U-handblog

Some of my fave sewing notions and gadgets

Hope you had a fab weekend everyone.  My weekend was quiet, I was tappitty tap at my computer writing the book nearly the whole time.  And that's pretty much how all of my weekends are gonna look until I hand the manuscript in...

Thought you might like to have a peek inside my Bag Book tools and gadgets kit.  Here is a selection of bag making / sewing gear that I have lusted after for years or I save for best (and writing a bag making book constitutes one of those 'best' situations methinks).  I'll add to the list when Mr Postie delivers more of it to my door.  This post is a Clover love-in.   Thanks Clover - you rock!

Flower head pins are also fab for quilters or anyone who likes to get layer-tastic with their work.  They look pretty, you can iron over them (with fabric on top), and they are easy to stitch over.

Bias tape makers help take the dreariness of making your own bias tape. In fact I'd go as far as saying that these tape make bias tape making quite satisfying.  I wouldn't tackle Amy Butler's Weekender or Sophia bags without one. 

Finger presser sounds potentially daft, but it's really handy little gadget.  Far more effective then pinching the heck out your fabric with your fingers and more appealing than the whole rigmarole of getting your iron and ironing board out - urgh!  Works in the same way as a Hera marker.

Disappearing marker, so handy for making last minute markings, and has a finer tip than my blunt lump of chalk.  As it disappears, all 'my working outs' vanish too.

Bodkins makes turning out straps RSO and threading elastic or cord far less swear-worthy.  Also great for poking out corners when turning your work RSO.

60mm Rotary cutter, bag makers tend to feast big on fabric layers. So, to help show them who's boss  it's handy to have a large sharp rotary cutter.  Larger cutters also cut faster. Be careful with your digits!

Sweetheart Rose Maker, I just love them Japanese crafty bods for thinking up this stuff!  Pop a fabric rose on a bag or clutch to give it an instant and effective lift.

Large Flower shaped yo-yo, see comment on the rose maker above.

Patchwork Ironing Board, this is 3 boards in one.  One side is for impromptu ironing (urgh), another side is a gridded cutting board, and the last side has a grippy surface that holds your fabric in place whilst you mark it (cos your hands are busy with a ruler and a marker).  Clever eh?

What other bag making gadgets do you folks love/want/can't live without?

PS: Some of you asked me to let you know when the Baguette Clutch Kit was back in stock. So now I have :)

Sewing Green - Sneak Peek & Giveaway!!

Yep it's another craft title review and giveaway; it's just that time of year :)  So here's a sneaky peek inside Betz White's yummilcious Sewing Green.

Sewing Green: 25 imaginative and pretty sewing projects to create from organic or repurposed materials.  Inside the photography is gorgeous and the approach is fresh, modern and attractive (without a scrap of cheese cloth in sight).  Also included are full-sized pattern pieces (which always makes life easier). 

I LOVE this leafy scarf; it's such a statement piece.

I do actually have a knackered old pink and red stripey wool jumper (that Al used to call my prawn jumper) which would make ace slippers.

Do double duty with this cute reversible wrap skirt.

An old ribbed jumper will make a much-loved soft toy and cheerful hat.

One of several bag designs.  See more yummy project pics here.

Draw Details (please read carefully)

I'll send Sewing Green to 1 lucky draw winner.

To enter all you have to do is comment on THIS PARTICULAR POST by:

• Telling us about your crafty recycling endeavours.  What items did/will you recycle and what did/will you make?
  

Contest Official-ness :

1. I'll randomly draw the winner in a weeks time 14th April and announce the winner the following day-ish.  Good luck! 
2. I'll need to ask the winner to make a donation for the postage.
3. Sorry I can't notify winners, so please keep an eye for the winner announcement.  This is made easier for you if you subscribe to this blog so you don't have to keep checking back, although it's always great to have you pop-in for a read :0)
4. Prizes which are not claimed within 3 weeks of the winner announcement will be carried forward to the next draw.
5. Sorry I can't reply to contest/draw comments, but I do love reading every single one :)

Weekend Knitting - Sneak Peek & Giveaway!!

Here's a sneaky peek inside Melanie Falick's new soft cover version of the very popular craft title: Weekend Knitting.

 Now available in soft back: Weekend Knitting. A lovely and varied collection of 50 beautiful knitting projects that (hopefully) won't take months to complete.  Inside are projects for bags, slippers, clothing, home ware and children knits.  The photography is pretty and the instructions are clearly laid out and easy on the eye.

