Cleaning House…Err…Iron

October 27th, 2009 | Posted by Michelle in Tips - (Comments Off on Cleaning House…Err…Iron)

There really is something I LOVE about working with fabric. I love love love the smell of a hot steaming iron being run over fresh cotton. It is such a warm and comforting feeling that I just can’t describe.

Dirty Iron

The one thing I do hate about my iron is when I use it over something dark, like black, and it leaves those damn calcium deposits all over my clean fabric. It was doing this recently and I just got all disgusted and annoyed with my iron. My poor little $9 iron doesn’t need my ire, it just needs to iron!

So I decided to clean it, let it sweat it out.

Sweaty Iron

Literally.

Since the iron shoots out the little specs when its steaming, I took my trusty little iron that has seen better days to the kitchen and decided to steam it to death. Well not literally death, but…you know.

Cleaning Iron

I filled it with as much water as it’s safe to hold, and put it laying down over the edges of a pan. A cake pan worked well and kept the iron lifted so it could steam to its hearts content.

Yes, my iron does have a heart. Its just crusty.

I let it go for quite a while, and kept refilling it and using the steam booster button thing on top to help shoot out more of the stuff.

Dirty Pan

I cleaned quite a bit out of my little iron, but I’m sure I’ll end up finding more on dark fabrics though its better than it was. I’m sure that using vinegar will clean out more, kinda like how you clean out a coffee maker after a while, but for now I’m content.

Pretty Pink Tutu

October 25th, 2009 | Posted by Michelle in Sewing | Wearables - (Comments Off on Pretty Pink Tutu)

I got a call from my friend the other night from the fabric store, wanting to know how much tulle to make a tutu and how to make it. Given that its close to Halloween, it really wasn’t that unusual but still hilarious.

We got 2 main types of tulle, and more of an accent of sparkly pink tulle. The only reason the sparkly was an accent was because it was $6 a yard, vs. the $1.50 of the other type. Needless to say we only got 1 yard of the sparkle stuff.

Cut Tulle

I cut the plain tulle in half in length and then in to 4″ strips, the sparkle was cut into 2″ strips. I do have to say, cutting tulle is a real pain in the butt.

Overall the tutu turned out really good, we used the tutorial here, which is a pretty common method I’ve seen around. It was easy and the only difficult part was dealing with cutting all that tulle!

I think next time I would go with the rolls of tulle, and just cut the lengths, it might be easier.

Finishing Tutu

This was incredibly easy to make. But I have to admit the funniest part was telling my friend, who I was making it for, to go look in the mirror to see our handiwork (well my handiwork). There was a large amount of squealing, bouncing, and excitedness. Yep, my friend is a princess.

Modern Princess

Well, a modern princess with an addiction to text messaging. Wait, princesses don’t wear tutus…do they? Ah, well.

Tutu Poof

We used 9 yards of tulle, but I really think for an even better adult tutu a few more yards would have been better. Next time I think I would get 12 yards. If your making a tutu, you want it to be as fluffy as possible! That’s just how it is.

Another difficult part about the tutu was getting her to stop flouncing around the backyard long enough to get a picture of it.

Crazy Tutu

I do have to say I love the sparkly tulle in the sunlight, it really made the difference and added a little something extra to the fun-ness of the tutu.

Sparkles

I think someone needs to have a little girl for me to make one for. I need another tutu in my life. Even if one of my friends throws a boy, they’ll get a tutu. I’ll scar them for life. Muahaha.

Blue Brick Baby Quilt

October 21st, 2009 | Posted by Michelle in Quilts | Sewing - (Comments Off on Blue Brick Baby Quilt)

I finally finished by baby quilt. I tried something different this time, I used cotton batting instead of my normal poly-blend. Its not as fluffy but I like the little bit of weight to it.

BlueBaby Front

I kept the quilting simple, which I think was much easier than trying to do something new, like stippling.

BlueBaby Back

The backing is actually darker than how it looks in the picture, but the sun was bleaching everything out a little bit.

I probably will try stippling soon on a project. I’m getting a bit bored with just doing stitch-in-ditch, but I’m almost afraid to start doing something new and ruining my hard work. Maybe some mini quilts or something just to try it on. Not to mention I need a darning foot.

Waiting and Watching

October 12th, 2009 | Posted by Michelle in Quilts | Sewing - (Comments Off on Waiting and Watching)

For the longest time I haven’t had the urge to sew. I go into fits of inspiration and of nothingness, where I just don’t have any desire whatsoever to go to my machine and see what comes out.

But luckily that seems to have changed for the time being.

Blue Bricked Baby

Baby quilts! I love making them, mostly because they are pretty small in the quilting world and can be as frilly or boy-ish as you want them. But I think I love them mostly because they are small and don’t take long.

I have a short attention span. AKA “shiny ball” syndrome. As in “my train of thought is ver….ooh shiny ball!” So a smaller project really is the best thing for me.

I’ve done this pattern once before in the same fabrics, but it’s definitely not the same quilt as before. The first time I made this was for a friend when she told me she was pregnant, I got the idea in my head that she was going to have a little boy as soon as she hung up the phone, and a day later I had a quilt. And I was right about the boy by the way.

Good grief it feels good to be back in the swing of things.

My World

October 7th, 2009 | Posted by Michelle in Sewing - (Comments Off on My World)

There are days when there is nothing that is more comforting than the feeling of creation. To know that with my own two hands I have made something. Usually that something will hold meaning, maybe not to anyone else but me, but at least there’s something.

Sewing Spot

It’s not just a hobby, its like a religion.