Zen and the Art of Sewing Machine Maintenance - Midweek Edition

Most of you are probably too young to get that reference, so bing it, google it, find it on Amazon.com, whatever. Look for Motorcycle Maintenance, though.

Anyway, know what's super fun? Working on the last seam of one of your (previously) unfinished objects and having your serger go through a meltdown. Soooooper fun. Yeah. I decided it was time for a segment on taking care of your stuff. I've had my serger for less than a year, but I've used it quite a bit and I figure I'll take it in for maintenance this week. This'll be the first time for the serger, but I've taken my Bernina in for regular yearly tune-ups since I bought it several years ago. It costs about $50, but it's totally worth it. I've been doing so much sewing lately that I think I'll probably take that in as well. I may wait a week, though, just so I'm not without a machine.

I have an old Singer I got when I was 22. It has never been in for maintenance. Perhaps I'll take that one in, too. That machine took me through a lot of costumes and clothes. I always oiled it and cleaned it, but never had it in for a flu shot. It moved with me From apartment to apartment. I made a lot of bridesmaids dresses with that one. I made a brisk business building medieval garb for my friends in the Society for Creative Anachronism (usually for trade. I made a kilt for a package of Double Stuft Oreos once. Once). I made a friend's bridal gown, several costumes for many plays and some clothes for myself. It went with me to New York where I used it to make more costumes, including the fuchsia satin suit of which I used the remainder to line a skirt last week. The machine still works, but it makes a loud racket. I should have that looked at.

Anyway, my old machine is pretty easy to maintain. It even has little red dots to show you where the oil goes. My Bernina isn't as simple. It has a computer in it. I also decided when I got it that I was going to be extra diligent with the tune-ups. I saved up for a long time for that machine, and I haven't been disappointed with it yet.

I guess what I'm saying is, you don't need the best machines or the most expensive and they'll be better, work better and last longer if you take good care of them. You'll also be a lot less stressed when your machine is working properly. When you buy a machine, find out where the store suggests you take it for maintenance. They should tell you anyway, but in case they don't, that's important stuff to know. It happens that our local Hancock Fabrics has a guy who comes in on Wednesdays I can drop off my machine at any time during the week and by the end of the day on the next Wednesday, it's done. I can even take it in that day. There's rarely a huge line of machines to be done. Maybe right after Hallowe'en when everyone's done all their costume sewing.

Some things you can do in the meantime to make sure your machines are happy and humming:

• When unthreading your machine, do not ever pull the thread backwards out of the track. Why? Well, thread looks like it's one long piece of fiber, but unless you're working with fishing line, it's not. Even 100% polyester thread is actually a bunch of smaller fibers twisted together. Manufacturers do this so that it looks like a natural fiber (usually cotton). Fibers are like your hair. If you run your fingers on a strand of your hair from root to tip, it's smooth. If you do it in the other direction, it's not. Fibers have a natural "grain" to them. When polyester thread is made, they use a process to texturize the synthetic fiber to mimic natural fibers. If you pull your thread back through the track, loose fiber bits rub off and fill your machine with lint. Ew. Cut your thread at the spool and pull it out in the direction of flow out the needle. Thread is probably your cheapest notion, and you can save the bits for hand stitching.
• Speaking of lint, NEVER blow your machine! It's very tempting to try to blow lint from your machine. There are even cans of air you can use that have a straw so you can direct forced air where you want it. These are made by the devil. What happens is, instead of getting rid of your lint, it's forced deeper into your machine. That's asking for trouble. Your machine should come with a small brush. This is your lint picker-upper. The bristles are typically made of acrylic, the ends of which are ideal for grabbing lint from your machine's nooks and crannies. You barely have to touch the lint and it'll pull right out. As for those cans of air, don't even use them on your computer keyboard. If they jam lint into your machine, they're going to jam your keyboard.
• Oil is your friend, but not friendly to your fabric. Make sure you have a spare piece of fabric around to run through your machine after you oil it. Oil can ruin your fabric because it's almost impossible to get out. Save yourself that stress by taking a few stitches in a hunk of muslin or scrap.
• Use the right needles. I'm notorious for not using the right needles. I'll cop to that. When you use the right needle for the job, you create less lint. Less lint is good. That's our new mantra: Less Lint is Goooood. 

Well, I'm off to the studio to clean up my space (yeah, right!) Take care of your machines and yourselves, flowerpots!

Mission Accomplished: Part 1!

A couple of posts ago I mentioned that I was going to go through all of my UFOs and try to get them done. Well, I finished one today! Huzzah! I made a pair of pajama pants. Several years ago I worked at a local Hancock Fabrics and I bought some really cute Hallowe'en flannel with little witch kitties on it. I had it sitting with its pattern and grosgrain ribbon for the drawstring for, Oh, let's go with 4 years. No. Really. FOUR YEARS.
I realized as I was laying out the pattern that I probably needed a half yard more for full-length pants, and since I didn't want flannel shorts, I decided to make them cropped pants. Clam-digger style. I'm wearing them to bed tonight. Yes, yes, I am. I know it's January. I'm still gonna wear them.

