My New Sewing Machine

I love to shop at the local  thrift stores, in fact I love it so much I've been known to drive 1 1/2 hours if someone whispers to me of a good place that they scored some good items.

At the thrift stores I'm drawn to the household items that are made of fabric, such as napkins, tablecloths, doilies, blanket throws, sheets etc.  If the pattern of the fabric attracts me I start to envision how I can transform it to something new and attractive for the home.

I have a large stock of doilies and fabric napkins just waiting to be remade but my 20 year old sewing machine was just kicking and screaming each time I used it.

So off I went to get a new one, just something simple, inexpensive that would do the basics but this Viking machine kept calling me plus the saleswoman was very good at her job of selling and so this not so simple machine came home with me.

The less simple the machine the more of a learning curve there is and I've come to realize at my age I hate, hate learning curves. Having to learn how to use this machine has proved to be a bit exhausting along with my memories of learning to use my new computer, phone, even my rug shampooer. So I set a goal to use the machine a bit each day until I mastered it!

I bought the machine because I really want to keep buying these things I'm drawn to at the thrift stores but to do that I have to start making some things.

So below are two pillows I've made. They are my first with the Viking. The side ruffle one was from an embroidered doily which I made into an envelope pillow with added ruffles, so very shabby chic. Then in my stash of napkins I found the perfect white napkin with a bit of texture that made the perfect companion to the envelope one. I got to use the ruffle attachment to create the flower center. I'm pleased how they both came out, though they are not perfect. 

My son gave me good advice "Just keep at your craft until you are really good at it" and that's what I intend to do. So I look forward to becoming really good at using the Viking sewing machine and  creating new items with my stash of fabric items from the thrift stores.

House Staging For A House Sale

For the last month my home has been on the market with no offers and I am surprised that I didn't have it sold in a week. So after many showings and no offers I had to take a hard look at the home and see what I could do to improve the look of the home so the showings would go better and possible get an offer.
After a review of my home I found three areas that need attention.

1. My lanai.porch. My lanai is a small enclosed screened in porch that is the perfect size for an outdoor sofa and two chairs.
2. My office. This room is really the guest bedroom but I opted when I moved in to use it as my office. It has a closet that spells bedrooms but some buyers might miss this.
3. My guest bedroom is really the office and it's very small. So I need to switch the two rooms so that buyers will know for sure what is what. 

This morning I decided to tackle the lanai.

I have to say that I know better yet I allowed potential buyers to see this lanai this way

With a little bit of time (2 hours) and some fabric and flowers I created an inviting spot to enjoy.  Here's how it looks now

 My goal was to make this room inviting so that potential buyers could see themselves in it. Here's what I did. The sofa and chairs that I had in this space was very tired. So to improve the look of this set I covered the cushions with fabric that I had on hand. Instead of sewing I just used some safety pins to hold the fabric in place and made sure the pins where at the bottom so they couldn't be seen. I could of also used duck tape but didn't have any on hand. I went shopping in my garage and found some (4) accent pillows I had that just happened to be a perfect color so I used them. What was missing was another small accent pillow on each side. I made these accent pillows (the small ones) with coordinating fabric that I also safety pinned together. Then just a quick trip to Walmart for the  pale pink gereniums and I was done.  Total cost $13.00

Tuesday I'll tackle the office and guest bedroom with the help of my son-in-law/

Fabric Rose Pins

My new label pin for my denim jacket

I had a yen for making some fabric roses into label pins. I did it but I have to tell you I'm not so impressed. I was looking to make something a bit bohemian that would look so great on my denim jacket that woman would stop to ask where I got it.

I was inspired by these fabric rose key chains done by InkyPinkies that I saw on Pinterest.  What's a bit different about her technique is that she just starts with a knot which becomes the center of the flower. Here also TatortotsandJello  has a tutorial on how to make them with the knot. Previously I've made fabric roses with a rolled center following the tutorial from My Sparkle. 

Fabric rose made with the rolled center

Each way works great but my personal favorite is the rolled look. The above photo is my first attempt at the rolled center rose. After comparing the two photos for me the rolled technique is the winner.

One of the hard parts for me about making these roses is the hot glue. I've tried all different types of glue but hot glue is the quickest and just overall works the best. Oh but the burnt fingers are not fun. So to save me from the burnt finger syndrome I devised a way to get it done without suffering. So instead of gluing as I go along I tried pinning. I would have two flowers going at the same time and would make about 1/4 of the flower pinning as I went. Once I was happy with it I would hot glue the underside and wait for it to set. Meanwhile I would do the same thing with flower number two. I believe this takes a bit more time this way but the saved fingers are worth it.

I made quite a bit of them

  
 I made a flower template that I sized to fit the rose and then made a cardboard pattern out of it. But first I spray glue some fabric on to a green felt square. Then traced my pattern and then just cut them out hot glued to the bottom of the rose.

 So it's back to the drawing board on the label pins. I might just do something a bit different.

Flipping A House 101

My mom loved houses and always dreamed of buying a poor rundown house, giving it new life and then selling it for a profit.

Mom

This desire filtered down into my brothers who have successful done what my mom would of loved to do. One brother has put his touch on residential homes and the other put his mark on commercial properties.

I also love the idea of fixing up a house and giving it some new life and of course making a profit while I'm doing it.

So come Monday September 10 I'll be closing on a house in a community called Kings Ridge   in Clermont Florida.

My Flip 

The home is 1333 sq ft and has 2 bedroom, 2 bathrooms, an office, an eat in kitchen, a living room and dining room. As I learn the ins and outs of Flipping Houses I'll share my knowledge with you.

