back in the day

Well, I've been hunting through some old photo archives, trying to decide what next little bit of fabulousness to display...and I ran across this pic. My first apartment. Sigh. Memories. More specifically--my first "sewing room" setup.

And then I ran across this picture, from my next place. Still sewing in my bedroom--but note the splendiferous addition of the aqua chair and the wall-mounted thread rack.



And now...of all delightful things, I have an entire room for all of my sewing gear. Ok, so I let Gladys think it's her room, but she's not going to read this so I can be honest. Of course, I just realized that I don't actually have any full pictures of my sewing paradise, but I do have this one:



Yes, that's just the shelving for the fabric. Sigh of happiness. The closet beside it is quite full as well. Perhaps this makes me something of a dork, but it also makes me jump for joy. I don't think I could ever go back to keeping all of my fabric in two rubbermaid tubs and spreading projects out on my bed. I am quite thoroughly spoiled.

And there's no way this fabric would fit back in those tubs! It's like the Blob. It's just gone too far and the growth is exponential and cannot be contained by modern science. Evil chuckle.

swingin!

As some of y'all may know, one of my other hobbies (one that Gladys does not, unfortunately, get to participate in) is swing dancing. I don't get to do it as much as I'd like, but that hasn't stopped me from sewing the occasional party dress for those get-flipped-over-someone's-head occasions.



And, of course, I generally like to wrangle as many friends into the equation as possible. The only thing better than sewing your own party dress is having a friend right alongside you sewing her own!

winter shenanigans

Well, so it's not winter any more. I know, I know. But before it gets too warm outside, allow me to present pictures from the first annual winter accessory sewing extravaganza!

Take me, two sewing machines, and five girls without much sewing experience and voila! Party! What better way to usher in the long months of winter than with a fire, hot cocoa and cookies, and a few yards of fleece?

This really was a great time--we'll definitely have to do it again. I had a surprising amount of fun as an "instructor," and I think it's safe to say the girls all had fun too! One thing I did fail to realize, however, was the secret difficulty of mittens. True, this pattern only requires about four seams, but one of them is the thumb curve--not the easiest for a novice. But everyone tried with a wonderfully cheerful spirit, and everyone left that night with something wearable. And a little sugar buzz!

first things first

Any blog that features my wonderful world of sewing mischief must, by definition, begin with an introduction to Gladys, my sewing partner. Say hello, Gladys!

You'll have to forgive her--she's a little on the quiet side. But she's sure a good helper. Here she's wearing the structured white corduroy blazer we made together last winter. I promised not to have any naked shots of her on this blog, and I'm a gal of my word.



And here she is in the '60s dress we made last summer. (She asked me to include a picture of her good side.) Her one regret is that she is unable to model the sweet shoes that go with this dress. I guess that'll be left up to me. Sigh. Oh, well. She can't do everything. She is, after all, made mostly of metal bands and plastic.

So welcome to Spools! Custom Sewing Solutions. Gladys and I hope to see you again soon!