Unpacking the new sewing room

Well, the new sewing room is gradually getting unpacked.

It's a smaller space, but I have the whole family room just outside the sewing room for large cutting projects.

Yes, most of the stuff you see here will end up in the sewing room. I am a very efficient space user!

For example. To transport the material from my cubbies, we put the contents of each cubby into a clear plastic garbage bag. This has made them both easy to transport and identify for unpacking. There's a LOT of fabric in each cubby, as was really obvious when we put them into the bags and they weren't so tightly packed!

Dress Sketch Commissions OPEN!

As you may know, Nathan and I are in a tight spot financially. Due to my fibromyalgia, I'm still unable to deal with the physical demands of sewing. (I hemmed some curtains for Nathan last week and the pinning alone just about killed my fingers.)

However, drawing with markers is not only manageable in spurts (writing is different), it actually calms me down and can reduce my headache at times. So after a lot of thought, I've decided to offer clothing sketches on commission as an attempt to raise some much needed $$$.

Below are the basic perimeters. I'm going to take on just a few to start and see how it goes.

Because this is marker and not digital, once it's drawn, I can't change it. If you want preliminary idea sketches ahead of time, that would be an additional cost ($5 extra for three preliminary sketches, of which you pick one for final design).

I'm only doing clothing designs right now, not animals, scenes, multiple figure poses, etc.

I'm starting off at $20, but we'll see what happens (that may not be enough, based on what I see other artists charging. Right now we're just desperate.)

Send me a line if you are interested in acquiring a piece of existing art you've seen me do in the past.

Want to start Machine Embroidery? Keep an eye on Hancock Fabrics

Hancock Fabrics filed for bankrupcy in February and their liquidation sales began yesterday. That means that currently all of their sewing machines are 20% off. This includes the Brother HE1 ($279.99 today), which I mention because it is identical to the embroidery features of the machine I have.

(I have the SE400 which is also a sewing machine - see comparison here. However getting an embroidery only machine is totally fine because it's a pain to switch back and forth between sewing and embroidery so I recommend having two machines anyhow. )

The Janomi mini is also on sale ($63.99 today)! I have an older version of this machine (mine is teal) and have been tremendously impressed by it's ability for such a small machine. Perfect for travel, small quilting/mending projects, or a child's first sewing machine.

I paid $70 for my Janome mini, and $300 for my Brother SE400. Even keeping in mind that the HE1 lacks the regular sewing features, I would still consider this a very good deal on both machines - but if you want to play roulette, you can wait and see if they end up discounting machines further in a month.