Sew Many Thoughts...

New Year, New Ideas

2008-01-10T20:20:00.000-06:00

It's been way too long since I've updated in here. I've been trying to focus on too many things at once, which is always stressful. Work has taken away from sewing, which always brings me down.

My sewing room is organized and fresh - except for the trim bin, which desperately needs some attention. That's one thing for my weekend list - and a new project with a wedding dress.

I also "inherited" a wedding dress from a friend, and haven't decided what to do with it yet.

And as always, ideas are buzzing around inside my head - more things to do and projects and product to set up on etsy and here.

I plan to be around more - so, we'll see what happens!

Some changes

2007-09-07T21:56:00.000-05:00

There's been a lot going on - and will probably be some changes around Sew Enchanting soon. I need to concentrate on items that can be purchased off the site through a shopping cart program. I love making the dresses, but there's other things to consider, here...

So - changes coming soon! I have a couple of goals for September, and one of them is to look at the shopping cart program with my site host.

Later!

2007-07-08T18:58:00.001-05:00

The dress is coming along nicely, and so are the bridesmaid's dresses.

She really picked some gorgeous styles for the wedding dress. The bodice has almost a sweetheart neckline - but strapless with three semi-circles on the top. There is mesh on the chest, with little lace cap sleeves.

The bridesmaid's dresses are relatively simple in design. The real challenge is that two of the bridesmaid's won't even be in the STATE until the week before the wedding!

I also need to make an outfit for myself - I have two weddings to attend in August. I have it all picked out...just need to find time to make it. August is my month of getting myself together - weight-wise, money-wise, and business-wise. I'd like to get a bunch of stuff posted on etsy.com!

Organize!

2007-06-07T19:27:00.000-05:00

I've spent the last week or so completely reorganizing the sewing room. It looks GREAT! lol I really needed to get "like" stuff together - I've mentioned our local Hancock Fabrics is going out of business, and I've bought...some stuff. :)

So - now things are packed into nice air-tight boxes, marked and labeled, ready to go when I am. I like it.

I also now have room - to SEW! I've been cranking stuff around the room for too long. Now I actually have elbow room to do what I love - the actual sewing part.

Soon, I'll have pics to show what I'm up to. :)

Ideas...

2007-04-24T19:17:00.000-05:00

I've had some hits on how to make the christening dresses from wedding dresses. I'm considering putting together a "how to" CD/DVD. We'll see.

I have lots of materials for doll dresses, which I always enjoy. And some fur, for capes/stoles, etc.

Purses intrigue me.

Spa ideas intrigue me, too. Things for relaxing, baths, etc.

And I have a wedding to make. :) I'm VERY excited about that.

I have loads to list on ebay - craft magazines, x-stitch stuff, material.

I guess I'm just full of ideas lately, and not huge on words here! lol

Fabric Sales...

2007-03-31T21:24:00.000-05:00

Sad news - the local Hancock Fabrics is going out of business! It means great sales, especially on things that never go on sale...but I'll miss it. I really prefer their fabric selection over the local JoAnn's.

Good news - the Salvation Army has a fabric sale each spring, and man, did I score! lol I spent a total of about $35 over three days of the sale, and pretty much filled the car up three times, including three boxes of craft magazines that I can sell on ebay.

Just some awesome deals - a bag of scrap fleece for $.75 (garbage bag, that is), a bag of scrap batting for $.50, invisible zippers for a quarter each, beautiful vintage white buttons that I'm going to see if my bride wants to use for $.75, vintage patterns (they are an obsession, seriously...) for a quarter each, lace pieces, a box of lining pieces for FREE, three boxes of magazines for FREE (including some vintage Workbasket patterns), netting and fur - probably about 3 yards for $.50, old McCall's Needlework magazines (4 of them) for $.50 (they have a set of really cute 1960's style Barbie hats to crochet - I'm really excited to try them out!) - umm...oh, some old sewing books for a quarter, some xmas printed pieces of fabric...just a lot of stuff.

I was excited. $35 goes a long way there. I might put aside $50 for next year and just go wild! ha!

I was talking to a friend about slipcovers. It's all the rage, but overall it doesn't really interest me. Then she showed me what they sell for.

I think I'll be making one this summer.

