Procrastination Giveaway

I have a tendency to be a procrastinator. I am currently so busy that I am procrastinating at procrastination. Maybe this makes sense, maybe not. What I mean is that I have so much going on, that everything is done in the last possible minute. As a result, I am putting off my ability to procrastinate.

Okay, enough overthinking or justifying my untimely behavior. Several months ago, I think May-ish, I did some test sewing for one of my many favorite pattern designers. I love this project. It is perfect parts math nerd and sewing geek. Shea of Empty Bobbin Sewing has a great way of coming up with fun sewing projects and turning them into patterns. Like me, she is a detail girl. Unlike me, she has a way with written language. The result is pure magic. Her patterns are fresh and fun with just the right amount of detail. I like to think that I have a little to do with the detail part. The sewing cover was the first pattern that I tested for her. One of the awesome things that she does for her pattern testers is that she sends them three copies of the finished pattern. One is to keep, one for a friend and one to give away on your blog.

So readers, my procrastination is your gain!! Get it while it's hot. Leave a comment telling me a procrastination story, best story wins. I will give you a week...unless of course I forget or put it off another week or two.

Feet: Walking Foot #50

The walking foot #50, is imperative if you work with multiple layers, like quilts, or slippery materials, like satin. It is worth the investment, even though it is one of the more expensive feet.

The trouble with quilting on a  home sewing machine is keeping the layers from bunching and maintaining an even stitch length. Well, that and just maneuvering the bulk of the quilt through your machine. The walking foot will help with both of these things. A walking foot is essentially feed dogs working on the top and bottom in conjunction with one another. As a result, there is a lot less puckering, bunching and shifting. Seems like a no brainer! Did I mention there are now three soles? One is like the standard foot and has a closed toe with an etched guide in the middle. The second is an open toe which allows you to see right up to the tip of the needle. The latest addition is a sole that has a guide, just like the #10 edgestitch foot. It is perfect for stitch in the ditch and edging!

Feet: Leather Roller #55

The #55 Leather Roller Foot is an amazing foot that allows you to make curvy and circular stitches while still using your feed dogs. So if you're rusty or "not so hot" at free motion quilting, try this foot as an alternative. I think you will like it. It corners on a dime.The Bernina video is fun to watch, and no dorky music.

In my experience, it works best when you move the needle to the far left position, which puts the needle right next to the wheel. The wheel is made of textured metal so it will roll over nearly anything or any thickness. It's serious! I guess that's why it will maneuver on tricky materials like leather, as if it were butter. Want to sew on some jumbo piping that won't fit under any other foot? Give this foot a try. Got a creative meandering stitch in mind? This could be your answer.

So the story that I have heard about this foot, is that a man designed it to make leather racing gloves. Racing gloves or not, I think this guy is a genius! I have to admit, it does make a big impression. I recently sold a new Bernina to a girl who had to have this foot. She heard about it from a friend of ours (same friend who took the lovely photo) who only refers to it with it's full name, Leather Rolling Foot #55. It's love.

Feet: Edgestitch #10

It is rare that I sew something and don't use the #10 Edgestitch Foot. Sure you can use #5 Blind Hem for most edgestitching, but if you want to have the needle in the middle, you will need this foot. Not to mention, it moves around curves and lighter fabric better than #5 because the guide in the middle is not so long. Some folks like to do those things called crazy quilts with decorative stitches. Why not set the blade of this foot right in the seam and let the stitch line up perfectly on both sides? It is effortless, but you don't have to tell that to anyone. Don't forget to get the wider version of the foot, #10C, if you have a machine that sews 9mm stitches.

Bernina just added a special sole for the walking foot that has this same guide in the center. Can you say, stitch in the ditch? I can! Or have the best of both worlds with #10D, the dual feed option for 8 Series owners. I purchased the #10 Edgestitch Foot the day I got my Bernina with no regrets.

Feet: Patchwork Foot #37 or #57?

So which to pick? Why not get both?

