Schmetz Universal Needles

The Schmetz web site has a ton of information on its products. I found this information on needle size helpful for determining which size of the universal type needle to purchase for my projects. I also stumbled across the description of the wing needle while browsing the Schmetz site. Two of my classmates in the pattern fitting class used the wing needle to create subtle but very beautiful lines of embellishment on their shirts. The wing needle creates this embellishment by pushing the fabric's woven threads apart and when you have a woven fabric (without stretch) this opening remains. This stitch would look particularly nice on linen fabric. There are some nice images of wing needle stitching here.

Schmetz Universal Needles

Local goodness

Billies Designer Fabrics
510 N Market Blvd, Chehalis, WA 98532
360-748-3295

Add this store to my list of local sources of sewing and felting supplies. I was in this shop twice this week to purchase thread for my serger. Claire's preschool teacher asked me to work on a project for the Christmas festivities and I needed some expert advise on rolled hems. The more I sew and the more I shop for sewing supplies, the more I am convinced that you get what you pay for. Living better through local shopping will be my mantra in 2009. I know I can get thread cheaper at JoAnn's but the employees there don't have the time, or sometimes even the knowledge to help with a project's particulars. I can walk into Billie's with a list and tick off item after item and get directed right to the item and get an explanation of its use.

I urge everyone to use their power as consumers to support good local businesses. I can't remember the last time I shopped at Wal-Mart and I feel much better for it.

ham anyone?

Today I had a few minutes to kill before I picked the kid up from preschool so I stopped in at Goodwill. I hadn't been in quite a while and SweetB has been posting about her good luck thrifting for fabric so I had to take a look. When I first got the book Zakka Sewing the thought crossed my mind that the perfect thing to stumble on would be someone's 40-year-old fabric stash. Thrifting for fabric has its obvious drawbacks: you can't predict your results, the fabric quality may not be as high as today's fabrics, and sometimes the musty/thrift smell.

My biggest find today didn't turn out to be the two pieces of vintage fabric that I found (but they are nice, the fabric on the right has rooster and quail vignettes as well)

instead it was the pressing ham that I purchased for $1.99. Wow! It is an oldie but a goodie I think, made in the USA and it even has a nice plaid cover. The pressing ham is used in garment construction for pressing out seams and shaping items during sewing. I also found a really nice cream and sugar set that was made in Japan. So for 10 minutes of shopping I did pretty well.

Linen and things

Yesterday Claire and I ended up going to Olympia and we found our way, as usual, over to Canvas Works. I wanted to look for some Zakka-esque buttons and Canvas Works has a nice selection of buttons made of natural materials (antler, wood, shell). I found some nice buttons and toggles and other notions and sent some in a felt care package of sorts to SweetB. I also took a little time to look at their selection of linen. What a beautiful fabric. I was reading the Wikipedia entry on linen this morning and found some very interesting information there. Essentially, I found the answer to the question, "What is the difference between the $20/yd linen at Canvas Works and the $8/yd (purchased for an additional 40% off) at Jo-Ann?" And the answer is that there is an extraordinary difference between the two.

In the end I purchased one yard of the $20 linen and two yards of the $8 linen. And I will tell you that the $20 linen is worth every penny. This fabric has a cool soft feel; the hand is not coarse even though the fabric has a rustic textured appearance. The threads are tightly woven but the fabric is not heavy or stiff, yet it feels strong enough to have been woven out of a metal fillament. The $8 linen is heavier, thicker and the threads used to weave the fabric are coarser. The $8 linen is a fine fabric for making utilitarian objects like fabric baskets or room shoes but if I was to make something that would be next to my skin, I would definitely choose the $20 linen. Maybe after I perfect my shirt pattern in sewing class I'll think about making one out of linen.

I also found an apron at Target that has this pretty zakka-esque fabric (pardon the wrinkles it just came out of the dryer). The apron was on clearance and there were dish towels too which I should have purchased. I seem to have an obsession with orange and green in the kitchen. I have two great orange Dansk cooking pots and an uber-cool, green dutch oven from IKEA. And it is better to not go in to how many sets of green dishes I have, suffice it to say that I have a green for every season.

Well, Claire is ready to head out to the library and then do some acorn hunting. I had better call it quits here at the computer.

Shop 'til your finger cramps - part 2

As promised here is my list of supply sites that exist only on the web. I think I prefer to shop for craft supplies at my local or regional stores but you can't always find just what you need.

