Whew! Good Site; And, My Summer Report

I am impressed too, Cea..........I can hardly wait until my
nearly-6-year-old can start. She "assists" now, and is beginning to
understand machine threading .....and keeping hands away from needles and
other things......but I am looking forward to her doing a simple project in
the not too far distant future......Thanks.
wrote in message
...

Whew! Good Site; And, My Summer Report

(Pat)
What age is the GDD you are teaching to sew??
---
She's 8 & 1/2 , Pat. I started her on the Singer machine which I use
for alterations, doing what was basically a fun, free-motion embroidery
project, so she could get the feel of the machine and learn to control
the fabric.
'We' (I had her do the whole process, from ironing to sewing on
snaps.) stiffened a length of cheap red cotton fabric with the heaviest
Stitch-Witchery* product, peeled the paper off, then started layering
interesting/pretty scraps of fabrics and trims, until she was happy with
the look of it. Pressed with paper atop to protect the iron, which bonds
the scraps to the fabric, then she chose different thread
colors--metallic, brights, and began free motion stitching as she
pleased, to further embellish it and to lock the fabric scraps onto the
surface. (I keep a plastic bag where all of the scraps from projects
live, so she had an assortment to choose from.)
When she was done--it was her project, so I tried to be as
'hands-off' as possible-- we cut out a rectangle purse, improvising a
pattern. She learned how to make a tube and turn it, making handles. She
got scissor-happy, whacked a hunk off one of the corners of the purse
rectangle, and learned why one uses a pattern to put things together,
even if the pattern is in her GM's head. Her purse was a bit lop-sided
when finished, even after the other side was trimmed to semi-match.
Here I will note that these lessons have not been without some pain
and tears shed--she is headstrong, and is learning to listen the hard
way. She burned herself with the iron; (kisses, commiseration,a band-aid
and a reminder); she chose a hard-to work-with silky for her last
project, despite my warnings, and learned how difficult indeed it was to
sew. The GMa hopes this child is learning much more than sewing--better
done here where someone who loves her can pick up the pieces.
Back to the purse: we discovered she needed a lining to hide the heavy
stitching, so she learned to bag a lining. This first lesson was during
the school year, and her teachers were most impressed-- they went from
smiling benignly at the Old Person (me) when I picked her up at school,
to actually treating me like a teaching colleague. G
Cea

Lily Abello had one of the very first sewing-only sites, and it has grown and
grown. She is a goddess!

And Cea, so are you! I had no idea that you did furniture, too, on top of all
your other myriad talents. Can I come and get inspired, huh, can I, pretty
please?
Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati

Whew! Good Site; And, My Summer Report

(SewStorm)?
Lily Abello had one of the very first sewing-only sites, and it has
grown and grown. She is a goddess!
And Cea, so are you! I had no idea that you did furniture, too, on top
of all your other myriad talents. Can I come and get inspired, huh, can
I, pretty please?
Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati
---
Gee, thanks, Karen blush. You're too kind---kudos from one goddess
to another! G
I've been inspired by your books, which helped me build my sewing
business, so it's surely time to reciprocate. Sure, c'mon down to the
beach, I'd love to host you! Bring a bathing suit, and you can get a
tan, and help me stretch chair webbing, you lucky girl. What a vacation!
Cea

The
way I swing a stapler and hammer, there is a lot of blood, sweat and
tears in each project. There's also no fingernails to manicure, not
ever.
---
I can see you doing this, Cea; kind of like those pictures
of the women who worked in the factories during the WWII,
and that's a compliment! Blood, sweat, tears and a lot of
determination.

