Making Peace with my Sewing Machine

Ugh Monday. I know. But, I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was pretty fun as I finally got to work on a project for the baby, a quilt. I have to admit that I have been dragging my feet a little on this one because I have a love-hate relationship with my sewing machine. For years I was convinced that it had screwy tension, when really it was user error. You see the blessed thing is old and was passed to me after going through various owners. The model isn't made anymore and I didn't have a manual. Turns out I have been threading it all wrong, how did I find out? I checked online. Now it works like a dream!

So off I went sewing patches and amazing myself at how little time it took - I admit I have hand-sewn a lot of projects because, well, I was afraid of the sewing machine. It was wonderful to have a fall chill in the air, listening to the young kids next door play their drums and think about my mum and all the sewing tricks she taught me. My first driving and sewing lesson came together when she explained that using the pedal on the sewing machine is like using a gas pedal.  Sewing for me is more than making things, it connects me with my mum and my life growing up in the UK. Maybe one day I will teach my own little sprout. Hopefully I will have some pictures of the quilt soon as I want to finish next weekend and move on to the next thing for the nursery.

Pimping My Boudoir 2: Throw Pillow

It's true, throw pillows are probably the cheapest and most effective way of giving your decor a facelift!  My sister-in-law is obsessed with them and has passed that obsession on to me.  I don't have a zipper foot for my sewing machine yet so decided to do a sleeve instead.  It worked well enough, but in the future I would make the overlap larger as the pillow is a little visible at the back.  Anyway, this is all good practice for making items to sell. 

Minnie Mouse Skirt

I am practicing some clothes designs for my new fabrics. However the fabric is quite expensive so don't want to do trials using them in case I make mistakes. This piece of fabric I bought as a stash and loved the pattern. I also notice it was already cut and hemmed into a semi-circle so used it to practice making a elasticated waistband for a skirt. The result is fun, with a great asymmetric ruffle. I added a bow to the top to cover the join of the elastic. I remember Minnie mouse had a bow in her hair and wore polka dots, so here you are!

Craft Business Journal II – Like minds, research and plans

Lusaka is quite a small place really. When you meet certain people six degrees of separation seems an entirely plausible theory. After building my social network here I have found another ex-pat who is a sewing enthusiast and has made quite a good business from her creations.
After a few texts, I finally met her today and was really inspired by her work.

In a place like Lusaka where materials are difficult to find, it is invaluable to find someone who can give you essential info on anything from haberdasheries to shipping resources from abroad. My new acquaintance also gave me some advice on what sells here and when to sell certain things. Many foreign workers (of which Lusaka has a ton!) go home in the summer months, though here it’s the cold season, this is the perfect time to sell crafts inspired by local themes as they want to take them home as gifts and souvenirs.

I now have some solid tasks ahead of me; I need to think of some new designs but also some that are African inspired for May and June. I also have a sewing machine on loan for a week so I better get some stock together!

Craft Business Journal I: Plans and plans

As part of my blog I have decided to record my attempt to sell crafts here in Zambia in the hope some of my experiences might inspire other hopeful artisans.

Today is rainy and finally almost cold! It's Monday which for me means cleaning up the house after the usual weekend shenanigans. This Saturday we went to the big craft market that happens every month, I love it mainly for the food and in the hope of finding a good book to read at the secondhand book stalls. However this month I had other reasons for going; I wanted to research getting a stall there, I got all the info I needed and spent the rest of the time looking at what people were selling and how they set up their stalls. Thankfully there seems to be very little of the kind pieces I make and most needlecrafts there were quite 'Africany', which means my Zakka inspired stuff will be pretty much unique - yay!

I had the plan of getting stock together for next fair at the end of this month, but my terrrible, cheap sewing maching has decided it hates me. Now I have to make some money under my other guise as writer to get a new one, so things might be put off until then. I also need to work on getting materials, not too easy here as crafts are not big - dare I trust the post here to get some supplies online?

A New Addition

I would like to introduce my new and rather ornate looking sewing machine! I have been looking into sewing machines for a while but the more modern ones are pretty pricey, and since I have a good sewing machine back in the UK, AND I want one for a short time here, it seemed silly to buy an expensive one. Thankfully, my favourite taxi driver Litiyah also has a secret talent – he makes a fabulous personal shopper and new exactly where to take me to find something basic and affordable. So here we have the 'Flying Dove'. It looks like a Singer but is more cheaply made, when I saw it in the shop it was a manual with a hand crank, which would be a great work out for my arm! Anyway, for a little extra they were able to fit a motor so that I can use it with electricity. It works fine, though there is no zig zag stitch, the thread snaps and the motor smokes a little when you go too fast, but I managed to make some curtains with it, and I find it easier to operate than more fancy machines. I don't think it is up to things like appliqué, but I prefer to do that by hand anyway.