Sew Distracted

The power of Obligation

The problem with committing to post something to this blog every week is that there must be something to write about.  I suppose that was the intention, although perhaps I had not yet fully assimilated the idea.  I am certainly stitching every day, although more often than not that stitching has taken the form of knitting, and I do want to work in the studio.  I also want to finish unpacking and catalog my stash, both knitting- and sewing-related.  It seems therefore that if I expect actual sewing progress each week, I may be over my head.

But I am not going to rename this blog "sitting in the studio dreaming" although some of that did happen this past week. Let us just assume that dreaming, like fondling fabric and shuffling patterns around is a part of that thing called "process".  Or at least just hope so.

 

I did sit on the loveseat lost in thought, staring at fabric while Poncho sniffed and snorted circumnavigating the space and mapping it in his mind.  I am not yet convinced that he loves the studio; he might prefer to be in the house.  At the same time, although he is not as clingy as he was, he likes to know where I am.  Although he doesn't necessarily always curl up next to me, more often than not he is upstairs if I am upstairs, and downstairs if I am downstairs.  He gets nervous when he can't find me, and runs around in circles.  Hence we are still in learning mode -- Poncho is learning the word "studio" and what that means, and I suspect that in time the studio will become as comfortable a space as the rest of the house.  Getting him a more comfortable bed (there seems to be one kind he prefers) and a blanket might help, but then so might time.

In the meantime, He thought linen sheeting made a perfect napping spot, while I was laying the fabric out to measure for the second fitted sheet.   Since feeling at home in the space is important, some assistance, or hindrance, must be tolerated.

 

This sheet  is being cut from the smaller of the two pieces of linen I purchased.  I believe this was the first purchase, as the fabric was nearly sold out when I discovered it.  It has a tighter, finer, weave than the linen I used up last week, and a smoother hand with fewer slubs.  It will feel silkier against the skin.  However, I almost did not have enough fabric.  I had enough for the width of the sheet, but was seven inches short in the length (this is after shrinkage).  Luckily for me, I had cut an eight inch strip off the the width, which gave me just enough fabric, with a small seam allowance to join the two pieces.  I serged the two pieces together as I did not think I had enough fabric (1 inch total, or 1/2 inch on each piece to make a fully enclosed or felled seam.  The grainlline runs in different directions, obviously, but since this piece will be at either the top or bottom of the sheet, and at least partially tucked under the mattress, I do not foresee a problem.  

 

All I managed this week was to sit and dream, to catalog a few more pieces of fabric, and to sew one corner on the fitted sheet. I will probably finish it this weekend.  I am being much more meticulous.   Partly this is because I have time and am not desperate to get this on the bed.  But I also like this fabric more than the fabric for the first sheet, and having made one fitted sheet, I am more comfortable refiing the process.  

On the first sheet, I simply serged the corner seams.   I did finish all the bottom hems and edges, but did not bother with the corners.  The seams are sturdy and tight and I am not particularly worried about functionality or wear.  The goal was just to sew a sheet, and that goal was accomplished.  But somehow, on this sheet, I wanted a more polished finish, so the raw edges have been enclosed and the corner seams finished more nicely.   My stitching is not perfectly even.  I am not worried about that.  It will improve.

 

My new computer arrived last night, which means I can return to unpacking and cataloging. This will of course take away from actual sewing time, but will make things easier in the long run.  I will keep you updated with all of it as I go.

lap robe/floor mat

I believe that I have mentioned that my simple, "quick" projects rarely turn out to be all that simple, or if they are simple, they do not prove to be quick.  It must be something in my basic constitution...

I had an idea that I would make a soft cushy mat for the floor, something like a yoga mat, but not a yoga mat. I needed something long enough for an adult person to lie on but which was also comfy and cushy and snuggly.  I needed something that could be rolled or folded for storage and which could go in the washing machine.

Thursday I went to the mall to buy two of those long bath-sheet sized towels, because we didn't have any towels that large.  I bought the softest, cushiest towels I could find.

I didn't have time to go to the quilt shop before they closed, but I found this lovely Kaffe Fassett cotton in my collection. I had one yard, more than enough for binding the edges of my mat.

Towels and fabric were washed Thursday night, so I could begin Friday evening.  I really thought I could do this in an evening.  After all the steps were so simple...

First make bias binding
Press under hem allowance one side of binding.

At this point I realized that I I would not be able to sew the binding onto the "front" side of the quilt/mat with all the layers intact because it would be too thick to easily manipulate through my machine, and there would be far too great a risk that I would not be able to keep things straight and all the layers properly aligned. So I decided to attach the binding to only one towel, mitering the corners as I went, realizing that I would have to anchor the layers together by hand when I wrapped the binding and finished the other edge.

Next I sandwiched all my layers together, first  aligning two layers of thin batting with the bottom towel and using binder clips to hold everything together.  Then I positioned the top towel over the batting, and carefully positioned it, wrapping the binding around the edge and repositioning the clips to hold all the layers.  This actually worked quite well and the binding was quite easy to manipulate into position.

This is probably obvious to people who regularly quilt things, but it took me a few minutes to figure out the binder clip technique.  I started with pins, but quickly realized that my longest pins were not going to work with the thickness of the layers.  I think it was also much easier to keep the edges of all the layers lined up exactly using the clips, whereas the layers would be more likely to shift with pins (unless I used thousands of them). Luckily I have a good sized box of binder clips salvaged from the office when we closed it last spring.

This morning I settled down with a pot of coffee and started to sew, anchoring the binding to the quilt and stitching through the layers to hold everything in place.  I think the final result is quite nice.  It makes a nice soft mat to lie on,  it can be rolled into a comfy bolster...

And it also makes a nice warm, snuggly lap robe or blanket.  I know because after I finished sewing, I sat back in my chair with it spread over my lap and I took a little nap.