Awwwwww

Nothing but pure fluff in this post. Baby bunnies at Desert Hills Ranch in Ashcroft yesterday. Happy Easter!

Spring fabrics

Working on some cute little clutches using bright, spring-like fabrics – by Kate Spain, I think. I bought them as remnants, so I don’t quite recall. I was looking through my fabrics last night to pick out some more selections and every time my hand went to some intricate or dark colour and pattern, I had to remind myself to keep it light and happy!

I learned two new things in making this clutch – I made piping for the first time, using an inch and a half strip of fabric to cover some butcher’s twine. I’ve since bought myself a piping foot, but this was made using just my regular straight stitch foot. I love the way it accents the little clutch. A little bulky by the zipper – the next one I make, I may clip the butchers cord back so that I don’t have to sew over it with the zipper – but it still worked.

The second thing was these cute little “brad” flowers. I bought them at Michaels in a package of 50. They’re metal with a double prong on the back – like a magnetic clasp. So you pierce the fabric, open the clasp – I used an extra little piece of firm stabilizer to hold it in place – and that’s about it. I don’t think they’d go through the washing machine very well, so I wouldn’t want to use them on anything that’s going to be tossed in with the laundry. But… I like the way they look here.

And inside… Still working on getting those welt pockets looking better. Not happening yet. It’ll come. Like the zippers. I bought myself a new zipper foot (along with the piping foot, and also a beading foot) which I used to install this zipper. I like it much better. The new foot is the longer one. The shorter foot came with the machine, and I’ve been using it for the past three years or so, but I’ve never been happy with it. I’ve only used the long foot once, but it seems to hold everything down better and helps me sew more evenly. It’s possible that I’m just making excuses for all of the bad zipper sewing that I’ve done in the past, but I really think the new foot has made a difference.

I mentioned in the post before the last one that Mr. ZQ had gone to visit his folks after his dad broke his hip. Well, all of the medical tests and procedures uncovered a nasty and virulent form of lung cancer, and his dad passed away on Thursday. I guess the positive spin on that is Mr. ZQ had time to spend with his parents before his dad passed away, and his dad didn’t linger for months or years in agony as some cancer patients do. It’s sad that another good man has left the Earth, but he’s left behind him a large and loving family. Rest in peace, Ron.

To market, to market

Well, I hammered my needle plate back together and I ordered a new one. It hasn’t arrived yet, but the old one is working satisfactorily for now. Even did some FMQing with it. That’s a thing about living in a small town – the resources, like repair shops, aren’t there so you learn how to do things yourself!

So I finished the Farmers Market Tote. One down, three to go. I’m hoping to make some to sell at our Farmers Market in May – did I tell you that already? I really like this pattern. It’s simple but stylish. And it’s big – it uses a lot of fabric! So use something inexpensive. The feature fabric – Moda’s “Odds and Ends” - was on sale for $3 per meter, the straps and outside pocket are canvas which was about $5 per metre, and so was the muslin which I used for the inside of the bag. The green fabric on the bottom came from the thrift store, so it was real cheap!

I used some of the sewing machine’s fancy stitches on the handle. Doesn’t cost anything, but it makes it look a little bit “special”! I wanted to silk screen the market logo on the pocket, but I don’t have everything I need for it. So I used a t-shirt transfer sheet that I printed on my inkjet. It worked well, though I don’t care for that shiny bit that makes up an iron-on transfer. Still, it doesn’t look bad, but I am working at getting the stuff  or silk screening together. I have soooo much “stuff” for all sorts of crafts, but there’s always just one more thing that you need.

Until next time,