my singer 201 has been sitting there in the corner of my master bedroom for over a year bc i cannot figure out how to thread it, attached to a table, and nothing online helped. but today i find this. i hope to try it when i get home from my trip.

i was tempted to sell it but this thing was a great find at $38 from Craigslist.  There was this construction guy that found it abandoned in some building.  Knew nothing about it but i got him to read me the numbers on the machine over the phone.  he had no pictures up and i did not want to waste a drive.  After he read me the numbers, a quick internet database search, i said i was leaving my place that second!

Another $50 was to get it cleaned and looked over for safety at the Singer store off of Friars Rd.  I asked the Singer guy if it needed anything for it to be in its best shape.  He replied no and that everything was perfect.   Purrr it did – until my toddler unravelled everything at home before i studied and programed its threading in my head…

so yeah, i will try threading the machine in a couple of days…

happy sewing everyone!

original post November 5, 2010 at Martha Stewart’s Craft Department:
http://thecraftsdept.marthastewart.com/2010/11/tote-bag-tutorial-and-giveaway.html


pattern here: http://thecraftsdept.marthastewart.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Oliver+SMotherDaughterToteBag.pdf

Guest Tutorial by Janet Metzger of The Empty Nest

Source:
http://www.everythingetsy.com/2010/10/ruffled-coin-pouch-tutorial-w-zipper/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Everythingetsycom+%28EverythingEtsy.com%29

Organized and Cute – perfect combination!

This is really fun and sweet looking item to make for yourself or as a gift. 

It is easy to customize with pockets, flowers, or even a mouse….

i was just thinking, “Twas the night before Christmas….”

Maybe add embellishments too?  Possibilities are limitless.

Go to http://www.sewnews.com/articles/Made_to_Order_Organizer to get the instructions and free pattern.

I will be making pillowcase-style costumes of the ladybug, the bee, and princess seen here from Simplicity Halloween pattern.  I will also be making an angel from the same concept.  Days ago, I picked up wings from the Dollar store (angel, princess, fairy, bee), so I have this itch to sew all these costumes.  Will my daughter wear them?  Probably not, but my goal is to just sew and get better at it in speed and technique.  one day, she will… til then, be inspired to sew for the sake of sewing =)

The Denver Post
Posted: 10/23/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
Updated: 10/23/2010 09:01:56 PM MDT

Host Ellen March, right, and guest EllynAnne Geisel talk on set. Geisel will lead the segment “Awesome Aprons (.” Photos: Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post )

GOLDEN — Sewing is not rocket science.

You can teach yourself, use hand-me-town tools and stitch as crooked as Mr. Magoo drives. The result will still be more interesting than most anything you can buy.

That’s the message behind Sew News and Sew It All magazines, published by Colorado’s Creative Crafts Group.

Now, the recent recession and concurrent “green revolution” have kickstarted sewers — roughly 31 million, or 27 percent of, American households included a sewer in 2009, according to the Craft & Hobby Association. Meanwhile, television glamorizes the skill, a la “Project Runway,” and yesteryear’s styles continue to rule in fashion and home design.

The result is that Sew It All is taking
Show host Ellen March demonstrates a ruffle stitching they will work on in the TV show.
its message to television, too, via a new PBS show set to air in spring 2011.

The market: today’s hip, scissor-cutting-edge creatives. And that includes guys.

“The reason we came up with this was to take the fear out of sewing,” said Ellen March, the editor of Sew News and Sew It All, who also hosts the forthcoming “Sew It All” TV show.

Seated earlier this week on her show’s brand-new set, which was adorned with orange walls, mod red chairs and a pistachio-colored sewing table with vintage-looking scalloped woodwork details, March talked about what she’s seen as a recent uptick in sewing.

“Sewing is hot right now,” said March, whose mother is a seamstress and whose father is a journalist. “I hear from a lot of people who say ‘I haven’t sewn in years and want to start up again,’ or ‘I want to sew!’ “

Each episode of “Sew It All” on TV spotlights “a fun technique,” a project in which that technique is applied, and a special guest to serve as creative inspiration. First-season guests include fashion designers and former “Project Runway” contestants Stephen “Suede” Baum and Carmen Webber; crafts author, novelist and columnist Kathy Cano-Murillo, also known as the “Crafty Chica”; and author and “apron lover” EllynAnne Geisel.

“I really want it to feel like we’re hanging out and it’s low- stress,” March said.

