Category Archives: Miscellaneous Therapy

Sewing Handmade Gifts

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People nowadays believe that handmade gifts are the best presents they could give to people that truly matter in their lives. This is because these are more personalized and exude more sincerity because of the effort that the gift-giver has put into it—either by making these or in finding these items.

If you are one of those who are planning to give someone a gift for any upcoming special occasion, it is best to consider handmade gifts—especially those that you are able to sew yourself. This is because hand-sewn gifts would mean that you took extra time to find out more about the interest of that person and you took extra effort in learning to sew.

Why sew?

One of the most wonderful activities and pastimes in history is sewing. Aside from being beneficial because it enables a person to wear his or her own clothes and use his or her creations, sewing also encourages creativity and resourcefulness through the different patterns, materials and techniques that can be used.

Before, sewing—especially sewing by hand—is only associated with women. But today, with all the advances and conveniences modern technology has brought, this activity has evolved not only as a pastime but also as a source of income for both men and women.

If you just get started on sewing, one of the most important things that you should pay attention to is the various sewing techniques needed for successful outcomes. These sewing techniques are very important to ensure that you will not waste time, effort, and materials in the current and future sewing projects you have in mind. Aside from learning the different sewing techniques out there, you must also take notes of the useful tips that you have discovered and encountered so you will use them the next time you will be facing another needlework.




Sewing tips and techniques

Sewing techniques are very crucial in a successful needlework because these define the overall appearance and endurance of the item. The most basic sewing technique that a neophyte sewer must learn is marking. This is very important because this will serve as your guide before you cut the fabric. Marking is done on the fabric using a tailor’s chalk once all the measurements are listed. When marking, always remember that the edges are marked properly so it won’t be erased once the fabric is flipped or tossed.

Next important sewing technique is cutting. This should be done using a sharp pair of scissors to ensure that there will be no frills hanging once the fabric has been cut. In cutting, always make sure that the fabric is not stretched and is not pinned to avoid miscalculations in the measurement. It is best to put weights on the fabric when cutting it to ensure that you get the measurements marked correctly.

After marking and cutting, the sewing proper comes next. Whether you will be sewing by hand or by machine, always make sure that you use new and sharp needles. This is very important because it ensures that you will have hassle free sewing.

The most common handmade gifts that you can sew may include something that this person could wear like a piece of clothing or something that would really remind him or her of you such as a quilt, a blanket or even a hankie. Others may include things that can be used at home or in his or her workplace.




Friday Funday: Free Quilted Tote Bag Patterns

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“Farmer’s Market Tote” Free Quilt Project Pattern from Wiley

“A Sampling of Geese Tote Pattern” Free Quilt Project Pattern designed by Beth Hayes from McCall’s Quilting

“The Charm Bag” by Missouri Star Quilt Co.

“Roomy Tote Bag with Inside Pockets” from Craft and Fabric Links

“Patchwork Tote Bag” Free Quilt Project Pattern from Fine Craft Guild




Stupid Tammy Tricks: Dog 1, TK 0

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Meet Phydeaux (pronounced Fido).  She’s a 13-year-old yellow lab who was a birthday gift to our son when he was just three-years-old.  Son has three sisters, he needed a dog as a faithful companion – someone to pal around with, run in the fields with, sleep with and be loved unconditionally by.

Phydeaux has lived a pretty good life.  At this point, she’s beyond the ‘normal’ age range for labs.  She’s had a stroke in the past two years, she cannot run around without taking a few hours to finally catch her breath and her tummy is not very stable – but she’s still a pretty good dog.

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This past weekend, my husband and kids went camping, leaving me home alone with minimal supervision (my MIL was just up the hill from our house, if I needed anything).  Which left me in charge of all of the family pets – two dogs and a turtle.  I’m a champ when it comes to taking care of the turtle!  Feed him twice a day, turn on his light in the morning and turn it off in the evening.

Our other dog is our oldest daughter’s dog.  She is a scrappy terrier mix who was a rescue.  She’s six-years-old and still has a lot of vim and vigor in her.  She’s not too difficult to supervise, especially when there’s treats and lots of belly rubs throughout the day.

Now, once a day, my husband lets the dogs out for something he calls a fun run.  He doesn’t supervise them very much but lets them have some time outside to burn off some energy, chase rabbits or armadillos and just give them a chance to sniff everything and anything.  The only reason he may have to call one of them back to the house is if they are headed to our compost heap.

When I am in charge of the dogs, they rarely listen to me.  They go out and come back in pretty quickly in the mornings and then in the evenings (when they know there are food or treats involved).  It’s those hours between breakfast and bedtime, when I’m home alone, where they challenge my authority EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Last weekend?  Phydeaux was the naughty doggie.  ARGH

I let the dogs out before lunch on Saturday. Now, having MS, I’m not too steady on my feet when I’m not in the house where there are things for me to hold onto – and I cannot use a cane because the right side of my body will always be out of whack from of a huge dead spot in my brain. I could see Phydeaux over near my husband’s garden but every time I called her, she moved further and further away from me. I finally got off the deck and go to get her. And the closer I get, the further away she went.