Pretty snuggly lap blanket - a TV viewing essential.

Groovy Argyll pattern slippers.

Feminine and glam lacy top.

Pretty stripey purse.

 One of a selection of cute knits for children.

This book is part of a Super Duper Prize and the draw closes at the end of tomorrow.  To enter this Mega Draw please read and enter on this post (NOT on this post - ta!)

My Fave Bag Making Tools - Sewing Machines and gadgets.

Wooo Hoo! I have been interviewed in this months UK Handmade Online Magazine. Please check it out, the mag is full of the crafty goodnes that we all love and it's FREE!  If you want to read my interview, I'm on pg 52.  Thanks Christine!

Thanks for being interested in the gadgets and wing-dings that I like to use in my bag making endeavours.  Rather than replying to your emails about my recommendations I'll post them on here instead - should have done it ages ago!

So today it's what tools I use for sewing.  I'm not really a sewing gadget freak, I tend to use items in the house and whatever is to hand (as opposed to whatever hasn't been mislaid - where does all of the lost stuff get to?)  Anyways, here's my Sewing kit list:

1. My main sewing machine is a Janome Memorycraft 3500.  We've been together since 2001 in that time she never gotten ill or in a strop with me (considering what I regularly put her though that's incredible!).  At the moment I am also road testing (on loan) a Janome Memorycraft 6600P which is just very sexy - enough said.
2. My overlocker/serger is a Babylock Imagaine Wave.  I don't get to use it enough, but each time I do it makes me happy.  The last thing I made with the ovlerlocker?  See bottom of post.
3. I store my threads and small notions in this Artist's Carry All.  It's not very pretty, but it's very portable which is great as I tend to sew where the sun is shining in the house.  I love the idea of a pretty looking wall rack with my threads all displayed in colour code, but it just aint ever gonna happen :(
4. Cutting tools: My rotary cutter is a 60mm by Olfa, if you have a rotary cutter do get a blade sharpener, it'll save you money; Fiskars soft grip pinking shears are a bit too large for my small hands but they are very strong and can cut though loads of layers; Fiskars needlework scissors are constantly in use, sharp to the tip and great for poking WIP; Fiskars scissors sharpener, gotta have a sharpener in the tool kit, its essential; as for dressmaking shears they have just died so I'm in the market for another pair, any suggestions for a high quality pair would be much appreicated :)
5. Cutting mats: I have a 36 x 24" by Olfa and a 23 x 17" by Fiskars.  I prefer the fiskars mat because it has full length 1" markings on one side and 1cm markings on the other, also the Fiskars mat is thicker so hopefully it will live longer.
6. As for the smaller tools please look here.

Bean's beanbag bed overlocked in a jiffy from a bargain remnant.  This wonderous cat bed however, must have taken a little bit longer.

What bag making tools do you like to use?  We'd all love to know what your secret gadgets and notions are.

My Fave Bag Making Tools - Photography

Thanks for being interested in the gadgets and wing-dings that I like to use in my bag making endeavours.  Rather than replying to your emails about my recommendations I'll post them on here instead - should have done it ages ago!

So today it's what tools I use for photography.  I don't claim to be very good at photography, but I do have a sexy camera (that I'm still having fun learning how to use) and knowledge of Photoshop is sooooo useful.  Anyways, here's my photography kit list:

1. My camera is a Nikon D80. If you have a compact digi camera (like I did recently) set the camera to a high ISO (look it up in your manual).  This will help your pics look a lot brighter (in terms of light).
2. The lens I always use for product shots is a fixed 50mm.  This wonderful lens is very crisp and lets in heaps of light.
3. The sun.  Nothing beats the sun when is comes to lighting.  Taking shots in the gloom makes pics look muddy and I don't know how to fix this in Photoshop without the result looking fake. 
4. I like to take product shots on a white background because I think this makes the items the main focus of attention.  I use a huge white propleyne sheet as a fore and background.
5. A tripod or some books or a shoe box or any ledge to steady your camera.  Even breathing can de-stabilise your camera.
6. Blue tack, pins and padding.  Use these items to pin up, stand up and pad out (if necessary) your items.
7. Image well (for mac)  - so handy for quick re-sizing of images.
8. Flickr because it's the daddy of online photo storage) and Photobucket because you can link to your images as standalones.
9. Photoshop CS3 - really helps with the crappy UK sunlight (or lack of it).  Get yourself a free 30 day trial of Photoshop CS4.
10. Please check out a post I wrote on How to take and edit professional looking photos of the craft products. For some reason most of the pics have disappeared from that post.  If enough of you folks want, I will re-write that tutorial with pics (please comment on this post).

