Crafts, Sewing

My Latest Focus: Sewing (and finishing) an Apron

Two years ago, I got on a tangent to learn how to properly crochet.  Last year, it was a little wood carving but mostly knitting (still is … I’m hoarding knitting patterns like the internet will shut down tomorrow).  This year?  Sewing.  I have been an avid hoarder of all things “sewing” for as long as I can remember.  I’ve been known to hold onto clothing I don’t like just because the fabric is a good quality.  When I am offered any kind of fabric, I gratefully accept it.  And patterns?  As soon as I get the schedule down, I will be, once again, buying as many sale patterns as I am allowed.  Most of my new patterns were purchased when they used to have rotating sales on McCall’s and Butterick (one week, McCall’s would be 99 cents each, the next week would be Butterick).  Since that time, fabric stores have closed down (or moved) and I have lost track of when those sales occur.

Having said all that, until this past Winter, I had only sewn one garment with a pattern.  That was when I was 16 years old and my friend’s mom was showing us how to not only sew from a pattern but to re-size and alter.  That’s it.  So, 29 years later, I decided to try my hand at another one (more about that in a future post).  In reality, this drive stemmed from me looking inward to find out who I am and what my focus in life should be.  I have so many varied interests (obvious from anyone who looks at all my blogs) I knew it would be difficult to narrow it down.  That’s when I (once again) remembered high school and a short one-semester class I took: Home Ec.  Bells started ringing, lights began to flash, and I jumped for joy!  That’s basically what I my interests have been all these years!

So, I went “a-Googling”.  I wanted to find out exactly where the subject of Home Economics stemmed, what was taught, and what is taught now (if anything).  More downloads later, and I began reading, “Elementary Home Economics – First Lessons In Sewing and Textiles, Foods and Cookery, and the Care of the House” by Mary Lockwood Matthews, B.S. (which is available free from Google Books or scroll to the bottom and you can download it from me). 

As I began reading it, I realized just how uneducated I am.  I had to look up most of the terms, regarding types of fabric.  No matter how well they described some of them, I still had no idea what they were talking about (and seriously doubt most who work in the local fabric stores, which are now mostly large chain stores, would know).

The first project for these children was to make an apron.  This apron is designed for sewing, to keep your clothes clean and neat.  It called for a fabric called dimity. Even after looking it up, I cannot say I would know it if I saw it in the store.  So, I went through my fabric stash and found some that I thought would be a good substitute.  It turns out it wasn’t.  I think the fabric is too dense for the pattern.  See, the apron is basically one piece of fabric, that is gathered at the waist and the bottom is turned up to make pockets.  This is what I ended up with:

CAM00068

How do you like those pockets?  I also did not stitch this by hand.  My patience was not with me and I have a new sewing machine I need to get used to, so I used it.  I was supposed to make a button hole (I know I could do it by hand but I copped attitude) but I don’t know how to use my button hole attachment on this new machine.  It bunched and just made me mad.  🙂  So, I thought about this (and thought about this) and ended up just removing the gathers and sewed on some Velcro for the closure in the back.  The Velcro works but I think I’ll just extend the waist band so this can be tied.  I love the new version:

Apron After

It wraps almost all around my bum and that’s perfect, since I am messy when I cook, clean, sew, do anything crafty.  It reminds me of an apron that showed up on my Facebook feed for gathering eggs (made from a pillow case).  My next sewing post will be within the next week or so.  I have made two items from one pattern (pajama pants and a robe).  I’m about to lay out the pattern for the top, then I’ll make the shorts and post about those (my observations and musings about the experience).  My eventual goal is to get to the point where I can make something I feel comfortable wearing out in public (Lord knows I have plenty of patterns to choose from).  lol

This is how I finished it.  The velcro wasn’t working.  It wasn’t strong enough.  So, I sewed on a different waist band, making it longer so I could wrap it around and tie it in the front.  I’m happy with it!

Half Apron
Crafts, Fiber Arts, Macrame

Macrame Belt

I started this project and, once realizing how long it was going to take me, my A.D.D. brain wouldn’t let me finish.  BUT I wanted to share this with everyone because I love the way it looks and how it will turn out.  The problem I had with it was the video.  There are no written instructions and no audio describing what is being done.  So, I ended up downloading the video to my computer (since, for some reason, my internet connection and/or You Tube have been buggers and decide not to cooperate a couple of times per day).  Watching it on my computer allowed me to pause so I could count how many times to macrame this section or that one and how many times to repeat a sequence.  I will post the notes I made once I am finished. Once you watch the video, if you see any errors with what I noted, please let me know.

