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YOP10 Week 36/52 – Some sewing practice

Knitting

Not a huge amount of knitting really, I’m on the heels of my socks and still on the yoke of my cardigan. I have tweaked my YOP list again, changing some yarn choices and re-adding an Aran weight jumper.

Sewing

On my current YOP list is ‘make a project bag with inside and outside pockets’.

Well I wasn’t ready to dive into making a big bag without first practicing my sewing and sewing my first pockets. Also if I am going to sew a woven top then my sewing skills need to be better so I don’t destroy my woven fabric. So here’s what I made this week.

Tissue holder
Bag for spinning notions

The fabric is cotton fat quarters, so not strictly thick enough for the bag, so I used some off-cuts from some blackout blind material and sewed them together. If I knew how to make a proper lining that would have been neater, as inside the bag are all the sewn edges showing, but it’s my first go at making a zipped item and outside pockets. I’m surprised the pattern didn’t include a neat lining.

I can’t say I enjoy sewing. The cotton thread waste seems a lot, it kept chewing my fabric and making big knots to rip out, I don’t think I did the zip right at both ends, I sat on my ironed whale fabric so it’s now creased (too lazy to set up the iron again)…but I will keep practicing as I do want to make a handwoven top! Quilt making isn’t in my future I have now decided.

Spinning

As the days start to get a little lighter for longer I will be more tempted to do some spinning in our sunroom. It’s on the north side of the house, so 🥶 in there when it’s winter and the sun is too low to shine in during the afternoon. But it’s starting to appear in the afternoons.

Weaving

More procrastination and no weaving. 🤷‍♀️ I don’t know where my weaving mojo keeps going.

Other News

This week our eucalyptus tree came down. I asked them to leave a good amount of the leaves and small branches to give away to Guild members and the lady from Loch Ness Knits, who can use it in natural dyeing. I will keep some branches for pea canes/plant supports and maybe leaves for myself. They can be used even when dry apparently.

I have been feeling a little overwhelmed with how much I want to get done, craft wise and around the house and garden. I feel I am still wasting too much time that I don’t seem to be able to identify where it went! I know I spent 3 hours just staring at my tree being cut, but I was sad to see it go. I’ve said it a thousand times on here, but I really do need to create a schedule that I can stick to! No decluttering this week either. We did replace another of the raised borders.

On Friday nights we are playing one of my husband’s old games and deciding to keep or donate. This week we tried the 1978 edition of Totopoly but the instructions seemed 20 pages long and I lost interest on page 4, so we played his 1974 edition of Conquest.

Conquest is a great game but is no longer available. It’s similar to chess but uses dice! There’s a review from a frustrated player that tells you what it is. I found the review funny although he did make it worse for himself by not following the instructions on only changing direction once. It made me laugh so I’ve shared the link above.

Today is our 13th Wedding Anniversary, time flies! I get my 1st vaccination on Thursday so that’s good.

This is a Year of Projects post. Officially the Group is in its 10th year, but this is my 3rd year participating. If you would like to find more about the Year of Projects Group on Ravelry.

20 comments

  1. Your sewing looks great – well done! I used to have a few problems with knotted threads on the sewing machine and think it is down to tension (but definitely don’t quote me on that as I am no expert.) I was never able to adjust the tensioner to put it right so the best advice I was given was to rewind the bobbin. I hope the jab goes well, I can’t wait until I am called up!

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    • It’s a relief to know I can enjoy looking at others and not feel any temptation now. Also I hear there’s lots of ironing involved. I ironed the fabrics when they came out of the tumble dryer but used my fingernail to ‘iron’ the seams 😂

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  3. Happy Anniversary. Hope you do something a bit special today. The tree that got cut down was huge! Was it damaged or was it invasive in someway that made it need to be taken down? How nice that you saved some of it for others to use. Your sewing looks pretty good. If you are having issues with the thread knotting, that would mean your tension is off. Now, whether it is off on the bobbin or on the top thread, you will need to play with it to find out. Good luck with that. I have not done any decluttering for 2 weeks now. Hopefully this next week will see me getting back into that routine. I hope you have a good experience with your first dose of the vaccine. Have a great week too!

