Saturday, February 14, 2015

Sewing For Myself Week #2

Berry Barn Designs
Since I'm participating in berrybarndesigns 4x7 challenge this month, I've been thinking 24/7 about this project that I want to finish.


It's really hard to find 30 minutes every day to sew, but I spend more time some days to make up for it.

I had already started this project last week, when I went to the website I had pinned and counted the number of squares.

The heart alone has 231 squares which seemed ridiculous after I did the first 120, so I had to count again.   And it's really 231.



So, this week was spent amassing 231 half square triangles.  I like using them because of their precision, but I don't love  how time consuming they can be to cut.

The method I've always used in the past was to cut the squares, draw a line down the middle of the top color for each square and then sew 1/4 inch on each side of that.

Drawing the lines makes me crazy.  I sew because I can't draw, so making me draw lines in order to sew?  Really annoying!

But, my sister and my  mother told me about a technique where you sew all the way around a larger square and then cut on each diagonal.  No drawing lines!

Since this is a pattern with no directions that I am totally winging, I made up my own size squares.  I don't know how their method would work if the squares had to be a certain size.

I cut 6 inch squares of pinks and reds.  I don't like 1/4 inch seams because I find that they come undone after years of wear and washing, so now I do something other than 1/4 inch.  Again, because there are no rules to follow, I'm not sure what the seam allowance is but I think it's closer to 1/2 inch.

After pressing more than 231 squares, I laid them out.  This is much bigger than I expected.

It will be smaller once it's sewn, but I was not quite expecting it to be so big.  like twin bed size.

Ooops.  That's what happens when I go rogue and make up my own thing.

Now I have to cut the background squares and then put it all together this week.  It's vacation week, but I have a commitment every morning to bring my sewing machine for a class, so I'm curious how many days I will bother to bring it back into the house to do my own thing.

This challenge is really keeping my feet to the fire!

Oh, I almost forgot.

I started the week with this selfish sewing project.


No, not a garter belt.  I was trying to make my own headbands that actually might stay in place but after two attempts with different things, I'm done.  I have to wear a headband because I have a bald spot after having something removed from the top of my head.  Most of the hair that's actually growing is about 3/4 in tall and pushing up the plastic headbands I've been wearing, so I tried fabric.  The commercial brands just don't stay in place, no matter how thick or thin they are.

So then I thought if I used swimsuit elastic, which seems to have some rubberiness to it, maybe it would stay right where I put it because it couldn't slide on my hair.  No luck.  It was even more slippery!

Then I tried sewing a piece of ribbon onto some elastic.  No luck.

I'm one of those people whose heads just aren't conducive to headband wearing.  I see it all the time in my students.  Some girls look great in them and they never slide while others come in and their headbands have slipped so it looks like they are wearing crowns.

So, it's back to plastic headbands for me for a while.

As we wait for even more snow, I'm off to see what I can do while I still have electricity!

Linking here:
http://www.berrybarndesigns.com/blog/4x7-sewing-challenge-week-2
http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2015/02/clever-chicks-blog-hop-126.html
http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/2015/02/wow-me-wednesday-193.html#
http://www.skiptomylou.org
http://www.sewcando.com
http://www.myturnforus.com/2015/02/freedom-fridays-with-all-my-bloggy_19.html
http://www.thesitsgirls.com 

13 comments:

  1. I am not a headband person either, but my oldest is - she even wears them to bed! Some people have the skulls for it and some don't : P As for the heart - love it! And yes, you did take on a big one. It'll look great when it's done. Glad you were tipped off about how to cut 4 at a time - so much faster! (Scarfs? What about a scarf for a while until the hair grows out? Very Grace Kelly : )

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    1. Well, i tried a scarf one day and it was very jerry lewis as I chased that scarf all over my head all day! The problem is that if the headband or scarf were to come off, there's a shocking swath of no hair that no child is prepared to see and I can't scar them like that! So, I start to feel it slip and then it's all I can think about and then I want to keep touching it until I can get to a mirror. It's so ridiculous. If it were summer, I could just wear a hat and not worry but because I'm in front of kids all day, I worry about these things!

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  2. Sounds like you need to try out Triangle Paper for those HST's -- no marking necessary and I always get consistent results. The brand I prefer is by Quiltime.

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    1. I've never heard of Triangle Paper. I liked the way the method worked this time but I haven't tried sewing the squares together yet. We'll see how frustrated I get and maybe next time, I'll get the paper!

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  3. Wow that is a lot of HST, I love all the fabrics, so pretty. If you find something that works for headbands I would love to know. I have the same problem. :(

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    1. Thanks!

      I think I need a new skull shape to make headbands actually work :)

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  4. Visiting back from Fancy Foot Farm. I love your blog. If you have the patience for that many HSTs you can hand piece, just start with bigger pieces and not pieced hexagons. You can do it.

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    1. After completing 21 band uniforms today, I don't think I have the patience for anything sewing related anymore! I love the idea of a finished project, but getting there can put me in quite a state!

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  5. That is a lot of HST's. Can't wait to see them all put together. Good luck with the headband.

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  6. I was just about to write exactly what Anja did! Lots of HSTs. As for the headbands, I fovour yoga style ones. They seem t to stay in place a little better! Best of luck in Week 3!

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    1. Are the yoga style the wider kind made of cloth? I tried those and they seem to be better but still have a tendency to move. When I first had the bandage, I used the cloth headband because it was wide but then while i was teaching a spin class at the gym, it slid a little and I spent the rest of the class silently freaking out that they could see my giant bandage!

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  7. What a beautiful project you have taken on. It sure is coming out lovely and I love the colors. Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you’ll join us again next week!

    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick
    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

    ReplyDelete

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