Labeled!

Ever since I started sewing I thought it would be neat to have labels to put in my garments--especially for gifts that I make.  As time has gone by, I've kept my eye out for label sources.

I came across Tags & Labels on Etsy some time ago. She has excellent feedback & is very accommodating when it comes to custom orders. Not to mention that fact that she was more than happy to do smaller quantities. There was no way I was going to order 200 labels.

I told my husband that I wanted to order some labels for the things I make. When he asked what they were going to say I responded, "I don't know yet. Maybe 'Stitches & Seams' by Jenna?" He replied that that was boring & I should do something like "Dance Pants". Initially, I thought that was hilarious. And though he meant it as a joke...I couldn't get it out of my head. So I ordered 3 sets of labels. Two that said "Dance Pants by Jenna"--one for my boy clothes & one for my girl clothes. And, for my own clothes & more "serious" garments, "Stitches & Seams by Jenna" (I thought I was so clever coming up with Stitches & Seams, but then Debbie wrote a new blog post & came up on my reader. Apparently I'm not so clever after all).

I had a terrible time getting pictures of the actual tags, so I just uploaded the graphics. I'm sure I'll have some "in action" shots soon! A friend of mine designed the 'Dance Pants" logo & the 'Stitches & Seams' graphic was a pre-made logo that I bought on Etsy.

Yet Another Sewing Investment...

I've been toying with investing in a rotary cutter & mat since....well, since I realized how horrible I am at using scissors. Really, it shouldn't have bee a surprise; sometimes cutting paper proves to be challenging.

Joann had all their cutting goodies for 40% off this weekend, so I went ahead & took the plunge. I bought the 23x70" mat (which is actually 2 mats that you join together), an ergonomic 45 mm Olfa cutter & 5 extra blades. Between this purchase & my recent sewing machine, I've invested a pretty penny on my sewing in recent weeks. I'm trying to view it as just that, though, an investment.

I used my new cutter & mat to cut out my skirt underlining for the Crepe & I loved it! Not only was the actual cutting part faster, but I didn't have to spend a lot of time pinning, I just put soup cans on the pattern to hold it in place.  My cut edges were nice & smooth instead of the usual jagged.

Definitely a worthwhile buy, if you ask me. So, how about you? Do you use scissors or a rotary cutter? What's your preference?

Introducing My Newest Addition...

This, ladies (and gentlemen?) is my newest toy. She's a Huskylock 560 ED serger. Gorgeous, isn't she? Guess. What. She was free. FREE!! This poor neglected baby belongs to my mother-in-law who has a ton of sewing potential, but just doesn't have time for it right now. So, I get to borrow this until she gets back in the sewing saddle. Which, as my husband pointed out, may very well be never. :) My MIL is kind of a hobby collector.

Have I mentioned that my in-laws used to own a quilt shop? They just closed it (in order to simplify their lives) in the last couple years. And guess what. She still has at least 100 bolts of fabric left over. All for the taking. Yes, I'm very, very spoiled. It's all quilter's cotton, of course. But fabric is fabric. She's happy to see it being put to good use, and I'm thrilled to be able to use it.

Anyway, on Sunday she showed me how to use the serger & I was able to thread it on the first try. She couldn't remember how it went, so I had to depend on the 2-d illustrations in the manual. It was way easier than I thought it would be.

And I've used it! See:

My hands were shaking & my heart was pounding as I serged. But it all turned out great. It will be enclosed in bias tape so it won't be seen from the outside, which is ok. One thing about this serger is that you can use regular ol' spools of thread--you just need 4 of them. :)

I was thisclose to buying a serger on Friday because, ugh. I just can't get the hang of finishing my seam allowances with a zig zag stitch (you can see some pre-serger finishing in the picture). It's pathetic. I know.

Now I feel like she needs a name. Speaking of which, so does my sewing machine.