#37 Patchwork Foot (1/4" foot) is my go to quilt piecing foot. I like this foot a little more than #57 (1/4" foot with guide) for piecing because sometimes the guide on #57 will affect how seamed fabric will move under the foot.

Both feet have notched sides that indicate 1/4" start and stop points for turning perfect corners. Also, the inside of the toes work to sew an 1/8" seam. I like that these feet will work similar to a straight stitch foot and can be combined with a straight stitch plate for ultimate stitch control. Want even more control? Buy an 8 Series machine and have #37D, the dual feed option, which is basically a built in walking foot! Even more luxurious, with dual feed you can adjust the settings to feed the fabric at just the right accuracy for your project and materials. No joke! It's awesome sewing.

I typically use #57 with the guide for topstitching garments and bags. It works great for new quilters learning about 1/4" seam allowance. I like it when I have no other seamed pieces. I do recommend both, but if you have to get just one, make it #37. Who has both patchwork feet? and which one do you prefer?

Sewing Answers: Presser Feet

So I picked up this book: The Sewing Answer Book. PS- you can't click to look inside unless you are here. I thought that it might make for some good blog discussion and also give me some answers. My goal is to look at one topic each week and discuss. We'll see how it goes. I'm not good with blog regularity, but I found the perfect question to start with:

Q: Which presser feet do I need for my sewing machine?

Book Answer: Most machines come with a basic set of presser feet, straight stitch, zipper, all-purpose zigzag and the blind-hem feet. Many include a clear or open-toe embroidery/applique foot, a special buttonhole foot and another for sewing buttons on by machine.

My Answer: I agree with the book on this one. The Berninas (for the most part) come with a standard five feet. Check out the Bernina webpage to learn more about the feet, but please do your best to ignore the terribly cheesy music on the videos.
1. #1 Reverse Pattern Foot (or all-purpose foot). If you have have a machine that does 9mm stitches, it will come with a foot that allows for 9mm sewing (#1C). We have a straight stitch foot #13. This is one that I actually do not have. I get along well enough with #1 that I have never gotten the straight stitch foot. Some people who do lots and lots of straight sewing prefer the straight stitch foot and a single hole stitch plate, but be warned: you WILL break needles if you do anything other than straight sewing with such a combination. I am too forgetful for all that jazz.

2. #4 Zipper Foot. This is a narrow foot and you need to move the needle to the far left or right to use it. Some machines have a zipper foot that you clip on to one side or the other.

3. #5 Blind Hem Foot. You need this foot for doing a blind hem, but did you know that you could also use it for edgestitching? It will make you look like a sewing genius, I promise!

4. #3 Buttonhole Foot. If you are purchasing a machine, always ask to see a buttonhole, even if you never plan to make them. You will be surprised how many you will make if it is easy to do. Most Berninas come with a #3A foot for automatic buttonholes. It's a breeze to use.

5. #2 Overlock Foot. This comes on most Bernina models, but not all. It is a great foot to use if you don't have a serger because it helps your fabric lie flat and not tunnel while finishing the edge.

The next question goes on to ask if: will I need any other presser feet for specialty sewing?

My Answer: YES, of course! Stay tuned to see which feet I love and why.

Denyse Schmidt Workshop at PNCA

The workshop with Denyse Schmidt at PNCA was amazing. It was great to meet Denyse and all the other women who came to the class. I was happy to finally meet Susan, who helped me wrangle a sewing machine. Thank you Modern Domestic for loaning me a lovely Bernina friend. I also met, Blair, of wisecraft, a blog that I have read for several years. People came from Seattle, Vancouver, Los Angeles and Kansas City (that's me).

Early the first day we worked on an exercise to get us working on improvisation. We"blindly" drew one piece of fabric at a time from Denyse's paper sacks filled with different sized scraps. We took a moment to think about the fabric and how it related to the next piece and then sewed them together. The trick was to not spend a lot of time dwelling on combination, pattern, etc. Instead, we were following our instincts and allowing the blocks to evolve in a somewhat organic fashion. It sounds easy, but it is hard to quiet the editing part of your mind and tempting to toss back a fabric that you didn't like. I was not crazy about the blocks I made and was much more excited about some of the other girls' creations, but when I got home and put the three blocks together into a little sampler I was in love. I feel like I won a prize.

