MAY I INTRODUCE YOU TO...

...something very dear to my heart

LADY DIANA

I'm pretty sure I've never posted her before.  She's been living in the hall closet, and has not been out of her case for years.  Although I haven't seen much of her in years, I do often think about her and the fun times we use to have together.  Yes, I have very fond memories of the very first sewing machine that I ever purchased for MYSELF.

Couldn't remember exactly what year I purchased her, but a little research revealed the Singer Diana 560 Electronic was first sold in 1975, and was one of the first electronic machines that Singer produced.  I do remember that my daughter was in grade school at the time of purchase.  I'm not sure if I knew exactly what I was buying, I just knew that I wanted a new sewing machine, and that I wanted to buy it MYSELF.

I don't remember how much I paid for it.  That's funny because I always remember exactly how much I pay for everything.   I do remember that I had to order her, and that delivery was delayed for three months because of some dock strike down in New York City.

Use to pull some all nighter's making my Daughter's school clothes on her.  By the time Alondra (DD) reached 11th grade, Diana had starting acting a little funny.  When I took her in for a checkup I was told that the cost of repairs would far outweigh her worth so I just bought another machine.  But, I vowed that she would always have a home with me - because I loved her.

I had been gifted two vintage cabinet machines that I procrastinated getting fixed. Recently I finally got up enough energy to remove both from their cabinets to take them in for repair.

WHITE 660-9733 complete with attachments

 

SINGER TOUCH & SEW complete with cams 

 

 

 

 

Aren't they beautiful!  My repairman, Mr. Baggette got them  clean, shiny and purring like kittens.  I LOVE THAT MAN.  Think I'll get a picture of him to show him off on my blog.  Since he did such a fantastic job with these, I thought I'd ask him about fixing Diana - and he did!!!, for only $63.00.  Mind you, he's the one that told me years ago that Diana wasn't worth fixing - go figure???


I checked Diane's current value and found that she would sell for for $89 to $100.  I would never sell her; she's priceless!


Guess you can tell that not much sewing has been going on here.  Sewing slump always seems to follow vacation for some unknown reason.  I have got to get my motor revved up and get some more summer things sewn...

ODE TO GOOD OLD SOUTHERN SUMMERS/A DOLLHOUSE DELIGHT...

 ...Three posts in one day - I'm trying to catch up here!  Could be a diversion to deep cleaning my sewing room.  I'm sending up specific prayers for the motivation to stop procrastinating on getting it done.  Additional prayers welcomed!

I haven't done a Dollhouse Delight post in quite some time so I decided to share a kitchen related project that I worked on this morning.  Yesterday I was gifted me a 8 pound bag of pre-shelled fresh baby lima beans (quite costly), some fresh okra and a couple of fresh tomatoes.  Can I tell you how much I heart fresh green veggies.  It's one of the best things about summer in the south.

In case you're interested, is was the process.  How did I learn this - by watching my Granny years ago.   We use to pick vegetables, peaches (for our own use only),  and cotton in the scorching hot fields during the summers.   No, I wasn't a slave (lol).  I'd like to say that we worked soooo hard to buy our own school clothes, but that wouldn't be the truth.  We actually worked for play money to buy 4th of July outfits of our choice, flip flops, and to defray the cost of the county fair each year.  Junk money.  Although I don't pick vegetables any more (praise God) I do enjoy preserving some of summer's bounty.   My process is from the memory of how my Granny did things, but it always turned out just fine.

Thoroughly wash beans three times in cool water to remove garden trash and any sand.  Baby limas use to cost about $15.00 per bushel.  I shutter to think how much these cost now and didn't even ask!  Pre-shelled always cost more anyway - got to increase the cost to cover the labor.

Plunge into a large pot of already boiling water to blanch (extends freezer life I think).

Boil for exactly three minutes then drain and rinse in cool water.

An already waiting large bowl of iced water.

Blanched beans plunged into a shocking ice bath for three minutes.  Drain afterwards.

I use this really large spoon to fill my bags.  2 and 1/2 scoops then seal the bags.

