thimble
Showing posts with label thimble. Show all posts
Signs of the Sewdiac
I am incredibly fortunate to have worked with and met some wonderful creatives, many of whom have become true friends. One such talent is Samantha Claridge, owner of Sew Crafty. Sammy has incredible taste, her designs are always so beautiful and she inspires me with every make and photo - her new instagram feed showcases this perfectly!
When Sammy told me she was releasing a new line of products with a subscription box club I got very excited. And then when she kindly sent me January's box I squealed, gasped and left her a rambling voicemail through tears of joy.
It wasn't overly dramatic. You see I LOVE sewing and I LOVE stationery; I value great quality and unique, well thought out design (especially when it's within my budget!). Signs of the Sewdiac has all that, it is a box of perfection covered in stars.
making it easy
**enter my Cotton + Steel FQ bundle giveaway here, ends tomorrow!**
Back to sewing though...
Most often nowadays slow is my preferred sewing tempo but sometimes speed and ease are favourable. Today I started making some bunting and couldn't bring myself to make it the traditional way. I knew pinking shears would make the job faster and then in a stroke of genius I grabbed my Hex N More ruler, folded the fabric and used the triangle side of the ruler as a template (so I was actually cutting diamond shapes). My plan is to press them and put ribbon between the folds and sew along the whole length of the ribbon in one fell swoop.
I have continued working on my green tea and sweet beans quilt:
Though this and the epic vintage quilt I'm hand quilting are causing havoc to my fingers, I admit that *shock horror* I rarely wear a thimble but after hand quilting for any length of time it really starts to hurt and I have to use one. I have a Clover Protect and Grip Thimble but I often use the side of my finger so it's not great, though it's a very comfortable thimble if you only use the tip. I tried a cheap metal one but it's not so comfy and I found the dimples in it annoying.
Knowing that I am doing a lot of hand quilting I was getting a little desperate and decided to give the Clover Natural Fit Leather Thimble a try. This thimble is seriously my new best friend. I adore it, the snug fit, the comfortable feel and the fact I can use the tip and/or side to push my needle easily. Admittedly I've only had it a few days so can't comment on how long it will last but I will definitely let you know. If you're a thimble hater but lover of soft hands I highly recommend trying this thimble!!
* random aside, I used to manage a beauty counter and have tried/used a lot of beauty products but without the doubt the greatest hand product I've ever used is Crabtree & Evelyn's Hand Recovery Scrub. I just remembered it and will be getting some, I like the La Source one (currently out of stock) but I'm tempted to try the Pomegranate, Argan and Grapeseed one because yum! It is a lovely scrub, gentle but really effective and leaves your hands so soft. By the way that wasn't the company I worked for, I just love the scrub!
Back to sewing though...
Have you heard about the new quilt along the Fat Quarter Shop are doing? The quilt is made up of the cutest blocks of memories and 'snapshots'. It starts 15th January 2015 and a new block pattern and video will be released on the 15th of each month.
The patterns are free but they are encouraging everyone to donate $5 for each download in order to raise money for St Jude Children's Research Hospital, which you can contribute to here. Fat Quarter Shop and Moda Fabrics will match up to $10,000 of donations raised for this amazing cause.
There is a fantastic line up of bloggers and designers sewing along and you can even pre-order kits here if you would like to use the same Daysail fabrics. You can get all the details of the Snapshots Quilt Along here and see the introductory video here.
sofa day
I'm linking up to:
completed:
Today has been a total sofa day. Me being ill was not fun, the little girl being ill is even less so :(
She had very little energy so blankets and Snow White were the order of the day. It also gave me an opportunity to finish my second rose and star block:
Don't they look pretty holding hands!!
While she was napping I also managed to make this quick camera case:
I used this simple tutorial, the only difference was I hand sewed the closing rather than using the machine. I'm trying to improve my hand stitching and this tutorial really helped, the seam looks great (you can't see it but that's the point!)
It helps that I now have a thimble. My finger was getting so sore but no more!