Cute Witchy-Poo Kitties with cats-eye glasses and, though it's hard to tell here, skull tags on their collars.

I'm so excited to wear these, you have know idea. It's like I've finally gotten a pony for Christmas.

I also made a skirt out of a pretty woven plaid I picked up last summer. I lined it with fabric left over from a costume I made when I lived in New York City in the 90s - fuchsia satin! I don't have a pic of the skirt yet, because I still have to put in the zip, but I'm going to take that to Sewtropolis and see if someone there can give me a hand with it. Plus I used thread from a different project that happened to go with it, and I ran out. Of course I did. But I saved the spool so I can take it along for matching.
I had enough scraps of the plaid to have a little fun. I've wanted to make little stuffed animals for a while, especially orangutans (I'm a huge orang fan). So I took a sheet of card stock (left over from a calendar packaging instert) and traced out a pattern. I also have a bunch of cotton circles cut out from when I made a Dresden Plate quilt a couple of Summers ago. I used one of those for the face and used fabric pens to color the face on. That way there aren't any buttons to come off.

I'm not entirely happy with it, but I don't hate it, either. I know how/where I'm going to change up the pattern but I figured, as long as I had some extra supplies, it wasn't going to cost anything to try.

I have this sort of fantasy where I'm making a bunch of these (or similar) for the baby orangutans in the nursery at Orangutan Outreach. I know they give stuffed animals to the babies and I hope they would like them, especially since they're typically orphaned and alone. I think it would be wonderful if there was a baby orang who wanted to hang on to one of my stuffies. Nothing would please me more! I'm currently looking for someone who might be able to help me with this dream project, so let me know if you're interested. 

So there are three, count 'em, three of my UFOs completed! I have no idea what project I'll tackle next, so stay tuned...

Assignment: Have you been going through *your* UFOs? No? I'm beating you? You aren't going to let li'l ol' me get my projects done first, are you?

Tequila Diamonds

I'm often asked, "Where did you come up with the name Tequila Diamonds?" It's my brand on Spoonflower.com and etsy.com and I'll admit, it's kind of a strange name. Here's the story:

In 2008 I was reading my horoscope (like you do) and they mentioned how scientists in Mexico had been able to create a diamond dust out of tequila. Not actual stones, mind, but a dust that can be used on tools for delicate surgeries. The scope then suggested that I take something and make something else out of it that was totally unexpected.
At the time I had been tossing around the idea of having a business upcycling thrift store items - taking something and making it new and useful again. Tequila Diamonds was "born".

However, I don't just do thrift store make overs. I make all kinds of stuff from old and new materials, but the idea is still there. My goal is to make things that are useful, beautiful and/or create as little waste as possible. When I make a quilt, for example, I try to use up as much of my fabric as I can. I rarely cut size-specific pieces for straight-seam blocks (ie. log cabin), I stitch all my strips together and whatever is left I set aside for the next project in which it might coordinate. This means I also do a fair amount of scrap work. Scrap work is actually my favorite. There are no rules, just sew and trim. They somehow look even better than the ones I plan out.

Another thing I try to do as much as I can is buy American made supplies. This isn't terribly easy, but I do what I can. Not only is it providing jobs for people here, it's also using the least amount of fuel to get the products to me.

I try to recycle as much as I can. Threads and scraps that are too small to sew become fire starters (balls of lint doused in wax to start campfires in the Summer). If I use glitter, I scoop up as much as I can and put it back in the jar. Unless I'm in a mood and decide I need a little pixie dust, in which case I toss it in the air and let it rain on me.

I buy an awful lot of my supplies at thrift stores. Fabric, yarn, thread, tools... all can be found at thrift stores. I bought a gallon baggie of zippers for a dollar. That's probably $50 worth of zippers. Thread can be dicey there, because cotton and silk can become brittle when they get old, but for basting, they're great. You're going to remove those stitches anyway. Then into the fireball jar!

Anyway, that's the story of my business and how it got its name. I'm working on inventory for my etsy shop (it's currently empty) and this Spring I'll be taking pictures of my Summer and Fall items. My Spoonflower shop is always open for business (www.spoonflower.com/tequila_diamonds). I know some people will look at the prices and think "Holy crow, that's expensive!" But they only print when something is ordered, and they only print the amount ordered. It's pretty slick. The fabric designers there range from total beginners to professional designers. I land somewhere on the high side of the middle.

My fabric designs are fairly unusual. Here again I try to take something ordinary (a medical slide, for example) and create an extraordinary design out of it. It's full of surprises. I have a few "normal" designs on there, but to be honest, they aren't the ones that sell. If you're looking for unique and unexpected, that's my style. I have a few new collections coming out this Spring and will, of course, post their release here.

Now I release you, my flowerpots! Go find your ECHT!

Speaking of "Echt" - Special Mid-Week Edition

I was tidying up the display of objets d'art on my dresser when I noticed this:

Use Echt in a sentence!

