Our Sewing Stay-cation Day Two-and-a-Half

Another day full of adventures!!!!

Good Morning!!!

Want to know the VERY BEST thing about doing a sewing Stay-cation? The check out time is so flexible. In fact, I have it on good information that the owner will let us stay as long as we need. It’s a good thing too, because I am in the zone with our sewing projects and no where near ready to quit. Let me give you an update……

Signs of Spring Pin-Cushion:

• 

  This is the front….

• 

  This is the back.

One is finished. Unfortunately I have the “more is better” disease so I keep thinking about new changes and tweaks I can make to them. I promise to stop at 2………or maybe 3. I’m pretty sure I will stop at 3.

What has delighted me the most about this project is remembering how to do a french knot. I learned to embroider at about age 11 in a girls group at the church of my friends (and neighbors…..remember we had a great neighborhood!) Camille Farnsworth and Julie Olander. I am pretty sure that is the last time I did a french knot. If you are wondering about the math on this……that would be 50 years ago. The fact that I can remember this is a testament to the miracle of long-term memory storage. (Unlike my short term memory that can’t remember where the car keys are).

If it has also been a few years since you made a French knot (or you didn’t even know there was such a thing…), here is a brief run though.

• 

  First, bring your thread up from the bottom.

• 

  Next, wrap the thread around the sharp end of your needle. I wrapped 8 times.

• 

  Hold your thread so it doesn’t slip off and put the needle back in the same spot you came out of.

• 

  Voila!!! A french knot. Just like I learned with Julie and Camille!!

Don’t you feel accomplished???? Isn’t a Sewing Stay-cation the best!!!!!!!

What Did I Do With the Flannel????

The clock went “dong” and I knew what to make.

At 6:00 pm last night I knew what to do with the flannel. Yesterday when I typed the phrase, “It gets soft and fluffy like a sheep” I was pretty sure we would be making a chenille scarf. I also have a soft place in my heart for the project. A chenille scarf was the first thing I made when I got back into sewing 5 or 6 years ago. I took a class at Country Lady Quilts; made the scarf; bought a used machine from a woman I met in class and I have been running with an open throttle ever since!

• 

  This is how I folded my fabric; raw edge to the selvage edge to make a 45 degree angle.

• 

  Then I used my chalk pen. I made the first length 3 inches wide because it was on the fold. All the rest were 6 inches.

As you remember, the Sewingjourney is a game with rules. And one of the rules is “no patterns”. So I relied a lot on memory and a little on Google. I asked Google how wide to make the scarf (6 inches) and how wide to sew the channels (if you want a soft scarf, 1/8-1/4 inches; for a more structured scarf sew them wider). I decided to use my presser foot as measure.

To start, cut 6 inch wide lengths on the bias. To make sure the pieces were on the bias I folded my fabric raw edge against selvage to make a 45 degree angle. Does the picture make sense??? The length you make your scarf is up to you. I was pretty flexible with how long I wanted my scarf, so I cut the first length; put it around my neck; and said “Perfect!” When I have made these scarves before I used a big cutting mat and rotary blade. This time I improvised with a 6 inch measure, chalk pen and my trusty scissors…..it just seemed more Sewingjourney-ish resourceful to me. But if you have all the equipment—pull it out!

As you cut, you want all of your pieces to be roughly the same length. This means you will have to shorten some pieces and lengthen others. Trust me, this is no big deal. Cut off what you don’t need and add what you do. In a perfect world the too long piece fits the too short piece just right. There is one thing to be careful of. When you add onto a short length, make sure the piece you are adding is still on the bias. If you aren’t sure, stretch it and see if the design matches. If the answer is “yes” the design matches and “yes” it is stretchy, you are good to go.

With the chenille scarf you have a foundation layer at the center. Because I didn’t have color on both sides of the fabric I made 2 of them. Three layers point up; the other 3 point down.

A Slight Adjustment…. One of the tricky things about memory is that it sometimes comes back at inopportune times. Like right after you’ve cut; you remember that the fabric is supposed to be printed on both sides (mine wasn’t). This is so the colors will show on both sides when you slash the fabric to make the chenille. I thought about this dilemma and came up with a solution that I hope will work. Originally, I had planned to make 5 layers. One middle layer and 2 side layers to slash on each side. I changed up my plan and made 2 middle layers. One pointing one way, the other pointing the other way. I will still slash 2 layers on each side, but the color should come out right. I know the middle will be thicker so I am interested to see how that will impact the scarf. I vote it will make it better. How about you?

After layering my pieces I started to sew. Google also said to switch directions when you stitch the chenille scarf. Sew one channel top to bottom and the next one bottom to top. Stitching takes a while but it is easy and really soothing. This is what I have done so far…..

I sewed the lines every 1/4 inch apart and need to continue until I don’t have any more room. When that is done I can start slashing! Whoooo Hoooo!
PS: your edges don’t have to be perfect. You can straighten them up at the end.

Okay you guys, it is time to sign off and get back to sewing. I will write again when everything is finished. Take care, stay healthy and I love you.