UPS WAS HERE!!
I HAVE NO IDEA WHO HAD THESE MADE FOR ME.

THEY PROBABLY LOOK SMALL BUT THEY ARE 2X5 OR SO
WHO EVER IT WAS I LOVE THEM.
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!

WAITING UNTIL TOMORROW TO POST DETAILS ABOUT MY EARTH DAY GIVE AWAY SO MAKE SURE YOU COME BACK FOR THAT!!

THANKS FOR VISITING!!

HI AGAIN!!
I USUALLY LEAVE MONDAY’S FOR THE TIP OF THE WEEK
BUT I WANTED TO COME SHOW YOU MY NEW LABELS.
I KNOW SOME OF YOU LIKED THE ONE’S WITH THE SEWING MACHINE.
I STILL HAVE SOME OF THOSE, BUT I WANTED TO GET SOME OF THESE TOO
LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.

I HOPE YOU ALL HAD A GREAT DAY AND THANK YOU FOR VISITING.

HI.
TO CONTINUE WITH SEWING TERMS FROM LAST WEEK,
HERE ARE TERMS D-G

Directional Print: A fabric with a printed pattern that has a definite “up” and “down”, or grain. Care must be taken to match the direction when piecing.

Drapability: Ability of a fiber to bend easily. A flexible fiber such as acetate can be made into a highly drapable fabric and garment. Usually, the thinner the fiber, the better the drapability.

Ease: To make two pieces of different sizes fit together in the same seam. One piece may have to be stretched a little or bunched up slightly in order to get both pieces the same length.

Elasticity: Ability to increase in length under tension and then return to the original length when released.

Grain: The direction of the fabric, along the warp and weft threads. When aligning templates “with the grain” they need to be parallel to the warp, or length, of the yardage.

Griege: From the French “grege” (raw silk) and the Italian “greggio” (gray), also called “gray goods,” the term refers to woven textiles as they come from the loom, before they are dyed or printed and sold as finished goods.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK,
THANKS FOR VISITING.

I HOPE YOU ALL PARTICIPATED IN EARTH HOUR!
THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THOSE OF YOU THAT DID, I AM PROUD OF YOU.

IF YOU VISITED TOPSTITCH YESTERDAY THEN YOU KNOW THE LIGHTS WERE OFF HERE TOO, JUST IN CASE YOU MISSED IT HERE IS WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE.

I ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO DO YOUR PART FOR OUR EARTH.
VISIT THE LINKS TO THE RIGHT UNDER “RESPECT YOUR MOTHER” FOR MORE INFO.

OUR PLANET IS A SMALL PLACE
WE ALL SHARE THE SAME TREES
THE SAME AIR
THE SAME OCEANS
SO LET’S KEEP IT CLEAN.

I HOPE YOU ALLL HAD A FANTASTIC WEEKEND
THANKS FOR VISITING.

FYI: IN HONOR OF EARTH HOUR TOPSTITCH IS GOING TO TURN THE LIGHTS OUT.
ONLY THING IS, IT WON’T BE JUST FOR AN HOUR, IT WILL BE THE ENTIRE DAY.

VISIT TOMORROW AND YOU WILL KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT.
I ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO TURN YOUR LIGHTS OUT TOO.
IT’S JUST FOR ONE HOUR. 8:30 LOCAL TIME.

WE ONLY HAVE ONE EARTH PEOPLE. LET’S START TAKING CARE OF IT.
IF NOT FOR YOU, FOR ALL THOSE CHILDREN BEING BORN EVERY DAY.

HAVE A FANTASTIC WEEKEND AND THANKS FOR VISITING!!!

HOLA!!

I HOPE YOU ALL HAD A FANTASTIC WEEKEND.

FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS THE TIP OF THE WEEK ARE GOING TO BE SEWING TERMS THAT I CAME ACROSS. I HOPE THEY HELP YOU. FOR SOME OF THEM I WILL INCLUDE PICTURES, IF I HAVE SOME AVAILABLE

SEWING TERMS A-C

Absorbency: Ability of a fabric to take in moisture. Absorbency is a very important property that affects many other characteristics such as: skin comfort, static build-up, shrinkage, stain removal, water repellency and wrinkle recovery.

Abrasion Resistance: Ability to resist wear from the continuous rubbing of the fabric against another surface. Garments made from fibers that possess both high-breaking strength and abrasion resistance can be worn often and for a long period of time before signs of wear appear.

Appliqué: Fabric design, or shape, stitched and/or fused to the right side of another fabric; style of quilting.

Basting: Large stitches made to hold fabric layers or seams in place temporarily, before final seams or sewing is done. One may also use safety pins or straight pins to baste.

Batting: The layer of stuffing (most thought of in quilting) to add warmth or thickness. May be cotton, polyester or wool. Can also be used in garment construction.

Bearding: When the batting fibers work their way through the top or bottom fabric layers of the quilt. It creates unsightly fuzz. Most often associated with inexpensive polyester battings, bearding can also happen with unbonded cotton.

Betweens: Small, thin needles used for finish quilting. Sizes range from 8 – 12, the smaller number being a longer-length needle.

Bias: The diagonal of the fabric weave. A true bias is at a 45-degree angle from the selvage.

Binding: A strip of fabric sewn over a raw edge to finish, add strength, and/or decorate the edge.