 

BEFORE - This was taken on a sunny-ish day.  The camera lens really does make a difference. My lens lets in a lot of light so that means I have hardly any touching up work to do in Photoshop.  See how the white background looks grey?  Methinks it all needs brightening up...

AFTER Photoshop.  I have lightened up the white balance and added just a touch of yellow for a little bit of warmth.

Tomorrow:  My Fave Bag Making Tools - Sewing Machines Etc.

Crafty Chica's Artful Sewing - Sneak Peek & Giveaway!!

Here's a sneaky peek inside Kathy Cano-Murillo's brand spanking new craft title: Crafty Chica's Guide to Artful Sewing.

Out last month: Crafty Chica's Guide to Artful Sewing.  30 Fabu-low-sew projects.  Kathy's colourful and craftily energetic book encourages you to throw caution to the wind and just dive in there. Kathy writes in her trademark fun and you-can-do-it style and suggests numerous ideas for revamping, re-creating, re-styling and recycling clothing, purses, homeware and lots more!

Colourful skull clutch.

Pretty place mat purse

Sweet peasant style blouse

Yummy textured fabric place mat

Also up for grabs is this very cute crochet purse kit:

Dinky doo Strawberries and Cream Candy Stripe Crochet Purse Kit.

Here's what you'll get: Instructions, yarns, purse frame and crochet hook.  Cute eh!

Draw Details (please read carefully)

I'll send a copy of Artful Sewing and a Crochet Purse Kit to 1 lucky draw winner.

To enter all you have to do is comment on THIS PARTICULAR POST by:

• Sharing  with us any links to must-have crafting gadgets, craft books, yummy fabrics, or any other tasty crafting tid-bits you've seen lately. 
  
• Please copy & paste the link/s straight from the address bar without adding any punctuation such as brackets or commas etc. (because this prevents the links from working) Ta!
  

Contest Official-ness :

1. I'll randomly draw the winner in 1 weeks time - 9th march and announce the winner the following day-ish.  Good luck! 
2. I'll need to ask the winner to make a donation for the postage.
3. Sorry I can't notify winners, so please keep an eye for the winner announcement.  This is made easier for you if you subscribe to this blog so you don't have to keep checking back, although it's always great to have you pop-in for a read :0)
4. Prizes which are not claimed within 3 weeks of the winner announcement will be carried forward to the next draw.
5. Sorry I can't reply to contest/draw comments, but I do love reading every single one :)

Book Review and Give Away! Zakka Sewing

Here is a sneaky peek inside a very cute craft title.  For those of you who didn't bag a copy for Xmas here is a chance to get your mitts on a copy of Zakka Sewing.

I think that lots of you will agree that there is something really special and unique about Japanese craft.  From their adorable fabrics to their fantastic craft gadgets; to the magic they weave with linen fabric to their special brand of Japanese crafting cute, and so on.  If you are a bit handy with craft you can use Japanese tutorials by following the diagrams, but it can be gamble (sometimes it's tricky enough following tutorials written in your own language!)  In this book you can make you very own Japanese cute to boot house hold items written in clear and easy to follow English instructions.

Up for grabs a copy of Zakka Sewing.  If you've ever wondered what 'Zakka' means, check out the Wiki definition.  The projects are adorable, unmistakeably Japanese in flavour and the photography is coffee table worthy.

A covered and padded tape measure anyone?

Very cute Frenchy Pear Bag

Simple, but so stylish leather handle totes.

This camera cozy is sooo cute I can't bear it!

Clear instructions on how to make the camera cozy.

Aw!  I'm sure I would be always out of pocket if I had this bunny wallet.  I'd be wanting to open it all of the time.

A darling pair of linen Mary Jane slippers.

Draw Details (please read carefully)

I'll send this copy of Zakka Sewing to 1 lucky draw winner.

To enter all you have to do is comment on THIS PARTICULAR POST by:

• Sharing  with us any links to must-have crafting gadgets, craft books, yummy fabrics, or any other tasty crafting tid-bits you've seen lately. 
  
