I don’t know how I would learn to sew without the internet. I guess I’d just take many more classes at Joann, and make a lot of mistakes as I tried to figure things out on my own. That sounds pretty frustrating, therefore: hooray for the internet! I’m going to start posting tutorials and other resources that I find helpful just in case anyone else is interested — but mainly as a way to bookmark them for myself in the future.
Last week I successfully made a replacement for the laundry bag that shrunk in the wash. Before it shrunk, it was perfectly sized to fit around our hamper basket with these neat elastic corners that kept it in place. I had never sewn elastic corners before and my first attempt — which was just me trying to figure it out on my own — failed miserably. Then I found this video which clearly demonstrates how to sew a piece of elastic into a corner for a fitted sheet. I was able to replicate the technique without too much trouble and although the stitching isn’t super pretty, my new laundry bag hugs the hamper nicely.
I also recently bought a little quilting kit because it looked like a fun project. The kit came with a ton of pre-cut hexagons and instructions on how to piece them together. Once I actually opened the package and read the instructions, I realized that I may have bitten off more than I can chew at the moment — putting together 100+ hexagons to form the front of a quilt is no small task. This will be a project I work on in small bits, I think. Still, I found this video showing how to “machine piece” (as opposed to sewing by hand) hexagons that will be very helpful.
Here’s one more thing I came across yesterday while Jose and I were checking out the latest pickings at the Borders going-out-of-business sale: the color wheel quilt. That thing is gorgeous and made me realize that quilts don’t always have to remind you of your granny. I SO want to make this someday.
Web tutorials for crafting are so fun and useful! So many good ideas and videos out there.
I really want to make a modern quilt to use as a wall hanging, but I think I am starting to admit that it will have to wait a good number of years when I have more free time and fewer people around who like to randomly scatter things around the house.
I also have trouble picking out the perfect fabric combos – that quilt kit is a neat solution for that.
Well, you might do might girls and women have done for generations – ask your Mom! Does your Mom sew? That’s certainly what I did when I was in high school.
I’ve always thought quilting would be cool. I think that may make me a huge nerd. 😉
I don’t think you’re a huge nerd, because quilting is one of the things I’d like to know too.
My mom did sew, but not much, and hasn’t done it in years. At this point, our skills are probably about the same.
Virginia made the quilt for a friend. It was really nice.
see:
https://picasaweb.google.com/101242579065672588351/QuiltForRiver
Wow, Virginia’s turned out beautifully!!
I asked her about the quilt last night. It was not that difficult to cutout or put together. She followed the pattern and made a cardboard template to cut out the pieces. It took a while to select the position of each of the different colored fabrics. She added the circle in the center since the lines did not meet at a perfect center point.