Main Topics:

Sewing Areas
Favorite Sewing Projects
Work in Progress
Favorite Web Sites

Sewing Areas

I finally have a small sewing and button room - it's one of the three bedrooms in my new house that I bought after my divorce. It's sort of hard to take a good picture of such a small room, so I will do my best to describe it. I have a closet with a custom-built California closet where I store fabrics on shelves, boxes of laces and fabrics, and misc sewing accessories. One wall has three white tall 5-shelf bookcases filled with books, sewing magazines (Sew Beautiful, Threads, and Sew News) and boxes of notions. On the opposite wall is a window and underneath are Carmen's Barbies and accessories. The third wall in between holds my computer desk and a tall plastic rolling cart in the corner for my scrap book supplies. Also in the room is my childhood armoire, one of those old ones with drawers on the left side and a cabinet on the right side - with a metal rod to hang small children's clothing. It has my Martha Pullen show videos, glue guns, and heirloom clothing materials.

My portable Pfaff sewing machine is stored in the hall closet until needed. These days I sew at the dining room table so I have plenty of room and Carmen can be my helper. I also use it to cut out all my materials.

It's been a long time since I've updated the photos, but I promise to add some new ones very soon! I just purchased a digital camera, which is a lot of fun. and I'm learning how to use it right now as well as edit the photos down in size.

• In the meantime, here is a picture of my Carmen (much younger), under the dining table of my old house, playing with scraps (90 K). That was during the 1996 Christmas holidays, when I made my mother a wonderful sunshine yellow apron with white lace.

Favorite Sewing Projects

Here are some of my first sewing projects:

• My first curtains (62 K) - lined, lacy and pretty. Success!

• Carmen's First birthday dress! - I was so proud! I made the Heirloom Party dress pattern from one of Martha Pullen's books, with my lace design. It's made of white Swiss Batiste, with English and French laces and baby entredeux. What fun it is to sew with fine materials. I need to rescan the photo as it is huge and takes too long to load.

• Sunshine Apron - I call it that because it is yellow like sunshine, trimmed in white lace. My mother never has a nice apron when she is receiving her guests, so I made her one. She was quite suprised by this gift.

• Barbeque Apron - I made this for my father-in-law last Christmas. It is a red and white checkered tablecloth fashion fabrics, with pictures of food and barbeque related items. What a fun gift to make! I even used a vintage apron pattern. It came out so well that I'm thinking now to make his/her aprons for some close friends who cook and barbecue a lot.

• Vest - This is one of those preprinted vests that you just cut out and sew. I made it for my dear friend Betty who is a member of our button club. The outside is a religious theme with a church and steeple, and the inside is button print fabric. Betty is one of those people that you fall in love with instantly and you feel you've know all of your life.

• Carmen Skirts - Carmen has some of the nicest clothes a little girl could have, so what does she end up wearing to pieces but the skirts that Mama made for her. There is one long skirt that I made for her last year that she practically lived in for months. It is a thick satiny sort of dusty rose pink that I made out of an old bridesmaid dress. I also made her some short cotton ones out of sewing prints. For Christmas I will make her more skirts.

• Sleeveless Jean Shirt - I recently bought Shell Kepler's book 'Make Fashion Magic'. She has lots of great ideas for embellishing existing clothing. I bought a light blue sleeveless jean shirt at a thrift store for $2 that I plan to use as a test bed for embellishment. I do not consider myself to be a creative person, so we'll see how this project turns out! Shell may be just the inspiration I need in order to just plunge right in.