In the studio, I'm working on the third prototype of the Kwik Sew 3300 bra which is coming along nicely. I always find it funny when developing a T & T pattern how we can circle back to where we started. After sewing the 36C, I sewed a 36D and it was way too big so I went back and sewed a 36C with some modifications. Narrowing the bridge only at the top worked great. Adding 1/2" to the underarm and upper band was not so good although in the end - after much pinning and pulling and prodding and thinking - I've left the 1/2" in place and have taken 3/8" off of the cup seam on the inner piece only which moves the strap 3/8" closer to center and gets rid of some puckers. Pinned, this works. Sewn, I'm not sure yet. I'll let you know. I have some butter tarts to bake tomorrow and then I can sew another one. Good thing I already have a dress for the party Saturday night - LOL.
The buttonholes are on the "girl" side of this little sweater so I added pink, polka-dot buttons for a bit of fun. There are five in total with the top one just a little too close to the edge. I'll remember to space the buttonholes starting a little higher and ending a little lower next time.
The finished sweater is cute - small - a size 3-6 months. Since I don't know anyone that small, it will be put in the drawer with the other small things I've knit. Another friend is expecting a grandchild in February. Something from the drawer might make the perfect gift.
With these small sweaters, my goal is to improve my workmanship. In particular, sleeve seams have been driving me crazy. Who knew that eight inches could be so stressful. You'd think I didn't know how to sew and...
... you might be right because this kind of sewing is vastly different than matching the raw edges and stitching by machine. It took forever - and it could be done better - and it will be in the future as I perfect the skill even more - however - I'm quite proud of this little seam. The yarn is 100% wool so I also learned about blocking with this project. It's critical, like a good press of the seam. I can tell that I'll be leaning toward natural yarns from now on.
I bought four of these polymer clay buttons at an art quilt retreat in 2003. They were made by one of the other members of the Fibre Art Network. It was nice to finally use them on...
... this size 2/3 little girl's sweater. This yarn is an acrylic/wool blend so nice but not nearly as nice for blocking although fabulous for hiding the shoulder seams because it's slightly fuzzy. I didn't stress out over them nearly as much.
The red handles on the Sandi bag are FINALLY finished. I doubled the fabric twice so they are firm and supportive. These should make it easier to carry the athletic bag along with the...
... loop at the bottom of the handle. Because it was an afterthought, I couldn't sew it into the seam without disrupting a lot of things so I stitched it to the end of the strap instead. That seems to work.
On Tuesday night, I took all of the hand bags to knit night for show and tell. Although it was off topic, many of the women also sew and found the bags interesting. I've decided to hold off on mailing them until the end of January so they don't get mixed up in Christmas and are a nice surprise in the middle of the winter blues. I'll include a disk with the other hand bag pictures on it along with a letter of explanation. Good and enough. This has been a really fun project and - unfortunately - there is now a box of scraps to be dealt with. Go figure. How to use up two things and create more.
Today, I met with Tony to discuss the hairstyling possibility. There's a lot to consider. His advice was to take several weeks of high end upgrading with a company such as Paul Mitchell and then find a smaller, three or four stylist, salon to begin working in. He estimated that it would take one to four years to build up a three day a week clientele depending on how things go and how well connected I am. I'm not. Since the upgrading would be out of town and rather expensive and I would need to buy a complete set of tools and supplies for my studies, we're talking somewhere between five and ten thousand dollars, a total that requires a LOT of consideration before making a decision. I need to know if I really want to do this or not since I'll be in it for the long haul. I don't know right now.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - finished projects
How would you manage your allergies in a salon with so many chemicals and fragrnces etc?
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing as "anonymous"--you would be dealing with so many chemicals in a salon, breathing them, touching them. Take care of yourself.
ReplyDelete