Sew Very Smooth Blog
A New Year And New Projects
by Steve Tippets on 01/05/18I've always loved winter break from school. When I was a kid it was my favorite time of year. I loved the cold. I loved the lights. I loved the music. It was magical. Plus, I loved not having to think about school for a few weeks. It's a little different as a parent. Instead of the typical two week break, my kids have three weeks off of school. Three weeks. That is a very long time to have your normal routine interrupted and I am beyond ready to have that schedule start back up again. I still have to make it through this weekend.
Part of my normal routine now includes sewing. I miss it. But it's too hard to sew when I've got three extra kids in the house who are in and out of the office asking me questions every five minutes.
Thankfully, I have managed to at least think about sewing, even if I haven't actually been able to turn my sewing machine on since before Christmas.
I have a few things planned as we start this new year which I am really excited about. The first project is a big one that will take me the entire year to complete. I have signed up for the Block of the Month club through Purple Daisies Quilting. Information about it can be found here:
https://purpledaisiesquilting.com/pages/stellar-stars-2018-bom-info
Basically, I'll be sent one block pattern, some months I'll be sent two, to work on. Each block will help me learn new techniques which I'm really excited about. At the end of the year, I'll have a completed quilt.
I'm really excited and a little nervous to be tackling this quilt. I'm grateful that I'll have the whole year to complete it. The first block will be sent out on the 12th of this month, so I have another week and a half before I can get started on it. Has anyone else ever done a block of the month club?
There's no way for me to know how long each block will take me to do. Some blocks may very well take me the entire month to complete while others could be done in a just one week. In the event that I finish the blocks quickly, I wanted to make sure I had something else to work on.
I decided to get a book of table runner patterns. That way I won't confuse myself with multiple quilt projects happening at once.
This particular book has ten different patterns in it. I thought it would be best to just sew my way through the book rather than jump around. This way I don't have to decide which one to start with.
The first table runner is called "A Pack of Posies."
It was a little overwhelming to be in the store trying to pick out fabric, but I was able to do it eventually. I just hope the colors go as well together in the runner as they do in my head.
I'm not sure how much time I'll be able to put towards these table runners, but I like knowing that I have them to do in any down time that I have.
This week I will be cutting down my fabric choices. I'm going to wait to post a picture of the fabric until the prep work is finished. Hopefully I'll have time to start sewing, but the priority is on the preparation. It's probably my least favorite part of any project, sewing or not, but it's an important one.
What is your least favorite part of your projects? Do you have something you dislike so much that the thought of it makes you put off projects all together? I've never gotten to that point and I hope I never will.
Busy Christmas
by Steve Tippets on 12/29/17
What an amazing and busy week this has been for me. Last Friday I had fourteen family members come into town for Christmas. The last of them left today. I have never hosted so many people before so I was pretty occupied with making sure everyone was happy, comfortable, and had what they needed. It didn't leave any time for sewing. Even if I had had time to sew, I had someone sleeping in my office so I didn't have access to my sewing machine.
It was nice to have a break this week, but I'm ready to get back to a regular schedule with more projects to work on.
Since I don't have a project at the moment and I didn't want to go a week without posting, I thought it would be a good idea to highlight the extension table that I've been using. Mine is the Wish table from Sew Steady. You can find them under the products link of the Sew Very Smooth website. They have a few different sizes so there is the perfect size for everyone.
I've had it for a few weeks now and I love it. It was exactly what I needed to use while I worked on the weighted blanket for my daughter. I can't even imagine trying to wrestle that heavy fabric and still achieve a straight line. The table allowed me to keep the material flat so my Ideal Seam Guide could stay in position while I sewed. Together, I was able to achieve the perfect line I was hoping for.
It took a few months to get it, but that was only because I have a brand new model sewing machine so there hadn't been a template made for it yet. It was worth the weight because it fits my Juki beautifully.
I'm so excited to continue with future projects with the aid of this table. If you are on the fence about one, I highly recommend them. They're worth the investment.
I am also pleased to inform you that my daughter loved her weighted blanket. She has slept with it every night since Christmas and I have even found her curled up with it while playing with her toys. It does my heart good to see it being used. A few of her cousins have even asked for me to make them one. It looks like I may have an endless supply of 'filler' projects to work on.
Just In Time For Christmas
by Steve Tippets on 12/22/17This week I had to finish my weighted blanket. The last of itwasn't hard to do, but man it was time consuming. This has been the largest project I have worked on so far so I didn't have the experience of working with so much material. Then you add the extra weight of the beads and it proved to be slow going.
As the rows were completed and I got closer and closer to the top it was harder to keep the beads in place as I closed them shut. The last row required me to add the beads just a few columns at a time. That made it more difficult to add the beads because the blanket was 'trapped' under the foot of the sewing machine so I didn't have as much movement available, but I managed.
The beads also broke my first needle. A single one made it's way into the path of the needle causing it to get stuck and bend. Thankfully switching out the needle was super easy. I was actually very proud of myself for being able to follow the instructions in the manual and not having to watch the demonstration on the video.
The final row took the most time to finish. I had to hand stitch it closed. I would place the beads in one pocket at a time, close it, then add more beads. It was worth it to take the extra time to do that to make sure that that end matched the other three sides of the blanket.
I actually really enjoyed having the blanket on my lap while I sewed. I found the weight to be very comforting so I'm confident it will do the same for my daughter.
I know these pictures are not the best. It is difficult to get such a large project in its entirety in the frame without angling it a bit. The squares of beads are so straight it makes me happy to look at them. I love that.
I honestly can't wait for my daughter to open her gift. The one nice thing about finishing so close to Christmas is I don't have to wait too long for her to receive it.
Now that the weighted blanket is done it's time to move on to something else. I have something I'm really excited about starting in January. I'll explain more about it next week as I get the details worked out. For now, I need to focus on last preparations for Christmas. I have fourteen people coming in from out of town today. It's going to be a crazy week.
Merry Christmas everyone! I hope it's merry and bright for you all!
