September 29. 2013

Wow.  I feel like I haven't written in forever.  I guess it has been a while.  Added a new friend and contributor, Sharon, so that was awesome.  Made some changes to the website, so that was a blessing.  I think the website is ready to be promoted.  I think all the links work.  I'm literally asking for donations at this time.  I'm kind of embarrassed to ask for anything.  For one, God has always blessed me and I've always managed to provide for myself and others.  This is the first time in my life that I've been in a position that I've not had the ability to do as I wish.  But, disability has a way of changing the way one lives.  Second, the things I'm asking for are SO expensive.  I have thought about the things I've given to others over the years, and although I feel I have been generous, it has dawned on me that not everyone is in the position to make such a commitment to our mission.  The economy -- the senate, the house of representatives -- everything is up in the air, and so I don't expect much.  However, I do believe "ye have not because ye ask not", so I just dedicated part of the webpage for just coming out and asking. I do trust that we will find the right donor at the right machine at the time that God directs.  So, I'm not really worried, I'm just more on the anxious side.

Meanwhile, it looks like it will be a while until I see my sister, so I will post her quilt.  She is getting married in October.  It is my goal to go -- but hubby and I will have to take the motorcycle, so it depends a lot on the weather.  I also have a couple of smaller quilts to post.  I have about 4 more walker bags to post.  No more shopping bags but I did get a request for some "shoulder wraps".  I think it's a great idea.  The older ladies (and gentlemen -- can't forget my men), just need something to throw over their shoulders so they can stay outside a little longer as the as gets a little chillier during the passing of the year.  I toyed around with some ideas, and finally came up with a great design.  I added a little deer feed corn (so it doesn't pop), and that adds a little weight and also, they can heat it for a little while in the microwave if they choose.  But mostly it gives the weight that is needed.

Now, for the bad news -- my machine has stopped doing decorative stitches -- so I was relegated to using just a straight stitch for over a week.  Alas, at this point, even my straight stitch no longer works, so I'm dead in the water without a machine.  Yikes!  Technically, my machine is 35 years old and is long over due for a tune up (last tune up was in 1995).  -- But I did buy the machine 2nd hand.  It was $250.00 to have a guy "look it over".  If I took it to an authorized service dealer (my first choice) it will be $350.00 just to have it tuned up, and it will be extra to have the machine repaired, if needed (and it does), plus additional for parts and labor.  Wow.  Having a quality machine is important, but I feel it's very important to take good care of your equipment, and your equipment will take care of you.  So, I don't really feel qualified to try to fix anything myself -- or have just anyone "tinker" with it in hopes to get it to work.  Even if I get another machine, I still need this machine as a backup.  So, things will be a little tight for a while.

But please don't stop sending fabric and supplies!  I have enough stash to keep me busy for a couple of  weeks, but when a different machine arrives, or I get my machine fixed, I'll need plenty of stock to fill all the requests and construct a few things to have on hand for those last minute needs.  The holidays are coming up, and although these aren't holiday gifts, it is a GREAT time to think of those that are in need.

Speaking of gaining fabric, thank you to my faithful friends who send me such good quality fabrics.  My friends from Colorado send gifts that leave me speechless, and our good friend Angie has contributed some great fabrics that will just blow the socks off the recipients.  I can't wait to get some of the goodies out to the retirement homes.  Just come on, sewing machine!

God provides, and this is all for His glory.  In fact, I took advantage of another 99cent sale, and registered GodsGoodGraces.com.  Right now, there are only links for my individual pages -- of which the only page that is up is walkertote.com.  However, I will eventually use walkertote.com for just the promotion of walkertotes, and QuiltGifter.com for promotions of the quilts (thus separating walkertotes and quilts, and everything else).  ChrisandKayWood.com for personal experiences, etc.  Interestingly enough, I was approached by a gentleman who told me that WalkerBags.com was for sale.  Walkerbags.com would be a much better name for what we do -- however, the asking price is $11,000.  HOLY cow.  I did explain to him that we are a charity and we are not interested.  He looked at walkertote.com and offered us a 20% discount for the domain name.  But, the last thing on my mind is a domain name that may be a bit more "convenient".  I think that we, together as a team, can promote walkertote.com throughout our individual communities and I am happy with our efforts.

