sewing corner
I finally have a sewing corner in the basement! My birthday is at the end of next month, and even though it was a little early, I got myself my present last weekend, a sewing cabinet:
I have needed something like this for years. Up until last weekend, I could only sew on the kitchen table. Our kitchen is pretty cramped as it is, and getting the table cleaned off for long enough to get anything done on a sewing project is nearly impossible, especially when you have young, growing children who demand snacks what feels like every half hour. So frustrating. Even so, I kind of agonized over this decision. Sewing cabinets are rather expensive, and I had to convince myself that I deserve one and that it would be worth it.
Now that I have one, I don't regret it a bit. I love it! And already, I've used it a lot. Yesterday, for example, I made four pairs of PJ pants for my kids. That's right: four. That's in addition to two pairs I made for Daniel a week ago. I could do pajama pants in my sleep by now. Watch out, family! We might all get matching flannel PJ pants for Christmas this year. It goes a heck of a lot faster than knitting socks, I tell you.
Now on to the next issue. I'd like to expand my sewing skills, but my machine has one significant limitation: it's crap for buttonholes.
See this jacket?
I made this for Anya, and got all the sewing on it done several weeks ago (before the purchase of the sewing cabinet, even!), but for the buttonholes. And that's where I'm stuck. I thought maybe it was my own failing, but when I was shopping for the cabinet, I mentioned my buttonhole issues to the guy at the sewing machine place, and he said machines like mine just don't do them well. I thought maybe if I practiced on a scrap piece of fabric first, I could make it work, but the machine turned the fabric and thread into a mangled mess. It just wasn't happening.
There's no way I can afford a new machine now, nor do I want one. My little Bernette 60 has served me well for nearly a decade (it was a birthday present from my mom). It runs beautifully, it's simple, and we just have an easy friendship. How many buttoned-down shirts and jackets am I going to sew anyway? Realistically, not many. In the meantime, my mom has a machine that executes buttonholes just beautifully, so if I can get my act together, I'll sew up a few things and bring them down to Kentucky for Christmas and do all the buttonholes there. I think that's a good solution, at least for now.
Oh, and I've been knitting. Here's an obscure little peek at another test knit I'm doing for Baby Cocktails.
I have needed something like this for years. Up until last weekend, I could only sew on the kitchen table. Our kitchen is pretty cramped as it is, and getting the table cleaned off for long enough to get anything done on a sewing project is nearly impossible, especially when you have young, growing children who demand snacks what feels like every half hour. So frustrating. Even so, I kind of agonized over this decision. Sewing cabinets are rather expensive, and I had to convince myself that I deserve one and that it would be worth it.
Now that I have one, I don't regret it a bit. I love it! And already, I've used it a lot. Yesterday, for example, I made four pairs of PJ pants for my kids. That's right: four. That's in addition to two pairs I made for Daniel a week ago. I could do pajama pants in my sleep by now. Watch out, family! We might all get matching flannel PJ pants for Christmas this year. It goes a heck of a lot faster than knitting socks, I tell you.
Now on to the next issue. I'd like to expand my sewing skills, but my machine has one significant limitation: it's crap for buttonholes.
See this jacket?
I made this for Anya, and got all the sewing on it done several weeks ago (before the purchase of the sewing cabinet, even!), but for the buttonholes. And that's where I'm stuck. I thought maybe it was my own failing, but when I was shopping for the cabinet, I mentioned my buttonhole issues to the guy at the sewing machine place, and he said machines like mine just don't do them well. I thought maybe if I practiced on a scrap piece of fabric first, I could make it work, but the machine turned the fabric and thread into a mangled mess. It just wasn't happening.
There's no way I can afford a new machine now, nor do I want one. My little Bernette 60 has served me well for nearly a decade (it was a birthday present from my mom). It runs beautifully, it's simple, and we just have an easy friendship. How many buttoned-down shirts and jackets am I going to sew anyway? Realistically, not many. In the meantime, my mom has a machine that executes buttonholes just beautifully, so if I can get my act together, I'll sew up a few things and bring them down to Kentucky for Christmas and do all the buttonholes there. I think that's a good solution, at least for now.
Oh, and I've been knitting. Here's an obscure little peek at another test knit I'm doing for Baby Cocktails.
Comments
That jacket is amazing.
I love your cabinet! I love the giant spool rack.
Wouldn't it be awesome if stores like JoAnn had machines for rent? If you could sign up for a period of time to go in and use machines? Like a little sewing library? That would rock. I would think that'd be a great way to do some surging.