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    • It was killing the lawn and had started to lift the slabs near the house so we worried for our foundations. You can feel the roots on the lawn and we have a pretty maple nearby that was suffering and we think it’s roots were maybe choking that out too. But mostly it was the lifting the slabs that was the final straw despite having it cut by half a few years ago it shot up.

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  4. Happy Anniversary. Your knotted thread problem can be caused by different things. If it is happening at the beginning of your seams, the bobbin thread tail may be getting caught up in the stitching. If it is happening somewhere else, you could try different weights of thread and/or go up a needle size.

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  5. Totally relate to how depressing it is to have a tree cut down. Our woods has been destroyed by the emerald ash borer. I tend to only post old fall pictures of our house since so many of the trees died and had to be cut down. It’s depressing to look at my recent fall color pictures. Sadly the longhorn beetle is destroying the other varieties of trees. Gotta love these invasive species from China.

    Your project bag is so cute. Wish I had put pockets in my bags, even the little sock bags. And I never thought of making a tissue holder with cute fabrics. You have inspired me.

    Happy Anniversary!! We celebrated our 35th back in Feb. I too can’t say I enjoy sewing. It’s okay to make masks or project bags but nothing bigger. Definitely no clothes!!

    Please do cut yourself some slack. Enjoy the moment. Chores will always be there but the moment won’t. So drink in the sunshine, or the rainy day, the smell of a cup of tea, etc. Life really is about the little daily joys.

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    • Thanks so much for the reminder to enjoy the moment. I’m so sorry to hear about your trees. We have a woods behind us that had a lot of dead trees cut down this summer and I’m not sure what they died of.

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  6. First of all, Happy Anniversary! I hope it was a lovely day for you both. Reading your description of what’s happening with your thread, my first thought, too, was that your sewing machine’s tension may need adjusting. That isn’t hard, but may take some trial and error. Whatever is the problem I hope you figure it out easily. Your bags are cute – and look well made (in spite of your frustrations). Good going, Liz!

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  7. Happy Anniversary! I love your whale bag and the Winnie the Pooh tissue holder – you did an amazing job of lining up the fabrics! Right there with you on sewing. I am famously horrible at it. Sad your tree had to go, but glad at least that there will be some usable bits left from it for dyeing and for canes

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  8. The bag and tissue holder look great! The thread issue could be tension on your machine. I think you did a great job! So sorry about your tree. It’s like losing a good friend. I’m thinking the mojo thing might be a seasonal thing? I’m finding the same issue. I seem to be all over the place and therefore it doesn’t seem like there is any progress although there must be, right? LOL! Good luck with your shot.

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  10. I sometimes get a tangle of thread at the very beginning of a seam. Sometimes its because the feed dogs can’t get a good grip and move the fabric along (I”m starting too close to the edge). Sometimes it seems random.

    Your spinning notions is DARLING! Did you put in interfacing to make it look so plush? The tissue holder is great, I’m thinking about making one for in the car. I have a handful of those mini-tissue packs, but never seem to know which one is the active one! The kids ALWAYS need a tissue when I’m driving and need my eyes.

    I also seem to struggle with getting a task routine for myself. Sometimes my productivity comes in fits and spurts; I’ve learned to just lean into my desire to clean and do household chores when it strikes.

    Hope your anniversary was happy!

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  11. Happy Anniversary! I love your tissue holder and how you got Pooh to match over the opening. We all have to live life on life’s terms these days. You may not feel you are making progress, but I can see that things are getting done. Sad about your tree…I would have spent the three hours honouring all it has meant to you. I am glad some of the leaves will be put to good use. Your mojo will come back. I promise. For me with house stuff I set myself one small task – like clean the bathtub, or dust under the bed. One small thing at a time adds up. Maybe you could try that with your de-cluttering. Just one drawer or cupboard at a time. I know you didn’t ask for advice, so ignore mine. Just know I am in your corner and cheering you on.

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