Am I Frugal, Or Just Cheap?

I had a bit of "sticker shock" the other day. I've decided that I'm in the mood to sew myself some clothes. Inspired by amazing blogger Summerset Banks and Project Runway...I've made it a goal to get back to my "sewing roots." I used to sew for my girls when they were little. I used to sew as a teenager too. (I grew up with 4 teenage girls in our house! And I grew up in the days when they taught us to sew in HomeEc in high school!...do they even have HomeEc anymore?!!) But I swear the last time I bought a sewing pattern, it was only $1.99! Well, I guess those were the "olden days."

Did you know a Butterick pattern costs $14.95 these days? A Vogue designer pattern is $30!!! So, of course I waited for the President's Day sale at Joann's today. I got 5 Simplicity patterns for $5.00. And I'm using fabric I have on hand. Many years ago I began purchasing nice fabrics when I would see it on sale--hoping I would someday find the time to sew. So now I'm going to get started. I suppose that sewing clothing is much like sewing quilts. Perhaps it's not a way to save money, but it's the process of sewing that is the fun part. Sure you can go to Ross or TJMaxx and buy dresses for way less than sewing them yourself. And you can go to Target or Bed,Bath,and Beyond and buy quilts for way less than making them yourself. Sewing and quilting yourself, though, can ensure that you get better quality. And it's more fun to create! So, I guess being the frugal sewer, I'll wait for the sales!

Of course, I had to get a pattern to make The Purse Dog something!

In longarm quilting, I try to be frugal too. I have very few gadgets. Let me show you what I use for some of my designs. Many years ago I saw Kaye Wood doing a demo at Road to CA. She was selling her "View & Do" Shapes. I bought the circles set. This is what I use to make circles and curves on quilts. I just trace them with cheap, inexpensive chalk. (the cheaper the better! Check out your school supplies aisle at your neighborhood Walmart!) I learned this inexpensive way for marking designs on quilts from my idol, the 'feather queen' Kimmy Brunner. She taught me how to make feathers. She suggested using a chalk holder too. I use this chalk all the time! Below you can see how I marked the areas I want to quilt. It's also how I "try out" or "audition" designs. If I don't like it, I just erase it with a microfiber dust cloth. (you can get them at the automotive supplies aisle at your neighborhood Walmart.) Takes the chalk right out.
Now let's finish this lovely Mariner's Compass quilt.

I filled the white area with small swirls.

Didn't it turn out nice?

I'll share more frugal quilting ideas as I think of them.

And when I finish sewing some new clothes, I'll post pictures too!

Now get back to work, Vivian!

Project: Prom Dresses?

Last weekend I "refashioned" a prom dress for my friend's daughter. I'm no seamstress, by any means, but I do know how to "refashion." I've been doing it for years.

One prom many years ago I decided to make a dress for Daughter #1--from start to finish. Bad idea...taffeta, corset boning, sequins, ugh! I gave up in the middle of the night, the night before the prom. I woke Daughter #1 up early the next morning and said "Get up! We're going to South Coast Plaza and we're buying a dress." This was the morning of the prom, remember. We only had a day to pull it all together. Well, we got lucky. We found a dress in just the color she wanted. Only problem was the skinny spaghetti-thin straps. I ran over to JoAnn's, purchased a fabric that looked like it would match and made thicker straps. And in just a few hours, voila! Check it out. Here she is with her dad. Prom after prom and with 2 daughters, I had to refashion most of the dresses.

Here she is with Daughter #2. Silly girls. I didn't get a before & after shot of this dress, but can you tell the straps were made by her mom? Hope not.

Anyway, I'm certainly not a seamstress like blogging friend, Summerset Banks. Check out her blog: Pins and Needles. She's amazing. She wins awards for her work. I saw some of her 'wearable art' at Road to CA. Awesome!

Here's the 'before' shot of my friend's daughter's dress. Cute, but she wanted some straps. And they needed to be modest straps.

Here's the 'after' shot below. Not too bad. I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of it on the girl. And a side note: I was not happy with my pinking shears I needed for this project. I just got them sharpened by some guy at JoAnn's. I was NOT happy! It was like he didn't even sharpen them. I'm going to find that guy!

Here's a prom dress I didn't need to refashion. Daughter #2 wore it in a prom episode of The O.C. years ago.

This was the actor who portrayed her 'prom date.' (They were good friends and he even came to Daughter #2's wedding reception last year.) Now did they really need to accessorize with the scarves? Another actress knit them while they were waiting backstage. Side story: Many years ago, while waiting for Daughter #2 to finish filming a movie, I waited in the 'holding' area and met a Grip named Mike. During the breaks we would chat and he would knit! Yes, 'Mike The Grip' would knit! What a great thing to do while you're just sitting around.

Do you think Russell Crowe does this too? Check this out:

Anyway, now that my daughters are both married and gone, I kinda thought I wouldn't be 'refashioning' prom dresses anymore, but you never know.

Anyone need a knitted scarf to accessorize? I'll see if Russell Crowe can make one for you!

A "Crafty" Day

Yeah, yeah, I know! I have a huge quilt to do on my longarm, but today my BabyBoy (the 17-almost 18-year old) and I decided to do some crafts. I know in about a year, the BabyBoy will be on his 2-year mission and I will treasure these times we have together. (Side note: He may look back on these times and think, 'My Mom was always a little crazy!"...but I kinda hope he treasures these times too!)

Anyway we went over to Michaels today and bought candlemaking supplies. We decided to make sand candles. I had seen them done on an old Brini Maxwell episode and was going by memory. My son's turned out so much better. He's got so much artistic talent! Check out my sad little sand candle on the right. His is on the left. He always tries to take things 'up a notch.'