It would be awesome to pay off some bills this summer with the extra work that's being drummed up through word of mouth, web hits, ebay, & etsy. :)

Etsy

2007-03-03T19:46:00.000-06:00

I've had an interesting experience with etsy so far. I've been able to post quite a few things - extra patterns & a few things I've made. I know it's best to post a few a day to keep your name up on top. And I've sold 2 things, so that's good. The price is right - $.20 to post + a percentage of the sale price. So, we'll see what happens there.

I took a large commission to make a wedding gown + 3 bridesmaids' dresses. Very excited about that - it's going to be fun! There's also a possibility of 2 flower girl dresses to match. I love the special occasion dresses - they're always my first love.

Sale!

2007-02-17T20:48:00.000-06:00

I can't resist a sale...

The Hancock Fabrics on the north side of Madison is closing...I bought an enormous amount of stuff for about 1/3 of what the regular price would be...

I have a huge pile to wash.
I have many ideas to sew.

:)

I think that might be heaven! lol

Coming soon: girls' ponchos for Easter and matching "American Girl" doll outfits. So excited!

Memory Doll

2007-02-06T19:26:00.000-06:00

Here is one that I made from a gown I made and wore for induction into an honor society in college. The gown was green silky, and had these (at the time, at least) pretty lace inserts. It's more than a little dated now. :)

I didn't take pics as I was making it, but here's the doll:

I really enjoy making these...they're so much better than having the dress laying around. You can look at the doll and remember what was happening when you wore that specific dress...just love it. :)

Okay - I'm off to do...something. Still haven't decided what yet - but I did open an etsy store, so now I have to get some things on there!

February already?

2007-02-05T19:16:00.000-06:00

Jeez, the fall and winter went by fast! I had a student teacher during the fall semester, so I had time on my hands to work on some work things that had been piling up. Unfortunately, fall and winter is the slow time for me for sewing, so I haven't spent a lot of time in the sewing room.

I have some new ideas - I was playing around with reconstructions for awhile and really enjoyed them. I've made a few Memory Dolls and a bridesmaid's dress. And some clothes for me. :) I need to update the web page and make it a little prettier - I'm unsatisfied with that. And I have some really cute ideas for spring ponchos/capes for little girls. I'd love to try some matching with Barbie's or American Girls - I think that would be really cute.

It's been nice to get back down here the last few days - I miss it when I don't take time to work in the sewing room. It's relaxing for me - stress-relieving, and in general ...just nice.

Okay - I'm off to see what needs to be done!

Wow!

2006-12-13T18:47:00.000-06:00

What things have been happening! First, hope everyone's having a happy holiday season - we've been busy!

What have I been sewing? Well, a bridesmaid's dress, some Christmas presents, some bags for wrapping presents, a few skirts, some dolls, a really pretty crushed velvet cape and bag, and even a few things for me. Amazing!

My sewing room is in flux - after Thanksgiving sales had fleece on sale, so I purchased quite a bit. Thought I'd make up some kiddie wraps and swiffer refills for stock.

Well, not much else!

Reconstructions

2006-08-11T18:00:00.000-05:00

I've been really interested in reconstructing clothing lately. I found the site http://www.craftster.org through some search I was doing (can't even remember what anymore) and they have a whole message board devoted to recontructing different articles of clothing.

So - I made my jeans purse from my old college jeans. I'm making a pillow out of an old sweater my dad used to wear all the time - I'm giving that to my nephew for Christmas. And I'm maknig angel ornaments out of my mom's (and aunt's) wedding dress for all of the children from those two unions - there will be six of them made. And I keep looking for more.

It's just very interesting to me. I love making new things out of others that weren't used before. I think that's why I first started this business - the christening gowns and the Memory Dolls/Bears/Pillows were what interested me first. I love to make special occasion dresses - but to see someone's face light up when they can use something again...that's pretty cool.

Pants adjustments

2006-07-18T11:44:00.000-05:00

Making pants (real slacks that fit correctly) are among my least favorite things to sew. Especially since if I'm fitting them on me, I have to talk dh into helping, which he will do, but doesn't understand fit or sewing, so I have to talk him through it.

I've gained a lot of weight over the past 6 years, and I'm in the process of losing it, so my clothes, in general, don't fit well. I decided to make myself a nice fitted pair of slacks, get the muslin done, and then use it to make a few pair that will work until I lose more weight and they just look terrible.

