SewExpo 2018

 This years SewExpo did not disappoint.

Focused on all things in the sewing world from fabric and patterns to knitting and yarn, to experts and the classes. Not to mention meeting other sewists. Who become friends instantly.

Fabulous inspiration.

The above photo is of a Pendleton vest I would love to make. I love the black and white wool and no sleeves means no itching and not so hot for Oregon's mild temps. I bought some of the wool jersey binding for that future moment when I have time. Just fabric panels cut and then bias jersey to wrap the raw edges. Very few seams.

 One of the vendors had this headgear in their space. Pretend you stuck some scissors through your head.

 I liked the business concept of this shop - already a month ago and their name is erased from my memory. Pre-cut coordinating fabrics along with your choice of a free pattern. The patterns themselves were interesting. And most of their coordinating seemed coordinated.

Customers decide on their colorway, pick their choice of pattern and run sew with it. Cool business plan.

 This was a fabric Pencil Girl picked out for me. Which I promptly bought, because she has awesome taste for me.

I've actually sewed up the pattern but have some proportional issues in a time-out for now. It's a little long on my body.  I have some ideas on how to fix it up but I'll need some uninterrupted time to make it work. And those photos are still on the Iphone, so I may show them later, if I have the gumption.

 My sleeves are the solid light aqua. The stripey aqua is the base and the mesh is detailed around the back neck area and may appear on the front as well when I do get back to this shirt.

 VacuumingTheLawn passed on these Mollie Makes magazine (from the UK). They come with a free stitching gift and she embroiders them all up. Kyle's mostly on IG nowadays but you can see some of her MollieMakes on her blog. which she has mostly abandoned.

 And then, because I was committed to my knit shirt, I bought some Kai scissors designed to cut knits. They have a micro serrated edge on one of the blades so they don't catch on the knit thread loops.

They worked quite well. I could cut with my rotary cutter but I don't have a great place to do that and lay out the knit so it doesn't slide all over.

 I also bought two Simplicity patterns to play with. This dress has great style lines.

 Some christmas presents for my friend in Japan. Three months late.

I was mostly finished putting the box together but felt it needed some extras, so I waited for SewExpo, which did not disappoint.

Some converse shoes in red and black - just because they were miniature and cutecutecute.
Sewing themed buttons for the same reason.
Not to mention the tiny scissors print.

The airplane fabric is all for me though.

 Simplicity put out these tea towels and tote bags printed with pattern reprints. She needed those too.

I bought one towel for me but it can't go up because hubby thinks you should wipe first and then wash. Ahem. Guys are so backwards.

 Pacific Fabris is putting out some Seattle themed fabric for the last couple of years so I had to buy this one yard piece.

 Kenmore Air flies those DeHavilland Beavers. Big round engine noise designed to haul lots of crap. I first flew in one over thirty years ago up in Alaska. And here it is on fabric in my favorite colors.

And I actually managed to get a good photo of those new Kai scissors with the serrated edge.

 More micro stripe knit in a nice color for a tshirt.

And the new Eloflex thread  which stretches slightly for stronger seams on your regular sewing  machine. It worked great too.

 And finally, some springy flowers. (behind in posting those too)

This guy kept me company while I pruned the raspberries back.

Review of Della Wallet Clutch

This is the Della Wallet Clutch from Swoon Patterns.
What sparked my interest was a youtube video posted on how to construct this wallet.

It's an easy-sew wallet utilizing two squarish rectangles which you sew separately and then put them right-sides-together (RST) and sew and turn. They are then folded in half to create the clutch.

You add your card slots, side flaps and handle fob before you sew RST together.

I was also smitten with these two zipper pockets. In the video, they are the same color which would never ever work for me so I used an orange and a blue zipper to differentiate the zip pockets.
These pockets are big enough to put your phone in.

Backside

I sewed the wrist strap as directed. Well --- actually,  I never bought this pattern.
I watched the video and approximated the size of the rectangles and card slots measurements.
I noted what I wanted to do differently and sewed it my way.

The card slots went towards the middle. This clutch's strap hangs from the bottom - or is that the top? The zip pockets look like the top to me so I changed the card slots placement to be reachable from the top instead of down towards the middle. Possibly a little OCD here.
 
I thought about making each card slot section a different color as well (like the zippers)  but then I cut the fabric and sewed it up, split it in the middle and added a middle section and I was fine with that.

I thought a pen holder case would be nice to put into the middle and that turned out to be a very nice addition.

There are four card slots on each half with the top pocket the full width of the wallet. For cash money or your check register.

The side tabs latch on with magnetic snaps to this strip of blue bubble fabric. Opportunity to 'decorate' is there before you sew it all together. I fussy cut a 'label' from my outer fabric to break up the strip.

I cut the outer fabric in half and re-sewed it together as I had a directional print. You want this wallet to fold easily in half so this seam was top-stitched down.

So now I have my card pockets all hanging down towards the open bottom and no way to keep items securely inside the purse. Which is why the actual directions have you put your cards slots towards the middle - for security.
Me - I always gotta go my own way. I added a snap to help with security. If clutch is dangled, then this should help keep things inside.

