Anyone sew?

[Anonymous]

A thread in the CCs forum ended up morphing into a convo about sewing, so I thought I'd start a thread here in SmorgasBoard about it!!

Any sewists (for Cheddar's benefit *goofy giggle*) in here?? If so, what do you love to sew? What kind of SM do you drive? And how long have you been doing it??

[demi]

Haven't in years, sewing maching is in the very back of my Storage locker.  Once I move in a couple of weeks, it comes out and get going !!!  I mainly like to sew house stuff or for crafts.  Clothes, when you factor in the cost of pattern, fabric, its really not usually econcomical unless its something special.  Made baby quilts for all my nieces and nephews, lots of curtains, drapes, balloon shades.  New house I will need to do some upholstery work...once I settle on fabric.

I actually spend way more time knitting, I am a total knitting fanatic.

[Anonymous]

I've been doing a gob of sewing lately- a medieval pavilion (18'x30' canvas tent) that still isn't finished, and I've had to turn over to MrMS because I physically can't lift the fabric, even if someone is helping me feed it through the machine...  115 yards of 10 oz. Sunforger canvas isn't light!  I've also been working on medieval (T-tunics mostly) and Elizabethan gowns.

I've got 6 sewing machines in the house-

• Grandmother's 1922 Singer treadle machine (needs cleaning, but aside from that would work just fine),
• an old electric Singer from the 50's or 60's that I picked up at a yard sale because it actually has steel guts
• the industrial-strength Aristocrat that will sew 4 layers of Sunforger, chrome-tan or light veg-tan leather, etc.
• a basic basic Viking that was a high-school graduation present from the same grandmother who gave me her treadle machine (you don't need fancy stitches to do Elizabethan gowns)
• a Brother 1034D serger that I really haven't gotten to know yet
• and the big daddy- the Viking Designer SE Limited Edition computerized embroidery machine.  Gawd that thing is luxurious to use- for both embroidery and "normal" sewing...

I've been sewing off and on since I was pretty little- probably 7 or 8 when I first used a machine.

-MsMS

[cantretire]

I used to quilt, but had to give it up when I went back to school 10 years ago.  I think I may pick it up again this winter.  I loved it so!

[Anonymous]

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MsMS wrote:

I've been doing a gob of sewing lately- a medieval pavilion (18'x30' canvas tent) that still isn't finished, and I've had to turn over to MrMS because I physically can't lift the fabric, even if someone is helping me feed it through the machine...  115 yards of 10 oz. Sunforger canvas isn't light!  I've also been working on medieval (T-tunics mostly) and Elizabethan gowns.

I've got 6 sewing machines in the house-

• Grandmother's 1922 Singer treadle machine (needs cleaning, but aside from that would work just fine),
• an old electric Singer from the 50's or 60's that I picked up at a yard sale because it actually has steel guts
• the industrial-strength Aristocrat that will sew 4 layers of Sunforger, chrome-tan or light veg-tan leather, etc.
• a basic basic Viking that was a high-school graduation present from the same grandmother who gave me her treadle machine (you don't need fancy stitches to do Elizabethan gowns)
• a Brother 1034D serger that I really haven't gotten to know yet
• and the big daddy- the Viking Designer SE Limited Edition computerized embroidery machine.  Gawd that thing is luxurious to use- for both embroidery and "normal" sewing...

I've been sewing off and on since I was pretty little- probably 7 or 8 when I first used a machine.

-MsMS

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Are you my aunt??

Seriously, she added on to their home this HUGE room as her sewing room and supplies. It's her "hobby", but she did or maybe still does sew costumes for Ronnie Milsap. I loved watching her make dresses for me when I was a little girl. Simply amazing.

I tried when I was a teenager. I enjoyed it and made alot of quilts and baby blankets and even some clothes for myself (mostly as school projects) After having my daughter at such an early age, she pretty much took up most of my time and I stopped sewing.  Trying to fit in her care and my education was a tough one, but I made it. Now, I wonder if I can thread a needle.

[Anonymous]

I'm not a seamtress by any means.  Near the end of the school year, my youngest daughter's class took a field trip and she needed a costume for it.  She begged me to make her's instead of buying one, so I caved and ended up griping and grumbling the entire time. HaHa!

I had not sewn anything! in over ten years when I took this project on...

But it turned out ok.  And the best part...She loved it!

 

[demi]

I sewed a tent once, a backpacking tent kit from Frostline (wish they were still around).  Only problem, my sewing machine had a terrible time when I changed thickness of fabrics (it had about 4 or 5 different fabrics, then you would constantly change thickness) and ran out of thread.  Just bought whatever.  About two years later, the thread started rotting...was a total bummer.

[Anonymous]

I've sewn most of my life as my mother and oldest sister sew(ed).  I used to make my girls clothes when they were little but the only clothing I have done in many years is Renaissance costumes.  I also quilt which I started about 15 years ago.  One year I went to the county fair and looking at the quilts I thought, "I could do that."  So... I did and I entered it in the fair the next year and won a blue ribbon for Quilter's First Quilt.

I'm fairly good at finishing the tops but the quilting part, not so good.  I don't have a good enough machine to quilt them so I do it by hand and I just don't have the time to do get them finished.  I have several completed tops in storage tubs that I need to take and have quilted.

I used to have a sewing room since I have a 5-bedroom house but, I gave it up for the baby my daughter had last year.  When they move out I'll get it set up again and I'd like to get a quilting machine.

One thing I want to do is finish a quilt that was started by my great-grandmother.  My grandmother had 120 Grandmother's Fan blocks stored in a hope chest that her mother made, they are now at my parent's house.  I want to put them together but I haven't asked for them yet.  She also had 3 completed quilts that were probably made before the depression from what I have read.  One of them is a Grandmother's Flower Garden, the one made from hexagons, and each little hexagon piece is a flower cut out of the fabric.  They are hand quilted and the stitches are so tiny and perfect it is incredible.  They have never been used and they are like brand new, probably museum quality.

Message Edited by PittsburgPamela on 07-19-2008 09:11 AM