Doll Sized Pressing Tools From Love U Bunches...

 

 

This pattern is available on ETSY. I could not resist. Such tiny pressing tools. I made them in a couple of hours a couple of days ago. I had left over flannel from boy PJs years ago and I have a stock of leftovers from battings for quilts. I made the little tools, stuffed them with batting I chopped up into bits, and firmly packed into these little cuties, and sewed up the gaps by hand.  I am so pleased with them. :)  I can see the seam presser roll as a shoulder seam presser as well for garments much larger than dolls.Working on that little student nurse uniform now. Slow going and I may make another basic dress. There is a basic dress, with starched cuffs, a cap, and a bib'n'apron combo that I have not done yet. I have put together this outfit with 4 patterns and then a cap pattern that I heavily redid because hardly any of the doll caps really look like nurse's caps and I wanted a real little nurse cap.  All four patterns for the outfit are from various Rosie's Doll Patterns that I own. Such nice patterns. I watch her videos - they are great and I follow them. She has a great voice for teaching.  When the outfit is done I will delineate the procedure and the patterns used.

Knits from Girl Charlee...

 

 

So, I ordered from Girl Charlee.  I am satisfied and more! Two pieces of cute "bullet knit" which is a spandex blend and very cute - sort of kid prints there, but I am going to use them for dolls, and maybe even get a little Summer top for myself out of each piece - we'll see. I bought four pieces of about a yard each - two have a bit more. The other two fabrics are soft cotton jersey blends with nice soft hand - lightweight fabrics. Those will make cute little tops I think and scraps for the dolls. I know I will be ordering again!  Here are close ups of the two types of fabrics I ordered. 😄

 

Reorganizing and Storage as End in Itself...Part III

 

 

 Above is the top drawer arrangement in my Sullivan sewing table drawers. Below in order is drawers 2,3, and 4.  I change these around sometimes...depending on what my interests are over time, but mostly they stay the same. Mostly sewing essentials. In drawer 2 you can see card stock I use to make either cards I draw on and color, or sometimes make fabric quilted cards. You can see the ArtBin bobbin boxes I use - labeled for various types or brands of thread. I love prefilled bobbins, so there are DecoBobs from Wonderfil, Superior Threads Super Bobs and So Fine #60 prefilled bobbins, as well as Brother prefilled bobbins that you can't see here - they are on the bottom.  And poly and cotton thread bobbins I have wound myself. My Pfaff 1222E cannot use prefills. Although some sites say it can, the hole in the bobbin is never large enough - so I have to load my Pfaff bobbins myself which is OK. It is the best machine to thread a bobbin anyway! SO easy and smoothly done.

 

 

I store foot pedals here too - I like to use the Start/Stop button on machines that have them, at least most of the time.   I have some cleaning brushes in there - I use makeup brushes for cleaning the machines a lot of the time.

 

 

Yes, I have overbought on Tailor's Chalk!! HAHAHAHA....oh well. And I love to have things plugged into surge protectors, so coincidentally that one shows here. I always unplug my machines when they aren't in use. It saves money and heartache - you do not want to lost a machine to a lightening strike. 

 

 

 

Needle storage - this bin is actually am embroidery floss storage case from Michael's because the ArtBin cases were not deep enough for needle cases. I love the way I can have them by type in this case.

 

 

Just to top it off - here is how I collect threads snipped off and small bits of fabric as I sew and trim. I never toss them around or on the floor. And the small basket - I have one by each machine for notions and supplies I need for projects, as well as extra filled bobbins and maybe even another spool of thread. 

 

 

 

Each of my machines has its own ArtBin box for accessories.  The Elna has a large version of this one, but each has its own. When I donate or sell a machine I also add the manuals and the accessory box.  

That about wraps up the storage trio of posts, and I hope it isn't too boring...but I think most of us are fascinated by storage! I like things neat in the sewing area. Years ago I sewed in the kitchen and had to put everything away neatly, and that's how I was taught - when you were through it was all put away and not in view.  Now that I have more space, I try to keep it as neat as I can as well.  HAPPY STORAGE and ORGANIZATION!!

