A while ago, I bought some fabric to make a set of placemats. We have a table with a white tablecloth, but it has plastic over it because we have a 14 year old boy who makes a lot of messes. The downside to having plastic on the table is that your plate sticks to it (I hate that!). Placemats were something that was needed. I had every intention of making them right away, but I was rather frazzled at the time of purchase and sat the fabric in my craft room and forgot about it. My plate has been sticking and bothering me, so I decided that this weekend I will finally get these done.
When I looked into my craft room, I realized that I had to do some cleaning up so that I could actually use my sewing machine. It had become a pile of knitting projects, yarn and needles all over the sewing table. I think this was also something that kept me from getting them done. It wasn’t just ready to use. I cleaned everything up and put things where they belonged (yay! I can find things now!). The sewing space was ready to use. I was even armed with a recent Amazon.com purchase: Bend-the-Rules Sewing by Amy Karol. I had been seeing this book around the net lately and figured I’d give it a try. I don’t have any sewing books and this was getting some good reviews, so I got it. So far I’m really enjoying it!
Here I am, ready to go:
I purchased a cheapy placemat from Walmart that was in the shape I wanted to use as a template. It worked quite well and in about an hour and a half or so, I had these:
Four pepper placemats! I’m really happy with how they turned out. It took a yard of fabric and a yard of this stuff that has a plastic sort of feel to the back and felt on the other side. The backing stuff gave some padding because of the felt.
Here’s a close up of the front and one of the back:
I have some more sewing projects in mind, but have some other crafty things that need to be completed first. You could be seeing some more Leetle Bags soon, though! I think I have fabric to make at least 4 right now and I would REALLY love one for my sock-in-progress that I always seem to have now.
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I’m a thirty-something who lives in Cincinnati, OH.
Crafting, for me, started young - I can’t even recall a time I wasn’t crafty in some way. My first foray into yarn was doing plastic canvas embroidery and making Barbie doll furniture. Not long after that I learned to crochet from a book my grandmother gave me after asking to learn what she was doing (she crochets, afghans mostly these days). After that, I took up counted cross stitch and then came sewing when I took two fashion design classes in high school. My mom had a sewing machine from my great grandmother and I taught myself to sew from patterns on it. I still use this same sewing machine today!
I started knitting in 2004 when a co-worker was pregnant with her first child and I wanted to make something for her. I bought a “learn to knit kit” from Lion Brand for a baby hat and booties set. I did make the baby hat and booties (with very few problems) and ended up gifting them to the co-worker. I wanted to make a blanket, but I wasn’t quite able to get that done in time since it took a lot longer then I’d imagined! It wasn’t until the end of 2004/early 2005 that knitting really took a hold of me. Now I love knitting and almost always have a project with me, even if it’s just something small when I’m out and about. I like a wide range of projects depending on my mood. Sometimes I like a good challenge knit and other times I enjoy a lot of stockinette or garter stitch. I love Ravelry for keeping track of my projects and for finding new things to knit - I feel like I’m always spending time on there! It’s also a great place for getting to know other knitters, crocheters, and various fiber enthusiasts.
In the fall of 2008, I purchased a spinning wheel from someone on Craigslist. It’s a Babe Fiber Starter, single treadle wheel and after a bit of trouble getting used to it, I’ve managed to spin up some fiber. In January of 2012, I found someone local that was selling their Lendrum DT and it came to live with me! The Babe now lives with Jen (aka piddleloop) and she’s learning to spin. I’m still trying to find time to spin along with knitting, crocheting (occasionally), and whatever else is going on, but I work it in here and there.
I’m sure there’s something I might have left out here, so if there’s anything else you want to know about me, just ask :o)
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