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Enchanted By Sewing The Podcast

Showing posts with label CA California. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CA California. Show all posts

Friday, December 23, 2016

EnchBySew-50: Tote’in for the Festive Season - Holiday Postcard

Click on this link in iTunes   to download the 50'th episode of the Enchanted by Sewing Audio Podcast,  produced in December of 2016.

Or listen directly on the web by clicking on http://traffic.libsyn.com/enchantedbysewing/FINALHolidayBagLaurelShimer.mp3

This December I’ve put more time into sewing, than blogging about sewing. So though I’ve actually sewn five items – I’ve only blogged about two of them - so far. I’m hoping I'll find some time to post about what I’ve made, next week, because I really enjoy having a sewing journal.

I love looking back through my blog and remembering – oh that’s right Back in December of 2016 I made
* Queen Cordelia – a printed courderoy princess seamed shirt with ¾ len sleeves, fun buttons and some collar embellishment
* A pair of front-pleated denim trousers
* A  night shirt for my husband,
* A simple flannel baby blanket
* A flat bottomed tote bag

This Month’s Show is a holiday postcard, focusing on the basic technicos/techniques of sewing a flat-bottomed bag that can serve the combined purpose of being both a tote and gift bag.

Five reasons to know how to sew a tote

1 - Save money or just  be Green: I don’t know about where you live, but around here, we get chargd 10 cents for store bags -it’s really worth remembering your tote bag!

2) Be Arty as well as green and clean up your sewing resource inventory : A tote bag is a handy way to use up fabric scraps and remnents. I serves as a  vehicle for trying out favorite or new embellishment techniques like embroidery, craft button designs, beading, quilting or a collage made of scraps of  lace and trims

 3) A tote bag is a basic sewing project . It’s  a good  way to stare learning to sew, or get back into sewing . It doesn’t take very long and you can practice basic seaming and other sewing techniques.

4) Unlike garment sewing - A tote bag does not require fitting!

5) A tote bag makes a great packable and reusable gift. If you have the resources on hand - You could even decide to make one an hour or so before it’s needed!

I blogged about, a tote I made earlier this month for visitng family members as a holiday gift. That posting includes four photos intended to show basic steps of tote bag sewing.

BTW I included a pound and a half box of biscotti from a wonderful local Italian deli – Diandras in San Mateo at Crystal Springs shopping center . If they ate , or shared, all the cookies during the conference they came for, they could use the tote to carry home their dirty laundry. Back home They can use it for grocery shopping or They can pass it on to somebody else as a gift bag. The bag itself was small and light weight , so it wasn’t going to make trouble when it came to taking their bags back on the airplane.


Technicos/Techniques: How to sew a flat-bottomed tote

Photo Collage and brief summary of basic steps for sewing the tote http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2016/12/green-sewing-tote-bag-for-reusable.html

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Ench By Sew-34:Sewing with the Flow - Fairy Inspired

This month’s show is Fairy Inspired… Fairy Gardens that is– where my sewing (like my gardening)  knows,  It’s the Story that makes it.

Listening Option 1: Download from iTunes
Click on this link to iTunes  to download this and other Enchanted by Sewing shows to your mobile device (iPhone, Android, etc.) free from iTunes

Listening Option 2: Direct Download/Listen on the Web
 LISTEN RIGHT ON THE WEB (while sewing perhaps?)   by Clicking on this Link 
(http://traffic.libsyn.com/enchantedbysewing/CastFINALJuly2015SewFlowFairiesFairyGarden.mp3)
~ ~ ~
Enchanted by Sewing IS, An  EXTENSION OF my regular sewing blog - Me Encanta Coser, which,  roughly translated means, Enchanted By Sewing 

My blog is written in English. The name celebrates the historical and modern use of the beautiful Spanish Language in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, where I live
~ ~ ~
 I was feeling pretty serious about my sewing when I got back into town last month. I was thinking that any day I’d get on with some serious pattern drafting work.

Well, I haven’t! As a matter of fact whenever I thought about doing intense pattern work – either drafting or pattern alteration – I just found something else to do. And, as this has been an unusually busy summer for me, both professionally and personally, it was easy to put sewing off.

Finally I just quit worry about what I’d planned to do, and responded to materials and projects that were singing out to me from the bins over my machine. And I was, once more, reminded of Lori Van Monnans’s advice to ‘sew forth now’.

Sometimes you just gotta sew. By just responding to what I had on hand, I was working on getting in some summer garment essentials. They were essential because there items I really use at this time of year, and also essential to my happiness. It doesn’ t always matter whether I’m carrying through on garments I blue sky about. What matters is that I respond to my essential need to sew because, sewing enchants me.

In this month’s show

1) Recent summer essential sewing – Journaling about what’s useful additions I’ve sewn for my summer armoire.

Lucy Locket's Mobile Pocket Bag - http://www.meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2015/06/lucky-lockets-mobile-device-pocket-bag.html

A new Tapestry Cap - http://www.meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2015/06/replacing-my-tapestry-cap.html

Enchanted by Sewing(Aug 2014) Capping Off Summer - Creating a simple pattern for, and sewing a cap http://www.meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/08/ench-by-sew-023-capping-off-summer.html

-Singing the Blues Tee - Pattern drafted from my moulage http://www.meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2015/07/sewing-summer-essentials-singing-blues.html

- Rose Embellished Straight Skirt - Pattern drafted from my sloper http://www.meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2015/06/terminado-rose-embellished-straight.html

2) Technicos: Techniques I used to complete My Rose Embellished Denim Straight Skirt – Sloper to Pattern, and embellishment techniques

Enchanted By Sewing Show (May 2015) Parlez Vous French Pattern Drafting ?http://www.meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2015/05/ench-by-sew-32-parlez-vous-french.html

3) Fairy Gardens Inspire My Sewing
Whether gardening or sewing – it’s the story that makes the creation

Postcard from California - How to Invite Fairies to Live in your Garden - A Fairy Garden Tutorial http://postcardfromcalifornia.blogspot.com/2015/07/how-to-invite-fairies-to-live-in-your.html


Postcard from California - There are Fairies at the Bottom of My Garden - CA patio garden that is
http://www.postcardfromcalifornia.blogspot.com/2015/07/how-to-introduce-fairy-to-california.html

Both these Disney Garden books inspire my theme gardening style. I like the tabbed-cookbook style of DISNEY'S GARDENING WITH MICKEY when I want to quickly review the steps for creating a hanging basket or well illustrated how-tos for small topiaries. (There's lots of good info for larger topiaries and garden sculpting as well - I just haven't tried it out) In addition, there is good gardening (yard or pots) basic techniques as well as many recommendations for plants that work well for specific themes and temperatures. I highly recommend it, because I have used it a lot over a period of several years.

I also turn regularly to my Secrets of Disney's Glorious Gardens book. It has a lot of similar techniques and information as DISNEY'S GARDENING WITH MICKEY and it also has lovely, lovely photos that inspire me. So when I want to sit down and just get ideas for themes or gardening styles, I pour through the photos in this book.
                

Wegman's Nursery in Redwood City has regular Fairy Garden Classes! http://www.wegmansnursery.com

Fairy magic is definitely adding a little more enchantment to my life, when it comes to gardening.
And ….It’s also given me a better understanding of how to keep my sewing enchanting.