Fabric Maverick - Sewing Maven: January 2008 Archives

 

   

 

 Moniqa, the creative one, has made hearts in support of National Wear Red Day  Give one to a friend. We used Donna Babylon's Here's My Heart Pattern

 Heart disease is the #1 killer of women. One out of four women die from heart disease.  Wear something red tomorrow- shirt, tie, dress, sweater, pin, etc. 

Did you know that most heart attacks start slowly? Here are some signs of a heart attack:

• Discomfort in the chest
• Discomfort in other areas of the body.  You may have pain in one or both arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach.
• Shortness of breath.  This may occur along with chest pain
• You may experience nausea, lightheadedness, or breakout in a sweat.

If you experience these symptoms, call 911.  If you cannot reach 911, have someone drive you to the emergency room for medical assistance.  Drive yourself only if there is no other choice.

Go to the American Heart Association to learn all the information you need to reduce your risk of developing heart disease. The above information is from their website.

Keep healthy! Your family depends on you.

 

As January draws to a close, it is time to organize. This is a prelude to Spring Cleaning.

There are two kinds of people in the world:

1. The person who has everything in its proper place. (Their home looks like an operating room)
2. The person who can't find anything when they look for it the first time. (Welcome to my house)

Of course, if it were not for these two kinds of people there would not be a market for organizing solutions.

One of the interesting things to do in January is to look at magazines for organizational tips. I selected three magazines at random-Country Living (January issue), Woman's Day (Feb. 1st issue) and Creative Home (Spring issue). I enjoyed all of the articles especially the "ABC's of Organizing" in Woman's Day.

Here are some general tips from the experts and personal thoughts from the Fabric Maverick:

1. Start small. You will feel you have accomplished something when you are finished. You will feel encouraged to continue.
2. Mark a date on your calendar for large projects such as cleaning a closet.
3. Before you leave in the morning, spend 10 minutes putting things in their place.
4. When you come home at night, spend another 10 minutes putting things in their proper place.
5. Beware of the "Just for Now" syndrome. It is easy to walk through the door and place our things in the first convenient place. It usually stays there for several days.
6. Do not try to organize more than one area at a time.
7. Sort mail immediately. Throw out the junk mail.

This was the most useful tip- Create a staging area by the front door.  It can be a crate or desk top. As you get ready in the morning, place those things that you will need for the day by the door. As you walk out, you will have everything ready to go.

This was the most unexpected tip- Create a rolodex or file with all your passwords for different websites. I forget my passwords daily.  I would suggest placing this in a secure place.

The Fabric Maverick suffers from Creeping Clutter. I confess all my projects run together. As I was writing this article, I took a good look at my cutting table. It was not a pretty sight!  Leftover Christmas projects were crowding Valentine projects. All these projects covered up my block of the month project. Where is the Easter project I was working on? No wonder that sometimes I feel the creativity draining away. It can be overwhelming! I am sure that sometimes you also feel this way. Take back your space!

1. Remove all projects. I placed a basket next to my work area and put all the UFO's in the basket. Do not let the basket overflow. When it reaches the top, you must finish several projects before starting a new project. 
2. Work on only one project at a time. Put your tools up when you are finished.
3. Keep your pattern with the project. You cannot finish the project if you have lost the pattern.

In my sewing room, I have a peg board where I hang all my rulers and cutting tools. I use shoe organizers to store my fat quarters by color.  I have seen CD towers used for the same purpose. Larger pieces of fabric go into baskets in an old bookcase I am not using.  I have another bookcase filled with quilting magazines, sewing books and baskets of thread.  When I walk into this room, I feel relaxed and ready to sew.

I hope that one of these ideas will be a cure for your "Creeping Clutter".

Nobody celebrates football like Southerners! We embrace football from High School teams to Professional Teams. As I was growing up every Friday evening was spent in the bleachers under stadium lighting cheering my team to victory. The New England Patriots have won the AFC division playoff for their chance in the Super Bowl.  Who will be their opponent? Regardless of who their opponent will be, there is a party to be planned

. A Super Bowl party is a no-fuss, no dress-up, down-to-earth party. Good planning will let the hostess enjoy the party too. Begin your planning two weeks in advance. Review your timeline. Plan your menu first. Men will enjoy hearty, uncomplicated foods. Forget Quiche Lorraine- think finger foods, soups and bite-size desserts.  The hostess does not need to prepare all of the food from scratch. Chicken wings can be purchased.  Make your own chili.  Enlist friends to bring desserts. Vegetable trays and dips are great appetizers. You might select regional foods that are representative of the winning teams.

The day before the party clean thoroughly. Start your decorating so that you will not be too tired to enjoy the party. Consider decorating in your favored team's colors. Now if the Atlanta Falcons had won, this would be my menu:

Throat Ticklers:

• Beer
• Southern Champagne (Very Sweet Tea)

 Tongue Teasers:

• Black-eye pea salsa
• Warm turnip green dip with pita chips

Sit down or stand up part:

• Brunswick Stew
• Pork Barbecue with Chef Bubba's secret red sauce
• White bread
• Baked Beans
• From the Garden Cole Slaw

Sweetings:

• Fried Pies
• Banana Pudding

All of the Fabric Maverick's catering is by The Redneck Cafe. Chef Bubba has graciously consented to give me his Black-Eye Pea Salsa recipe:

1 can of black-eye peas, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup grape tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup chopped green onions

3 Tbs lime juice with a smidgen of lime zest

1 seed jalapeno pepper, finely chopped

Cilantro to taste

Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients.  Chill for several hours to blend flavors.  Serve with pita chips or tortilla chips

 See Victoria's decorating tips on Thursday. I think she has some secrets to share.

