"You, asked for it. You got it, Toyota",

Yes, I got one! My husband has maintained that he will only buy American but I got a Toyota....serger.

In a way I did "ask for it". I was at my exercise class explaining why I would miss an upcoming  class because of going to the Sewing Expo (see blog entry HERE). They are a caring group and worry if you are not there and it does help to motivate me to get there, as well. When I said I was going to be taking a beginner serger class because I was interested in buying one, a fellow exerciser asked if I would like to buy hers since she hadn't used it in ten years. She told me she couldn't remember the make, model and had no idea how much she wanted for it. She brought the information and came up with a $30 price. How could I go wrong? I got it home and fired it up and this is what it did.

I knew this wasn't good, but having no experience and fiddling with all these tension dials frightened me. After trying out a $4K model at the expo I knew it would be worth it to have it looked at by a professional. For $95 I got it all cleaned up and adjusted and received some good advice including "ditch the old thread". It was original to the machine when it was bought in 1991.

After adjustment

               

90% off is good

 

I used it in making the towels and potholders. You just can't see anything because the seams are hidden but it does a great job in keeping this rather loose weave fabric from fraying. The fan image is one of my favorites from THE GRAPHICS FAIRY and I added the text which I find amusing.
These are at my Etsy Shop, CherylThimbleFingers.
Thanks for visiting and stop by again in May when I will be posting once more.

Spring Break

Due to a bad cold that drained my energy and kept me from accomplishing any new projects this week, I will be putting about the same amount of energy into this week's blog enty. This beautiful young woman will have to do. She is the cover girl on a 1914 women's magazine. April is looking to be a busy month in non-sewing areas so the whole month is looking to be slow-blogging.

Off to the Expo!

Francine is helping me out here by holding onto just one day's load of goodies acquired at Sewing & Quilt Expo I attended for two days this week.

She stayed home wearing my tablecloth apron adorned with sewing images from
THE GRAPHICS FAIRY .

The fabric choices were phenominal. Of course, this show is angled toward quilters, most of whom have fancy machines that do all the actual stitching but I found loads of inspirational fabrics to create my kind of creations.

Are you familiar with those fabric strips called Jelly Rolls? Here is a huge one.

My sewing buddy, Susan, stands by.

Well, it is pretending to be one. But really is a big piece of foam covered in a jelly roll costume! This is Pam demonstrating how to relax. The pattern is from Carol at Aunties Two. Check it out.

 

This is a better view of the stack at the rear left in the pic below

 

Found lots of dots...my current passion

This rick-rack is huge and the colors are great

This was abargain find. It is so unusual and I have some fun ideas for it. Keep up with me each week to see what happens to it.

 

an then there is this. I bought it in a red/blue combination last year and haven't sewn it up yet. Now I will two!

The check is on one side and the plaid is on the reverse and is it very light and airy.  Perfect for a summer tunic, maybe. I better get this all used up before next year's Expo.

 

 

This Week in Sewing and Selling

The highlight of the week was THIS! The Graphics Fairy chose my little zippered bag I posted the week before as her featured hand made craft. This means gobs of people click to go to either this blog or my Etsy shop. But, even before it was featured it was SOLD!

That started off my most active selling week so far. Now, I am not making a killing here. As I stated previously, the selling is mainly in order to support the sewing habit. An interesting feature of Etsy selling is knowing all the places your items are going. I have already sold coast-to-coast and in the heartland.  My favorite town name is Waccabuc! Click on the link to see the Wikipedia entry for it and some of its interesting residents. I did not sell to any of them.

I also had a repeat customer. The lovely person that bought the pictured bag came back and bought two more similar ones before I had barely listed them. I owe EVERYTHING to my inspirational Graphics Fairy and she provided the sweet image on this apron that will be listed on Etsy today.

Another little project was the cup tree I bought and showed in pieces last week. I did get it painted and put back together.

Before  and unassembled

After painted the wood with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (old white with a dash of Duck Egg)

I already know next week's blog topic. The ORIGINAL SEWING AND QUILT EXPO will be at the Cleveland I-X Center and my sewing buddy, Susan and I will be attending for two whole days. I will have a report on our experiences. Hope you'll stop by again

 

We're All Business

My new business card using a GRAPHICS FAIRY thimble

Yesterday we felt a slight stirring of spring in the air AND the sun was shining. No one who has been huddling inside for months wanted to spend another day indoors so out we went exploring some new arrivals.  The little town of Seville, Ohio has recently been developing into a real destination for antiques and shabby chic aficianados. They have been gathering for the last couple of years and now this last few months have added two brand new spots.


Seville's main intersection from inside The White Elephant Bazaar

 Like many little towns, Seville no longer has some of businesses that thrived in the town years ago, but the storefronts are filling up with names like:

Along Memory Lane

Funky Junk Boutique

The Rusty Bucket

Seville Flower and Gift

Seville Antiques

White Elephant Bazaar

Velvet's W. Main Framing

Vintage Corner

I was on the lookout for anything sewing related, thimbles, great graphics like old postcards and ephemera but the first thing I seized on in the first place we entered was a piece of Fiesta Ware. It is a cup tree in a discontinued light blue ( a color I can't resist) and I snapped it up.

I am keeping the picture small because I took it apart before taking the "before" photo and now I can't get it back together. When I get it the way I want it I will bring it back for you to see.

Check the Facebook page HERE

Annie Sloan fabric at Funky Junk Boutique. ASCP also availabel




New and old inside Seville Flower and Gifts...and it smelled great in here!

The most famous residents of Seville visit Velvet's W. Main Framing which is more than JUST a framing service
Click HERE to learn more about the Giants of Seville.



