The Adventures of Tin-Tin

My Little Sun Jar

My brother bought me a sun jar for my birthday. teehee. :D

I love it immensly. I don't know if I want one in blue. I would think it would be like stealing the moonlight. But that's not as exciting as thinking of stealing sunlight. FROM THE SUN!!!! STOLEN SUNSHINE! THE SOURCE OF HEAT! LIGHT! WARMTH! AND IT'S MINE! ALL MINE!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAH

I think they should make a pocket version. Little sunshine in my pocket.

Here is a lovely tutorial on how to make your very own sun jar courtesy of NotMartha.

Making My Very Own Hoodie? Perchance to dream...

What if I learned how to make the one article of clothing that I cannot live without????

OOOOOH I can't wait to try to make my own! then I will have an endless supply all custom made...oh the possibilities.

gnacissej shows you how to make your own hoodie on a craftster.org tutorial. OOOOOOHWEEE!!!

New Built by Wendy Patterns!!!

Last week, two new Built by Wendy sewing patterns came out. YAY! Click here for more info on the patterns. And click here to learn more about the clothing line. Hopefully I will be able to visit the store in Los Angeles in the near future. I am also super excited about the Spring 2007 collection.

 

Bear Cub Tote Bag

Last night I made this using Lotta Jansdotter's pattern for the Simple Tote Bag from her book "Simple Sewing."

I used a bear print fabric my sister originally bought for pajamas. I will still make pajamas for her. I just wanted to test drive the serger first with a small and quick project.

For the bottom panel, I edge-stitched a black cotton fabric to the main panel.

Then I used a serger to sew up the sides. I am happy to say that I am not as scared of the serger as I was before.

To finish the ends, I chose to use Fray Check to fuse the thread together and I snipped off the ends after it dried.

After finishing the top, I attached the handles by sewing a rectangle and then an "X" to secure the straps.

My machine gave me some problems because I think I messed up the tension somehow (or the spool was too small but I don't know really). All in all, I am very happy with my new tote and my serger.

   

Inspired by Wendy, Built by Tin-Tin!

Today I was looking at the Built by Wendy web site for patterns and the entries for her sewing contest. It was so inspiring! I bought these two patterns last week at Joann (where all Simplicity patterns are 40%) thinking that shirts are a good way to go since out of all the patterns, I figured these ones would be most useful for my wardrobe.

After looking at all the entries and the different things people did with her jackets and tops, I am seriously considering stocking up on ALL the patterns. Maybe not the pants. I am so picky about how pants fit I would hate to go through all that trouble and not wear them. But who knows.

In related news, I am obsessed with sewing. It's almost like a sickness. Yesterday afternoon I bought a nice Japanese fabric at Nichi Bei Bussan in Japantown yesterday and I washed it as soon as I got home. I was washing the fabric that night with the intention of trying use the skirt pattern that came with Sew U the next morning. Then washing turned to ironing...turned to cutting out pattern pieces...

Which turned into to installing a zipper for the first time ever...

and finally finishing the skirt at 5:30 am. AM! I didn't stop to eat or go to the bathroom. It was insane! I also broke two new needles on my machine, but that is a different story. I am going to wear my new skirt tomorrow. I'm so excited!

And more exciting news: Today mom gave me her serger! It is a Juki MO-644D.

Maybe "gave" isn't the right word. But I would like to learn how to use my new toy even if it is a loaner. My mom doesn't remember how to use it since she's only used it once and my aunt, the seamstress, was helping her.

The Tool Roll

I just finished making a tool roll for my knitting needles. It's been something I've been wanting to make for years. I used the pattern found in Lotta Jansdotter's book "Simple Sewing." I changed a few things like using 2 inch ribbon instead of 1 inch twill tape since that was what I had and I also did not use the other pieces of ribbon on the top of the roll because I wanted it to look more like the one she photographed in the book. This project went by a lot faster than the ones that came before since I am feeling a little more comfortable with my machine.

See? We're friends now...

And this is what the tool roll looks like all rolled up nice and cozy.

Speaking of which, it is almost 4am and I should get to bed. This late-night sewing kick I've been on is ridiculous.   

