Wednesday, September 30, 2009

i made bunting

And simultaneously conquered my fear of the bobbin. Good job me. This is called bunting, right? I never know if I'm confused or not.



Though I didn't end up using the sewing machine I have at my house. The one from 1965 that's been lurking in our guest room closet, behind our luggage and sleeping bags and old stretcher bars from when I used to paint. Yeah. I lugged it out. It weights approximately 75 pounds and I'm convinced is made of either lead or steel. And even my mom, who happened to be passing through town, couldn't figure out how to wind the bobbin. You have to wind it in place. Like under the foot. It was kooky.

So instead I went to The Urban Craft Center (where I took my sewing class) and happily sewed away using a brand new, easy to operate, unmysterious machine.

(Cannot recommend this place enough, LA locals! You can pay to use studio space and supplies whenever you want. And it's super cute and the girls are really nice and helpful. And they have laminated printouts demystifying the bobbin.)

I've already put in my request for the exact machine for Christmas.




Clearly, my favorite part about sewing is the fabric and patterns and colors.








I also think I may have made the most complicated, time consuming bunting ever. I realized after I already had everything cut and pinned and ironed that I could have easily just used pinking shears to make the flags and strung them along a length of yarn and the effect would have been the same.

But I was sooooo excited about sewing something. And these are a present so it's nice that they might be a little more permanent.

Also, I'm digging these colors for a gender neutral baby room. Thoughts?

18 comments:

Desi McKinnon said...

Good job. My mom bought me a new sewing machine and I love it. It's so much easier than any of the other ones I've used.

I love the color btw.

Unknown said...

I love this bunting, I'm making it for my kids playroom (one boy, one girl), perfect for gender neutral!

Allison said...

I have started to think that, as long as I'm paying the bills, it's my room to decorate as I please.

When I start having babies, I want a gender neutral room that isn't too childish and can grow with them. Looks like your bunting colors are a good place to start!

Heather from the Bar said...

What type of machine was it? I am looking to buy one and I have no idea which one is good for a semi beginner...

Rachel said...

But it's such good practice! Also, as much as I'm usually a proponent of using old things, I have to say that you probably don't want to bother learning on an old fussy machine if you are planning to upgrade. You have to re-learn so much when you get a new machine, it just makes more sense to learn on a machine you love. You'll probably have it for the next 30 years, if that helps justify it.

bigBANG studio said...

GENIUS. I was kind of *eh* about the ubiquitous bunting craze this summer, but you won me over with the resourceful, darling card you made from security envelopes (brilliant!) and now have truly won my heart with the bunting-for-baby (genius!). One of my best friends is having a baby this winter (she's the first to get pregnant in our group of ya-yas) and this would be THE BEST present for her. WOW, Kristina. You're a goddess! Enjoying every morsel of your posts.

Kyla said...

Love the color combo, love buntings! And do you know the paint color of the room? Love it as well...

style-for-style said...

ahhh so cute for a baby room

Sara said...

great job! I also conquered the bunting this year and a sewing machine from the 50's (it belonged to my fiance's grandmother and is so much fun to sew with).
I did, however, make a huge shortcut and didn't bother to finish the flags. Instead I just paired two pieces of fabric (back to back) and left the flags unfinished. All I did was sew one straight line along the bias tape and... voila. It turned out beautifully for my sister's baby shower. With the left over fabric, I made bean bags for my nephew.

kristina said...

Hi hi.

Heather - the one I used at the craft center is a Janome. I think the model is Sew Precise. It really is super easy and you can do all sorts of cool stitches with it.

Rachel - Come now, you know I don't need any help rationalizing things! But it is SO much fun and so satisfying to make things with a machine. And I'm thinking the same, why not just learn on one machine?

bigBang studio - you are too nice. and you should definitely make some flags for your friend!!

Kyla - the paint color, if I'm remembering correctly, is called Dovecoat. It's ralph lauren from home depot.

Sara- see, that's what I'm talking about. This did not need to take the better part of 3 days.

Amy@OldSweetSong said...

I love it. We must be on the same wavelength, I started my first attempt at "bunting" (I never know either) last night! I'm cheating and doing the no sew variety though. Will post soon.

That would look amazing in a neutral nursery, btw.

nicole said...

I came across this blog through Grey Likes Weddings. Yep, Grey Likes Baby: http://greylikesbaby.wordpress.com/
Featuring a darling butterfly mobile right now, which would also be perfect for a gender-neutral nursery. See what you think!

Meg said...

Mmmm... good for the baby room. I also sort of dig gender neutral baby rooms in general. A) why pink and blue, arggghhh. B) more stylish.

melissa said...

Love the buntings. And can I just say, I think I found my dream in-the-way-way-way-future wedding dress on 100layercake today? Gorgeous!

Can't wait to see how YOUR little one's room turns out.

Erin said...

These are also called "prayer flags" and I've seen this used in a baby shower. The woman made it and had all the people there write well wishes, hopes for the future, prayers if they wished on one side of the flag to baby and mom so that they can read it together when baby is older. Love the bunting. Good work =)

stephanie said...

I love the colors for a baby's room. Very pretty and not so "baby-ish" that your baby would grow out of it really rapidly...if that makes sense.

Joslyn said...

it is called bunting and it's perfection. you rock.

Rachel said...

It is bunting and it's lovely.

I made 30m of bunting for our wedding which was lots of fun.