It's Been Quite Awhile

I think March was my last post and back then I decided to quit being a blogger.

 It takes focus and a lot of work to make a blog successful and I lacked the drive needed. Part of the problem was I didn't have a clear vision for my blog and I just sort of followed what others were doing which contributed to my being lost and a quitter.

But now I have a big new project (that's all mine) that I'll be working on for the next four weeks and I'm looking forward to taking pictures and writing about my experiences. So stop back tomorrow to check out what I'm up to.  

Using What I Have Challenge!

The challenge that I have accept to take is to Use What I Already Have in my creative projects. This at first seemed to be a bit daunting but it turned out to be so much fun.

So for today my goal was to make some pillows out of cloth napkins.

Right away the opportunity came up to put this challenge to the test. 

I had already printed out this wonderful bird image from the Graphics Fairy web site and once that was done and ironed on the napkin I realized that the image was a bit too small for the size pillow it was going to be.  Normally I'd run to the fabric store frantically trying to find a solution, but nope the challenge was to use what I had on hand.

So hunting in my stash of stuff I found this wonderful ribbon (that I already had) that was perfect.  Not having any brown thread on hand to sew the ribbon onto the pillow I then decided I'd use some of that iron on tape I had saved from some Ikea curtains.  I was pretty surprised this challenge thingy wasn't really a challenge but was a way to get my creative juices going. 

I am so pleased with the design and to think that I had everything that the pillow needed. No running to the store wasting time and dollars, the pillow design ingredients were already there.

Oh yeah you see that line in the image but you are way too polite to mention. Yes it was a goof up on my part. I let the hot iron hit the image and it created that line. Another one of those lessons learned, such as protect your iron on image with cloth if using an iron near it.

This challenge for me is on going and with the stash of stuff I have I should be unstumped for quite a long time. 

BTW with that obvious line the pillow has found a home with me.

I'm Partying At The Following

Sunday's Best at My 1929 Charmer
Brag Monday at the Graphics Fairy

How To Tea Dye Fabric!

I love using fabric in my projects, I'm a bit of a fabricaholic, can't go into a fabric store without drooling and buying.

Sometimes though the newness of the fabric just sets me on edge a bit. It's the fabric stiffener and the brightness of the colors that I think does it to me and so I use tea dying to give the fabric a look of.... maturity. (that sounds so much better than old) 

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

Tea bags of course, lots of them. 

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A Big Pot, Like A Pasta Pot! 

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Water! 

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Fabric

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FIRST gather your fabrics. Keep in mind the size of the pot and gather according to what will fit. I've tea dyed solid colors and all sorts of prints from muslin to decorator's fabric. All the fabric I do dye is washable and I've never done a dry clean only type of fabric. I then soak my fabric in clear water, usually in my kitchen sink. Once all the fabric has been completely wet I then wring out as much of the water as I can and place them waiting for the dye bath.  I've noticed that if I do this first step the fabric accepts the dye better and reduces streaks.

SECOND let it boil. Add the water to your large pot leaving room at the top so the fabrics won't cause your water to spill over.  Set it on the stove and get that water boiling.

THIRD  get your tea bags ready. I like to remove the little paper tag on the string just so the printed dye doesn't bleed into my dye. It probably wouldn't but just in case.  How many you ask?  Well I do about 30 bags for my big pot but I do like a visual tea dyed look.  Do a bit less for a less browny vintage look.  You will have to experiment to see what works best for you. 

FOURTH  add the tea bags. Once the water reaches the boiling point start adding your tea bags using a spoon to coax the bags into getting fully wet. With all the tea bags added to the pot and wet I let the water boil for about another 2 minutes to get a rich deeper brown dye. 

FIFTH  add fabric. Turn off the gas and then submerge the fabric into the brown dye using the same spoon you used to get the tea bags wet. You don't want to put your hands in boiling water, use the spoon. Yes!  I let the fabric and tea bags co-mingle. I've never had the problem of the tea bags bursting open and causing a mess. If you would rather remove the bags do so after the 2 minute boil and do it carefully. 

SIXTH relax and wait. Hard part is over now it's a waiting game. I usually don't start checking my fabric until the water has cooled down to lukewarm. That's about 2 hours. On occasion I've left my fabric in the dye bath overnight to get a real deep color but usually I'm happy with the results when I first check. Once the batch is done you could add more fabric to the cool water and the dye still works but it doesn't come out as dark as quickly. That's my observation. 

SEVENTH  Rinse and repeat. Your happy with the color keeping in mind wet it will look darker. Now back to the sink.  Your fabric needs to be rinsed of all its tea. I  fill my kitchen sink with clear water and swoosh my fabric around until I see the water turn brown. Empty the water from the sink and repeat, it usually takes about three times for the fabric to be totally rinsed out.. I line dry my dyed fabrics because I don't want to deal with fraying edges of the fabric that might happen in the dryer.

OOPS  Not what you expected.  There's always a do over here, just add your fabric to your bleach wash and it will be back to original color.

Now if I had to do large yardage of fabric I would have to find another way to do it, a pot even a pasta pot will hold just so much fabric. If I'm making a pillow I'll dye the fabric after the pattern pieces have been cut. I also find small scrap amounts of fabric that I have on hand and give them the bath also. 

 The top fabric on these pillows is a osnaburg fabric that I tea dyed to give it an aged look. The bottom portion of the pillow was an upcycled fabric from an aged seen better days pillow.

Tutorials are great but it's been my experience that you just need to get in there and get your hands dirty (try it)  If you have any questions let me know I'd love to help. 

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