Sew Much Fun

Back in the beginning of May, I hosted a Singer Sewing Machine House Party.  This was an event that I signed up for online a few months ago.  I (along with lots of other people who signed up) got to rent a Singer Confidence Stylist sewing machine for two weeks.  As part of the deal, I hosted sewing party and demoed the machine for some of my friends.  Remember when I left you all hanging with this post?  Here's what was in that box...

They sent all that stuff just for the party!  I was super excited and I had fun filling up brown paper bags with coupons, patterns, thread, and all kinds of stuff to give to my guests.  I still have a few goody bags left so if you would like one, let me know.  A lot of the coupons are already expired but the rest of the stuff is still good.

I ended up having just the right amount of guests show up.  Any more people and we would have had to move the party to the front lawn (have I mentioned that I live in a tiny "hobbit hole" house- that's a topic for another blog entry though).  Here's the party in full swing.  Do we know how to have a good time or what?

There was sewing, sewing, and more sewing...

...but all crafts are welcome here.

We also had just enough time for everyone to complete their own projects.  Two of my guests managed to escape before I could get pictures of theirs but here are the ones I did get...

The House Party company had sent a suggested project along with some fabric (which I forgot to photograph) but I just wasn't thrilled with it so I found the business card/gift card holder project, which I thought better showcased the machine's awesomeness- especially the decorative stitches (there are 70 of them) and the button-sewing-on feature (not the technical name, I'm sure) which I was particularly overly excited about.  

I pre-cut all the fabric (hand-picked from my own stash) so everyone could choose their favorite combo and complete their own card holder.  I made a similar project a while back at the CHA Supershow and remembered how great it was to already have the fabric cut for me so I could get straight to the fun part- decorating it and stitching it all together.

I purposely cut plenty of extras so there would be lots of variety.  I ended up completing the rest of the projects before I had to return the machine.  It was lots of fun...

So yeah, I really did love the Singer Confidence Stylist sewing machine but even with the special discount I would have gotten if I had purchased it, I just couldn't justify buying something like this right now.  It's nice to have a good idea what I might be looking for in my next machine though.

I also feel like I should mention that I was completely enamored with All Brands Sewing and Vacuum in Garden Grove.  I was assigned to pick up my sewing machine there and when I showed up for my required demo I instantly loved the place.  It's an older shop with a mom and pop kind of feel and just about every inch of the front showroom area is filled with sewing machines of every size, shape, and era (there are vacuum cleaners too).  It was the kind of place where I just wanted to hang out for a while.  I definitely plan on going back there if and when I need my current sewing machine serviced and when I am finally ready to purchase a new machine, I plan on checking there first.  

I know this is starting to sound like a commercial so let me assure you, I have not been paid by anyone to say any of this.  I just enjoyed this whole experience that much!

More Fun With Tea Towels

Okay, so I know you were all wondering what was to become of the hand dyed tea towels from last week.  Well, believe it or not, I had a plan all along.  Here's how they turned out.

I used a self-adhesive, tear-away stabilizer to do the decorative machine stitching.  I attempted this same project a few months ago without the stabilizer and it was a big pain in the you-know-what.  The end results last time were okay but not great.  This time everything went way better.  Here's a close-up of the stitching.

 I paired the towels with some hand knit dishcloths and gave them as a wedding gift to a friend whose kitchen is brown and tan themed.  To be honest, I wasn't completely thrilled with how all these shades of brown came together but it was too late to turn back by the time I realized I was pushing the limits of this color palette.  I do find comfort in the fact that when you separate the towels from the dishcloths, everything looks fine.

These towels were a very fun and simple project.  I would like to make more of them in the future.  My current sewing machine has over forty decorative stitches so there will be lots of room for experimentation.