I will encourage you to look over walkertote.com and give me honest feedback.  Am I asking too much?  Am I not showing enough progress?  Is there a good balance?  Is our mission well stated?  Are there spelling or formatting errors that could be changed?  I'm totally open for suggestions.  I've never really done anything like this before, so the more input I have, the better off I am.

Love in Christ to all.  Please remember you are so important to our success.  I can't wait to jump right back in and give right out.  If you know of *anyone* in need, let me know.  I am behind right now, but as soon as we're functional again, I'll get right on it.  I am pretty comfortable sewing six to 8 hours a day, so I go through supplies pretty fast.

Okay, sorry, one more thing.  This wouldn't be such a long entry had I not waited so long to write.  However, I am working towards this "quilt by the block" theory -- it may allow me to do more without having the expense of sending the quilts out (which is expensive) and if I get the method perfected, then we can take the Kingsized quilter off of our wishlist.  What a relief that will be!

-- Kay

September 20, 2013

Tommorrow is my daughters birthday.  I sure am missing her, and her smiling face.  She did call and we talked for a long time.  It was great to hear how well she is doing. 

No new walker bags today.  I did finish piecing my sisters quilt -- two months late.  At this point, I will probably save it and give it to her for the Holidays.  It still needs to be quilted, and I don't think my machine will quilt something that size, so I'll have to send it out to be quilted.  Argh.  Not looking forward to that expense.  I don't want to post the picture in case she ever peruses my site, so you'll have to take my word that it turned out well.

I publicly want to thank my dear friend, Kathy, who the Good Lord sent me.  She is a blessing!

Tomorrows agenda is very full.  Oh, I almost forgot.  Yesterday, I finished a great project.  I took some pictures but they didn't turn out as well as I hoped.   I'll see if my husband can get better shots of the finished piece, then I'll post them. 

Looking forward til tomorrow!  May the Good Lord bless you and keep you.

Kay

September 16, 2013 (cont'd)

September 16, 2013 (cont'd)

This is a (hopefully) quick update to a project I started yesterday, a reusable shopping tote.  I've made lots of these, but I was hoping this one might turn out a bit different.  Some changes I made were successful and I'll do this again in future projects.  Other parts didn't work out so well -- for instance, I used very delicate fabrics for the front and the back -- and I should have stayed to the tried and true medium weight fabric.  But, I learned.  Today, I'll quickly recap that bag, and complete it.

First, I chose the fabrics. Two delicate, but pretty fabric and one very stiff fabric for the sides and bottom.  I usually use three pieces of fabric, one for each side and one for the bottom then sew them together, but for the purpose of this bag, I wanted to use one long piece of fabric.  This was a good idea, and I'll use it in the future.  It really gives the bag extra strength.  Despite the delicate fabrics I used, I can carry a 5 gallon water bottle with ease using this method.  I'm aiming for a U shaped bag vs. a V shaped bag.  

 First, I put right sides together, front piece to the top of the side piece.  I sewed and pressed this.  The side fabric is so stiff that the bag wouldn't lie flat when not in use.  So, I sewed a "fold" line along the sides.  This worked, and I'll use this technique again.  So, in the end, the bag does lie flat.  I didn't measure, I just eyeballed it to make an upside down Y -- I was off by a little bit but since I won't distribute this bag -- because the front and bag fabrics make this less than the quality that I like to produce, I was okay with this not being perfectly straight.

 I also sewed "fold lines" for the bottom.  Remember, I'm only doing this because this fabric is so stiff, and I'm aiming for a "U" shaped bag.  With a V shaped bag, all your groceries end up in a heap at the end of the bag.  A U shaped bag will allow for cans of soup or boxes of cereal on the bottom, and you can add eggs or a loaf of bread on top without your bread getting squished.