                          

Quilting is like golf. It can give you a great deal of pleasure or you will be stomping on your blocks. Once the quilting bug has bitten you, you will become a fabric-holic.

To derive the most pleasure, you must learn 3 skills:

1. Accurate measuring and cutting
2. Sewing an accurate 1/4" seam
3. Learn to press- not iron (Pressing is an up and down motion)

It sounds so easy! More books and articles have been written about these 3 skills than the Fabric Maverick can count.

For new quilters, the Fabric Maverick recommends taking a beginning quilting class at a local quilt store. Sometimes classes are not available at a convenient time. There are classes now available online for beginning to advanced quilters: University Quilting College.  You can even teach yourself how to quilt.  The Fabric Maverick, for the most part, is self-taught. When I first began to quilt, "The Thimbleberries Book of Quilts" by Lynette Jensen and "Quick and Easy Quiltmaking" from That Patchwork Place were great sources of inspiration.   The instructions in "The Thimbleberries Book of Quilts" were easy to follow and had many tips for success throughout the book.  It,also, had many small projects perfect for the beginner.

The Fabric Maverick recommends the following list of tools for the beginning quilter:

1. Rotary Cutter/Rotary Mat
2. See Through Rulers: 6" x 24" and a square ruler (12" is a good size)
3. 1/4" Presser Foot
4. Thread
5. Machine Needles (80/12) and hand sewing needles if you plan to hand piece
6. Seam Ripper
7. Scissors
8. Iron
9. Straight Pins ( I like the flower head pins)

Most of these can be found in our notions section.

 

List of Do's and Don'ts from the Fabric Maverick:

D0's

• Do practice sewing a 1/4" seam
• Do prewash your fabric ( the Fabric Maverick confesses she does not wash the light colors, only the dark fabrics)
• Do press your fabric (Best Press or Magic Sizing restores the fabric finishing before cutting)
• Do read all instructions carefully
• Do make a sample block before cutting all the fabric

DON'TS

• Don't move the fabric when cutting- move the ruler
• Don't try to make a bed-size quilt. Beginners will become quickly discouraged.
• Don't choose a quilt class that is above your skill level

Quilting is great fun! You can express your personality and beautify your home through your selection of colors. 

Go Create.

 

No,  The Fabric Maverick is not jealous, envious perhaps. Fabric.com ,for the first time, is offering bamboo fabric. This is a very ecology friendly fabric.  Move over cotton, silk, wool and linen- bamboo is here!

What is bamboo fabric?  It is a natural textile made from the pulp of the bamboo grass. This a 20th century development.

What are it's properties?:

• Extremely soft
• Strong fiber
• Excellent wicking properties
• Has antibacterial properties
• Can be woven or knitted
• Insulating properties- cooler in summer and warmer in winter
• Machine washable
• 100% biodegradeable in its natural form

Care of fabric:

Machine washable, delicate cycle.  Dries very fast.

The bamboo plant grows rapidly. It does not generally require the use of pesticides or herbicides making it attractive to companies for easy availability. A crop of bamboo grows within 80 to 90 days. The fiber resembles cotton in its unspun form. In its natural form, it can be combined with other fabrics and dyed. Since the fibers are not naturally white, the fibers must be bleached extensively to achieve a white fiber for white fabric.

This is the month of 'Taking Care of Yourself" so I know that everyone is busy exercising and eating wisely.  Now is the time to nourish our soul.  The feel of bamboo fabric against the skin cannot be imagined; it must be felt. It is a very silky, smooth fabric.  It is very suitable for undergarments, shirts, etc.   If a person has allergy issues with other natural fibers, they will not with bamboo. Babies are particulary sensitive to fabric additives.  Check out our items # BF-155, BF-156, BF-157.  I see bamboo in my future.

While we are taking care of ourselves by exercising and eating right, let's make our skin feel good, too.  After all we are not eating sugar anymore,  so let's put it on our body.  Let's make a sugar scrub

Ingredients

• 50 percent white cane sugar (note that organic sucanat, while the best choice for food, doesn't work as well for this recipe)
• 50 percent vegetable glycerin to moisten the sugar (I used avocado oil since I was out of vegetable glycerin and it proved to be a successful substitute)
• Small amounts of aloe vera gel, vitamin C crystals, or anything healing that dissolves in water
• 1 or 2 drops of essential oil if desired (Larry recommends combining orange and lavender)
• Enough ground hibiscus powder for pink color (if desired)

Combine the ingredients in a bowl. Scoop some of the scrub onto your hand and massage gently onto your skin for a minute (the scrub will actually tighten onto your skin like a masque). Leave on for 3 to 4 minutes before rinsing  Great for the whole body, but watch out it can be slippery. This recipe is from http://www.care2.com/greenliving/homemade-sugar-scrub.html.   This website has many green living ideas if you wish to check it out.

Until next time, Fabric Maverick