Now for the okra.  Thoroughly wash, then carefully cut the tops off at an angle to keep the okra from ozzing all it's goodness out.  I know for many okra is an accrued taste but not for me - we were raised eating it.  I use to eat it right out of the garden raw with salt and pepper - didn't even wash it before eating.  You did notice I said use to.  My grand-children even love it fried and will quite often request it.  My grand-children are a little different than most children in that they LOVE green veggies thank God.

Blanched in hot water for 3 minutes.

Drained and towel blotted.

The results of my mornings work:  12 small bags of baby limas and 4 bags of okra.

The 16 bags placed in a black bag for identifications purposes (so I won't have to search for them later).  All tucked nicely in my little chest freezer.  There's nothing like being able to pull a bag or two out to cook for a Sunday winter comfort meal.

These arrived this afternoon.  Banana peppers and a few more tomatoes.  Got my kitchen smelling rather hot!  I'm not big on peppers, but I don't plan on letting them go to waste.

So that's whats going on in my hot summer world today.  What's it like in yours...

THEY CALL ME EVER LEARNING LINDA...

...seriously, they really do call me that.  I'm a real life long learner, ever seeking new information.  In fact, I've just enrolled in a new sewing school, and you can too.

Ann Steeves, owner of Gorgeous Fabrics has recently opened her new Gorgeous Fabrics University where she shares valuable sewing information.  I've got my notebook and pin (I'm a avid note taker), and have watched each of the three videos that she has available on YouTube: 

•  (fabric identification burn testing, 
• sewing with knits, and 
• sewing from wide to narrow).

Matriculation can be soooo much fun...

I'M BACK....

....oh right, you didn't know that I was gone?  Yes, I back from a 11 day trek for my upstate New York/Twin Tier vacay with my   family- what a privileged and blessing to be able to visit with them this year.  No NYC fabric garment district shopping for me this year, but truth be told I still have plenty of stash left over from my two previous trips. But there was:

•  lots of fashion conversation while there,

•  managed to hit the Joann's McCall's pattern sale chauffeured by Jerome (baby brother),

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•  I scored three nice fabric pieces from their local WalMart while shopping with Inell (Mother).  Couldn't manage to get it to fit in my return home suitcase although I tried r-e-a-l hard.  Pat (baby sister) will deliver on a visit later this month,

•  There are actually three sewing machines at my sister Brenda's (middle sister) house so I choose one and gave it a little road test by working up a muslin for New Look 6130 peplum top,

seeing that I did manage to get my sewing kit tucked in my suitcase for the trip in an effort to keep my sewing MOTIVATION reved up (it tends to slump without continued use).

• At the last minute I did QUITE a bit of alterations for Brenda which I really enjoyed.  It was a labor of love and actually a lot of fun...

• I managed to escape last week's torrid southern heat while relaxing in my Mother's beautiful back yard; however I think I made up for that yesterday when 98 degrees felt like 1,010 - wow!  By the way, we used this Pinterest tip while enjoying the back yard.

Pinterest suggested using only one penny, but we had an entire line of them across the bottom of the bag.  Hung two bags to the sunbrella - IT WORKED!!! 
PURPOSE:  TO REPEL PESKY FLYS

It's good to be back safely, but I'm sincerely missing my family .....

LETTUCE HEMMING...

...I had originally left both of my Mission Maxi dresses unhemmed to avoid the waviness that sometimes occurs when hemming knits.  But today after seeing this tutorial on Pinterest that illustrated an easy method for lettuce hemming I thought I'd give it a try.  I'd never used lettuce method for a hem finish before, both because both dresses are a bit casual I thought it quite suitable. Besides, both dresses were so long that I figured I could cut it right off if I didn't like the results...

New Lettuce hems of both dresses

Guess what -  I do like the end result so I'll be keeping it for both dresses.

DOES MACHINE HEMMING TWO DRESSES A SEWING SESSION MAKE???

A BOOK REVIEW & USING THE LAST BIT...

