For some reason (probably because I’m very awesome) someone has decided to add this blog to StumbleUpon, which completely freaked me out because the day before yesterday I had 14 hits. I figured the stats were wrong.
They weren’t.
I’ve been Stumbled.
Stumblers ROCK! (But you already knew that didn’t you?)
Post most horrifying to knitters
Matt surprised me by recanting his battery-less faith and acquiring batteries for the camera.
Which means I can show you this little bag that I was rambling on about last night.
I added the crochet top and yarn handles this morning (the fabric inside had to be stuffed in there otherwise it would have looked like yarn and a weird reflection in the pic.)
Lexi immediately said “Oh my new bag.” and made off with it. (She does this quite a bit with things that I make, that means she approves of the item and I have no hope of ever having it returned to me. Fortunately, Josey brought it back just long enough for me to take a photo.)
I know, it’s not my usual sewing mantra, usually I manage to put so many straight pins in a project that I need to grab the wire cutters in order to extract a few when I’m finished.
But tonight I managed to sew a clear vinyl bag from some clear vinyl that was in the selvage bin at a deep discount because it was ruined.
“You can’t iron it!” The woman at the counter scolded, scolded, me as I scooped it up.
I figured the flat bits would be good enough for wallet windows and clear pockets so no big deal if I had to throw away the wrinkles.
So I cleaned up the sewing area and fickled around for a while trying to think of how I could mess it up again– and a tote sounded like a good quicky project. Then it occurred to me that I often iron things that I shouldn’t, so I cut off some of the vinyl, stuck it between two sheets of paper and ironed the snot out of it. It did grow somewhat, so I cut two pieces for the front and back of the tote to about the size I wanted, then ironed the snot out of those (between two sheets of paper) and lo–! Still a little wobbly but not nearly as bad as before.
Right on. Trim the vinyl back to the desired size.
Next thing I know I have the sewing machine ready with a roller foot and leather needle. Try a few different stitches on a scrap, decide I like one. I stick the pieces together, sew the seams, clip the gussets, sew the gussets– turn the thing inside out and..
Are you ready for this?
A tote bag. Constructed entirely without the assistance of pins; a fact that sort of freaks me out. It was so fast, nothing broke or died, and I didn’t even feel compelled to throw the sewing machine out the window.
P.S. No pictures because the husband has joined a cult that forsakes the convenience of batteries for digital cameras. It’s rather upsetting.