Sewing: the early works

I'm not a total noob: as much as I wanted to, I wasn't about to start the whole sewing thing with a massive Victorian costume gown. Pillows. Yes, pillows were more my speed. But, not just two pieces of cloth and a zipper (that'd be boring and too easy!) Olive-green brocade pieces arranged in a houndstooth pattern:

Um. Yes.

Did I know what I was doing? No. I'd vaguely remembered something about fraying and zig zags and edges, so I did that. I think. They'll probably fall apart in a couple of years.

Skirts are a good place to start for clothing:



Yup. They work. The red one is just... well, nifty cotton print. The tan one is actually very fine corduroy and I added ivy leaves. Not having a serger, I made the skinniest zigzag on my machine and took a very long time. And I figured out that the advisory of "sits two inches below natural waist" is a total lie, more like 4 or 5 and in danger of sliding off altogether. So the corduroy actually was taken in about two inches before its debut. The striped one was made in a smaller size.

And then because skirts were going pretty well... a dress! Okay, so this cool green fabric with lots of circles... yeah, I totally didn't think of what it would look like from a distance.



When I saw a picture of me at my friend's wedding (which is why I'd made the stupid dress in the first place), all I could think was "bullseyes! lots and lots of bullseyes!" Awesome. Now, this is not good. I know. It's just not very attractive. It serves as a reference, reminder, and warning to myself. But hey, I managed to line the bodice and get it all attached. Progress!

Probably my most successful venture came by accident. If you don't know (and are therefore not yet addicted by) instructables.com, you will be! Oh yes. It's pretty much crack for my ferret-brain. Aaaanywho, I found the instructable for onestringbags, and have made lots. If you're already bringing canvas bags for groceries, stuff a coupla these guys in for your produce. Get cheapo-discount tulle (there's always some awful color in the discount bin) and a string, and use up those last bits of weird-colored thread.

Rainier cherries, how I love thee

This post is getting pretty long, so I'll hold off on the successful dress (yes, there's 1!) until next time...

Sewing: In a galaxy far, far away...

Seventh grade's Home Ec (er, Personal and Family Life Sciences, now called Family and Consumer Sciences) requirement did not go very far with me. The teacher had to deal with boys trying to juggle eggs in class, and they hadn't yet learned to juggle. Suffice to say, she hated our class and we weren't terribly fond of her either. The week she introduced sewing, I had a particularly nasty strain of something-or-other, so my mom taught me sewing on her machine, through my flu-induced-haze. Apparently, my canvas tote bag and stuffed chocolate chip cookie pillow were done incorrectly.

Skip ahead a few years. And a few more.

To call me a fashion plate would be laughable and would reflect poorly on the state of your optic nerves. I hate shopping. Mostly because I don't get fashion or couture, and it's probably a jealousy thing on my part (shhh! don't tell anyone!) By the way, pink is one of the worst inventions known to mankind. I know what fits me, but I never know what actually looks good or modern or non-old-fogie-esque. I'd like to be fashionable, but I'm not.

One day, I realized that the curtains I'd just hand-sewed to keep prying eyes out of my first-floor apartment would have been sooo much easier to do if I had a sewing machine. So, I got one.

And then I had nothing to make with it.

Thus began the hacks... dun dun duuuuuuun!

About me

My college background involved running between Science Hall (logic, logic, calculus, chemicals, logic, math, instruments, logic) and Art Hall (throw paint, no rules, solvents for everyone, acids in open containers, inks, stains, metal filings). Sanity lay somewhere between the two, or at least finding a balance between the hours spent in each building. Well, and freaking out the art majors, who were easy to convince that they were going to die from fumes. Ah, Schadenfreude...

I'm now a science-person by trade. On occasion (read: bad days), I need to activate the other half of my brain. This blog will be the art/craft outlet. Past dominions include calligraphy, printmaking, small metal work, collage, and, most recently, sewing.