Modern Instabee, Hive 10

Posted on February 24, 2014 by oliver's fancy

I am so very excited about what I have to share with you today. I got lucky enough to get the opportunity to participate in the phenomenon known at the Modern Instabee. A quilter (Lisa- @brazenlisa) had bought a copy of the new book Modern Bee and had the idea to create an Instagram version of a modern quilting bee using this book as a template. When she asked for participants, 120 people signed up to be part of this bee. Groups of 12 people were matched up, and I got into the last group-Hive 10 (just barely squeaked in before the pool closed!). Each member is assigned a different month to be the “queen bee” and during that month she picks a block from the book and everyone has to follow her fabric/color specifications, make the block, and then mail it to her by the end of the month. February was the first month and my queen bee assigned our group the String Circles block- which was a fun challenge to complete!

I assume I am probably going to need to make a sample block for each month just to make sure that the one I send to the queen bee is perfect. My husband gave me the idea to save all those blocks and make another quilt at the end of the year as a fun remembrance of all my quilting bee friends I’ve made. I loved that idea! You can see my sample block below on the left.

I love the group of ladies that I am joined with and am so excited to see what happens over the course of the year. I also love that this bee is an IG users-only bee. IG is my favorite social media (I’m a bit addicted) and I just really love everything about it. It has opened up my realm of sewing friends so much and given me a real sense of friendship with people I (for the most part) only know online.

One of the members of our hive (Renae- @rlchandmade) designed this super-cool logo for us using the Rhonna Design app and another very nice member (Lisa) is machine embroidering it onto fabric for us all to include in our quilts. Seriously, y’all, I’ve got the best group 🙂 .

Burp Cloths and a Onesie: Handmade Baby Shower Gifts

Posted on February 18, 2014 by oliver's fancy

I was invited to a baby shower for a friend this past weekend and found some time beforehand to whip up some handmade gifts for the little man. I have been wanting to try out this burp cloth idea since I saw Gail’s version a while back. I used some organic cotton prefolds and bound the edged with some handmade bias tape. While I was making the burp cloths, I wasn’t sure that I was going to be happy with them, but once they were finished and all wrapped up together, I decided they turned out pretty cute.

I also made one of my signature tie onesies so the little man has a snazzy outfit for this spring/summer. Since sewing is kinda known as my thing among my friends, I try to remember to include something handmade in all my baby gifts. Although sometimes I want to (and do, on occasion,) just have the ease of picking something up from store. Anyone else suffer from the angst/guilt of store-bought vs. handmade? Please tell me I’m not the only one! Also do you have any go-to shower gifts? If so, do share. I am always looking for more quick and easy baby gift ideas.

Serger Tales, part 1

Posted on February 12, 2014 by oliver's fancy

Have y’all heard of Craftsy, yet? It’s a pretty cool website that offers video classes for all sorts of crafts. Most of the classes have some sort of fee, but they do offer some free classes. If you sign up for their email list, they will send you random notifications of really good sales. A few months ago, I signed up for this serger class (taught by Amy Alan of Really Handmade) during one of those sales. The cool thing about this online format is that I can take the class whenever…the bad thing about this online format is that I can take the class whenever- no deadlines to force me to finish (it’s the only way I get things done around here, peeps). So the class just sat in my inbox waiting for me to have time to take it.

After my fun with knits during Kid’s Clothes Week, I promised myself that I would get my serger out and take that class ASAP! And this week (while my sewing machine was in the shop) was the assigned week. I just have a cheap serger (a Singer ProFinish that I got for my birthday 2 years ago) because I didn’t want to invest in a really nice one until I knew I would use it. I did, indeed, begin the class this week and am happy to report I completed my first project from the class. I think it turned out not-too-shabby… If I do say so myself. I’ve been wanting to make a boxed bag for a while and really love how easy it was. Can’t believe I made the entire thing with my serger! Also it turned out to be the perfect size for my latest knitting project- to be discussed later.

I’m still struggling with tension on my serger. Maybe it’s because it’s cheap, but it seems like I have to put the tension up way high in order to get the correct stitches. It could be that I still really don’t know what I’m doing. Fake it till you make it, right? However, slowly but surely I am understanding more about this machine and seeing improvement in my work. And I’m happy to report that I can correctly thread my machine without fear! I’m glad I have this class as a resource to go back and review when I forget things. I would definitely recommend it to any other beginners like myself.

Next up on the class project list is an infinity scarf. After that I’m looking forward to trying out some clothes for the boys! Nothing is off limits from my serging now… you really should be scared for me. If the needles on a sewing machine weren’t bad enough, now I have knives on a serger to try not to hurt myself on. 😉

Bernina 350 PE- Year in Review

Posted on February 10, 2014 by oliver's fancy

I’ve had my sewing machine for a year now, and I thought I would post a little of my thoughts/opinions on this machine now that I’ve had this long to use it. When I was researching machines, I read quite a few reviews and wished I could have found more, so here’s my two cents worth for anyone out there researching for themselves.

