Who knew my sewing machine could do that?

A super productive day yesterday. Oh boy - I feel like I'm in auto mode - just keep sewing!

DH was prepping for a quick trip and comes to me with his duffle bag that has a seam that has ripped open. Can I fix it? Normally, I would take forever to do something like that, however, I also had something similar that needed fixing so I grabbed both items and headed to the sewing machine.

The materials were quite stiff, but I set the Sewing Advisor on the Husqvarna Viking Ruby Royale to HEAVY and away I went. I didn't even change the needle. That's how brave I am. I double stitched that seam and it should hold for a wee bit longer. No need to buy new when you can repair!

Fixing a duffle bag seam

Then I got out the little backpack that I use for travel. I love the size of the backpack. But the lining between two of the compartments had come out. So I put that on the Ruby Royale as well and sewed a larger seam to catch the lining. It's not going to hold forever because the problem is the lining shreds and then the stitches come loose. But if I get a couple more trips from it - I'll be happy.

Fixing the lining of the backpack

Now, who knew that my sewing machine could actually repair things? Imagine if the whole world realized that? How many fewer things would you have to buy if you knew you could repair them. I'm being sarcastic here in case you didn't realize it. We've become a HUGE throwaway society. Something breaks - get a new thing. Something rips - get a new thing. You get tired of something - throw it away. We need to get better at the three Rs - reduce, reuse and recycle!!!!

Here's my backpack. Ready for the next trip.

Repaired backpack

Shoot - it took a few tries with Google to find this article, but here it is. A mall in Sweden that focuses on reusing/recycling goods. I think we need to get serious about something like that here. Imagine the jobs it would create and reduce landfill.

ACK!  The holiday season AKA Christmas is rapidly approaching. My inbox is filled with ads for Christmas supplies/crafts/events. I'm not Scrouge, but I seriously can't stand all the hoopla. The amount of time and money that people spend on gifts that have ZERO meaning to the recipient. Instead of buying a gift, why not do a pay it forward type of thing for that person. Tell them you'll take their dog to the groomer, or get their car serviced or babysit their kids for a day. That would be way more beneficial and likely better received than a physical gift. 

But the worse part of all this? I heard on the radio yesterday that starting Saturday they're going to play Christmas music all day every day until Christmas. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    I love Christmas music, but not for an entire month. I'm going to be listening to a lot of audiobooks in the next month.

Here's the other thing that drives me crazy. It's all these smart home devices like Google and Alexa. Seriously? People want something that evasive in their homes? And has our society become so lazy that they can't get out their device and find the song they want to listen to or type on the keyboard to find the information? We're going to become such a lazy society and there are kids - toddlers who are growing up with this stuff. It's damn scary!!!!  Oh god - I just showed my age there! We are teaching this world that EVERYTHING should happen instantaneously. There are no longer hardships to build character and mental strength. I should retire to my cabin in the woods (which I don't really own) but I'd be happy there!

People who come to my studio often wonder what's behind those doors which are always closed when they come. Well - it's storage!!!  The other day, I had to get into my basket of novelty fabrics. There are two baskets. Once I had emptied one of the baskets and refilled it, it looked like this.

The towering basket of novelty prints

I know - that's a wee bit ridiculous if you ask me. And you all know what's going to happen. Yep - I went back into the room later and found this.

Oh shoot - the fabric tower toppled

I'm not buying novelty prints anymore and I have a plan to cut the prints into kits and will be selling them so watch for that. Seriously - two HUGELY overflowing laundry baskets of novelty prints? What was I thinking??  I used to make alphabet quilts so that's why I have so much and OK - so I used to be obsessive about this stuff. I'm not so obsessive anymore. And I'm willing to part with it for a price.

What's the status of my quilts?? I've got about 30 inches of quilt sleeve to sew on the big one and then make the label and sew it on. This quilt needs a label. You'll see why when it gets published. The smaller second one? The top was sewn by noon. It was loaded on the long arm and quilted by 3 PM. Yes - I had a lunch break! I used one of the tricks that I learned from Angela when I was in Houston. God bless her - it worked!!! The bindings got put on yesterday afternoon and the sleeve for that one is on the quilt. This one also needs a label so that's what I'll be doing after my morning routine is done. I hope to leave the house with both quilts completely finished by 10 AM. I have a few errands to do including getting rid of those quilts.

And they said it couldn't be done!!!!  While I really hate to be under that kind of pressure, I've no one to blame but myself. I've known about these two quilts for months and of course, I left them until the last minute! But when I'm under pressure like that - I just become super efficient. No wasted steps, no wasted stitches. I rarely have to seam rip - I just plug along like the turtle. Slow and steady and I win every time!

I took stock of what's in the pipeline. There's one more that needs to be done NOW. The other two have December deadlines and then I should be pretty much done for the year but not until I do one more week of blogging for QUILTsocial. So things are slowing down for the holiday season AKA Christmas!

I managed to get some enders and leaders done while I pieced that quilt top. I had to cut some more red fabric before I could proceed.

Ender/leader project

Note that the sewing table is still in pretty good shape which is good because there's a Sit n Sew fast approaching next week. This afternoon, before I get myself organized for the next project, I hope to clear off the cutting table. It's not in bad shape, but there are a few things on it that I want to deal with. I found them after dealing with the falling tower of novelty prints in the stash room.

As if that isn't enough silliness in my life, I taught another class last night. This time they were making pillowcases. Two of the students had NEVER sewn on a sewing machine before in their life. Didn't even know how to turn on the sewing machine!  That was the "bad" news. The good news is that all three finished their pillowcase.

Three finished pillowcases

I'm holding the pillowcase on the left in case you're wondering. And of course, the two people with the least amount of sewing experience picked a fabric with a directional print so it had to be cut differently. They did very well and I think they all left the class with a very positive experience. It's amazing how many new sewists we're getting for students at Oh Look Fabric. I'll be doing more classes to accommodate those beginner sewists!!!!

And if you know anyone who wants to learn to sew, I'm EXTREMELY patient. I know my family would find that hard to believe, but I am! Anyway - we had a lot of fun and that's all that's important. There are three more classes at Oh Look Fabric next week. The rope bowl, an appliqued snowflake pillow (you can cut as many snowflakes with my die cutter that you can manage in the time frame!) and a paper pieced Christmas tree. Check out this link to see the pictures of the classes.

On that note, I'd better get my labels made so I can sew them to the quilts.

And don't forget the craft sale at The Hobby Horse. When I'm back from my pick-up/delivery service this morning, the plan is to get all my items ready for the craft sale. I've found tote bags, quilts, Christmas ornaments, pillows and a bunch of other stuff that I've made that I'm selling. Check it out - the sale is Friday and Saturday. Great way to find a handmade gift if that suits your style.

Have a super day!!!!!


Ciao!!!!