Look what I made today!

I am so in love with this toddler sized apron that I may just put it on my 2 year old little boy tomorrow.
The pictures are not great seeing as it's 11 pm, but you get the idea. :)
It's ADORABLE in person.


I bet you're even more excited to know that when my mom was here we made an adult's size apron just like this one. And that this week I am making 9 more kids aprons in this style, all equally as cute (because the adult sized aprons are pretty dang cute too).

Working

Shh... obviously I haven't cut out fabric yet like I was supposed to.
Excuse: my new apron pattern should be here today! (I've been stalking the tracking number).

And so you get an idea of all of the cutting and sewing that I have to do, here is a picture of the fabric that's waiting for me. That's not even counting the kid's aprons I need to make to coordinate with the 12 aprons I sewed while my mom was here.

I can't even tell you how many yards of fabric are there. A lot. And when that fabric is gone, there will be more.
Did we mention that we are doing four good sized boutiques in four months? Ya. We may be a bit crazy. I'm just glad that it's not just me and Lynsey!

Well, I must get back to the dungeon now. I may just have to run to the mailbox first though...

Sewing Machine Review!

My mom just scored a Viking Husqvarna 1100 used for $140.
In her sewing machine searching she was trying to decide if buying a new Brother from Costco or getting the used Husqvarna would be better. I really appreciated people who had reviewed the machines, so I decided, hey- we should do that on our blog!

So here is a post all about my machine and Lyns and Gretchen will both review theirs in the future. Sweet!


This is my machine.

That is a Shark Europro Intellisew.

What? You mean you've never heard of the Shark brand making sewing machines? Don't they just make vacuums and stuff?
Exactly.

Want to know how I ended up with such a weird machine? Well read on!
(questions taken from Sew Mama Sew's Machine Meme)

What brand and model do you have?

Shark Europro Intellisew 9110

How long have you had it?

about a year and a half.

How much does that machine cost (approximately)?

$300 regularly, $150 for me. It was on clearance at Target. I could do $150.
And it was certainly better than the Kenmore that I had bought off of Craigslist that was frustrating me.

What types of things do you sew?

LOTS of aprons. I've also sewn some home decor stuff and a rag quilt.

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?

I've been sewing a lot more in the past year- it probably gets 5 hours per week of use on average.

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?

I like it. I hated the first one.
I'm not in love with my machine, but I don't really hate it because it works perfectly fine and I haven't had any problems with this one. No name because I just don't love her that much. She may grow on me and be worthy of name eventually though.

What features does your machine have that work well for you?

I love that I can move the needle into any position I want it - it doesn't just have left, right, and center. I love the drop in bobbin and liked the threader when it worked (those always seem to break though). Oh and I like all of the feet and such that came with it. The computerized settings make it easy to switch between stitches and stitch length.

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?

Sometimes the decorative stitching isn't totally consistent, if I'm remembering right. It's been awhile since I've done any decorative stitching. They may work totally fine and I could be just making that up. That also may have been a problem on the first machine I had or a problem I had with a friend's machine. The "embroidery" also drives me nuts. The letters may not even be there. You can only do caps and they don't get very big. Oh! I remember- it was the letters I was having problems with on consistency. So ya, not a fan of the letter embroidery. It is also a little loud, but it doesn't really bug me. It's nothing compared to my Craigslist Kenmore! :)

Do you have a great story to share about your machine?

The story of how I got my machine is slightly entertaining.

I brought home my new purchase with glee (I had just scored a $300 machine for $150! That's exciting stuff!!!) and opened it up. I could tell that my machine had probably been opened before and returned, thus the $150. I set my expectations low because there was probably a problem with it if it had been returned and started sewing on it. Not too long after that it started CLUNKING and jamming. At least I had low expectations!
I called customer service and it has a 25 yr. warranty on it, so I could send it in. The man seemed to think that it would only cost $15ish to ship it. Right.
The other alternative was to take it back to Target and switch it for a new one. This sounded much better.
But, none of my Target's had it in stock.
The good news is that Target.com had the machine for the normal price with free shipping!
So I ordered the new machine and boxed up the dud and returned it to Target with the receipt for the new one. Perfect.

I had a very frustrating beginning with this machine and the reviews I've read combined with that experience cause me to constantly doubt my current machine.

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?

I would only recommend it if you can get it for $200 or less. I've had a good experience with the new one, but the first one was not a good experience and I would have been really upset if that had happened outside of my 90 day return policy at Target.

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?

Reliability, longevity, and price are big factors for me. I don't know if I'll every be able to bring myself to buy a brand new quality machine. I think your personal use is really important. Don't be afraid to start out with something cheaper/used and use it for a while. I also think that you can't go wrong buying older models of quality machines. (Wait until you hear about Lynsey's Bernina!) I started out with a $50 machine from Craigslist and maybe one day I'll work my way up from the Shark that I currently have.

Do you have a dream machine?

My dream machine would be anything made by a quality brand at this point. Bernina, Viking, Pfaff...

12 aprons in 6 days!

What a fun and crazy 6 days it has been! I can't tell you how many hours have been logged at the sewing machine! I used a whole 500 yard spool of thread- plus a lot more in other colors! I was amazed at how much thread we went through!

I never would have been able to sew that many aprons without the help of my mom. She is wonderful to spend her vacation time helping me sew. I know, you're all jealous.


SO- all of the aprons that I have done are going to the Country Caurosel boutique that will be going on during Education Week at BYU in August (at Provo High School).
In the next few weeks I will be working on a few more aprons, plus some kids sized aprons to coordinate with some of the aprons that will also be going to that boutique.
I really want to post the pictures I took of the aprons I made, but we're doing a photoshoot soon and I'd MUCH rather post those pictures instead of the ones I snapped really quick.
I guarantee that you'll love the aprons though. :)

Stay tuned for some great pictures of a lot of aprons! Perhaps I'll take a picture of the fabric I scored at the quilting store to tide you over until then. I got some really cute stuff and can't wait to get some aprons made out of it!

The new Crafty Room!!!

This, my friends, is where I sit and work now.
(on the side opposite the sippy cup)

I LOVE it.

It's not completely done and as cute as I want it to be, but I don't have a lot of time to worry about that right now.

Not only is it well equipped for me, it is also a place where my 2 year old can sit and create with me... and watch movies.
There is already a lot of crayon on the desk, but that's okay. Many creative hours have been spent in his own chair at his own spot with his own art tools. He actually was upset that Grandma was sitting in his chair yesterday and told her to sit on the couch.

So there you have the reason why I've been slow to post updates of my progress... because all of the progress has been creating a wonderful space and not so much sewing. :)

I love my mom!

My parents came down for a surprise visit. Seeing how many aprons I have to sew, my wonderful wonderful mama has been helping me get them all sewn up! I bet you all wish you had my mom for your own now.
She pins and irons and helps me when I get stuck (we just made an apron out of a sundress pattern that required some extra thinking), which is oh so helpful and saves me a LOT of time.
THANKS MOM!!!

So I have 7 adorable aprons all hung in the closet with care and we just purchased fabric to make 6 more.
I realized that with a boutique coming up and trying to entertain a toddler and being pregnant I had a LOT to do. There are only 4 more months until I'm due and we will be at 2 boutiques in those 4 months, so I need to get as much inventory done now so that I don't have to worry about not having enough aprons later!

I'll post a picture of the completed aprons and the new fabric soon!