Sewing Table Update

You may remember way back last spring, I posted about my sewing machine table situation. 

I did not have a dedicated sewing table so I had been doing my sewing at my big work table.  The work table is quite tall and I had been sewing standing up.  Not an ideal situation!  

Happily, my sister gave me a table she had that she wasn't using anymore.  

 It was the perfect size and even had drop down sides so that it could sit flat against a wall.

It just needed a new coat of paint! 

Since that post, I have painted the table and set it up with my sewing machine.

The table fits perfectly in the space!  I have a really nice chair that matches:

Did you notice all that beautiful sewing thread on the new table? 

That was a gift for my recent birthday along with these sewing needles!

You may have also noticed the pin cushion.  I just finished it and I will post about that project soon!

Easter Motifs Part Two

You might remember the three Easter motifs I am working on.  I posted about them here.  This is my progress so far on the first one.  It is a sweet little scene with flowers, grass and decorated eggs.  I used the double knot stitch on the edge of the petals and the seed stitch for the inside.  I am using double rows of stem stitch for the flower stems:

I also have some exciting sewing machine news!  Remember when I bought this machine?  I have loved using it so much except for one thing, I have never had a sewing table for it.  I have been using this on my big work table, and I have been standing up to sew! 

Last weekend, my sister gave me a table she had that she wasn't using anymore.  It just needed a fresh coat of paint:

We had a beautiful warm weekend so I was able to get the table painted.  Here is the before...the table has two drop down leaves so that it can sit flat against the wall:

And this is what it looks like with both sides up and the gate legs extended.  It makes a large circular top.  I think I will always be using it with just one side extended, my machine fits perfectly on it and it is very secure and stable feeling even when I am sewing.  I am so excited about this, I will post the after pictures with the new paint job soon! 

Summer pillow wip - update

I thought I would share a status update on my summer pillow wip. In my last post about this project, I was trying to decide which trim to use for the pillow edges. My favorite trim is pom-pom trim and that is what I had planned to use. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find the perfect size. So I decided to use the pom-pom trim pictured below but as it turns out, I don't have enough of it to go around the pillow. I thought maybe yellow pom-pom trim would work but I couldn't find a good enough color match. Thank you to everyone for so many helpful comments on that previous post - Julia suggested using piping as a trim. I was really happy to find this white bias tape piping. In case you have never seen it, piping is a woven cord encased in fabric. It comes already stitched right next to the cord and then has about a 1/4" seam allowance with a raw edge for you to sew into your seam. I think it is going to look great! I have cut out the front and back pillow panels. They are approximately 14" in width by 12-1/2" in height. I took Wendy's suggestion and did a zig-zag stitch all around the edges of both the front and back pieces to stop all that fraying:
I pinned the piping all around the front panel. I pinned it in place on the right side of the front panel with the raw edges together:
I was a little nervous about sewing around the square edge of this panel and being able to make a smooth corner with the piping. I did a little research and came up with this great tip: right where you want it to turn a corner, snip the raw edge of the piping (carefully!) almost to the stitching. You can even cut out a triangle shaped piece of the seam allowance. Once it is cut, it can easily curve around the corner:
Then I stitched it in place. I actually changed the presser foot on my new sewing machine - I used the zipper foot! I moved my needle all the way to the left so that it could sew really close to the cord on the piping. Here is what the zipper foot looks like with the needle in the left position: I also wondered how to finish the piping when I had gone all around the panel. After searching around on the net, I saw several recommendations for this method. Before you have stitched the piping all the way around the panel and are almost back to the starting point, cut the piping a little longer than you need so that you have a bit of a piping overlap. With a seam ripper, take out little bit of the seam that you stitched where you started sewing the piping in place. Now you have two free ends of piping. Use the seam ripper to take out a little of the seam holding the cord in place on one end of the piping. Cut out a piece of the cord where it will overlap with the other end of the piping:
Fold under the raw edges of the piping end where you just cut the cord and slip it over the piping end where you first started stitching. Now you can sew it in place and have nice, smooth and finished piping! After I sewed all of the piping in place, I noticed that I hadn't stitched close enough to the cord in the piping...you can see in this picture where my yellow stitches are not close enough.
I have since stitched around the whole panel again, this time really close to the piping stitching. Now to the back panel of the pillow. I have transferred my patterns and am starting to stitch! I will keep you updated on my progress.

Finally here!!!

I bought a sewing machine! It has been on backorder and I have been not so patiently waiting for it to arrive - it was finally ready to pick up yesterday! I did a lot of research on what type of sewing machine I wanted and I narrowed it down to the HusqvarnaViking line: I selected the Emerald 118 and here it is! This machine has so many exciting features. It has 18 different stitches, a one step buttonhole process, adjustable presser foot pressure, a see through drop-in bobbin case with an automatic bobbin thread pickup: and a built in automatic needle threader:It came with so many nice accessories - a few of which I have no idea how to use yet:and this model has 8 different presser feet: I am really excited to start sewing, so far I have only sewn basic straight seams with the presser foot that was already on the machine! Stay tuned!