 

 

 

Reorganizing and Storage as End in Itself...Part II

 

 

Starting with my shelf arrangement.  Two bins for Misc. Storage and 2 bins for Projects.  So far the two bins for projects is working well.  I should add that the purchase of a Brother Labeler goes a long way toward a nice storage look. HAHHHAA......I got my labeler after years of dithering, and I am glad I did. I even labeled my oatmeal can in the kitchen. Well, my pictures will usually have a label or two in them in the sewing area.  The following pictures are the insides of my ArtBin Super Satchels and reflect some years of accumulation.

 

 

The following two are thread boxes you can buy a few places - Joann's is one and then Superior Threads and so on. Two sided and hold regular spools well.

 

 

Ans another ArtBin Super Satchel!  This one holds quilting and thread accessaries and cotton quilting threads.

 

 

Here is my Brother labeler which I think may have given me the kick for all the reorganizing I do in here. SO FUN.  It has been a great accessory and is one of several models still around - although probably a newer model is out now.

 

 

Reorganizing and Storage as End in Itself...Part I

 

 

So, well thinking about the myriad of projects I have set myself to do, I was hit with the reorganization bug. Probably as a delaying method to keep me from actually producing a few finished projects. So at 10 or so the other night, I started by raising the leaf of my Sullivan Sewing Table. That gave me not only room for the dolls to stand a bit more easily, but gave me more storage under that arm! I had not anticipated that. After separating and relocating my Super Satchel Cubes, I found I had more useful space.  Then I triaged my Satchels and rearranged them so that the ones I actually go into the most frequently are the easiest to get to. Seems easy enough to figure out, but that was not how I had them before. I have storage under my Gidgets - you can see the other Satchel Cube (it has rollers on) under my Pfaff machine's personal Gidget table. The following is a photo of my other two Gidgets with storage under them. That's my storage story. I have some batting stored in another place, but that's really it as you see it here in two photos. And yes, I can sew on the Brother because mainly I love its Start/Stop button!!!

 

 

Part II will show the interiors of my ArtBin Super Satchels. If I get to Part III it will be for storage of  machine accessories and how to keep your notions, bobbins and thread handy when sewing on a project.  Plus perhaps the inside of the drawers of my Sullivan sewing cabinet. All this writing and picturing keeps me from sewing my projects...hhhmmm...planned?

Ursula Comes Home...14" Doll Fun...

 

I decided to get myself a 14.5" doll. She is a Glitter Girl by Battat, 2017 first issue that was sold at TARGET. Was able to get her at a bottomed out price on AMAZON WAREHOUSE. If you watch, there are some bargains to be had there!  She has a cute dress, and in the picture you can't see the real color. In the same room with it, it is a glaring neon pink. I am going to make her something else very soon because that pink really is too much. It looks so nice in the picture. :)  Her name is Elula, which is a name I had no idea existed. I am renaming her Ursula. She resembles a good friend I had in childhood whose name was Ursula. So then the journey of getting patterns begins. I have already gotten her some patterns, and then I thought maybe I could reduce the 18" doll patterns down to size as well - and I think 71-74% is the range to print them out at to fit, but I will be trying this over time. As usual, I am slow, so it will be awhile. 

She is so much prettier in person than in the photos at AMAZON. I have not taken her hair out of the plastic ties yet, but they are just to keep the hair nice in transit, and are not anything one can keep. More will follow - meanwhile I am working, STILL, on my student nurse outfit for the 18" dolls.

Sewing Machine Reference Tool by Bernie Tobisch...

 

Bought this handy-dandy book last week. Pretty much love it. Keeping it by the machine area for reference - instead of a lot of duplicate info in other books called "your sewing machine or whatever", this guide gets to the point with troubleshooting and a bunch of great info on routine maintenance for your machines of all type - computerized and mechanical. I like that the information is put in such terms as to be understandable yet not too simplistically done. 

Here is a good picture of how large the book is - its not tiny. Handy size and I had no idea it would be spiral bound inside a nice sturdy cover - love that!

All in all a great purchase!!