I decided the thimble needed a special spot in my sewing case, the pockets were just a little too big and I didn't want to lose it. So I cut a bit of fabric, pressed and top stitched the edges and then hand stitched it onto my case:
Cute and handy!
ongoing:
I'm hoping to maybe try to get some more fmq done tomorrow because there's been no progress on the 'Not So Charming Rainbow Stars Quilt'.
I've also cut pieces ready for my next rose and star block (I think this might be a regular Wednesday thing!!)
no progress: everything else but I've done enough all things considered
So here's my stats:
completed: 3
new: 0
in progress: 2
*******************************************************************************************************************************************
I'm linking up with Missy Mac Creations but I don't really have any good news :(
I gained a pound this week and am so fed up. I'm hoping it's water retention because I've barely been able to eat anything. Admittedly I've not done so much exercise (except normal looking after kids stuff) but who wants to work out when you're poorly??!
I'm on the mend so I promise no excuses next week and hope to see some loss.
Can anyone recommend some effective but gentle exercise? The next couple of days I want to go easy on myself (that makes it sound like I work out really hard, clearly I don't!! I just want a change and nothing too strenuous).
*******************************************************************************************************************************************
In other news... If you have facebook and fancy some free 'facebook cards' head over to moo . This is the UK site but I know the US one is doing the same thing (not sure about Canada or Australia or anywhere else, sorry!).
So incredibly professional and handy for handing out at all those important meetings I attend! HA! They're just for fun, I only paid a couple of pounds postage and I wanted to check them out. They come in a cute little case and you can chose 6 different images and get 50 free cards (for a limited time!). I have to say the images didn't come out as well as I'd hoped, the colours are pretty dull so if you're going to get some I'd say pick some really bright shots.
They do a lot of fun cards but I'm assuming the quality of the stuff you pay for is better!
Oh and look what my son made at school :) Happy Chinese New Year!
completed:
Today has been a total sofa day. Me being ill was not fun, the little girl being ill is even less so :(
She had very little energy so blankets and Snow White were the order of the day. It also gave me an opportunity to finish my second rose and star block:
Don't they look pretty holding hands!!
While she was napping I also managed to make this quick camera case:
I used this simple tutorial, the only difference was I hand sewed the closing rather than using the machine. I'm trying to improve my hand stitching and this tutorial really helped, the seam looks great (you can't see it but that's the point!)
It helps that I now have a thimble. My finger was getting so sore but no more!
I decided the thimble needed a special spot in my sewing case, the pockets were just a little too big and I didn't want to lose it. So I cut a bit of fabric, pressed and top stitched the edges and then hand stitched it onto my case:
Cute and handy!
ongoing:
I'm hoping to maybe try to get some more fmq done tomorrow because there's been no progress on the 'Not So Charming Rainbow Stars Quilt'.
I've also cut pieces ready for my next rose and star block (I think this might be a regular Wednesday thing!!)
no progress: everything else but I've done enough all things considered
So here's my stats:
completed: 3
new: 0
in progress: 2
*******************************************************************************************************************************************
I'm linking up with Missy Mac Creations but I don't really have any good news :(
I gained a pound this week and am so fed up. I'm hoping it's water retention because I've barely been able to eat anything. Admittedly I've not done so much exercise (except normal looking after kids stuff) but who wants to work out when you're poorly??!
I'm on the mend so I promise no excuses next week and hope to see some loss.
Can anyone recommend some effective but gentle exercise? The next couple of days I want to go easy on myself (that makes it sound like I work out really hard, clearly I don't!! I just want a change and nothing too strenuous).
*******************************************************************************************************************************************
In other news... If you have facebook and fancy some free 'facebook cards' head over to moo . This is the UK site but I know the US one is doing the same thing (not sure about Canada or Australia or anywhere else, sorry!).
I used my Charm About You profile and created these:
So incredibly professional and handy for handing out at all those important meetings I attend! HA! They're just for fun, I only paid a couple of pounds postage and I wanted to check them out. They come in a cute little case and you can chose 6 different images and get 50 free cards (for a limited time!). I have to say the images didn't come out as well as I'd hoped, the colours are pretty dull so if you're going to get some I'd say pick some really bright shots.
They do a lot of fun cards but I'm assuming the quality of the stuff you pay for is better!
Oh and look what my son made at school :) Happy Chinese New Year!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)