I have a little German hat I picked up at a local thrift store. Lo and behold, there's the word "echt" on the label. It's a Genuine Bayerischer Velour Hat! I sometimes wish I was the kind of person who believed in omens and such. This would've been a doozy!

Another project I've been working on (besides the peacock throw in the previous post) is a quilt for my high school friend, Rachel. It started out as a personal project to use up some fabric scraps, but when I posted picks of my progress, she made an offer. I had no intention of selling it originally, though I'd never turn down an offer. I was just trying to use up my stash and try a block method (with diamond-shaped pieces) I'd never tried before. Now that I've done it, I don't know if I'll ever do it again, and if I do, I now know how to fix the things that drove me nuts and how better to cut and sew. Making it however, was strictly seat-o-my-pants style. I really didn't know how it'd turn out. I went blindly forth, hoping that what resulted was good enough. It's also one of only two queen-sized pieces I've ever done. I wasn't sure I'd have enough fabric, but I was fortunate that I had gotten in on a super sale a couple of years ago and bought a whole lot of a few prints. I was also fortunate that Rachel loved it.

Rachel's quilt in our high school colors.

It's totally improvised, totally echt. I'm reading Jane Lynch's memoire, "Happy Accidents", and that's what I have entitled this piece. It may have humble beginnings as a stash buster, but through a series of happy accidents, it's my first sale! What better inspiration?

People also started asking about the peacock quilt. Was it for sale? How much? When I stated the price,  all three offers fell through. I was thinking, "Gee. Did I put too high a price on this?" Then I got nervous. My hands carped up a little (the conversion disorder manifestation) and I couldn't sleep. I've always wanted to sell my work, but I've always been afraid to put a price on my work. This is primarily because I don't typically use patterns. Even when I've done costume design, my renderings (sketches) are more of a guideline than an accurate depiction of what is actually created. I'll go off on a tangent and come up with something different, usually better than what started out.

So, I know I'm not perfect, I enjoy (and make no apologies for) being echt, but how does that translate to value? Good gravy. Like many artists, I tend to undervalue my work and myself. Partly I think this happens because I know majority of my friends aren't made of money. We're all 99%ers. Not that my price was that outrageous. I looked at etsy sites to see comparable items, I based it on that and when I suggested the price to Rachel, she counter-offered...with more. In fact, she offered what I proposed for the peacock quilt. My head is spinning just thinking about it.

Why do artists undervalue themselves? I'm sure at least a little bit is due to low self-esteem. That seems to be the bane of the artist's existence. We also may not keep track of how many hours we're actually putting into a project, so we guesstimate. For me, recording time would be nearly impossible because I generally have my two kids vying for my attention while I'm working. This is getting easier as they get older, but they still want to show me what they've drawn or I need to break up an argument.

As a craftsperson, it's perhaps even harder to price things because what you're making is not only artistic but is utilitarian in nature. It needs to be quality to stand up to use, it should be beautiful, and should be affordable. Why should someone pay $600 for my lovingly made quilt when they can go to Wal-Mart and get a comforter and complete sheet set for $40? You can only make so many gifts for people before you start thinking, "I should make some money for this." Especially if you want it to become your sole source of income.

Firstly, if you purchase something handmade, you will very likely be the only person in the world who's got it. I don't know a whole lot of artists who make the same thing over and over. Some do. They figure out what people seem to like and make a bunch. My dad was an artist with a pencil and a paintbrush. There are originals of his work all across the country. There are also prints of his work, though they are actually rarer than the real thing.

Secondly, artists are trained. They may not have a degree, but they've taken classes, read books, made more than a few failed attempts at something (we all have our share of UFOs - Un Finished Objects - laying around). That's still an education, even if we didn't pay for it (and believe me, in some way, we paid for it!)

Thirdly, we create because we must. If we don't, we don't breathe correctly. We get cranky and depressed. We have nervous breakdowns and develop conversion disorder. Well, maybe not that last bit. That's probably just me. Creating stuff is just who we are. Sometimes artists have other things they can do, like be a dentist or accountant. I'm not one of those people. If I'm not creating, wether a character in a play or a piece of artwork, I'm not living. We should be able to make a living with that which makes us alive.

The ball is in the buyer's court, however. I've found that, unless a piece has a "firm" price, negotiations aren't out of the question, but don't insult the artist, value them. Some artists are willing to barter/trade for services or goods, too, myself included, as long as they are of equal value. Of course, that's between the artist and the consumer, but it can be done.

For example, another friend of mine would've liked the peacock quilt, but she can't afford the tag. What we're going to do instead is, she'll purchase the fabric from my Spoonflower designs and I'll help her with the layout and piecing of her own quilt. (spoonflower.com/tequila_diamonds by the way) When she purchases from my designs, I get credit toward my own purchase, which I'll probably use for samples of my latest designs. Once I've approved them, I can put them up for sale.

So the next time you're walking through the mall and there's a craft show going on, don't automatically dismiss the artist's prices. Talk to them, get to know them, find out if they negotiate. If you really love a piece, it should be worth it to you and it should show that you value the person who created it as well. Something can always be worked out.