A Neat Little Cabling Needle
My latest knitting project is a pair of socks for my sister. I got the pattern off of Ravelry, of course. They are called Snicket Socks because the design was inspired by the sleeves of the dress worn by Violet in Lemony Snicket. (FYI – this is a serious of young adult books that was made into a movie; Dustin loved reading this series)
So, here is how it is going so far.
This is my first time cabling and I will tell you that I do not like it.
This past Friday, I was at a knitting class during my lunch hour at work. I was showing off my sock progress and complaining about cabling. Another women showed me her cabling needles she picked up from KnitPicks. They are as cute as pie. And she is letting me try one out for the week.
I put it on an envelope so you can see the size of it. It has these little grooves that grab the yarn.
So far, I still don’t like cabling but this little needle has made it easier.
OK ~ Here’s the Deal
I know. . . I have disappeared again. Ok – Here’s the deal. . . . Lots of you have praised me on how I get so much done with the little bit of time I have available. But I think I have finally gotten to the point that I have overloaded myself.
Things at work have been crazy busy and I am months behind schedule. In the past I would bring work home to make up, go in earlier, or work a weekend. Can’t do that now due to massive sleep deprivation and the host of projects I have going on at home.
The holidays and family have added their own stresses lately. My husband is absolutely wonderful and takes care of most of it for me, plus we went to Tennessee for Christmas so I didn’t have to plan for a get together at my house. But, I had Frolic to finish for a gift, and had to sneak to finish his socks, plus plan how Santa was going to visit us in TN instead of FL. I am a traditional shop and wrap until Christmas Eve type of person, but this year it had to be done early. Rick also gets stressed this time of year and I have to deal with that; him waking up early and wanting to do things that throw my schedule totally out of balance. Those husbands, love them but they can really mess things up.
SeamedUP and the problems we have had launching it has put a wrench in my gears too.
As with all labor’s of love, I have thought of this blog and podcast all the time. And I am not going away, I just have to start over and work it back into my hectic schedule. I am still crafting everyday and have lots of finished, started, and on going projects to share. I love doing this, I just need to develop some better habits for posting.
So, last night at Morgan’s Girl Scout meeting, I spent a lot of time thinking about how to accomplish everything that I want to get done. I am taking some tips from CraftyPod and I am going to start off by practicing to blog more – meaning that blogging is more important, and easier for me to fit in right now, than podcasting. I am also going to tweet and Facebook more. I don’t think I have been on there since October. This is a priority because I am tired of the comments from my Mom. She loves Facebook and is always saying “Did you see…..on Facebook?”, “I will post it on Facebook”….”Why haven’t you been on Facebook?”….OK, Mom, I am getting the hint. She lives 5 miles away, but my life is so busy that FB makes us connect more often than is actually possible face to face.
I am not saying that I will not record, I am just saying that I will record when I can. I am putting podcasting at the bottom of my to-do list right now.
Thanks for sticking with me and thanks for your patience. Keep the comments and reviews coming, they help keep me motivated.
Brye Lynn
SeamedUP ~ A Love Story
I wanted to give everyone who follows me an update on where we stand with the SeamedUP project. The short story is that we have built a great site. It does all the things we wanted as modern fabric crafters ourselves. However, after some initial testing, we found out that we need to move to a much larger dedicated server to make the site work properly. If only one or two people are on the site, it works beautifully. But, that’s just not good enough.
If you want the long story of how we arrived at this place, please check out our new blog: http://seamedup.blogspot.com – it has all the background information on the site, and what we’re planning next.
As the team that gave birth to SeamedUP, we’ve come to the conclusion that we can’t raise this baby alone. We need some loving aunts and uncles to help us. That’s where you come in – we’re asking for your help. If each person who reads this would donate just $10, we’ll be able to host the site for the next year. Once we have reached the one year point – our plan is to be self-sufficient. We’re confident that you’ll be happy with the end result. In fact, if you don’t like the site when it’s launched, we’ll refund your donation. Seriously, the blog will have a “refund” button where you can request your money back.
If you’d like to help, please visit our blog and make your donation today. Just think of the bragging you can do when this little baby grows into a happy, successful adult.
Here is a little “taste” of what you can expect:
Search by Fabric Category
Patterns Dashboard Page
Not sure what to do? FLIT around
Episode 55 ~ Machine Quilting
Listen to the podcast of this postToday we talked about a few tips when machine quilting. Not much for show notes, but here is the list I ran down.
1. Create a flat surface around your machine
2. Extend the flat surface to the back of your machine
3. Sit up higher – ergonomics
4. Good needle, I use a quilting needle and some use a denium needle
5. Prep lots of bobbins before you get started
6. Set you needle to the needle down position.
7. Straight stitching use a walking foot
8. Free motion use a darning foot
9. Make your sewing surface slick – Supreme slider, furniture polish
10. Use a type of grippy glove; depends on your surface and how well it slides around.
11. Prepping the quilt – rolling it or stuffing it under
12. Start in the middle and work your way out
13. Do your straight stitching first
14. Do stippling last – it will draw up the quilt more
15. Quilt sashing in the same direction on all sides, prevents fabric shear or pulling of fabric
16. Speed control – set your speed control but use your foot petal for more control.
17. Take breaks – every hour to 90 minutes
18. Clean you machine with every bobbin change, lots of lint
19. Starting and stopping – do a couple of stitches in place to lock it in.
20. Stop the machine to reposition your hands – do not walk your hands, it will show in your stitching.
Easy straight stitching designs:
1. Vertical or horizontal lies
2. Double lines
3. Grids, straight or diagonal
4. Outline the block
5. Square spiral
Re-post of 54
Listen to the podcast of this postSeveral people told me that they could not download episode 54 or that only the first half downloaded. So here it is again, at least just the part about Why I will NEVER buy another Janome.