First, here’s the video:

Now for the notes I’ve taken so far (for definitions and pictures of knots, check out this web page: http://www.stonebrashcreative.com/MacrameTutorial.html):

The following knots are used in this pattern:

For the flat area just after the buckle:
Lark’s Head Knot (for attaching your cord to the belt buckle)
Square Knots
Half Hitch

For the design:
Square Knots

And, my results so far (one thing I didn’t take into account when starting was the different weight of the yarns.  The white yard is thinner, so I had to adjust by adding how many macrame stitches I did to maintain the proper look):

Health, Journal

Fiber and You (Leptin Resistance)

So, this isn’t a talk about poo. This is something else. Out of curiosity, I clicked on one of those paid links Facebook is now including on our home pages about the one weight loss secret for women. I sat there, listening to one of those annoying 3 minute “videos” that you can’t pause or turn down just so I could find out what the guy was preaching about. He finally (I swear, it must have been 2 minutes and 40 seconds into this thing) mentions Leptin resistance. Well, me being who I am, I hit Google. It turns out, there is such a thing and it sounds like it goes hand in hand with insulin resistance.
So, after reading about all the whole grain, less meat suggestions, I stumbled onto a study about some fancy shmancy African mango seed extract (The effect of Irvingia gabonensis seeds on body weight and blood lipids of obese subjects in Cameroon) that, according to Natural News (Reversing leptin resistance naturally), is supposed to help. My initial reaction was, “Where can I buy this stuff NOW?” until I read the entire study. The study shows fantastic results regarding obesity (more inches lost and vastly improved blood panels over those on the placebo) but the first line in the Discussion section is what got me:

The soluble fibre of the seed of Irvingia gabonensis like other forms of water-soluble dietary fibres, are “bulk-forming” laxatives.

So, it’s not the extract itself but the water-soluble fiber? Well, if that’s the case, then why pay all that money (I saw some bottles for well over $20 for 150 pills)? Why not just get some psyllium husk or Metamucil (if you can’t spare the calories) or increase our intake of foods that naturally have more soluble fiber in them? Here is a list of low carb foods that contain more fiber for you caloric buck:
Avocado
Broccoli
Collard Greens
Nuts (especially Almonds) and Seeds
Flaxseed
Psyllium (or Metamucil)
Cucumbers
Celery
Brussels Sprouts
Asparagus
Chia Seeds (still need to buy a Chia pet)
Zucchini
I recently started a nut eating run (stumbled on some at Walgreens, ate some every night, then went to Costco and BAM! They have the best nut mix with no peanuts EVER!). This has pretty much been my evening snack for the past week and I have now dropped down to my low weight again. I’m thinking, since reading all the above, that it may be from the fiber (and other goodness) of the nuts that finally broke my stall. I hope so. I hope this isn’t some fluke of a thing but I feel better, my bowels are almost too happy, and I have lost inches despite being a lazy-ass and playing a video game for a week.

Crafts, Fiber Arts, Weaving

Basic Weaving (101)

I’m back on my weaving tangent, though I’m not even finished with my woman cave yet. This is how my Attention Deficit works. I was given a link quite a while ago (Wayback Link to original weaving page). That tab has been sitting there, open, this entire time. I finally decided to go through all the links, download what I wanted, then finally close it.

Well, imagine my surprise when I found these .pdfs! It’s Weaving 101, with instructions for building a full-sized loom, tablets, board looms, and table top looms! Not just that but exactly how to use them! I’m thrilled (and properly distracted from finishing my cave). Actually, I have hung my embroidery hoops on the wall and thought, “You know, I could do the same for the tablets I was given and even make some small frames and store them on the walls, too.” That one though gave me permission to embrace this tangent again. 🙂

These were all written by Luther Hooper and are a fantastic resource for anyone to have (who is interested in this or think they may be in the future).  To save these to your computer, right-click on the links below, click “Save Link As” and choose where you would like it saved on your computer.  I hope you enjoy these as much as I am!