We had a little picnic lunch from daily cafe in a local park. I enjoyed the socializing as much as the sewing part. It was so relaxing and exciting at the same time,exactly how a vacation should be.

After lunch we began sketching to help develop our concepts for the blocks we would make with our fabric. Some people continued with the grab bag style piecing and others took a more deliberate approach. I was inspired by some of my fabric and also being in Portland. I got up early that day and walked to class. It was about a 30 minute walk down the west hills to PNCA, but the air was crisp and the colors were very Portland to me. I snapped a "not so good" photo on my phone in attempt to capture the moment. I used it as the inspiration for my blocks. So my blocks became linear log cabin like blocks with little pockets of light to mimic the light that pops through the lush green and dark trees. I am excited to continue working on the blocks. I hope to better capture that feeling in my quilt, than I was able to in my photo. Thanks Anne for sharing some of your photos...I can't believe they came from an iphone.

Rooibos Sewalong

How lucky am I that I was able shop with the gal behind Colette patterns for my fabric?

I picked a strange blend of wool, poly, something, something for the main fabric. The lady that cut it actually warned me not to wash it. I might do it anyway, as I am a low maintenance kind of person and a rebel. Also, I try my best not to dryclean. Regardless, I don't wear dresses all that often, so the cleaning will be minimal.

I then found a satin finished cotton at Bolt. I picked up two colors of orangey red. The more orange red is the one I would like to use, but it only came as a half yard cut, so I am not sure if there will be enough. Just to be safe I got another color in the correct yardage. I am looking foward to this project. I have had this pattern in my to-do pile for about a year.

Sewcation PDX

It took some planning and some saving, but I am so glad that I did it. My sewcation to Portland, Oregon couldn't have been better. The catalyst for the trip was the Denyse Schmidt workhop at PNCA. I have always wanted to do one of her workshops, so when I found out that PNCA was offering one I knew it was the perfect opportunity to do it. The workshop was amazing and deserves a post of it's own, so stay tuned.

In college I did an internship with ERMA, a small architecture firm. It was one of the best experiences I could have had. Ernie graciously allowed me to stay in his guest suite, a small room and bath above his garage. It was perfect and I wish I had thought to snap a photo. The first night I was there, Corey, a friend from the firm had a potluck dinner party at his amazing home. It was the perfect way to start my trip.

The next day was my free day. I went to Powell's bookstore and got a little lunch before heading across the river to meet Sarai, of Colette Patterns. She is such a sweet person and I am so grateful that she allowed me to visit her studio and then drive me to the most amazing fabric store, Mill End. It was easy to get overwhelmed and potentially out of control in this store. I so wish we had a fabric store like this in KC.

After Mill End, I stopped by Bolt where I proceeded to spend the remaining "fabric cash" I had saved. I visited Bolt five years when they first opened and WOW how they have changed. I was impressed with the amount of fabric and selection they could cram into such a tiny store. My friend Meredith, who works at Bolt and Modern Domestic, picked out the exact pattern and fabric that I purchased that day. We had a good laugh when we discovered that we had the exact same idea, but we both have exceptional taste when it comes to sewing.

I made my way to Modern Domestic, the cutest little Bernina store ever. These girls are fun and modern. I was excited to see Bernina in a fresh and fun atmosphere. I signed up for their Friday night sewcial...and was successful mostly in socializing.

The next two days were consumed mostly by the Denyse Schmidt workshop. I was happy to have dinner with two lovely ladies from the workshop, Noelle and Francesca. My friend from college, Josh, gave us a tip on where to dine and we ended up at Clyde Common. It was beyond good and I highly recommend it if you ever find yourself in Portland.

Sunday night was my last night in the city and I was able to spend it with my sewing soul sister, Meredith. We drank cider from this cute little cider bar, Bushwacker. We then stayed up until almost 2 am talking about everything like two school girls on a Friday night sleepover. It was the perfect way to end a much needed vacation.