Bacteria & Germ Softies
Morgan is sick ~ again! I know, it is never ending.
When I got home she drew me a picture of how her throat feels. She is imagining a cut on her uvula or on her tonsils. You know me, I went immediately to Google to help her out. I googled images of a sore throat and after a bunch of clicking, I ended up on this page:
http://www.giantmicrobes.com/us/products/sorethroat.html
This is a stuffed toy of strep bacteria! They also have the common cold, flu, ear ache, stomach ache, white blood cells and much much more. They are super cute and a neat way to teach about germs.
My next google search was to find an Etsy shop selling a handmade version. Can you believe that no one on Etsy is selling anything like this! Personally, I was surprised. I know that handmade funky monsters are really popular right now. I felt like germs would not be a far stretch to make.
I just wanted to share. If you are looking to make something different sell on Etsy, this may be an idea.
Episode 54 ~ I will NEVER buy another Janome
Listen to the podcast of this post Today, I tell you the ugly truth about my high-end sewing machine; Janome Memory Craft 11,000 Special Edition (MC11000 aka MC11000SE)
- In the shop 7 times within a year; needs to go back again.
- Bobbin case keeps turning and the needle goes through it. Dealer broke two bobbin cases trying to fix it then told me I threaded it wrong.
- Machine tells me the bobbin is empty when it’s not
- Machine rattles when I machine quilt; dealer says I have to use the blue dot case when Janome says it is not mandatory to use it.
- Dealer fixes on the spot and says there is nothing wrong with it.
- I had to argue, yell and fight with the dealer to get them to take it in and actually examine it thoroughly.
- Dealer will not listen to me when I bring it in, makes excuses for everything I say. Such as “I am using cheap thread” or “I shouldn’t have used the darning foot for machine quilting”.
- Dealer says all my problems are user error, but I say 7 times in the shop proves it is not user error.
- Dealer says Janome will not exchange it for another machine or another model of machine.
- Janome says the purchase of my machine is between me and dealer – they refuse to get involved or exchange.
- Janome says I can have my dealer ship it to them, but I will have to pay for all shipping and repair charges.
- I believe they sold me a refurbished machine without telling me.
- On an internet search I found page after page of complaints for this model; most of them include bobbin and bobbin case problems.
Here are some of the projects I completed recently.
Tooth Fairy Pillow: Fairly embroidery pattern from www.emblibrary.com
“Tonight when its time to lay down in your bed, Put your tooth under your pillow where you rest your sweet head. may the Tooth Fairy bring you lots of money and your toothless days be bright and sunny.” – Not sure where I found this, on the internet somewhere.
Hardanger Coaster – 3 down, 1 to go!
Disappearing 9-patch wall hanging – quilting has begun!
Episode 53 ~ Quilt Names and Labels
Listen to the podcast of this postToday we talked about naming your quilts, why name them, labeling your quilts, what info to put on the label and different ways to label them.
Check out this award winning quilt by Cherry. Beautiful!!!! I love the quilting. Thank you so much for sharing this with us Cherry. Don’t forget to comment and tell Cherry what you think.
Check out my latest project!!!
- The quilting and fabric crafting website you have been waiting for.
- Made for quilters, by quilters
- Sign UP for UPdates. We should be launching very soon and you want to be the first to know.
Episode 52 – WIPs are like Broken Windows
Listen to the podcast of this postNo show notes today. Enjoy!
Episode 51 ~ Where have I been?
Listen to the podcast of this postThis episode I catch you up on what I have been up to and why I have been off the air for the last two months.
Thank you to everyone who sent well wishes, wondering where I was. I really appreciate everyone getting in touch.
Check out this beautiful black and white quilt that Cindy made. You know how much I love black and white quilts. This double wedding ring is spectacular. Not only do I love the use of solids along with a pattern, but the edges are amazing. I really need to try something like this out.
Amy Peterson from the Quilter’s Notebook won the Frolic patten – please send me you address.
The winner of the episode 50 raffle is Sue. Please send me your address.
The short story of where I have been is that I have had massive computer problems. Between work, family, and a separate project, i had very little time to do the work to fix my computer. It was so corrupted that I had to reformat it by hand!
Not much crafting happened during this time. I did finish the drunkards path quilt.
This is how I did my mitered binding
I made an iPad case using fused felt.
I promise next time that I will get back to the normal format and will have a scheduled topic. Talk to you soon.
Welcome
I am Brye Lynn, host, author, and creator of Sew ~ Stitch ~ Create! I am a lifetime sewer and beginner quilter. This blog is dedicated to my journey into the crafting world as I learn and explore my favorite medium – fiber and fabric.
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