Car Seat Cover

My big accomplishment for the month of August has been to take apart a car seat cover and put in some new fabric.  The backing is new also.  It needed washed and when we did so, the backing was starting to fall apart.  I put a light green flannel on the back, so when we have to wash it again it will stay together (I hope).  This is not a difficult project.  Start to finish, it takes a couple of hours, but not hard.  The only part that is all new on the top of this is the polka-dot fabric.  I guess I did make three more of these jewelry cases--consignment pieces.  Lots of traveling and company this summer, so not a lot of time for sewing.  Hope you are enjoying your summer!

The Complete Sewing Studio

I have had several people ask me what my favorite tools are in the sewing room.  I have favorite sewing machines and other gadgets that I feel I can't live without.  Some of them I've had for years, others I have purchased in the last couple of years.  There are constantly new things being introduced out there that can make our lives easier in the sewing room.  You better believe I will eventually give many of them a try.  But for now, if you are trying to put together a well-stocked sewing studio, follow along.  Keep in mind, I mainly quilt in this room, but sometimes there are other sewing projects going on.  (warning: this list may be hazardous to your pocketbook).

A top-quality sewing machine for general sewing and machine quilting, along with a good sturdy sewing table.

A sewing machine that I use mainly for piecing quilts and other miscellaneous sewing projects.

I love vintage sewing machines.  This one is a heavy-duty one that will sew through thick layers with straight-stitches only.  I use it quite often for bulky seams and repairing things like denim jeans.

A serger.  Mine works fine, but would love to get a nicer one.  It's a pain to thread. As a side note; I keep dust covers on all of my machines and they are serviced regularly.  The vintage one is cleaned and oiled often, by myself.

I cannot forget the special feet for my Bernina.  The walking foot and the free-motion quilting foot.  These are wonderful!

Lots of extra bobbins for the sewing machines.  It seems I can never have enough of these.

Extra lighting next to the sewing machine.  My favorite is the Ott lite, but there are many good brands out there.

A comfortable office chair or two

Lots of high-quality thread.  I prefer Isacord and Sulky and so do my sewing machines.  Worth the extra cost, but usually buy in bulk on sale.  Need to have plenty of white and cream, but other colors as well.

A variety of fabric...yardage, fat quarters, scraps

High quality iron and ironing board.  I have been through several brands, and it's really worth it to purchase the best one that you can possibly afford. 

I mentioned an extra ironing board, without a cover, in a past post.  I use it to set alongside my sewing table so I have more table-top space for when I am machine quilting.

Rotary cutting mat--at least one; more if you can.  I like the big one on my cutting table (below), but other sizes are nice.

Table to cut fabric on--mine is elevated to save my back.  Many ready-made ones out there.

Rotary cutters and extra blades.  I started out with the gray one, then added a small one.  Others gave me the larger 60mm ones for Christmas and I use all of these.  It depends on the project I am working on. 

What can I say about scissors?  One can never have too many.  Pinking shears, sharp and comfy ones, a pair just for cutting paper, small ones by the machine for trimming threads, stork scissors for taking everywhere.  My favorite pair are the Gingher ones with a safety latch on them--they are very, very sharp. I write 'for fabric only' on many of them.

I have several seam rippers throughout the room, but this one is my favorite.  The Cadillac of seam rippers.  Love it!

I like to have pincushions everywhere.  I have one that sits on the cutting table, some that attach to sewing machines, and one or more in a sewing box.  I use mostly the long, stainless steel quilting straight pins.  All different sizes of sewing needles, and a few short straight pins.  Safety pins are always close by too, in pincushions and jars.

A calculator.  Any kind will do, but I am especially fond of this Quilter's FabriCalc.  It is a wonderful instrument!

Rulers and measuring tapes.  My favorite is the bottom one...2 1/2" Binding Buddy, which gets used a lot.

Marking tools.  I use chalk a lot, a fine-line mechanical pencil, a gray quilt marking pencil. 

Thread catchers.  I use these at every sewing machine, plus this one is attached to my ironing board. 

A sewing box, plus umpteen other containers to keep all the supplies.

Two or more wastebaskets in various sizes.

A step stool to reach high places for us short people.

Buttons in various sizes, shapes, colors.  I also keep on hand various ribbons, lace, bias tape, velcro, etc.

Warm & Natural quilt batting, purchased in bulk.  I use other kinds, but this is my favorite.  I also always purchase quilting spray or other types of basting spray.  I sandwich my quilts together then take them to our large porch to spray baste.  You need a well-ventilated area to spray this stuff.

Quilting gloves.  I use these for most machine-quilting projects.  You can purchase comfortable fitting garden gloves with a textured palm and they will work fine also.

Quilt design software.  There are newer versions of this and other brands out there.  Computer is right in my sewing room.

Other things that I use occasionally are a Grace quilting frame (I actually have several different sizes).  But my favorite frame for hand-quilting is a Q-snap frame that is lightweight enough to move most anywhere. I have an embroidery attachment for my Bernina, but I have not used it very often.  It is very handy to have my computer in my sewing studio, as well as a printer.  A laptop would work fine too.  A camera is one very obvious thing I have also.
I bet you can add to this list.   I would really like to add a rotary mat that swivels.  Those look very handy.  What are your favorite tools for the sewing studio?

Time to Come Clean

Doing the laundry has never been on the top of my list of favorite household chores.  Especially the sorting, then the putting away.  (Which I guess is the only thing I really have to physically do myself, so that sounds completely pathetic).   We had a nice front load washer and dryer, but it just wasn't built to handle tons of laundry and large loads.  Fine for a family of 2, I suppose.  Not for me, hubby, daughter, son-in-law, two grandkids, all of which now share the same laundry facilities.  So...we recently upgraded!  And guess what?!  I LOVE doing the laundry!  In fact, I passed up dinner out with the spouse so I could stay home and do the laundry.  Sick, isn't it?  This is the Maytag Elite, and my new best friend(s).  They are super capacity, so I can even wash my king-size quilts in this thing.  That's pretty much what sold me on them.  Gotta go sort some more laundry ;)