nephew will be hanging out with us for a few days and so my daughter and I are both looking forward to spending time with him.

Here’s hoping I actually remember to take pictures of the remaining costumes before they are given to those who’ll wear them. At times, I get so caught up with the creation process that I forget to stop and take pictures.