Thursday, March 29, 2012

this, that, & the other thing


So far this week, an overflowing bowl of trimmings is all I have to show for my puttering.

But did you see that selvedge?  I cut into my jealously hoarded Meadowsweet yardage!!! {finally}

Love cutting into my favorite fabrics, it makes me happy :)

These are going to be a tote bag.  I've had the pattern for a year at least.  The main reason I've put off making it for so long is because I'm totally confused by interfacings & stabilizers & all the mysterious white stuff that all looks the same on the bolt to me but apparently do different wonderful things inside bags & purses which I don't understand & I can never find the one the pattern in my hand is calling for & what the heck does it do anyway so how do I know if I can substitute any of these fine looking white things or if I'll ruin my beautiful fabric if I don't use the right stuff and did I mention what the heck is the difference between interfacing & stabilizer anyway and why do some patterns call for both?!? 

Whew. 

Am I over thinking this a bit? 

Yeah, I thought so, too. 

So I decided to just jump in & skip the mysterious white stuff.  What's the worst that can happen?  {don't answer that.  I prefer blissful ignorance.}  I know my Mom has all the answers to my interfacing/stabilizer dilemma.  One of these days I need to bring her to Joanns so she can explain the mysteries of those white bolts to me.

Anywho, even after my breakthrough interfacing decision I've been dragging my feet, hesitant to start sewing.  The thread issue was bothering me, and it took a couple days to come up with a solution I can live with.

You see, there will be some topstitching on each of the five different fabrics I will be using.  I don't have any coordinating colors, and I'd have to buy a different color for each fabric.  Very little of each would be used, with the remainder destined to sit around unused for who knows how long.

I have plenty of white thread, but I really felt it would show up too bright/starkly, since there isn't any white in the fabric.  It is more of a cream.  {does that make sense?}

I don't have cream or off-white thread.  I don't have the time to drive an hour both ways to Joanns for decent thread.  But I couldn't bring myself to use the white.  I really think it would ruin the bag.

Today I rummaged through my thread collection & found a tan thread.  On the spool, it doesn't look like a good candidate, but a single thread seemed to almost disappear when I laid it across the fabrics. 

Finally, a thread I can live with!   

Now I can start sewing :)


(are you beginning to see why it takes me so long to work through some of my projects? hehehe)

Well, I had 'this' 'that' & 'the other thing' I wanted to post about, but this is already a bit wordy and I've only worked my way through 'this', so I think 'that' & 'the other thing' will have to wait for another post :)

Do you have some favorite fabrics you have been hoarding?  What are they?

Thursday Think Tank

5 comments:

Kelli Fannin Quilts said...

Oh my most hoarded fabric is Rainy Days and Mondays for sure. Getting ready to cut into it soon, and looking forward to it! Looking forward to seeing your tote. :o)

Janine @ Rainbow Hare said...

I'm looking forward to seeing your bag. I so recognise the dilema over which thread, interfacing etc. I think the tan is a great choice, btw. Although the final object is what everyone sees, I think it's sometimes just the tip of the ice berg of all the thought and preparation that's gone into it :)

Lucy | Charm About You said...

Hahaha, mysterious white stuff! I feel you, the thread looks like a great choice though! I'm hoarding the ds fabric that people have kindly given me - I'm thinking of using it for the retro flowers qal :)

Jennie @ Porch Swing Quilts said...

Don't think I've got a fabric hoarding problem. I've got a too many projects problem!

Don't be afraid of interfacing stuff. It is your friend. I just made a couple of bags using fusible fleece - it gives so much body to a bag. I like Pellon Craftfuse for bags too - nice and stiff. And you can get both at JoAnns. Promise.

Good luck. An hour round-trip to JoAnn's? You poor soul!

Cherie said...

Interfacing baffles me too! It all feels the same so it's like what does it actually do! Then when people are like wadding/batting/muslin its like is all of that really necessary in one quilt!

I've just got the Backyard Baby bundle...won't be using that for a good while and the Berenstain Bears charm pack! That is staying there for a long time!