 
 You can line your bottom "fold line" with the side seam and that gives you almost a perfect U.  I pinned where I sewed so you can see it better, and then see the inside corner you will make.  You'll do this 3 more times (twice for the front side, and twice for the backside of the bag after you sew the sides on).

 Sew the other side to the bottom, then sew both sides up the bag.

 Remember your U shaped goal.   
 
 
So, in all, loved the sides and bottom -- I'm glad I used one long piece of fabric and I'm glad I stitched fold lines on the sides and on the bottom.  I will not use the delicate fabrics again.  Yes, it's pretty, and yes, it's functional.  It lies flat in the end, and stands up when it's supposed to -- so it was a success overall.  I just would have rathered a medium weight fabric.

So today, I'll finish it real quick. I'm just going to add some trim around the top and some handles.  I suspect it'll take less than 15 minutes.  I pinned where I'm going to sew.

 This is where we left yesterday.

 This is all of the handle that I have so I will just cut that in half -- and whatever length it turns out to be, then that will be the length.  So -- I'm just guessing, but it is probably 30 inches or so.  Same thing with the trim.  It's just a remnant that I had in my stash.  So, I eyeballed it to see if I thought it would fit.  I think it will.

 

 I will reinforce the handles and put them 3 or 4 inches from the top.  I'll make certain that the handles will carry weight.

 Added the trim to finish it off.

Website and Blogger connected -- I hope.

Wow, I had this whole blog written, and somehow it deleted because I didn't save.  Lesson learned.  Well, since this is my first official blog I'll use the disclaimer that I apologize in advance for any mistakes I make.  I'm just learning as I go.  Yesterday, I made a simple envelope pillow case, and I hope you can use this for inspiration to make your own.  I rarely pin, measure, use a straightedge.  I don't really measure seam allowances -- I just keep all seam allowances the same (usually marked on my needleplate on my sewing machine).   I prefer to eyeball almost everything.  I make things as easy as possible, and I don't use a pattern.  This means that I've never made the same thing twice.  It would be quicker if I just pre made a lot of components, but I just sew as I'm inspired.  Most of the time, this works out.  Sometimes it doesn't.  But much like using this blog, I learn something new constantly.  Anyway, back to the envelope pillow inspiration.

 I started out with a couple of pieces of fabric, a pillow form, my reading glasses, a piece of trim, rotary cutter, my iron, and my sewing machine.  You may want to add pins, or other things.  I can't wait to make another pillow case because there is so many options to create!

 My fabric squares started out to be roughly 19" square. The squares were not exactly square -- they were skewed a bit, so the sides ranged from 18 to 20", the average size being 19".  I didn't bother trimming them at this state, I just went with it. There really was no rhyme or reason behind this size, it's just the fabric I happened to have on hand.  There is a formula you can use, depending on your pillow form size.  One of my friends have the following on her site:

My formula for this is length of the pillow divided by 2 + 8 inches. (8 inches because you'll need 5 for overlap + 2 inches for the hem + 1 inch for seam allowance)  My pillow is 24 inches square so I cut my backing fabric to 20 inches (24/2 = 12 +8 = 20)  You'll need TWO of these.  Mine were cut 20 x 25 inches.  (25" because the pillow is 24"+1" for seam allowance)

 But, of course, I just eyeballed everything and worked with what I had on hand.  My trim piece was around three inches wide.  There is a right way to do things, so I'll try to add those while I'm blogging, but the truth is, I'd rather let my creative side take me to places where rules don't rule.  It's important to have fun, and want to do this again -- without sacrificing quality.  So, if it totally turns out terrible, I unsew and re-do it right.  But if it turns out great -- and sometimes it does -- then I get all excited and start another project.

I cut the backside about 1/3 of the way down the back -- I didn't measure it, I just thought that looked pretty good.