...Although I haven't gotten around to making one YET, I am still very interested in quilting - it's deep in my roots, and I love looking at them and can actually recognize and name quite a few patterns...

I just added a new book to the quilting section of my resource library

The book includes:

• setting up a workspace
• Five easy projects just for beginners
• An extensive gallery of beautiful and unique art quilts
• Step-by-step instructions
• Selecting the right fabrics and embellishments for projects
• Skill building projects for all levels of quilters

I think this is a great resource for beginners and experienced quilters alike. Plans for making a quilt are on my sewing list, the question is just when.  Whenever the time comes I'm sure this book will be a handy resource.


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On the garment sewing front I stalled a bit this weekend.  I was determined to use the left over fabric from the tunic I made for my daughter - I had a hard time trying to decide on just the right pattern for it.  I finally decided on this pattern having made it before  I knew that it wouldn't take much time to whip up.

McCall's 5977

I altered the pattern just a little to add a little swing to the width the top.  The three tiered ruffles don't show up very well in the picture, but they are there.

 I used every last bit of the remaining fabric.

Now it's on to the next project...

SUMMER SEWING TRADITION...

...every summer I usually try to make at least two easy, breezy, flowy chiffony or georgette type tunics for myself.  I have to admit that chiffony type fabric gives me somewhat of a FIT in sewing even though I try to use the appropriate needles   Over sized tunics normally have  large areas to hem or turn under and stitched down.  Steam-a-Seam would help, but I think it presents too much of a hassle with such a large area to work on.  With the fabric slipping & sliding -  stitches puckering & pulling & even sometimes snagging, I somehow mutter through to achieve a finished product.

This year I decided to stitch one up for my daughter first, and chose this pattern to see how it would work out.

McCall's 6510 view B

 Here's the finished project:

Front

and back

She will definitely need to wear a cami or tank top under this one.

Do you have any tips that would make sewing chiffon or georgette fabrics easier?????????????

PEPLUM TOP & LINEN BLEND PANTS...

...ok, this is the absolute best I can do with pictures.  I'm convinced that I need to get a new camera.  My point and shot is just not getting it any more.

The top and pants both wore well today; however both need a little tweaking.  The top is just a little wide through the side seams, and there is just a little too much fabric in the pocket area of the pants.  I plan to adjust both tonight - should be an easy fix.  The textured linen blend used for the pants resisted wrinkling all day long - of course I loved that factor.

So I'm off to make my adjustments so the outfit will be ready for it's next rotation..........

SEWING MACHINE REPAIR & VOGUE 8815....

...First lets talk about a maintenance issue.  While working to finish the Vogue 8815 peplum top project of the weekend, my machine made a horrific sound and then jammed my fabric.  I couldn't believe that the entire bobbin case had become completely dislogged (one screw loosened the other had come out completely out).

Fear arose - this was something I just didn't need.  I'm just not handy with screw drivers, hammers or nails.  In fact, I hate having to use tools.  This was the culprit:

a pile of fuzzy lint!!!  I should be ASHAMED!!!  This pile of lint  pushed the bobbin case out of it's seat - screws and all.  After taking several deep breaths I was able to get the screws in and the bobbin case back in place.  Repair bill averted!  Now my Singer is purring like a kitten, a completely new and different sound.

Do you have a schedule to remind you to clean your machine???

I did manage to get my project finished after my machine repair session.

Vogue 8815 with my asymmetrical twist

I purchased this fabric two years ago at a little Mennonite quilt shop not far from Augusta - now closed.  The fabric is a type of poly-rayon woven stained glass print.  I'll take my top for a test drive tomorrow with my navy linen pants...

WELCOME TO MY WEEKEND - 2...

...I'm a lover of many things!  Guess you can tell that MY WEEKENDS are at the top of my LOVE LIST!!! I just figure weekends are my reward after a hard weeks work.  

Of course I'm in the sewing room this morning.  Relatives and friends quite often preface telephone conversations with me with "where are you at, in the sewing room?"  They know me well! This weekend I'm particularly experiencing an amour with these two patterns:

VOGUE 8815

 I've never made anything peplum because I was always scared that it wasn't a style for my body type/shape.  BUT peplum tops all ALL OVER THE PLACE now, so of course I wanted one and decided to give it a go.