• Please copy & paste the link/s straight from the address bar without adding any punctuation such as brackets or commas etc. (because this prevents the links from working) Ta! 

 **SORRY THIS DRAW IS NOW CLOSED**

Contest Official-ness :

1. I'll randomly draw the winner in 2 weeks time - 19th January and announce the winner the following day-ish.  Good luck! 
2. I'll need to ask the winner to make a donation for the postage.
3. Sorry I can't notify winners, so please keep an eye for the winner announcement.  This is made easier for you if you subscribe to this blog so you don't have to keep checking back, although it's always great to have you pop-in for a read :0)
4. Prizes which are not claimed within 3 weeks of the winner announcement will be carried forward to the next draw.
5. Sorry I can't reply to contest/draw comments, but I do love reading every single one :)

...and the winner of Amy Butler's 'Little Stitches' book is...

Went to the movies with my sister last night.  We finished the night off with a huge yummy bargain-acious bowl of noodles at the Baozi Inn...mmm, highly recommended!

Up for grabs was Amy Butler's latest book; Little Stitches.

So there were 185 entries for this fab book and the Random Number Generator stopped on the number 69

So will Sarah who wrote:

"Wow this is exciting. I have her first book and have heard great things about this book. I hope I win!

This year I am going to be making handbag for the girls in my family. I am making a pattern right now, and will have pictures posted on my blog in the next week or so. I would also love to learn to knit and make some socks/slippers for the men...but we will see what time allows."

Please get in touch with me so I can get your prize to you'.

Thanks for your entries and your fabby links; I really enjoyed checking them out (yep I do look at every single one). I'm sorry to all of of you who didn't get lucky this time.  There's another fabulous give away coming next week - the postie has just delivered the prize - wooot!

Amy Butler's 'Little Stitches' Book Review & Give Away!!

Yep!  I have a brand spanking new and signed copy of Amy's 'Little Stitches' burning a hole right through my desk.  I know that anyone who already has a copy of this book will agree that you do get a heck of a lot of book for the money.  And what with all the credit crunchiness going on, you know that loads of us will be buying handmade or making our Xmas pressies this year....(if we start thinking about it now we can freak out less when the time comes).

The items are (as you'd expect) very stylish and practical. If you don't have little ones of your own then there are heaps of present ideas for Mum and baby.  Designer baby stuff costs crazy money; with a few hours and this book to hand you can make your own super cute baby items for a fraction of the cost and with a whole lot more love too!  This really is a no-brainer book review because I think this is a wonderful craft title to have in your collection so I'll just show you a few of the yummy projects inside:

Up for grabs is Amy's latest book; a signed copy of Little Stitches.  The items are Amy-stylish and full sized patterns (on quality paper) are included - absolute steal!

Cute and Snuggly Wrap Blanket.  I'd love one to cosy up and watch TV with :)

Darling Empire style top for her...

and darling jim-jams for him.

Soft and touchy-feely toys

Groovy Piggy bib with pocket and useful carry pouch.

I love this pocket-tastic Tool Kit Bag for keeping everything organised on the go.

And the Modern Nappy Bag with changing mat looks really stylish too.

And the list goes on and on.  This book is absolutely jammed with projects, you're sure to want to make a good number of them.

As you'd expect of Amy's designs, the instructions are clear and thorough.

Draw Details (please read carefully)

I'll send this signed copy of Little Stitches to 1 lucky draw winner.

To enter all you have to do is comment on THIS PARTICULAR POST by:

• Telling us what  Xmas pressies you are thinking of making this year.  If you have links to any tutes do share them with us :)
  

 

Contest Official-ness :

1. I'll randomly draw the winner in a weeks time - 30th October and announce the winner the following day-ish.  Good luck! 
2. I'll need to ask the winner to make a donation for the postage.
3. Sorry I can't notify winners, so please keep an eye for the winner announcement.  This is made easier for you if you subscribe to this blog so you don't have to keep checking back, although it's always great to have you pop-in for a read :0)
4. Prizes which are not claimed within 3 weeks of the winner announcement will be carried forward to the next draw.
5. Sorry I can't reply to contest/draw comments, but I do love reading every single one :)

SORRY, THIS DRAW IS NOW CLOSED :(

Overlocker / Serger machine review part 2.