My machine is the Bernina 350 PE. Before this machine, I didn’t really have any experience sewing with anything other than basic Singers. After using this machine for a year, I think I can safely say that I will never sew on anything but a Bernina ever again. Even though my machine is one of the more basic models, it has plenty of extras for all my needs. I love its solid construction- I can sew on it for hours and it holds up like a champ! I actually think the 350 is the perfect in-between model for the basic sewist. It’s a step up from basic, so you get a few extras like the walking foot, quilting foot, and some more stitch capabilities, but it doesn’t have all the computerization (and hefty price tag) of the 500+ series.

I have really enjoyed free motion quilting on this machine. I mean, I was able to quilt a king size quilt on this baby! Definitely would not have been able to do that on my old Singer.

One feature I would definitely recommend is the walking foot. I had a walking foot that came with my old Singer, and I was never a big fan of it. In contrast, I use the walking foot all the time with my Bernina- knits, quilting, binding, etc. My only complaint with my walking foot is that it is pretty squeaky, but they were hoping to oil it up some during the tune-up so I’m hoping that will fix that problem.

Another recommendation I have is to go with a local provider. It is so handy to have my local Bernina store to run to when I have any questions or problems with my machine. I think that the 6 week class I took there (that came with my machine purchase) was the best help in teaching me how to use my machine effectively.

My final thoughts- I think that this machine will last me for many years. It’s been one year and it still runs just as great as it did when I brought it home. If you are looking for a good quality, well-running machine I highly recommend the Bernina. I am so glad that I got one way sooner than I ever thought I would (Thanks to my amazing husband and his Valentine’s surprise last year!) because it has changed my sewing. I feel that it has taken me to the next level and made sewing so much easier. I think the money investment has paid off in the fact that I spend way less time fiddling with my machine because I can’t get it to work like I wanted it to. Like I said before, I don’t have any experience with the other big machine brands (Viking, Janome, Juki, etc.) but I know that the Bernina is a good solid machine to choose.

Attention all Makers…

Posted on February 7, 2014 by oliver's fancy

I had the privilege to attend the inaugural Maker’s Summit last year and was blown away by this awesome event! You can read my summary here. I was so excited to find out they have decided to make this an annual event and bought my ticket as soon as I could. The second annual Maker’s Summit will be held Saturday, March 1. Here is their definition of this event from the website…

“A one-day business conference for the art, craft, and design world. Learn how to start or grow your business alongside fellow creatives. Hear practical advice from industry leaders and peers during keynotes, workshops, panel discussions and one-on-one time with experts.”

Some really cool people are going to be speaking this year, including Jordan Ferney from Oh Happy Day, Handmade Charlotte, and Susan Peterson from Freshly Picked. Seriously, if you live anywhere close enough to come, you should make the effort. This conference will inspire and teach you so much. I think it’s good for just about anyone who enjoys creating of any sort. And considering some of the other conferences out there, the price is quite a steal!

Also there’s a pretty awesome after party affectionately known as the best craft party ever… Yeah, it’s true, peeps. But you’ll have to come and judge for yourself. Hope to see you there!

look it’s a hugely pregnant me from last year! Will be nice not to need so many bathroom breaks this year. 😉

Kid’s Clothes Week Final Wrap-Up

Posted on February 3, 2014 by oliver's fancy

Days 5-6: I spent so much extra time finishing up the Bimaa hoodie on day 4 that I kinda burnt myself out, so I took a bit of a break for 2 days- figuring 3 hour’s work on one day = 1 hour of work on 3 different days.
Day 7: I wanted to finish strong this KCW so I managed to find an hour on Sunday and pulled together these Valentine’s Day shirts for the boys. I made some Valentine’s outfits for the shop a few weeks back and felt bad that the boys didn’t have their own versions. Love how these turned out, and I think they’ll be pretty cute in them. This was the perfect, quick and easy final project. Sorry I wasn’t able to get a picture of them wearing the shirts so an Instagram picture will have to suffice.

My final wrap-up thoughts:
I wanted this KCW to be about experimenting with different knit fabrics. Especially when buying online, you really have to know your knits or you will end up with the wrong type for your project. I have done some upcycling with knits in the past but not much with knits bought from the store. I really enjoyed this learning curve and am inspired to do more playing around with knits in the future. They are not nearly as scary as they are made out to be. 🙂 Plus they normally result in practical, comfortable clothing for the boys.
Some tips that I have discovered when sewing with knits:

Use your walking foot- so helpful!!
Lower your pressure foot pressure (keeps the fabric from getting all wavy while sewing).
Always use some sort of stretch/ballpoint needle.
If you want a good resource for knit helps, check out Rae’s Kniterviews– solid gold mine there!

Here’s my collage of finishes from this past week: clockwise-beginning with top left: Valentine’s Tees, Flashback Tee and Fancy Pants Leggings, Bimaa 2, and Bimaa 1

Go check out the Flickr group and KCW website to see all the other goodness that was made last week. There’s some pretty amazing things in there. Looks like the Bimaa was the project of choice this time around. I think it’s always fun to see which pattern is going to be the popular one during the week. And that’s a wrap until spring. What were your thoughts this KCW? Did you get to all your projects on your list? Next up on my agenda: serger and knitting classes. I’ll be sure to keep you informed of my progress in each 🙂