Now my pros and cons on both:

• NewLook 6130 makes my heart skip, BUT 9 pattern pieces are a little much more than I'd like to deal with.  

•  Although the front princess seams would make fitting a little easier.

• Love the little details of the NewLook pattern; the asymmetrical hemline and the banded waist. 

•   Is it just the coral colored top on the pattern envelope that I'm so drawn to? 

•  Vogue 8815 is so cute too.  Yeah!, only 4 pattern pieces but minus the cute details of the NewLook Pattern.

•  Laziness forced me to opt for the Vogue pattern, but I used some creative juices to add the asymmetrical hemline to it.  I do think I will also eventually make the New Look Pattern too.

• After stitching up a quick and dirty muslin (which I'm glad  I did) come to find out I need to do a small bust adjustment.  Dratt!!!  I've never done a SBA, and didn't want to get involved to that extent this morning.

• So now I'm involved in creating a "CHEATER SMALL BUST ADJUSTMENT" method that I think I can get away with.

FAYE'S CHEATER SMALL BUST ADJUSTMENT:  CAN YOU SEE THE HORIZONTAL TUCK I'VE PINNED IN AT THE TOP OF MY WAIST/BUST DARTS; AND THE TWO DARTS PINNED IN AT THE FRONT SHOULDER SEAM.

 ASYMMETRICAL LEFT SIDE ADDED

 Did another top at the moment?  No not really, but one can always use a new addition.  Now it's onward to choose just the right fabric..........

WELCOME TO MY WEEKEND...

...It's Friday, the bright and beautiful start of a brand new weekend!  I don't always feel this energetic (even about sewing) every Friday  - but today I do Praise Jesus; there are all types of possibilities to embark on!!!

Now you already know...when I put the teapot on it's going to be a long post

I hear my teapot whistling so I'm about to hunker down with a spot of tea in my sewing studio (talk about a comfort zone)!  Soooo, if you care to join me here's a synopsis of what's running through my mind...

Although I prefer mine iced!  You know how us southern girls do!  But it still starts out in a whistling teapot.

First:  I'll finish up a skirt project that I've worked on little by little (stitch by stitch )all week long.  It's been a slow go with this one  - I've been so tired at night that I just couldn't get it finished.  It's a simple project that I'm making for a co-worker; and the best part about it is that she didn't even ask me to do it  (I VOLUNTEERED)!  This girl has done so much for me at work, and you know you just have to repay kindnesses at some point.  Her face lit up when I wanted to take her measurements and told her what I'd planned.

• fabric purchased at Hancock's Memorial Day sale on Monday, pretreated the fabric and cut it out that night.  But...I've been so tired each night that I just could not get it finished.  

• It's from this pattern:

Butterick 5613

• because it's cute and flirty just like my co-worker.  I making view A with a self tie from a print challis to get that flowyness.

• Other Memorial Day purchases were some zippers, black and white thread, and some more of these, because according to a recent poll.... I need to start changing more often (lol).

•  I bought a little bit of fabric. 

Fives pieces of WONDERFUL gaberdine (1 turquoise, 1 navy, 1 brown and 2 black)  One black for summer, and one for fall.

•  And last, but certainly not least, these wonder possibilities.

Picture's a little blurry, but I know you get my point!

• Yep, I've decided - that's just what patterns are:  WONDERFUL POSSIBILITIES WRAPPED UP IN SMALL PACKAGES!   Hallelujah, I just love them!!!, and I really need to "COWGIRL UP" when people make funny little comments about how many I have and not let it bother me at all. 

• I have so many sewing visions; so many things I want to get made.  Sometimes I wish I could hire someone to sew with me to bring some of these visions to life.

VISIONARY SEWING ASSISTANT

 I know there are lots of people out there who feel the same way, so tell me...

Since you can't sew it all up at once...how do you decide what to sew first???