Just Sew It

I hear so many people say “I don’t know how to sew but I wish I did”. Why do people not sew these days? Time. Let’s face it we just don’t have the time these days. Also, we can find nice clothes at good prices. So, why sew? Besides being fun, you can create something unique and custom made to suit you or your needs. I love to sew home decor the most as there is something special when I make something one-of-a-kind for my home. You can’t buy pleated bed-skirts without paying an arm and a leg. You can’t buy window treatments with details such as cording, etc. in the store. I like sewing dresses for special occasions as the fit is like no other. I hope my daughter will ask me to make her Grad/prom dress when she finishes high school.

Anyways, sewing is a very valuable skill and people don’t realize how valuable it is until these want something unique. You CAN have that skill. It is very easy to operate a sewing machine. If you can drive a car, you can operate a sewing machine. Join me on a weekly basis to learn how to sew. I will teach you the basics. Learn to sew it’s a lot of fun plus fabric is addicting too.

I picked a book (Mastering Machine Applique) up from the library to help me learn how to do raw-edge applique. Out of all the books that I’ve borrowed from the library on this topic, this book is the best. It is very thorough. Out of all the techniques I like the raw-edge application using paper-backed fusible web. Fast and easy. I don’t like the other fussy methods.

Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Fabricland always has sales on various items. So yesterday I went to look for quilting fabric. I just wanted a little to practice making appliques. They had shit. Fabricland is theee worst fabric store around. Unfortunately, it is the only one that offers memberships. Fanny’s Fabric closed down last year. I was so disappointed when that happened. Of course, there are some quilting stores in the city and they do have a lot of cottons to choose from but they are on the south side of the city. So when I pick up fabric for my quilts I will be making the hike. Fabricland sucks! I can’t stand them. They have incompetent staff with terrible sales skills. Choices of fabrics suck and their lack of notions is pathetic. Even Walmart carries more than they do. That is bad. I really wish more people sewed then there would be more fabric stores. I have had to go on-line to buy supplies and while that is not all that bad I wish we had it locally too. But Canada’s population is much smaller than the States. Supply and demand.

Last night, I watched the movie Jarhead. It was good but not great. My husband looked at the cast and said, “no wonder you wanted this movie it has Jake Gyllenhaal in it”. He was probably standing in the blockbuster wondering why I wanted a war flick. Duh! the beef cake! There is no action in this flick. It focuses on the characters more so. I think Jake may have made this movie so he is not type casted as a gay man. Don’t worry Jake. We know you are not gay.

Many people don’t think of this when sewing but the needle you have in your sewing machine can greatly affect the stitch in your fabric. Each time you do a project you need to change your needle in your sewing machine. Sometimes I will change after two projects if they are small projects. It is also important to select the correct needle for your project. Schmetz needles seem to be very popular with sewing educators and I’ve been using them for the past two years. Many years ago when I first began sewing I used one needle and never changed it. Now I know better. Many sewing books will help you select the correct needle for your project.

Sewing machine
Iron/ironing board
Pattern
Fabric
Thread
Bobbins
Scissors
Measuring tape
Chalk or disappearing marking pens
Hand and machine needles
Pins
Seam ripper