Blind Hem: Stitch used to hold up the hem on heavy fabrics. This stitch can be done by hand or by machine. Also used in appliqué.

Calico: Any small repeated print design on cotton, usually a floral.

Casing: Two pieces of fabric sewn together to form a tube.

Clip: Small cut(s) made in the seam to allow for marking a pleat or dart. Also used to help a seam lay flat.

Colorfast: Color which will not wash out, rub off or fade with normal use.

IF ANY OF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN DONATING ANYTHING FOR MY EARTH DAY TOTE BAG’S PLEASE EMAIL ME. MIANTIFAZ@GMAIL.COM OR LEAVE A COMMENT HERE.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK
THANKS FOR VISITING.

PLEASE GO CHECK OUT MARILLA’S BLOG. SHE POSTED PICTURES OF INDY WITH A BLANKET I MADE HIM!!!
YOU HAVE TO SEE HOW BEAUTIFUL HE IS!

I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT 4 TOTE BAG’S THAT I AM GIVING AWAY FOR EARTH DAY. I DIDN’T MAKE THE TOTE’S. I BOUGHT THEM. I WAS GOING TO MAKE THEM BUT I COULD NOT PASS THESE BAG’S UP THEY ARE SOOOO NICE.

I’VE ALREADY BOUGHT SOME STUFF TO PUT IN THEM

I AM ALSO TAKING DONATIONS
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN DONATING SOMETHING PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I WOULD NEED FOUR OF WHAT EVER YOU WANT TO SEND.

BUSINESS CARDS
STICKERS
FLYERS

OR ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF.
THIS IS A GOOD WAY TO PROMO YOUR SITE OR BLOG!
EMAIL MIANTIFAZ@GMAIL.COM OR LEAVE A COMMENT HERE.

THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO HAVE ALREADY AGREED TO DONATE.

THANKS FOR VISITING.

GOT MY POSTCARD FOR THE SUGAR PLUM ARTS & CRAFTS FESTIVAL
IF YOU ARE IN ORANGE COUNTY AND YOU LIKE ARTS AND CRAFTS
MAKE SURE YOU CHECK IT OUT

OCE FAIR AND EVENT CENTER
88 FAIR DR. COSTA MESA
BUILDING 10
ENTER OFF ARLINGTON DR. AND FOLLOW THE SIGNS

2009 SHOW DATES
APRIL 2-4
JUNE 11-13
OCTOBER 15-17
NOVEMBER 5-7
DECEMBER 3-5

ADMISSION IS FREE
175+ VENDORS

CHECK THEIR SITE FOR MORE INFO.

THANKS FOR VISITING!

HI.
ISN’T THIS THE CUTEST THING EVER!!
A LITTLE MUSICAL SEWING MACHINE.

ONE OF THE GIRL’S AT WORK GAVE IT TO ME TO BRIGHTEN UP MY DAY
IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL IN PERSON AND I LOVE IT!

WHEN THE MUSIC IS PLAYING
THE NEEDLE GOES UP AND DOWN LIKE A REAL SEWING MACHINE.

THE PATTERN BOOK IS SO CUTE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH ORFIE!!!
I DIDN’T EXPECT THIS AT ALL AND IT WAS AN AWESOME RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS ON YOUR PART!

IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS I WILL HAVE DETAILS ON THE TOTE BAG’S I AM GIVING AWAY FOR EARTH DAY. SO MAKE SURE YOU LOOK OUT FOR THAT.

THANKS FOR VISITING!

I DECIDED TO SHARE SOME FUN THIMBLE FACTS INSTEAD OF THE TIP OF THE WEEK. I WILL DO THAT EVERY NOW AND AGAIN!
 

The thimble has its origin in early civilization. Roughly carved of stone, bronze, bone or ivory, the thimble aided the sewer in pushing crude needles through animal skins to make clothing. Since that time thimbles have been created or made from every material imaginable. The thimble has served many purposes through the ages.
During the late 16th century to the early 20th century, thimbles were valued as objects of art. They were given as love tokens during Victorian times in a society that discouraged personal gifts of any nature between men and women. At one time, sterling and gold thimbles were given as an engagement gift from the fiancé to his future bride. The bottom part of the thimble could be cut off and used as the new wife’s wedding band when the couple married.

Early schoolteachers used thimbles to enforce strict discipline. The teacher would knock the disobedient student on the top of the head with a thimbled finger. The term “thimble knocking” was used by ladies of the evening around the same time period. They used a thimble on their finger to knock on the window glass to attract the attention of males walking by. During the 1800s, a thimble was used as a spirit measure or alcohol shot glass, helping coin the phrase, “Only a thimbleful.” During World War I, thimbles became a type of currency. In England approximately 400,000 sterling thimbles were donated and melted down in order to buy much needed hospital equipment. After World War I, thimbles became a popular advertising medium for companies in all areas of manufacturing and services.
One of the most astounding uses of a thimble may have taken place in 1856 when Latimer Clark was testing the first transatlantic cable. After several failed attempts, he borrowed a thimble and added a small amount of acid and zinc creating a miniature electric cell. This thimble generated enough current to send a signal across 3,700 miles in a second. Quite a colorful history for such a tiny sewing tool!

THANKS FOR VISITING
HAVE A GREAT DAY.