In the Sewing Room

Fair Warning: I’m self taught. AND I don’t like to read directions.

Visible Mending – Suzer Style

Visible Minding Couch Style | superspace.com

I have a fairly exacting day job, where if something is off by more than 1/16 of inch, there is going to be trouble. No one dies (I’m not a heart surgeon), but there is wasted material, work to be redone and general unhappiness.

This shows up in my crafting in a reversal of priorities – I prefer to work on projects that, to paraphrase Bob Ross contain “no mistakes, just happy accidents.”

So no surprise the visible mending trend makes my heart happy.  Some of it is quite formal, such as the Sashiko and Boro techniques. But some of it is more of an ordered chaos, and that’s what I really enjoy.

Conveniently, I have a need for this style of repair.  And as usual, it isn’t what you’d normally think of.

Oh, sure, I’ve dabbled with decorative stitches and iron on patches and combinations of both to repair clothes, especially Mr. SuzerSpace’s jeans. He seems to get a hole in the same spot of the upper thigh of every pair he owns (I think it’s from his laptop) and since he works from home, he at least pretends to enjoy the monsters, space aliens and “whoops it was supposed to be a robot but it looks more like the StayPuff Marshmallow Man, sorry” creations I’ve made.

But my new hobby appears to be patching the couch cushions.

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The real meaning of a seam ripper

a seam ripper has taught me more about life

So I’ve been absent for a bit from here.

With the state of the world, especially the United States, I haven’t really felt like crafting much.

When things get tough, I often sink to a low spot, where I become sure I’m not good enough. I’ve grown enough over the years to realize that isn’t true, and I’ve become aware that I do it, and those are two good starting spots for digging out.

Today, while sewing another face mask so as to have plenty for work, I had a bit of an epiphany. It was suddenly quite obvious to me that no one has perfect sewing skills. Everyone struggles from time to time getting the pieces matched up, or the inside out lined up with the right side in.

I’m 100% positive this is true, and I’ll tell you why – because if it wasn’t, then why was the seam ripper invented?

Pinterest Challenge: Felt Jam Cookie

A tutorial from a Pinterest pin creates a felt jam cookie perfect for use as a magnet or a needle minder | SuzerSpace

Last year for awhile I participated in a blog hop that was centered around the idea that we should be actually making some of the things we pin to our Pinterest boards as opposed to just spending all our time scrolling and pinning. 

I liked the concept, but posting on someone else’s schedule took some of the fun out of it for me, so I dropped out of the group. The holidays also pretty much dictated my crafting designs, but now that we are deep into the new year I’m back to revisiting my boards with an eye toward finding new projects to try. 

I have a soft spot for felt, pun intended :). This pin:

looked so cute and the tutorial for the felt jam cookie was so straight forward that I had to try it. Also, Julie featured it in a roundup, so I knew it was going to be good.

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Sew a Simple Lunchbox Utensil Keeper

Keep your silverware in a lunchbox utensil keeper to make desk lunch more fun! | SuzerSpace.com

Where I work, we only are allotted 30 minutes for lunch. That, and the fact that I am a super picky eater combine to make me totally #teambringmylunch.

I really don’t mind. It saves me a ton of money, I always know what’s in my lunch, and I have a pretty solid routine of meal prep on Sunday plus planning dinners to include leftovers that make this really easy.

Two other things make a big difference – a good lunch container and real silverware. On the first subject, I’ve tried just about every plastic and glass system out there, and I’m still on the hunt for the perfect version. I’m also on the hunt for a better storage system for all the bowls and lids.

If anyone has any advice on that, I’m all ears!

On the silverware front, I’m set. My sister gifted me two sets of a lunch kit system that came with these neat, slightly smaller than standard size silverware.

To keep them together and clean, I’ve sewn up a very simple lunchbox utensil keeper that doubles as a napkin or spill blotter for my work desk.

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Personalized Mug Cozy

I’m a sucker for a good Venn Diagram, especially when they are humorous or snarky. And sometimes they occur in my craft world, as in this project, where my love for lettering, felt and easy embroidery completely and totally overlap to create a personalized mug cozy.

I’ve seen lots of versions of these mug cozies in varying degrees of complicated – some were crocheted/knitted, some were sewn and embroidered. While my mind was wandering last week (I think of some of my best work and craft ideas while either unloading the dishwasher or riding the stationary bike) it occurred to me that I could make a personalized mug cozy by back stitching my lettering.

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