Saturday, May 17, 2014

Five Months Later...

Hello, sewing friends! Did you think I gave up the hobby and walked away forever? Sorry to disappoint, but that's not the case!
This was a grueling winter, as I'm sure many of you experienced. In the fall, we switched our home heating source from propane to natural gas, which in turn meant that my sewing space went from having a fireplace to a space heater. It was seriously, so damn cold down there (finished basement)!!! I'd go down there, look around, play like I was productive, and then I'd race back upstairs to regain feeling in my fingers! Ok, so I might be exaggerating a little... but, that is one reason why my production dropped, and thereby my blogging.

I really haven't made much of anything new since January, aside from muslins. 2 muslins to be exact, for prom dresses requested by two of my students. I didn't think you'd be much interested in seeing muslins, so I'll post those pretties later this week, as Prom is this Tuesday. Here is a sneak peek of one...

I also was busy with a wedding dress that called for a number of alterations. I posted about that back in the late fall, so not much new to share except for the final product. Here is a "before and after".  I created more of a sweetheart, cut the top black accent down, created more "pick-ups" in the skirt and added 11 rhinestone appliques, and changed the back from a zipper to a corset.


Lastly, today I brought home a new friend to the sewing room. Her name is "Jane" and she is from Baby Lock land. I really needed a more powerful machine to work with denim and leather garments, and even the bridal gown bogged down my Viking, making me search the internet for a replacement. Jane is strictly a straight stitch machine, but her speed and power will make my work so much better. She is comparable to the Brother 1500, with an automatic needle threader, thread cutter, and knee control presser foot. She came highly recommended from my most trusted sewing machine dealer, so my Viking has been slid aside to make room for this new "friend".


She's calling my name right now, so I've got to go play with her!  I'll be back in a few days with Prom dress pictures!

7 comments:

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

I understand the cold basement. It was a lot colder this year than the previous two winters in my sewing cave and most days I went downstairs and turned on the space heater hours before I actually went down so that it would be warm enough to move around. That plus a real heavy sweatshirt, 2 pairs of socks and the space heater turned up high allowed me to work in my sewing cave.

sdBev said...

Agree with Carolyn about the cold. This year I closed the sewing room during the coldest temps because the basement wouldn't warm even after pre-heating for hours. Hopefully, next winter will be milder.

Linda L said...

Glad to see you back posting. It was a very cold winter. Thankfully only washer and dryer are in our basement. . I chose not to linger when doing the laundry. Look forward to seeing your creations again.

Beth said...

Wow!! The dresses are beautiful. You are very talented. Wishing for warmer weather!

SewCraftyChemist said...

Gorgeous dresses!!!

I have a basement cave too. I think I'm finding it harder to go down there on bright sunny days. Maybe because the HVAC equipment is in there so it was toasty all winter :-)

becki-c said...

Congratulations! Let me know how it works on denim and leather, I'm looking for more muscle as well.

Prom dresses are so impressive!

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