Your sewing room sounds like a lovely retreat.
---
It's gotta be or I won't go in there....
---
Mine looks like the sweatshop it is. Pegboards on the wall, holding
every sewing notion I think I might need when I'm sewing at midnight,
and the fabric store is closed; open shelves with books and more notions
in tins and boxes, pattern books filed on the floor under the industrial
machine, 4 chairs awaiting reupholstery, piles of fabric and in-process
projects everywhere, totes of tools for me to trip over (and I do). The
walls are completely lined with 7 foot tall closed cabinets, which hold
most of The Stash. I'd be embarrassed to show pics of The Sewing Pit.
---
But then you have a business. I'm shamed to say if I had a
business like you, my sewing room would look worse, because
I get lazy. Having a room decorated nicely and small forces
me to clean it up.
---
I had to sell my
antique drawing board, for reasons best left unsaid, and sure do miss
it. Having a board is like leaving your machines set up--easier to find
20 minutes here and there to sketch or draw.
---
See, this is what you need--a nice "right brain" respite
from the ho-hum droneness that sewing gives us sometimes.
It makes our creativity rebirth.

Cea says:
I'd be embarrassed to show pics of The Sewing Pit.

And Beth replies:
But then you have a business.

Then Karen butts in:

Back when I was putting together my talks on sewing for money, I had my husband
trail around with me one day to several sewing friends' workrooms so he could
photograph them for me. He wanted to clean them up, and I resisted, telling him
I wanted the people in my classes to see "real workrooms", not fancied up
versions, like in books (where all the clutter has merely been moved to an area
out of view).

Those slides were always the most popular part of my talk, and apparently gave
countless people the heart to go on without worrying about their creative
"mess".

Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati

Whew! Good Site; And, My Summer Report

pamless (SewStorm)
Cea says:
I'd be embarrassed to show pics of The Sewing Pit.
And Beth replies:
But then you have a business.
Then Karen butts in:
Back when I was putting together my talks on sewing for money, I had my
husband trail around with me one day to several sewing friends'
workrooms so he could photograph them for me. He wanted to clean them
up, and I resisted, telling him I wanted the people in my classes to see
"real workrooms", not fancied up versions, like in books (where all the
clutter has merely been moved to an area out of view).
Those slides were always the most popular part of my talk, and
apparently gave countless people the heart to go on without worrying
about their creative "mess".
---
That's interesting, Karen-- my female clients always 'get it', right
away, when they see the clutter. It would seem, as Virginia Woolf wrote,
that few women have a "room of their own." They are always impressed
with the way I have 'named it and claimed it'. Not to mention filled
it...
The males are immediately thrown into sensory overload-- they look
dazed and confused, and start looking for an exit. (Something they
recognize, LOL.)
Cea

Something like the motto, "A clean desk is the sign of an idle mind" or
something like that.
Emily

A clean desk is the sign of a sick mind!

--
Sugar & Spice Quilts by Linda E
http://community.webshots.com/user/frame242

The first (and only) word that came to my mind when reading
this was what the Cowardly Lion wanted in the Wizard of Oz--
"Courage". Creative messes are certainly welcome, only
sometimes I wish I had the courage...

SewStorm wrote:
Cea says:

I'd be embarrassed to show pics of The Sewing Pit.


And Beth replies:

But then you have a business.


Then Karen butts in:

Back when I was putting together my talks on sewing for money, I had my husband
trail around with me one day to several sewing friends' workrooms so he could
photograph them for me. He wanted to clean them up, and I resisted, telling him
I wanted the people in my classes to see "real workrooms", not fancied up
versions, like in books (where all the clutter has merely been moved to an area
out of view).

Those slides were always the most popular part of my talk, and apparently gave
countless people the heart to go on without worrying about their creative
"mess".

Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati

On Mon, 28 Jul 2003 22:33:03 GMT, Beth Pierce wrote:

The first (and only) word that came to my mind when reading
this was what the Cowardly Lion wanted in the Wizard of Oz--
"Courage". Creative messes are certainly welcome, only
sometimes I wish I had the courage...


Mine is currently less of a creative mess and more of a Mount Fuji of
fabric, waiting to topple on explorers...

Trish