• www.ornamentea.com
• www.superbuzzy.com
• www.reprodepofabrics.com
• www.purlsoho.com
• www.mjtrim.com

I haven't ordered supplies from all of these sites but I intend to at some point - I have an overwhelming wish list.

Shop 'til your finger cramps

In keeping with my shopping theme I thought I would include a list of online shopping sites that I really like and websites for my favorite brick and mortar stores too. I'll begin with the brick and mortar:

• http://www.canvasworks.net/ Canvas Works in Olympia,WA is probably Claire's favorite crafting shop - she calls it the yarn shop. The owners are originally from Iowa too which makes this store especially nice. They also know Claire by name and ask where she is when I go in without her - they really know how to cater to three-year-old button connoisseurs. Canvas Works is a beautiful store with a diverse inventory and I never leave without a purchase or two or three or ...
• http://www.quiltedforest.com/ This is a link to the online store for Greenbuaums Quilted Forest in Salem, OR. Every time I'm in Salem, I stop there to pick up a yard of this or that and to admire all of the beautiful quilts.
• http://www.sistersfabric.com/ The sheer volume of fabric choices in this shop is sensory overload but I love every minute of it. The women that work at this shop are so friendly and helpful and there is a feeling of community in this shop. I love to listen to the conversations that pour out from between the bolts of fabric at this gathering of creative women.

I guess it is time to start my day. I've finished my first cup of coffee and my first list. The next post will be a list composed strictly of online shopping sites - places that exist in the ether.

Shop ‘til you drop

Over the weekend Claire and I went to Portland for a girls-only day of shopping. We made the obligatory stop at IKEA first. Claire played in Smalland, I dream-shopped for furniture for our new house, we ate meatball lunches and drank lingonberry juice and then we headed over to the Beaverton Uwajimaya store – specifically the Kinokuniya bookstore.

A three year old can only take so much shopping and Claire reached her limit while I was trying to decide on which craft and sewing books to buy. So of course I spent too much money and should have thought about my purchases more carefully. There were also some books that I didn't have time to look for.

The book titled Small Articles Made Out of Wool looked really familiar to me but the projects were so cute and enticing that I purchased it. I have since seen it on Amazon - IN ENGLISH! It looked familiar because last January I saw it at Powell's. Good grief. Shopping with your preschooler is a real exercise in patience and mental acuity. As a testament to my lack of focus and mental acuity, when we got home Saturday night with our booty, I realized that I had only purchased seven new beautiful, shallow soup/pasta bowls at IKEA. Now I ask you, who the hell buys seven bowls? The mother of a three year old, that's who. Sane, rational adults buy eight bowls.

Thinking about my new books now though, in the comfort of our home and while Claire sleeps or plays, I am very pleased with my selections. The book Houses, Houses, Houses! is probably the most beautiful quilting book in my sewing book library. I just love the earth tones that are used in the projects. The projects are part zakka, part Scandinavian charm and a little bit of something that I just can't name yet – sophisticated Holly Hobby I guess (that has to be an oxymoron!). They are really beautiful quilts that are turned into purses and placemats, change pouches, wall hangings and more.

The other quilting book is pure zakka though. I keep thinking that if I could just find someone's discarded fabric stash from the '70's at Goodwill or a garage sale I would be set. The quilt projects in House are more cute than sophisticated and the color palate is more primary and pastel instead of earth tones. It is still ultra cute.

The book Small Articles Made of Wool Felt is a great book with terrific projects and patterns. I am hoping that I know enough about needle felting and wet felting that I'll be able to recreate some of these uber-cute wool friends.

The same degree of intuitiveness is going to be needed to make any of the clothing shown in the Natural Fabric Clothing for Autumn/Winter book. I am currently taking a pattern fitting class through the local community college and I am surprised at how much I still know about garment construction. I have also found some helpful information on the internet on the subject of Japanese sewing patterns.

http://www.purlbee.com/japanese-pattern-drafting-tuto/

http://www.antipope.org/feorag/gosurori/gr-patterns.pdf

http://movinghands.wordpress.com/japanese-sewing-and-pattern-terms/

http://label-free.blogspot.com/search/label/How%20To%20-%20Japanese%20Crafting

Well, I can't believe how much time I have spent on the computer tonight – time I could have spent with my cupcakes or hot chocolate mats.

More later,
The Serge Protector