bits and bobbins

how did almost another month slip by without me posting anything?

whoopsie.

oh well!

i’ve been busy…amongst other things, i have mostly rabidly working on what you see above:

-a granny square blanket using scraps from my yarn stash (will probably go on our bed, we shall see), edged with white…

-a garter patch throw blanket, also using yarn from my stash (i have a LOT of scraps, ok? it’s pretty extreme!)…

-and seen in the center, a liberated “log cabin” (very loosely defined!) quilt, a la gwen marston, using all solids.

the patchwork work mostly gets done during the day (to take advantage of the daylight coming into my studio), and the knitting and crocheting fills many of my nights. i may start doing more patchwork stuff at night, as i now have a wonderful set of powerful tracklights in the studio, thanks to a local electrician.

i’ve been checking into the interwebs daily, but mostly, i’m just continuing to take a rest and i’m going through a period where i am mostly observing, rather than doing much contributing. i want to come back, but at the same time, i feel like i still need and want this time to step back, to just be in the background for a while, whilst i figure everything out.

-you can’t mail a sewing machine (or iron) halfway across the country, and expect it to be in perfect condition when it arrives. especially if it’s handled by UPS and not mailed in it’s original box. they might (and did!) drop-kick it in transit…and it may never be the same. and you’ll be sad when you’ve realized what happened…and it might be too late to do much about it except spend more moolah, scrambling to get it fixed and/or find a permanent/temporary replacement. which is, of course, a hassle. because you might find yourself driving out to the chicago suburbs on a sunday to do so…in traffic, with an antsy 14 month old. which is, of course, a bit stressful. and so on.

-there is (generally) a HUGE difference between the expensive sewing machine (or iron, or even, camera, to extend this further, if you wish) and the cheaper one. the more expensive one FEELS different to sew on than the cheaper one, it’s been engineered more carefully and is (generally) made out of better, higher quality materials. using a better machine is akin to driving a REALLY, REALLY nice car, like, say, a bmw or mercedes, while sewing with a cheaper machine is perhaps more like driving a budget mobile, like, uh, a toyota camry. they both get you where you have to go, but the nicer one feels COMPLETELY different to handle and probably has more bells and whistles.

-but it almost goes without saying: using a more expensive sewing machine (iron, camera, car, etc.) does NOT make you a better sewer (ironer, photographer, driver, etc.). it can definitely make things easier for you as you go along but all the extras mean nothing if you don’t know how to use them, and definitely don’t mean anything if your base skills aren’t up to snuff.

-continuing the sentiment from that last note and the note above it, just because you have the fancy-dancy machine, doesn’t mean you need all it’s fancy features. some of that stuff they offer can really make your sewing (etc.) life easier, but some of it is probably just superfluous stuff you’ll never really use or get around to using in a million years. it’s marketing hype that’s there to convince you, via your sewing machine dealer, to buy something at a higher price point (regardless of whether you are really realistically apt to use any of it). sure, the embroidery attachment is really COOL, but do you need it?? or the pages and pages of decorative stitches? maybe not. but you could use the powerful motor, a nice selection of buttonholes, a wide assortment of useful, every day sort of stitches, things of that nature. it’s never bad to be a little pragmatic when buying something like a sewing machine (camera, car, etc.). the best you can afford without going overboard and all that.

-always have a back-up machine. even the nice machines go down (in flames, sometimes!)…you don’t have to spend a lot of money on the second one. you could buy used, or buy cheap. on the subject of the latter, don’t expect it to be like your everyday, workhorse machine, because at that (LOW LOW!) price point, it just ain’t. and never will be. but it works *just good enough* to get you by in the interim. and that’s okay.

and as a bonus adage for those who might need it:

here’s a (sewing applicable) life lesson that i learned from one of my professors at parsons, that i still remember, heed, and toss out a lot to other people (probably multiple times on this here blog, too, over the years!). it is this:

the long way is the short way.

(do it right the first time and you won’t spend time later doing it over again. or, there are really no shortcuts. take your time and do it right.)

a couple weeks ago, i found this 70s denim dress at the goodwill down on haight street, one of my favorite local thrift stores. it had good bones: nice dark denim, and a fitted yet simple shape. but otherwise, it had it’s faults: weird, cheap looking ribbon trim on the cap sleeves, neckline, and pocket edges. it buttoned up the back (odd for a dress…you have to be helped into it!), and was just a smidge too small for me, thanks to my stupidly large chest. it was screaming out for help! so…of course, i had to swoop in and do some magic (or attempt some magic, anyway!)…

the front was rather plain, so i gave it a bib, edged with bias. and used bias to edge the square neckline, hem, cap sleeves, and zipper placket on the back. the reason for the placket? well, it was a hair too small, as i said, so i opened out the button plackets for more room, and the new placket covers up the button holes and gives the back some interest. the buttons on the front are covered with a little of the fabric i cut off the hem before attaching the bias. btw, all the extra contrasting fabric is a herringbone weave chambray type fabric i had in my stash already.

it’s not perfect, but it’s a lot more fun than it was before. and it fits!

i love this kind of work…taking something that’s not quite right and making it more so. and if it doesn’t work out, fine. but when it does…so wonderful, so satisfying.