So I adjusted the pattern accordingly, got 'em all basted up - front crotch too high, had to take out, pull in darts a little better...works! But...my butt seems to have grown. Even with them finished (as of last night), I can't wear them because my butt is bigger and they're too tight.

~sigh~

Purses

2006-07-11T10:41:00.000-05:00

I've never been a huge purse person, really. But I got an idea from this:

The main problem, of course, is that I am SOOOooooo not the beady bling type. So I got a pair of jeans from a rummage sale ($.50, big spender!) and gave it a try. I didn't go for the boxy look, either, but more of a soft bohemian look. I also went for long, jeans handles.

I'll post a pic later - I don't have it off the camera yet!

But then, I started thinking - of my old college jeans. I wore those to everything. Everywhere. Lots of holes, patches...but also, drawings. My cousins' husband (then boyfriend) drew my eyes on them at a concert when we were waiting for grass seats. They are extremely special to me...but of course, they dont' fit anymore!

So, being brave, I cut into the jeans to make a purse (trust me, I know that twinge when you think of something you love being cut up into something else). I cut off all the drawings and ripped off the patches. I thought later that I should have taken pics along the way - it also occurred to me that I didn't have a photo of the jeans before - or of me in them! Ah, well.

I cut them off just at the crotch and evened them out. Then, I took all the old drawings from the jeans and cut them into spiffy shapes and pinned them on. I decided to sew them with a 1/4" seam only, but then they'll fray into the seam, which I think really looks cool (I helped a few of them along). I re-stitched all of the patches, then decided to make a bottom for the bag (bad pun, I know) - but I didn't want to put anything like cardboard in there, so it's really just flat with a gusset.

Stitched it all up - lined, and...

Voila! My cool college-jeans purse!

I love it!

I also put together a black lining with black ties to hold it together. Then, I decided to continue the theme and cut some of the lining as a belt, but sewed a white seam and fringed it to the seam.

I am ecstatic to have my college jeans where I can see and enjoy them!

Next up: a pillow out of my dad's old sweater (to give to my nephew, my dad died 15 years ago) and a pillow out of a loved t-shirt that I can't fit into. I love the repurposing of these clothes. I think it may be a passion.

Pics soon!

My studio

2006-07-05T08:48:00.000-05:00

I love that I have the studio set up downstairs. I haven't had a sewing room this nice in...well, ever. I have about a quarter of the whole basement (half of the finished side) set up into the perfect sewing space.

I've been working on some summer/fall/spring clothes for me. I'm in the process of losing a lot of weight, so I move in and out of clothes sizes very easily. It's tough, because I need to dress nice for the JOB. So - I've taken it up on myself to get some decent clothes set for the grand weight loss scheme. It's going well.

I have so many UFO's, it's scary. I actually went through lots of them last fall as I re-established my business - a lot of them were very out of style. So that helped get more room...for more UFO's!

Do we ever get them finished?

Anyway - I've been making up some garters, pillows, and maybe some nighties for a local gallery. That should be fun!

June - school's out!

2006-06-11T18:09:00.000-05:00

The school year is finally over - in some ways it seems to have dragged - in others, it flew by. It does, though, give me more time to sew.

We had a rummage sale last weekend, so my sewing studio's a mess. We needed my tables. My hope is that in the next couple of days, I"ll get the tables back downstairs and be able to get back to work. It's slow time right now - prom is over, June brides already have their dresses.

I've been working on a Memory Pillow to offer instead of a Memory Doll. I'm hoping it will appeal to college students - offer more of an option than a doll.

And, I need summer clothes for myself! lol

Life in Business

2006-05-18T16:45:00.000-05:00

You know, I started sewing at age 10. I loved the sewing lessons - I was the only one I knew that was doing it, and it wasn't that far from home. I wonder how much my parents spent on sewing lessons for me? Especially since I continued to take them even after I had advanced past those teaching me. I enjoyed the company.

It was in a little store downtown called "The Cloth Shoppe". They've been out of business for years now. Every Tuesday for an hour and a half for about 4 or 5 years of my life.

I started the business in college. It's been on and off since then. It's been a load of fun. The stripper I sewed for - with the velcro pants. The first time I made a christening/baptism gown from someone's wedding dress - I was so nervous to cut into her dress! And the first Memory Doll. For my aunt - I was so excited because it was something different.

I'm thinking of trying Memory Pillows. Just in case people don't like the dolls. Sometimes people just aren't doll people. :)