 One of the BEST things about working with quality fabrics is that sometimes, the backside is prettier than the front side.  And it doesn't really look like a "back side".  Such is the case with this pillow backing.  I chose the trim to be a solid gold (which was the backside of the printed trim fabric) and I mixed things up by using half of the right side of the backside fabric, and the other half, the backside of the same fabric.  The colors and patterns work, but it gives the backside a little something extra.

 Here I sewed the right side of the trim fabric to the short side of the back fabric.

 I changed the thread in my my machine and in my bobbin to kind of work with the fabric, but at the same time, I usually make sure it's a contrasting fabric so that if I happen to have to "unsew", my stitches are easy to find.  Since this fabric had many different colors but it's main color is a dark purply-berry color, I chose this thread.  I'm always needing thread of different colors so if you have some extra and it's just sitting around, I'd appreciate it.

 I set my machine up to sew slow -- I always sew slow.  I'm not nearly skilled enough to have this button turned off yet.  Even when I sew a "straight" line, I still go slow. Sewing slow is faster than sewing fast, unsewing, then sewing fast again.  I also used the option to "tie off", and what that does is just reinforce when I start a stitch and when I end a stitch.  Since this pillowcase may be opened and closed many times, I thought reinforcement would be great.

 I sewed the right side of the trim fabric to the right side of the shorter of the back fabric.

 And of course, I pressed.  I may take shortcuts elsewhere, but I have learned that pressing can make or break your project.  So, I'm pretty picky when it comes to pressing.

 I sewed the trim piece to the larger piece of back fabric about 3 inches, and I reinforced these stitches twice, because this is where the most stress will be in the finished pillow case.  I overlapped "a bit".  My friend overlaps 5 inches.  I overlapped probably 3 inches.  Just whatever felt right at the time.

  So my back turned out like this -- you can see the different between the "right" side of the fabric and the "wrong" side.  My flap is sewed down about three inches on either side, but there is an opening in the middle that I will use to turn the project rightside out, and also stuff the pillow later on.

 








 I put both right sides of the top of the pillow, and the back side of fabric together and sewed all four sides (I anchored my stitches, and as far as seam allowance, I use used the width of my sewing foot.  There  is probably an exact science to what you should use, but as long as I consistently used the width of my sewing foot, I figured I'd be okay).  I pinned here for the benefit of the photos, and I also trimmed the stray threads.  I didn't specifically mention to do that -- I just do it.  If you want to skip this step, you can, because it'll be on the inside anyway.  But I like to make things nice and neat.

Once sewn all the way around, I use the opening in the back to turn the project rightside out.

 

Again, using the gap in the back, I stuffed the pillow into the case.

 
 Ta da!  There's my pillow.  It's plush, It's attractive.  It's changeable.  It's got a flair for the exotic so it will complement, rather than overpower some other pillows, or a couch, or a chair.  Many different ideas.

Front and back -- all filled out.  I looked all around the house to find something the size of my head so you could see how cushy this pillow is.  I finally gave up.  Then, right before I went to water my outside flowers, I thought, "hey, this is about the same size/weight of a head.

Ready to make another!  Hope this inspires you to make one.  I am not sure how long it took me -- I didn't really think about it.  But I ended up with an elegant gift for someone.  I will take it the next time I make a trip to the senior center.  I'm certain this great pillow will find a loving, forever home!

 Thank all who sent fabrics and notions and above all, To God be the Glory!

-- Kay

September 16, 2013

Having a difficult time getting my blog to sync with my web page.  I have so much to blog about -- but I've got to get this figured out first.  Wish me luck!

Okay, uploading tutorials today.   Maybe found a lead on a new sewing machine.  it's 5am, and I don't want to call this early in case they are still asleep.  But, its free (my price range) and it's local (no shipping).  So, keep your fingers crossed.  Also, yesterday's post didn't post for some reason.  I will have to see what I'm doing wrong.  God Bless!  Kay

September 9. 2013

Connected to website (took 24 hours for DNS to update).  But now, to work on that tutorial and add some pictures.

Website is official

But there is a lot more work to be done.  Learning lots...but still have a long way to make the site fully functional.  Have a great day!