Part 1 of this review can be found here.

Anyone reading this blog over the last few days will know that I am head over heels with my first overlocker.

My Babylock Imagine Wave...

I have never played with an overlocker before (I've just seen them in action) and they look scary enough to be off-putting!  To honest when I took her out of the box I was REALLY trying NOT to think "OMG what have I done? This looks nothing like my sewing machine!"  So it was with more than a little trepidation that I sat down with Baby one afternoon for a few quiet hours so we could get better acquainted. 

I needn't have gotten myself so worked up.  I found Baby terrifically easy to get to know, the manual is so well written with no nasty surprises and thankfully it assumes no prior knowledge.  I was able to thread Baby up, set up stitch width and length, and begin sewing a 4 thread Overlock stitch in under 10 minutes (and that was my first ever time) I was as happy as if I had landed safely on the moon!

So to begin threading you pop your spools/cones of thread on their holders.  Then you thread the loopers (I think Looper thread is equivalent to bobbin thread), take the thread and guide it thru the notch at the top of the machine, down the channel (all very easy so far)...

... now for the fun bit; the Babylock Instant jet-air threading.  I was told about this by quite a few of you and I can see why you love it; it makes threading sooooo much easier.  The awkward part of threading an overlocker is threading the loopers and it usually involves tweezers, but with Babylock machines you just take the end of the thread and pop it into the appropriate threading port and...

...pump on this lever a few times which activates a jet that whooshes the thread through the machine until...

...the thread pops out of the looper eye (by the tip of my finger) ready for sewing.  Blimey!  That was so much fun that I un-threaded the looper again and again just so I could re-thread it.  Surely, it isn't supposed to be this easy.

All threaded up and ready to sew.

In action.  Golly, overlockers sew pretty darn fast don't they?  The trimmings catcher (the thing with the hole in it that the machine is sitting on) is so useful.  It works brilliantly and saves an awful lot of mess.

Close up view of machine in action.

My tentative first steps in overlocking are...

...a machine cover for baby.  I made this because it wasn't going to be too tricky for a first project and the cover that came with the machine was thin and crap.  Also the original cover wasn't long enough to accommodate spools of thread when stored on the thread holders (which seemed silly because the machine will spend most of it's life threaded up and ready to go).  Fabric is Alexander H. - Alboreto Disc.

I still needed to use my beloved Janome to make the cut-out hole.  Just so you know Jan;  Baby is an enhancement not a replacement. I will love both of you in equal measure (so you can stop giving each other dirty looks...).

A few stitches (from left to right):

• 3 thread rolled edge - where the raw edge is trimmed and rolled/folded under and sealed with threads.  Good for sheer fabrics and as a decorative edge.
• 4 thread overlock - 4 threads for extra strength
• 3 thread overlock - the same, but not quite as strong
• Wave - this is a decorative overlock stitch.  I'm not too sure I would really use this (my example isn't perfect), but then it's early days...

Verdict

So far I have nothing bad to say about this machine (except for the rubbish machine cover).  It feels well-built and it's not too heavy or noisy.  After playing with it for one day and making one project with it I feel pretty comfortable with the machine. I really thought it would take a little longer to feel at ease with overlocking so I'm delighted!   I can honestly say that this Babylock machine makes overlocking feel no more complicated than normal sewing.

I think that going for a machine with auto tension and auto threading has helped make this learning experience a happy one (which means that I will end up using the overlocker far more often than if my machine was lacking those features).  It's makes all of the difference that I can change fabrics and thread up the machine very quickly and without any guess work or getting the manual out (especially for a complete novice like me).

So far the major differences between traditional sewing machines seem to be that overlockers are sooooo fast; you have to be on the ball and in control (even with pressure sensitive foot control).  Give it a few more goes and I'm sure that I will come to love that super fast speed.  Turning curves and corners is also different; there is no lifting the machine foot and pivoting on the needle like with traditional machines.   The  Babylock copes fine with gentle curves.  I haven't done tight curves yet (I'll get back to you on those).  Overlockers eat thread so be prepared for that.  I may do a part 3 of this review when I muster up the courage to sew my first item of clothing...

Nope, I didn't get paid a single bean (or spool of thread; nada) to do this review.

Oh, and if any of you folks have a better name than 'Baby' or 'Jan' for my two squabbling girls I'd love to know your suggestions :)