Sewing items at Along Memory Lane

 

The colors in this chair at Vintage Corner almost  made me buy it. The price was great if I only had somewhere to put it!
 

I did buy these and actually will use them in projects

Something for the guys at White Elephant Bazaar
in what was Hartman Pharmacy a long time ago

If you live anywhere in the area or will be visiting or passing through Beautiful Ohio be sure to stop by. I only mention the antques but you will also find something to eat while you are here.

AND every June the town hosts a huge yard sale. Learn more HERE. You will also find directions on how to get to Seville.


Now it's time to get back to sewing.

Sources and ReSources

Last week I stated how much fun it was to have this blog and post something every week. WELL, this week I have not found it so much fun because I just ran out of ideas.



Click on image to see more

I start pondering about Wednesday and think I might have a germ, but then  forget what that germ was.  Production fell off considerably as well. Nothing was coming out right. Fabric puckered, seams misaligned, not enough fabric in the right color!

Then this morning in the shower, an idea fell on me with the water hitting my head. I always get my best ideas in the shower. Sources!  The Graphics Fairy has been my muse from the beginning and always will be, but recently I have started to acquire my own graphics.  I will in no way be real competition to the lovely Karen at Graphics Fairy, but acquisition costs and so I am going to start offering images for sale in my Etsy shop as well as finished goodies.


Sample offerings like old luggage labels



Old Photos



Retro Kitchen

The idea to sell images was already formed. I had researched how to do it with CraftHub and then it became my topic for this week's blog. Next week should be my launch so drop back and we'll see how it's going.

Thanks for Sharing

I have been having a great time writing this blog approximately once a week since last August and I need to give credit where it  is so eminently due. When I stumbled onto Confessions of a Plate Addict while searching information on Quimper Pottery.  I was immediately enchanted and reading her blog and oohing and aahing over the great pictures and ideas led me to the great and wonderful and aptly named

The discovery of the treasure trove of fabulous images led me to resurrect an old love of working in fabrics. That in turn caused me to create a whole lot of stuff that I love but cannot actually use so I am now "sharing" those items on Etsy at CherylThimbleFingers.

Last week Karen at The Graphics Fairy posted another of the six young girl images I sent to her. She has shared three of them so far. They were found in an old sewing book acquired from friend who happens to be a blogger about rare and antiquarian books, Books, Art, Life and a Cat.

I finally used one of the little ladies myself this weekon a reversible apron. This is the girly side. To see the other more unisex side click HERE

























So, the point of all this rambling is that I want to return the favor and share some more. I have no idea how Karen at The Graphics Fairy technically does it but today I am posting an advertising card found at a New York City flea market. The colors are so pretty and rich that maybe the words won't make you think UNDERWEAR!

I hope you can copy and paste it and do what you will with it. I haven't done a thing with it yet. Maybe I'll see this on Brag Monday soon.

Footnote: While browsing on Etsy I found someone selling one of the "sewing book girls". Before you buy an image, check if it's free from Karen at THE GRAPHICS FAIRY!

      

Bagging up the scraps

 This French Provencal fabric is very precious to me. In fact, it is precious to everyone in the sense that it is very pricey. It is only printed in France and is not cheap even when in France. There are other patterns but since I am a sucker for blues and especially when paired with yellow.
You can order it from French Rendevous online.

I only had a very small scrap left and it either could be made into a very teeny pillow or a small bag. Zippers scare a lot of sewers and I have been avoiding them for years, but have recently met the challenge.

 





















The inside lining of the bag is evn better for consuming the large stash of remnants that we accumulate as they can coordinate or SURPRISE!

When the leftovers are boring just create your own fabric with the help of THE GRAPHICS FAIRY.  The transfer gave this a nice feel as well and the label is perfect for cosmetics. I swear by Lesley Riley TAP paper.



 

A Graphics Fairy French postcard image complets the back and then I had a place to use my tiny scrap of beige toile inside.

The next one is not a scrap inside , but I have been obsessed with polka dots lately and decided I better use some up and they go so nicely with the ticking in brown and black. And I even had the transfer printed out just waiting for the right moment

 

Please come visit my Etsy shop HERE I may be listing some of these soon



Thimble Fever

I slacked off again this week and didn't create a whole lot but decided to write about thimbles this week. I just love these tiny objects and for the most part they are useful.  Germany, Austria and Switzerland were my greatest thimble hunting grounds. The German word for thimble is FINGERHUT. I was told to pronounce it "finger hoot".
In Ireland they called it a TIMBLE, no TH blend sound.

 

 

I did get out my Lesley Riley TAP paper, though and using the Graphics Fairy image which has become my logo I put it

onto a nice deep aqua fabric. I "framed it with a simple 12"  embroidery hoop, trimmed it with pinking shears and added a big black grosgrain bow. The edge got a banding of thin balck grosgrain as well.

 

If I had a store I could hang it as a sign.  I guess it will just hang out in my computer/art/sewing room that I have started to refer to as THE SHOP.

Blue is my favorite color so these little charmers are among my favorites. The one on the upper left is especially nice as it is a Meissen that I bought in a Meissen shop in Germany. It has a much more matte surface than the picture shows and has the Meissen crossed swords mark inside.

The windmill on the upper right was purchased in...you guessed it,  Holland. On the lower right is a Royal Copenhagen from Denmark and is marked Lindnet Mulfs Bavaria.

I haven't made a big study of thimbles as I like them just for what they are, but I do own this book which hasn't been cracked open in awhile.

 

I would love to hear from anyone else out there who has hoarded these and why. My "why" is spelled out in my first blog entry HERE. Also, do you know the word for thimble in other than German?

If you like your thimbles big, go to Toronto, Canada  The wikipedia article on thimbles shows this huge one atop some mammoth buttons.