Sewcials are Underway!

I hosted my first Sewcial Event last night! It felt so good to see some of my hard prep work put into action! These lovely ladies are close friends of mine who were willing to give it a go and make some Christmas presents too! They made infinity scarves each with their own twist and custom look to it.

004 — Ali and Teresa pressing and pinning!

007 — Kristen, Ruth, Heather and Lindsay all fraying away at their scarves.

The studio was a success, even with my blown fuse, gummed up sewing machine and all!

A huge thank you goes out to my friends who are willing to take a chance and try something new. I found out that sewing, especially on a machine can be intimidating, and that because it’s so foreign people don’t want to try it. I also found out that 8th grade home-ec did not prepare some for the real world of sewing.

I have a sign in my studio that I painted and it looks like this:

“Creativity takes Courage.” ~ Henri Matisse

And it’s so true! Step out and try something new.

013 — Heather, Lindsay, Ali, Kristen, and Teresa model their new infinity scarves.

Contact me to book a Sewcial Event with you and your 7 closest friends or family. sarasayssew@gmail.com or find me on Facebook!

Cutting Table Construction

The studio is coming along nicely. I’ve been working on getting my cutting table done. It’s 60″ x 40″ so it will fit a whole yard of fabric nicely.

The ever helpful guy at Home Depot making cuts for me.

Home Depot will make the first 2 cuts free, this gentleman was so helpful! Plus I kept the salvage pieces for future projects.

It’s very important to wear ear protection when using power tools. In this case, Elsa & Anna headphones.

It’s a piece of 3/4″ Radiata Pine Plywood, the same as I used for the workstation desk top, but this piece for some reason was a bit more finicky and was harder to work with.

I’m not that experienced with selfies, I never know where to look.

It took me 2 coats of stain and I was doing it outside in 40 degree weather. I know, I should’ve just done it in the basement because it took FOUR days for the top coat of stain to dry even after Josh and I moved it inside after day 2. And even then I couldn’t wait so I sanded and sealed it when it was a bit tacky in one corner. I used Feed-n-Wax as the sealant because I like the natural finish better than polyurethane (and it smells better). And I’m really impatient and couldn’t wait to get it into the studio space.

The table top sits on these two trestle legs from Ikea. The trestle legs are height adjustable which will be prefect for when I’m teaching a kids’ sewing class. I haven’t attached it yet, but I will do it in the near future.

Studio Sneak Peek

Everyone wants to know, “When are you going to start teaching classes?!?” My answer is always the same, “Soon!” I want to get things done, but I also want to get them done right. I’ve been working hard at getting the studio up and running. I’m building most of the pieces myself and learning a LOT about woodworking along the way.
Here is a look at the sewing studio progress:

Lincoln, demonstrating how to sit at a sewing machine. I might need to make a pedal booster. I have 4 sewing stations set up right now, with the intention of adding more in the future.

This room used to be a basement bedroom. The vintage sewing machine was a gift from my dad.

Lincoln again, showing how to display flannels. That is a crib rail I scavenged out of the garbage. My Grandmother has the other side she’s going to use to display fabrics when putting a quilt together.

I work on this space every day, and it’s been so rewarding. I’ve also received loads of help from family and friends, especially my friend and sister in-law, Ruth. Maybe I’ll be brave enough to show the before photos some day!