The All-Day Tote

In a mad fury of sewing, I rushed to make the lining and the exterior of Lotta Jansdotter's All-Day Tote from her book Simple Sewing. Then I gave up for a few days out of frustration caused by inability to read directions as well as improper threading of my machine. Sigh.

I still have so much to learn about sewing. But this is what I got so far...

I wonder if I should give this to my mom for Mother's Day. Hmmm. Think think think.

Sew U

I got a new book yesterday... :D

Built by Wendy is Wendy Mullin's line of casual urban clothing for men and women. She also does custom guitar straps for certain celebrity rocker-types. Sew U is the Built by Wendy guide to sewing. And what an awesome guide it is! It does a really good job of explaining the basics, how to read patterns and how to alter clothing you already have. It is well written and has detailed explanations of how to choose fabric, how to prepare it for sewing and other neat tricks. The book also comes with three basic patterns for a skirt, a shirt and pants.

I haven't made anything from the book yet, but I have a feeling this book will help keep me from making pajama pants that reach 12 inches over my belly button again. Wendy has also designed some patterns for Simplicity. Click here to see them.

The Yoga Mat Tote

Last night I stayed up until 4am making Lotta Jansdotter's Yoga Mat Tote with the Amy Butler fabric I bought at Yarn, Paper, Scissors a few weeks ago. Whoa. that's a lot of name dropping.

I have to admit, that was a very non-spontaneous shot of my yoga mat since (1) I have never gone to a yoga class ever and (2) I haven't used my Winsor Pilates dvds in oh...a very long time. I guess you could say that's what my yoga mat tote would look like if I was actually going to a yoga class.

I don't usually stay up that late sewing, but then again I've only had my machine for about 2 weeks. I felt really guilty about using my sewing machine that late/early that I had a dream my next door neighbor left a typed note on yellow construction paper to tell me to "please refrain from using your sewing machine at ungodly hours." It was a very polite note. Almost like an invitation. 

Sew True

I bought a new sewing machine a few weeks ago. It is a Huskystar E20. I love it because it was made by a company that also makes chainsaws. Neat. I am putting the knitting on hold for a while since the weather is warming up and even the thought of yarn makes me sweat.

I also purchased Lotta Jansdotter's book "Simple Sewing." As a beginner, I really appreciate the simplicity and usefulness of these projects. This is one awesome book! I was kinda sad to learn that the author was once based in San Francisco but has since moved far far away to Brooklyn, NY. I guess she has moved on to bigger and better things elsewhere. Good for her. Lotta Jansdotter also has an awesome blog where she talks about her travels, projects and upcoming events.

So far, I have made a few things from her book. The first thing I made was the Draft Snake. Basically it is a long narrow bean bag (which I filled with rice--uncooked. duh) that keeps out cold air. I had to make mine a little bit longer so I could cover the part of the door where the weather stripping was damaged. It works much better than rolled up terry cloth towels. :)

I also made a potholder. I made it quilted to hide some mistakes. teehee. Instead of the low-loft batting which the pattern suggested, I used high-loft to stuff my potholder. This made my mother's Singer sewing machine very angry and sorta hungry because it made a weird noise and proceeded to eat copious amounts of thread. Sorry, Mom!

Here's an action shot, if you can call it that: 

And I finally finished making this polar fleece pillow case for my little sis. This was not from Lotta's book but rather a project I put on hold many years ago.

 

I have been hoarding this fabric for about three years now. I might have been putting it off since I don't really enjoy wearing polar fleece or touching it. I also had a lot of trouble sewing polar fleece at first because I am impatient and prone to blaming the sewing machine for being stupid. Everytime I tried to sew the pieces together, they'd move a little bit and I'd end up having to rip out all the stitches over and over again. BAH!

So here's the trick I learned for sewing with polar fleece: loosen the pressure foot pressure and make the stitches longer. Tah-dah! It worked like a dream. Also, use lots of pins. LOTS. Can't be stingy with the pins!

This experience has ultimately taught me a very important lesson: No more plaid polar fleece!! It's such a pain making sure you've got the lines matched up.And then once I've matched them up, they move! Next up I will be making some aprons and tote bags in non-plaid fabrics. Whoopee!!!