My gingham pockets inside the zippered areas are loose by the zipper teeth area. I sewed one side down by hand and tried to decide if a good pressing would be enough on the other side or if I needed to handsew that down too.

Looks like the top to me even though wrist straps turns this downwards. Those card/cash pockets are now easy to reach into, although not very secure.

That whole two halves open on one end is a deal breaker for me. Even if sewn as directed with pockets to the middle, the card pockets are loose and not secure enough for me.
I felt challenged to see if I could sew this without shelling out for a pattern and it is an easy sew even with my additions.

Things I changed:
1. allowed for directional fabric
2. zippers - two colors.
3. Card pocket directional (180') change.
4. Pen holder
5. Snap on open end.

Things I would do differently next time:
1. Make card pockets tighter - too much room side to side. Maybe place them horizontally instead of vertically so strap helps hold cards securely.
2. Add two magnetic snaps on open end (more secure).
3. Handsew pocket linings down so they don't bunch at zipper teeth.

The majority of materials used came from Japan. I love this Airport fabric and the blue bubbles was also bought in Japan. One of the zippers was as well. The snap, magnetic closure and swivel clip came from stash. The D-ring came from Japan. Gingham pocket linings from stash. Zipper pulls from stash.

This clutch might work for traveling with one pocket for change and one for phone. With the right security work done.
It's small and compact - about 8" long by 4.5" high.

 

Laney Hobo Bag In Linen

 I was fairly productive sewing-wise Sunday. It was raining cats & dogs outside. Just because we (Willamette Valley) have experienced a few days that proclaim Spring is coming - Mother Nature told us to back off a bit before we plant our gardens.

 This is a very cute Laney Hobo Bag - free pattern by Swoon Pattern. It's well written for the confident beginner sew-er. I say confident because the middle piece - perfect for fussy cutting/patchwork/embroidery is eased onto the side pieces. A bit of a curve there and while pinning often was addressed, cutting notches to help seam lie flat was not.  


There are only two pattern pieces. The side pieces need to be cut mirror-image which is clearly stated in the pattern. I think that's an advance beginner skill as well.

I, being an intermediate sew-er had to add a curved back slip pocket (with contrast piping - stash)  as well as a welted zipper pocket inside. Whats a purse without pockets? Bag jumble from hell.

I also added a little slip ring ??? at the top of the handle to hide the seams. It's made out of the lining material to add a little subtle bling.

 I did a welt zipper pocket inside and let the pocket lining 'appear' around the zipper.

 I cheated made this out of some linen -blend fabric that was reversible so even when I cut my interfacing not with a mirror image, I managed.

 Which is why I still say confident beginner because while you may remember to cut out the main side panels with mirror cutting, I am confident you will forget when it comes time to cut out your interfacing.

I interfaced only the main fabric as both fabrics were heavier than quilting cottons

I almost did not add the ties at the top middle because I would never tie these but I found some ribbon in stash that matched and went with it as a design element instead of a practical, useful, element.

The Laney Hobo Bag was easy to sew. Easy to add some design usefulness (pockets). In the mid-size of bags. This one is very spring/summer in off-white linen.

The link is here.




Doing almost nothing on a Sunday except watching the birds fight.
{Bad video from smart phone through kitchen window.
--See if you notice the neighbor's cat near the end}

Milwaukie Airing Of The Quilts

Friday, before work, I scooted over to the Milwaukie "Airing of The Quilts".
Because, my 2014 sewing dream of mastering Sashiko stitching led me on a google search which found an online store in Oregon City (next city over) called One World Fabrics.

Their newsletter said they would be vendors at the Milwaukie quilt show. I wanted to see their fabrics in person. They brought fabric but not their sashiko supplies (tiny space).

I would rather buy local when I can. The more we buy online means the less brick & mortar shops exist. I like to touch my merchandise prior to buying. But if forced to buy online, I try to find one that is Oregon-based.

The quilt above is made of some of the aboriginal fabrics they carry.

One World Fabrics carries Japanese Quilting/Sewing books.

Disappointed,  I walked on and  discovered the real reason this show is a huge draw.
The 'store'.

Fabrics, books, quilt tops, patterns, sewing paraphernalia. All priced at just above garage sale prices. In other words, priced to move. Which a big stack of patterns did.

The small patterns were ten cents. Yes, you read that correctly.

If it weren't for the fact that these vintage patterns  are of the invisible* type, I would love to sew this coat.
Can someone make this as a modern version? Double breasted with big statement collar?

*Invisble: no markings on the pattern sheets except for punched holes. Giant puzzle.

Bow tie.

I took a quick peruse through the displays and found these beauties.

Spring wallhanging

And, for some reason, my top three favorites were all pink.
Must be all that Spring, because I normally do not gravitate towards pink.

Pinwheel

Postcard size.

I loved the dusty rose pinks and chocolate browns.

This leafy taupe quilt was #4.


This one tied with the Spring wallhanging in my gravitational forces.








The Milwaukie Center also contains a gift store filled to the brim with handmade goodness.