Monday, November 4, 2019

Mini Maker Station

I'm embarking on a new project for the month of November--something my friend Rene' calls "3D sewing"--anything not flat like a quilt. I follow incredibly creative people on Instagram and   routinely purchase patterns for pouches, pincushions, tote bags, drawstring bags, etc. The problem is that the patterns get filed away and most often never get made.

A couple of weeks ago, aproaching my one-year anniversary of a breast cancer diagnosis, I suddenly realized that I felt great! My energy level seems to have returned to normal and overall I am feeling really good. It renewed my excitement to sew.

I am hoping that the projects this month will be low stress, fun, and bust through some of my excessive fabric stash--all that super cute fabric that I've been reluctant to cut into needs to be made into something fun.

I begin my journey with the Mini Maker Station, designed by Nicole of Lillyella Stitchery. It is a free download, and a project I've been wanting to make since she first released the pattern.

There are four parts to the Mini Maker Station: the main body, which drapes over the arm of your chair, the pincushion, the fabric basket, and the thread catcher.
I was making this for my friend, Janice, who had a birthday in October. She loves both Tula Pink and Kaffe Fasset, so I jokingly said if Tula and Kaffe had a love child, it would be this Mini Maker Station. :)

For the main fabric of the mat, I used my all-time favorite Kaffe print, Guinea Flowers. It comes in lots of gorgeous colorways, and my favorite (no surprise) is a luscious orange. But this was not for me, so I chose the Cobalt. Then I added another Kaffe fabric in the same colors, and three Tula Pink fabrics from her All Stars line--two polka dots and a stripe.

The main body has pockets on each side--great for storing your scissors and seam ripper. My friend, Stephanie, made one for me, and I also have wonder clips clipped along the top of one of the pockets. In the center portion, you insert a thin piece of sheet metal (hardware kits available from Nicole's etsy shop.lillyellastitchery.etsy.com

Next up is the pincushion. The hardware set includes four round disc magnets, one for the pincushion, and three for the fabric basket. When I took them off the sheet metal, they immediately stuck to each other. When I say they are strong, that is no joke. For awhile I wasn't sure if I would be able to separate them from each other! One goes in the bottom of the pincushion (I didn't take a good picture of it, but you can see the top of it resting in the fabric basket).

The fabric basket uses Peltex 71F fusible interfacing to give it some good structure. Three magnets go in the bottom of the basket. And I added this adorable label from Kylie and the Machine (who has a lot of really cute labels--I think I may need to stock up on more of this particular label).
The last item is the thread catcher, an easy make. Or should have been, but by now I was kind of tired. I had cute twill tape and wanted the words "create" and "believe" to show. But I sewed it to the thread catcher wrong side out. I get confused sometimes because you have to think ahead about how things will be facing when you turn the lining to the inside of the completed project. Also, the fabric sizes are cut at 4.75" by 4.25" for both the outer fabric and the lining. I wasn't paying close enough attention so which way I oriented the dimensions, and ended up with a thread catcher that was long and skinny.  But since I had messed up on the twill tape, I needed to remake it anyway. :)
I found the most perfect iridescent button to attach to the mat.
I also added a Live a Colorful Life label on the inside (also upside down, but I wasn't inclined to make it for a third time. Good grief...)
PATTERN: Mini Maker Station, by Lillyella Stitchery (free download here).

REVIEW: This is a well-written pattern and I wouldn't hesitate to make it again.


8 comments:

05 08
Robby said... #

I think your Live A Colorful Life tag is fine, just right for reading from the top looking in. I'm impressed with this project. Not only is it your usual stunning fabric choices, but doing some 3-D stuff can be a bit fiddly. Best of all, you're feeling really good again!

Susan said... #

You did an amazing job of this Cindy! I love everything about it! And how wonderful that you are feeling good and full of energy!

kelly lautenbach said... #

I have this pattern and the kit... since sewing a second time is so much faster, I should send it to you and let you make it for me. 🤣 seriously though, awesome job. It’s very fun!

Charlotte M. said... #

So glad to hear you are feeling more energy. I discovered that sewing 3D items was actually a better way to get myself to use up fabrics I had been hoarding forever. I couldn't figure out how to get them into a quilt, but pouches and bags really got my creative juices flowing. Nice job on this one, Cindy.

Anne / Springleaf Studios said... #

What a nice make. Of course I love the fabric combination on your bag but the little details are really extra special.

OPQuilt said... #

I think I commented on IG, but I wanted to say (again) how great all the details are of this fun creation. Glad that you are feeling back to yourself again--I hear it does take awhile. I look forward to more 3D sewing items.

tompiccolo said... #

In addition to sewing, you can use that space for any ongoing projects including painting, knitting, pottery, or even scrapbooking. folding sewing table

SonijaRanker said... #

Thanks for providing recent updates regarding the concern, I look forward to read more. best sewing machine