Below is one of my favorite pictures of my BabyBoy. It was taken at Joe's Crab Shack. I think it depicts what goes on his creative mind....always creating!

Also today I got out my Swarovski crystals and some Jewel-it and decided to add some 'bling' to my old cell phone. I don't think it improved it much, but it put a smile on my face anyway.

And lastly, I put the final touches on my purse for the Amy Butler Sew Inspired Contest. It's from her pattern, The Swing Bag. For the exterior I used, 'Lotus Tree Peony Ivory' and for the interior 'Belle Coriander Pink.' I am hoping to win and I have a spot all ready for the new sewing machine here in my quilt studio. :) (it doesn't hurt to think positively, does it?) Here's a closeup of my freemotion stitching. I love this fabric!

Hey, The Purse Dog got a new Purse! She helped model for the pictures I submitted to the Flickr Group.

Wish us luck!

Oh, That Dress!

Another Miracle Worker for Daughter #2's wedding...our seamstress. She is a wonderful, sweet woman who lives in Garden Grove, with amazing talent. She can take a wedding gown picture and make a dress...even without a pattern! Her work was amazing!

Daughter #2 couldn't find just the right dress. She found pictures from wedding magazines of dresses she liked, but not one with exactly the right look. One day, while working on the set of a Cartoon Network show (before the strike, of course!) a friend of my daughter's, who is a graduate of the Fashion Institute , and a fellow actor, took a look at my daughter's ideas and created a rendition of the dress. He was right on! It was beautiful!

So with this drawing, and an adventurous trip to the fabric district in Los Angeles, our seamstress was able to create The Dress.

You can't see them, but underneath, my daughter is wearing white Converse Chuck Taylor shoes that she decorated with leftover lace from the dress. They were so cute!

Isn't this dress beautiful? Our seamstress is amazing!

Don't Forget Your Sprays! Antibacteria and Pepper!

Daughter #2 and I made the trek to the Los Angeles fabric district today. Our mission: to purchase lace, netting and satin for her wedding dress. Certainly not the nicest neighborhood. No, I'm being too nice. Truth is: It is a horrible neighborhood, but worth the trip. The deals were awesome!

Vivian's advice for you if you ever go to that neighborhood:

1. don't park on the street.

2. park in a designated parking lot only. (costs about $6.00 for the day)

3. don't make eye contact with anyone.

4. don't dress like a tourist--try to blend in, if you can.

5. don't eat the food down there.

6. don't use the bathrooms down there.

7. carry pepper spray, if you have it.

8. clean your hands with antibacterial spray when you get back to your car.

9. pray your car is o.k. and is still in the parking lot.

10. never settle for the price they first tell you...those people are ready to wheel-and-deal!
The Michael Levine store is the first store we went to. Huge and great prices. Lots of fabrics and notions of all kinds. But we went to all the little stores too in the neighborhood. Finally we found a little shop with bolts of gorgeous fabrics, wall to wall, floor to ceiling. There, we got everything we needed....and the prices were great!

Here are a few more views of LA. See the layer of smog as we drove into to town? Cough. Cough. My daughter goes to LA all the time. She loves it. I only like to visit on occasion. I prefer living in my quiet little neighborhood in Orange County!

Here's a picture of the downtown area they are trying to clean up and renovate. My daughter worked on the film Spiderman 3 on this very street. It's where the Sandman made a big sandstorm and taxi cabs went flying all around. It looks like New York City, don't you think? This old part of Los Angeles is used for lots of movies and shows that we, the audience, thinks it is New York City. More Hollywood magic!

Oh, such adventures Daughter #2 and I have! I will miss her when she gets married this Dec.

Why I Machine Quilt

A while back, I wrote Why I Quilt. Well, this is why I machine quilt...

I first learned to quilt or piece at the Mormon Handicraft Store in Salt Lake City, Utah. (a wonderful shop to go visit, if you're ever in Salt Lake City!) In 1983, after my husband and I were married I took a job in downtown Salt Lake, not far from the original location of the Mormon Handicraft Store. We only had one car and so I would have to wait for husband to get off work or out of school to come pick me up. Some days I would wait a couple of hours. To kill some time one day, I decided to check out that shop.

Inside I saw wonderful quilts and beautiful fabrics. I was in awe! I noticed they offered some classes, and they fit into my schedule, so I signed up. I had to learn how to quilt! So during those hours I would wait for my husband after work, I took quilting classes.

There I learned to quilt like the pioneers did. Everything by hand, marking and cutting, meticulously piecing and sewing...all like the pioneers did. I loved it. I was hooked.

We moved back to California after a few years and I signed up for some more quilting classes here. In these classes, the ladies were using rotary cutters, sewing machines, and even doing the quilting by machine! They were so fast. Each week our teacher would give us new assignments and I just couldn't keep up. I was still trying to do it like the pioneers did it. After all, I thought, I took classes from the Mormon Handicraft!

Well one day in my quilting class, the lady sitting across from me could see my frustration. I was so behind! She said this one sentance that changed my life forever! "Vivian, don't you think if the pioneers had Berninas, they would have used them?"

You're right! Wow, can you imagine if they had rotary cutters, cutting mats, wonder under, water soluble stabalizer, flat flower head pins!!! Of course they would have used them! (As you can see the man pictured left with a sewing machine...he was hailed as a saint!)

That was many years ago. Now I use all the newest techniques I can learn about...and there's always more! Now I machine piece and machine quilt. I even use a longarm quilting machine. I'm sure the pioneers would have used longarms if they had them too!

(maybe if this family pictured right had a longarm they would be smiling!)