Happiness Through Sewing
By Mary Sigler It’s drafty in my house. It’s an old house with old windows and most of them are on the north side which gets a lot of wind. As we fix up our house we are putting in energy-efficient windows but that’s not an overnight project. in the meantime, l have sewn up […] Read more…
You’ve made cookies for your child’s teacher, the postal carrier, and the dental receptionist who was able to find an appointment for you at the last minute. Now, how are you going to give them the cookies? A plate of cookies requires a lot of cookies to make it not appear skimpy. You don’t want […] Read more…
For Thanksgiving I wanted my well-worn table to look as good as our newly painted and decorated dining room, without having to refinish the table. I knew I wanted to make placemats and not a full tablecloth but I decided that instead of making a placemat for each person, there would be six of us, […] Read more…
It took us ten years but we have finished the dining room. My husband built built-ins, we painted, hung art on the walls and bought plants that by a miracle are surviving as we learn basic plant care. It’s a great space and this Thanksgiving as we sat down to eat I didn’t want all […] Read more…
I love it when things come together. And I really love it when they come together in an easy manner like this baby quilt I just finished for my cousin’s grandchild. This cousin wasn’t in my life much but her daughter made a special connection with my son when he was young and […] Read more…
My dog is a messy eater and sloppy drinker. He will put his head up, open his mouth wide and let whatever food or water that was in his mouth just fall out. Did he forget he was eating? Did something distract him? “Quick,” he thinks, “dump this stuff, maybe she’ll think she hasn’t feed me yet and […] Read more…
Bias binding is used to bind or cover the raw edge of fabric. Bias binding can be made in self or contrasting fabric as a decorative edge of a neckline, sleeve, collar or other feature. It can replace a full facing as with sheer or bulky fabrics or it can bind and finish seam allowances inside […] Read more…
Why was I, after adjusting a pattern for fit and putting time into my sewing, still ending up with garments that were not quite right? I couldn’t quite figure it out and it didn’t happen every time but it happened enough not to be one bad pattern or one cut off grain fabric. If anything […] Read more…
I have a love hate relationship with gift wrap. I love the designs, the colors, the way they make the simplest gifts look so good. I don’t like that it can only be used onced and then tossed away. (Yes, same with Kleenex, but Kleenex serves a very useful purpose before it is tossed). Gift bags are slightly better […] Read more…
Love can tear us apart and wear us thin and leak out our stuffing. This is what happened to my son’s girlfriend and Dotty, her knitted, stuffed cat from her childhood. However, love can fix us too and with the desire to make Dotty’s owner happy, my son suggested to her to let me fix Dotty’s six […] Read more…