Her goal? The compost heap, of course. And with her rumbly tummy, I was *not* prepared to clean up dog gak all weekend. Her stroke has affected her hearing in one ear but the other hears just fine…when she wants to.

I start walking perpendicular to her and almost catch up with her…when I realize that at some point, my slipper fell off of my foot. I don’t have much feeling in my feet so is easy to throw a shoe without my knowing it. I look back and see my slipper – except it’s turned the wrong direction for me to slip my foot into it easily and it’s also surrounded by thistles. I finally deduce that I can take one or two steps toward it and then pick it up and put it back on my foot. Well, then I encounter MS issue #gazillion – if my head gets lower than my hind end, I get extremely dizzy (again, that dead spot in my brain is the cause). And just like that, I got dizzy and literally fell on top of my slipper as well as the thistles.

And Phydeaux is still taking a leisurely stroll toward the compost heap. ARGH

Tutorial Tuesday: Mobile Design Wall

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My studio is full.  To the brim.  There’s no more room at the inn.  The walls were all perfectly planned and executed with waist-level electrical outlets every three feet, pegboard in three different locations and furniture that takes up the bulk of any leftover wall space available.

What I didn’t plan for was a design wall.  Once everything was set up in my studio, I lacked any wall space that could be used for a design wall.  Unless I wanted it to be two feet off the floor.

What a dilemma, right?  A beautiful quilt studio that was a dream I never even considered before it was gifted to me…and no design wall.

I determined I needed a mobile design wall.  One I could pull out when I needed it and put it back when I didn’t.  It was okay to cover up an outlet or two behind my longarm and if they were needed, the mobile design wall could be turned on its side for storage.

After hours and hours of research, I found a number of workable mobile design walls online.  None of them were perfect for my needs but many of them had elements that were great.  I put all the good stuff down on an instruction sheet and my husband and I set out to right a wrong, fix an overlooked but crucial element in my studio.

Supplies Needed:

  • One (1) 4′ x 8′ sheet of foam board insulation with one side of the sheet having a silver reflective foil moisture barrier.013
  • Clear strapping tape
  • Large Binder Clips.  These clips serve two purposes.  They help hold the batting to your design board but you can also use them to clip up blocks or parts of blocks as you work on a quilt project.

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  • Warm & White® twin-size quilt batting

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Tools Needed:

  • Saw, carpet cutter or sharp knife
  • Yardstick
  • Scissors
  • Iron (optional)

Construction:

  1. Begin by cutting 2′ off of one end of the foam board insulation.  Since I am 5′  9″ tall, I don’t need a design board that is longer than my reach.  Plus, is much easier to store a shorter-versus-longer design board.
  2. If your Warm & White® batting is wrinkled or has fold lines, gently press the batting with a cotton setting on your iron.  DO NOT iron it, PRESS it.  If you iron it, you will stretch it out.
  3. Measure and draw or lightly score a line 2″ from the bottom of one end of the foam board insulation.  The batting does not need to touch the floor when you move it about.  You will probably not use a lot of the lower space of the design board but if you need to turn it sideways, those 2″ should not matter.  This step is to keep the batting from getting dirty if the floor of your studio or sewing room is full of threads and dust bunnies <eek!>.  Once the batting is in place, use the clear strapping tape to hold it in place, all across the bottom of your board.
  4. We chose to put the reflective foil moisture barrier side toward the front of the design wall.  This way, if I needed to use pins to hold up some of my designs, in the future, they would have a little bit more security than using the insulation the other way around.015
  5. Lay your batting flat on the (clean) floor and lay the foam board insulation on top of it.  Then, cut your batting to size.  I cut my batting about 5″ wider than the left, right and top of the insulation.
  6. Now turn the design board and batting around so the board is on the floor and the batting is covering it.  Using a gentle touch, smooth out any wrinkles that may show up.  Also use a gentle hand to make sure your board is covered up by the batting.
  7. Next, add the large binder clips to the sides and top of the design board.  We used a yardstick to place the clips about every 9″ from the middle of one clip to the next.019
  8. Now turn everything back around – batting on the floor and board on top of it.  With scissors, trim the batting so it overlaps the edges of the board by at least 5″ on the left, right and top of the board.  Your binder clips should be holding everything together.020
  9. Back to the strapping tape.  Use about 6″ of tape segments to secure the batting to the board on the back of your insulation.023
  10. Now it’s time to enjoy your new mobile design board!

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This tutorial was sponsored by The Warm Company™, makers of Warm & White® Batting

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