Brilliant!

My new lamp arrived from Buyster Lighting on Friday morning. It has made SUCH A DIFFERENCE to my dark sewing room. I have attached it to the Industrial machine table, as the machine has no light, and wowee, it makes the whole room brighter (there is now a gleam coming from under the door).

The lamp is a Cobra Desk Lamp by Brilliant, and the energy saving fluorescent globe was incuded. It also has a G-clamp base, so it can be attached to most tables and it bends and swivels in HEAPS of directions, so I can get it right in close to my machine while I am sewing, or I can raise it up and point it towards my ironing board while I am pressing stuff (way better than ironing in my own shadow) or even point it over towards my embroidery machine if I want a bit of light over there.

I have found myself dragging all sorts of projects over to the new lamp to work under. I can see heaps better now. Do yourself a favour and invest in some good lighting for your craft room, your eyes will thank you for it.

Handmaden/Retromummy Christmas Giveaway!

The Handmaden has teamed up with Retromummy and is giving away a voucher to spend in her shop, just in time for Christmas!

Enter here --> The Handmaden: It's giveaway time!

My Creative Space

I did a little trip to Melbourne on Monday for an Advanced Purse Frame workshop with Nicole Mallalieu (more on that another day...). While I was there, (and without any kids) I took the opportunity to indulge in a little retail therapy.

I came home with a few pieces of Cogsmo, by Cosmo Cricket for Andover Fabrics, which I have been coveting for some time. I have spent a little time making up a plan of what to do with it, by cutting and pasting images I found on the internet.

Haha! I have started yet another quilt (actually two quilts, I am doing one each)..... I still need to get some fabric together and I still don't have a free motion foot for my machine yet... or know how to do free motion quilting. But I have a plan. And some fabric.... and making the plan and buying the fabric were fun just by themselves!

For more creative spaces, visit Kirsty at Kootoyoo.

Lamp shopping

I have some good news! I have managed to get my industrial machine going! I am absolutely gobsmacked by what this machine can do. First of all, it is VERY, VERY fast. Lightning speed in fact. Oh and it will sew through ANYTHING! Even 32 layers of calico....

Only problem is, it is a little dark in my sewing room. The overhead light is really not very good. The industrial machine comes with it's own table, and since the lamp I use for my other machines is screwed to the wall, I can't use it for this machine. So it's daytime sewing for now. With two little toddlers running around, daytime sewing is kind of limited.

There is more good news though. Maree from Buyster Lighting has offered me an opportunity to review one of their lamps! I will be back soon to tell you all about it! Aren't I lucky?!!

My Latest Addition!

There's been a new addition to the family. In the way of an industrial sewing machine. Can anyone tell me what an acceptable number of sewing machines in one household is?

Currently there is a domestic sewing machine, an overlocker, an embroidery machine and now an industrial straight stitch machine all living in my sewing room. (There is also an additional machine in the shed, but we won't talk about that one...).

I think I'm becoming one of those people. You know, for some its cats, for others its.... well, sewing machines! Don't worry, it's all perfectly justified. They all have their uses (except for the one in the shed, but we aren't talking about that one, remember?)

It's a Yakumo DSN-165.

It has a motor on the OUTSIDE of the machine. When you unplug the machine, it continues to run, for quite some time!

It also has a SUMP! I must apologise, I really had no idea about industrial machines until this one came to live with me today.

I just need to work out how to use it....

Is anyone familiar with this machine?

My (well actually, Liam's) Creative Space

Things seem to be following a certain theme around here lately....

While I was cleaning up the Sudocrem mess, Noah was wanting out of his cot. Quite desperately (and loudly) actually. Once Liam was cleaned up, I got Noah up and changed his nappy. I then went into the kitchen to find this....

All I can say is, it's lucky he is cute!

For more creative spaces, visit Kirsty at Kootoyoo!

Wordless Weekend

Click here for more Wordless Weekends

My Creative Space

My Creative Space this week involves beginning to justify the purchase of my snap press. I used it to apply snaps to an Oliver + S Puppetshow outfit that I have made for a friend's new (well, newish) baby.

One of the wonderful advantages of a snap press is that it is almost silent. Unlike the way I was previously using a hammer to apply snaps.

They look like angels, don't they? (Heh, heh!) There was a mishap with the tunic. I was ironing a shirt for one of the kids to wear to the library, and Liam snuck in behind me and snipped half an inch into the bottom of the tunic. The result was a slightly shorter tunic. I hope it is long enough!

For more Creative Spaces, visit Kirsty at Kootoyoo.

Mischief!

This is what happens when two toddlers are left alone for two minutes. (I wasn't neglecting them, I went to the toilet).

It's milk powder, we use it for bread making, but apparently it can be used for other things... Liam was driving his matchbox cars through it. Noah was mostly eating it. According to Noah its UMMM!

I washed the couch cushion covers yesterday, I am SO glad I hadn't put them back on the couch yet.

Tuesday Tip #4 - Pattern Storage

Do you have trouble getting all of the pattern pieces back into the envelope? Especially after you have traced them, and there are extra bits?

Pop your pattern, and all of it's bits inside a zip-lock bag. I also will throw in anything else that has helped me to complete a project, (such as printed out tutorials) inside the bag.

After I have completed tracing out all of the bits, I place the original pattern sheet back inside the original envelope, so as not to lose it. The other pieces get thrown back in the zip-lock bag as we go - safe and sound!

Do you have a useful sewing tip? Join in! Post a Tuesday Tip on your blog and link to it here -

Tuesday Tip #3 - Don't cut the Original!

When using purchased patterns, it is a good idea to trace or copy the pieces you need, rather than cut the original pattern piece. I actually do this for all of my patterns now. Sometimes patterns can become damaged through use, or pieces become lost, so I copy what I need and place the original back in the pattern envelope so I don't lose it.

For patterns that are not multi-sized, I usually just photocopy. If it is small and I plan to use it a lot, I might stick it to a piece of a cereal box with a gluestick before cutting it out. This makes it easy to trace around with either a fabric pen or my rotary blade. I have taken entire patterns to Officeworks and had them copied for me.

There are many things you can use to trace or copy patterns, but one of my favourites is sew-in interfacing, which you can purchase in a 10m roll from Spotlight for about eight or nine dollars. The interfacing is easy to see through, so useful for fussy-cutting things, and sort of clings to most fabrics, almost eliminating the need to pin.

Do you have a useful Sewing Tip? Join in and share your tip with others....