Progress

You can actually see the floor again!

Looking forward to even more progress in the weeks to come. I'm going to be changing the configuration up a bit and adding some more storage so that there is less clutter and more workspace.  The mind boggles that I could fit more furniture in here, but I'm getting it all figured out on paper before the heavy lifting ensues.

My Fearful Shame

I've been a hobby demonstrator for Stampin Up for almost 6 years and a try (almost) anything crafter since high school.

In 2009 my craft room looked like this:

Drawers from Target (sadly no longer available)

Table tops are actually 24"wide doors.

Punch board using IKEA Bygel rails

Lovely, organized, clean. So pretty.


Sadly two years later it has devolved horribly into the catch all room...

(you may wish to avert your eyes)

Since this room is so trashed I usually do my projects on the kitchen table (or not at all) and then once I have to clean the kitchen table it goes into the pile that is my craft room.

Well, not anymore. My next project is reclaiming my craft room. Thanks to the new IKEA opening not 20 minutes away (woo hoo!!) I will be completely revamping my craft room to enable me to start and finish all projects in my craft room. The kitchen table is going to have to live with only providing its services for our meals and I am very excited about that.

So each week I will post a picture of my progress. First up...all baby related items shall be removed and hopefully the floor will become visible once more.

Ta Da!! Joplin shirt completed

I mentioned in my previous post that I always have something go wrong in every project I do...sometimes I have more than one thing. So with this shirt I sewed the sleeves in backwards and decided to plow forward...the only remaining portion I had was the collar..which I had initially cut out the wrong way so it had absolutely no stretch and wouldn't even fit over the head of my 16 month old let alone a 5 year old, who the shirt is for. So re-cut collar. Check. Install collar. Check. The finished shirt looked nice but the collar looked enormous (at least to me)...I could fit my head through it. So I decided I needed to sew a second one because I couldn't send a wonkily made shirt as a gift to a stranger I'd never met and probably never will. Oh well. So shirt #2 went a lot quicker and with only minor difficulties.  The walking foot on my sewing machine kept snapping my needle so I took off the walking foot and went with a regular foot. It worked just fine except through some of the thicker parts when I had to tug a little. Once the second shirt was completed I compared necklines and found there was barely a difference between the two. Doh! 

Overall I'm really please with how they turned out especially since this is my first time sewing with knit fabric. I'm going to keep the one with the backwards sleeves since they do fall a little weird and send the second shirt to Project First Day. 

Project 1 - Joplin T-shirt has commenced

My supplies: 

After seeing my fabric choice my hubby lets me know he thinks the airplane fabric is too 'pajamay'. Grrr. I hate it when he's even mildly right. So my original plan of all airplane fabric with blue sleeves and collar is thrown into chaos. Chaos being a relative term. After thinking it over and asking a couple of sewing forums for their opinions I decide to move forward with the 'pajamay' airplanes but in a slightly different configuration. 

Viola:  

Now, in every sewing project I've ever undertaken I inevitably do something wrong. This project is no exception. I try to do each step so carefully but for some reason I always mess up some crucial portion. On this particular item I sewed the sleeves in backwards. I only figured this out after having sewed the first sleeve in...not just sewing the seam which could easily have been removed but zigzagged and topstitched to boot. So instead of tearing out three different rows of stitching I decided to just plow forward with the sleeves installed backwards and will figure out the collar later. 

See, messy collar: 

Aside from the messy collar, I am really pleased with how it's turned out so far.

Front 

Back

So until I finish the laundry, clean the kitchen, feed my son, go grocery shopping and write long overdue thank you notes (not necessarily in that order) I'm not allowed to work on any sewing projects. Perhaps the overwhelming desire to get this adorable shirt completed will help me finish my 'chores'. :)

My very first post

I've been so inspired by all the wonderful sewing and crafting blogging mamas out there that I wanted to join in. I'm really excited to be a part of this fabulous community. Additionally, I hope this will help keep me motivated to not only start new projects but actually finish them. The next project on my agenda is to sew a t-shirt and shorts for a little boy in Joplin, MO for Project First Day which I learned about here. Be forewarned I'll be referencing that blog a LOT in the coming months. :)