Geisel was briefly anxious about appearing on the show, as her own sewing skills are far from perfect. But the author of “The Apron Book: Making, Wearing and Sharing a Bit of Cloth and Comfort” and other tomes on the subject said March’s laid-back approach to sewing put her at ease.

“What I love about this new sewing focus is, it encourages you to be good enough,” Geisel said. “It’s simply the joy of saying, ‘Look, I did this myself.’ “

The sewer’s satisfaction is compounded by the fact that something handmade is that much more endearing because of the occasional flaw.

Sorta like people.

“The hip sewer, that doesn’t necessarily (correspond) to an age,” Geisel added. “It’s just someone who says, ‘I want something that is uniquely me.’ “

Phoenix-based Cano-Murillo has spent two decades building her business as a craft-trepreneur, first through her syndicated newspaper column, then through her books, blog and “Crafty Chica” brand crafting supplies. In that time, she said, there have rarely been fresh television shows geared to the country’s significant crafting community.

American consumers spent $27.4 million on crafting in 2009, according to the Craft & Hobby Association. That was a 5 percent increase over the previous year.

“It’s very hip, very fresh, very now,” Murillo said of the “Sew It All” TV show concept. She added that dropping into the Denver area recently for a one-day taping was “a breath of fresh, and a lot of fun.”

Contact your local PBS affiliate if you’d like to see “Sew It All,” or visit sewnews.com.

Cutting out the space

No need for a devoted sewing room to begin threading together fashion and home-decorating looks. These tips for getting organized from Sew It All magazine will help sewers keep it all together.

A sewing cabinet provides a place to keep your sewing machine and notions. They can be small or large, typically include drawers for supplies, and have ample work space.

A large sewing kit is ideal for novice sewers as it comes with basic supplies — including multiple colors of thread — and is self-contained in a tidy box.

Thread racks, which come in multiple sizes and can typically hold as many as 120 spools, enable sewers to see what might otherwise get lost in a drawer.

Storage containers for safety pins, needles, ribbon and the like make these things easier to find and use, and can create their own colorful display.

Read more: Sewing craze takes to airwaves – The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/ci_16410101?source=sb-facebook#ixzz13IOYA7XP

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_16410101?source=sb-facebook

My Mom loved to make things or at least she loved the idea of buying projects to make, I can not remember how many times I was with her and she would buy the patterns and material to make my little girl these cute, dress, shirt, skirt, blanket, doll ect only to find the material on the self in her sewing room years latter.  she had so much stuff that she did not know what she had and would buy the item again.  When I went through her craft room i found 20 pairs of scissors, 10 rotary cutters, 15 seam rippers, tons of boxes of freezer paper, I think you have the picture.

My mom passed away in feb and we need to clear the house, i have taken some of her craft supplies but it is way to much for one person (I have taken way too much).  My mom had a passion for making things and I promised her that I would finish her projects, i know that it would not be possible to do by myself.

I’m sorry if this is inappropriate but I would like to get my mom’s craft items into good hands, we are having an estate sale this weekend the 23rd and 24th of Oct and I was wondering if you could pass the information along to your members or let me know of a better way of getting the word out.

There is a room full of craft items at very reasonable prices. If we are too far away, I live in Fallbrook and I can bring items back to fallbrook with me if anyone is interested.

17479 Orchid Ct, Fontana, CA 92335
phone number 8167168858
Sat 23rd Oct 0700-4PM
Sun 24th Oct 0800-2PM

All types of craft supplies, paints, wooden balls, a few packages of beads, doll heads, prepackaged projects (needlepoint, wreath, snowman, pens, vests ect), cut and sew panels (just in time for the holidays, quick and easy to make and sell at craft fairs) craft books, cooking books and more craft books    boxes and boxes of books

Patterns: baby clothes, crib sets, toddler clothes, little girls, teen girls, 6-20 women, robes, jackets, a few men and boys, curtains, table runners, chair covers, dolls, doll clothes, bears,  and more…. binders full of project ideas and patterns (free to a good home) boxes, of quilt and project patterns….

My mom would find a project she wanted to do, buy the material, pattern, and put it all in a bag.  There are many of those bags ready to go. weaving loom, 2 fold up craft tables on wheels, sewing machine in a rolling cabinet, appliques, iron on transfers, boxes of wax paper, cutting mats, tools, elastic, scissors, rotary cutters, thread, buttons, Velcro, binding, batting, pillow forms…  you name it we probably have it (except yarn that is) a bookcase (floor to ceiling) full of material, not to mention the boxes of fat quarters, cutting mats, rulers, and tools that I don’t know what they are or how to use them.