I have really enjoyed using my embroidery journal and being organized. So much so, that I decided to also make a sewing journal! I enjoy sewing and I am beginning to do a lot more of it.
For my sewing journal, I created pages to record all the information needed when planning a sewing project. There are 11 pages for recording this stuff as well as a cover sheet and two pages of binder spine inserts. Some of my favorite pages are the pages for recording all the measurements you need for a perfect fit - there is a page for recording female and a page for male pattern measurements:
There are pages for information about the specific pattern you are using for your project, whether you are sewing for yourself or someone else, there is a lot of information you need to know, record and remember:
I also have pages for keeping track of all the patterns you have. I have several boxes of sewing patterns and I am going to love going through them and recording all the pattern names, numbers and details:
It is also nice to have a record of all the sewing related equipment you have. The brand name, manufacturer, model and serial number of your sewing machine, serger and iron. I also record my warranty information and repair record information. These are nice to have all in one spot!
One of my favorite parts of the sewing journal is the fabric page. I have a nice sized fabric stash and I am having a lot of fun taking a swatch from each piece of fabric, noting the selvedge information if I still have it and then cutting a swatch of the fabric with my pinking shears:
I take the swatch and attach it to the fabric page. Then I record all the fabric information as well as where and when I purchased the fabric, how much I have, the width, fiber content and care instructions etc.
Then put it into the binder. The great thing about the fabric page is that I can print it as many times as I need. I can include all my fabric swatches and put the page in a sheet protector to protect the swatches. So organized!
I made the sewing journal available in five colors - blue, green, black, lavender and pink.
I have added the Sewing Journal to my Etsy shop!
I have a bit of progress to report on the rocket ship I am stitching. All of the stitching on the text and the blast off exhaust is done
I mostly used back stitch and split stitch. For the antenna rings, I used some metallic blending filament. I love the sparkle it gives.
I decided to go with all orange for the lettering. I was trying out all sorts of different color combinations but I kept coming back to the solid orange.
I think it will work the best for the project I am making with this stitching. Remember I was going to add this border?
I am still trying to decide exactly how to work this into my project. Once I figure that out and I choose the best colored fabric or combo of fabrics, I am going to make a pillow!
Here are the floss color numbers I used on this project:
You may remember when I posted about some vintage patterns I received from my grandma. One of the uncut patterns was for a dog. I had intended to scan the pattern and use the copy to construct the dog. {You can read about that here.} After I had all the pattern pieces, I realized I didn't have what I considered suitable fabric so I set the project aside until I could find a fabric I liked.
Well, weeks turned into months, I'm sure you know how that goes! Recently, I was looking through my fabrics and I found these two fabrics. One is a small piece of medium/heavy weight white cotton and the other is a big length of blue cotton fabric. The blue fabric is Essentials by Patty Reed Designs. It is a nice medium weight fabric, blue background with a swirly hearts pattern in white. I immediately thought of the dog pattern. Wouldn't he look good in blue and white?!
I have decided which pieces I will be doing in blue fabric:
and have started cutting! I will share more pictures as I work my way through this project.
I have a quick update to share on my rocket stitching project from the Space Pattern.
The rocket is done:
and I am just adding some stitching in yellow to accentuate the orange blastoff exhaust. Now I need to fill in the count down numbers and the words. I am having a hard time deciding which colors to use for these. I tried the red on the number three and I tried the bright orange on the exclamation mark but I am not really sold on either one:
Hmmm....here is my color palette so far. If you have any color ideas I would love to hear your suggestions!
After I finish this part, I am going to be adding a border:
I also wanted to share some spring garden pictures. I have been trying to get pictures of all my spring favorites as they are coming into bloom around the yard and garden. First up are these sweet miniature daffodils:
They look so pretty blooming next to these grape hyacinths - the hyacinth blooms are just starting to open, I love the white edging on each bloom. They are spectacular when they are fully open.
And some daffodils:
This is a lilac bloom just getting started. It is my favorite lilac, it is a white blooming lilac called Madame Lemoine. I only see a few blooms on it so far so it may not be very showy this year.
And finally some rhubarb! This is the first year I will be able to harvest from these plants - they are finally mature enough - I cannot wait to make a pie!
