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.