Fun at the Machine

I bought some basic thread (white, navy, and black) at Joann's on Friday so I could play around with my new serger. Saturday morning was a lot of instructional video watching, which taught me the different features of the machine as well as how to thread the machine. The threading took a couple of tries but in the end I learned and it's pretty easy! :) I'm super happy about my purchase and I was able to finish the cozy cardi! Here's the completed piece just hanging on a hanger. I'll have to take better pictures another day.



See my scrap bin on my machine. You can tell the machine got some good use this weekend.



I serged all the raw ends of my wool pieces to prep for pre-shrinking later this week based on this blog. It's so pretty and exciting! (I'm such a nerd!)



My hubby and I went to Inner Space Caverns in Georgetown on Saturday for a date! Here are some of my favorite pictures.



Not very good lighting inside the building, but it'll have to do. Can you tell we're Texas fans?! :) Hook'em Horns!

I Got a New Toy!!!

I got a new serger earlier this week!!! I'm SuPER excited about this, but I haven't had too much time to play around with it. I hope this weekend I will get some alone time with it. :)

I had bought a serger over the summer off of eBay, but it was NOT a good experience so after a long drawn out process I was able to return it and get my money back. This is what that serger looked like... there's a big crack in the corner!

I should post some of the emails from the seller... they are quite ridiculous, but I will spare you the drama.

Here's my brand new toy that was ordered from SewVacDirect. No cracked corners here. :) I hope that I overcome the learning curve very quickly and start using it right away. I think my first project on it will be the cozy cardi. Wish me luck!

Silk

I washed the black silk charmeuse the other night in the bathtub with a little bit of shampoo and my bathtub was covered in black/purple dye! Hahaha.. later I found that silk doesn't hold color very well especially dark colors (particularly black) from a website... but I can't find the website anymore.

Here are some more tips in handling silk:
http://www.emmaonesock.com/guides/silkcharmeuse.asp
http://www.denverfabrics.com/pages/static/Silk/silk-fabric-care-sewing.htm

I just need to press it and then I will be ready to be cut into the beautiful black silk charmeuse! I wonder if my scissors are too dull to cut into the silk... I suppose I should test it on a corner first. I'll be turning this into a silk blouse using Simplicity 2601 and it will be the first piece in my fall SWAP.

This has definitely been a learning experience. Hopefully, I can summarize my whole experience from purchase of fabric through final product once I finish my project.

Silk & The Common Thread

I went all out and bought some silk charmeuse! It's so supple and lovely! I bought some black silk charmeuse to make Simplicity 2601A and a skinny tie for the hubby.



I'm not sure what I'm going to use the printed silk for. I was thinking I would use it for the lining of my jacket in the Fall SWAP, but I don't want to anymore because I don't think it'll match. Hmmm... I suppose I'll have to stash it and find out later. :)

I bought the silks from The Common Thread here in Austin. The shop is a new local apparel fabric shop, which I'm super excited about! You can find good quality apparel fabric... I know I'll definitely be shopping there more often as soon as I use up some of my fabric stash.

While searching for tips on sewing with silk, I came across a couple of different things on the internet. (I love the internet!) I think I'm still a little intimidated to sew with such luxurious fabric!

This one is a video with Sandra Betzina. I think it's helpful! Who knew silk could be washed with shampoo?!

This one is an article at CraftStylish.

Pattern Review Wardrobe Contest

I didn't even realize there was a wardrobe contest on Pattern Review until last week. A few tweaks to my Fall SWAP and I think I qualify! This would only be my second contest that I've entered on Pattern Review... I'm not sure if I'm going to finish, but I have until the end of November so hopefully it'll work out! :) I need 5 tops, 4 bottoms, and a "topper" (which is something to go on top of your shirts... coat, jacket, vest, etc.). Fabric with print also needs to be used. Here's my tentative storyboard.

The fabric swatches on top are my fabric choices for the tops, and the swatches on the bottom are the ones for my pants and skirts. Some of my fabric needs to be pre-treated still. I'm not even sure where to start. Well... I still need to finish my summer SWAP and the Cozy Cardi first. Hopefully, I find some time to work on those this coming weekend. Wish me luck!