Gallery of Finished Projects

[LadyShadow]

Lovely sling. And horrible dishes. They are extremely evil little things.

[Wickedvox]

Yeeeoowch! Increased risk for infection and skin integrity is my nursing diagnosis I love that it's jack-o-lanterns and it matches your shirt lol. Be careful Miss Isabella, you're very valuable to us!

[isabelladangelo]

Thanks, guys!  I so wish I could get a dishwasher but my kitchen is a nice 6x10, barely.  I think it's really 5'5"x9'5".  It's big enough for a fridge, oven, sink, microwave, and me!  Now, I could *hire* a dishwasher....hmmm...

Oh well, i have been playing with the rotary cutter with limited success.  We'll see how it does on various fabrics tonight.

[gem]

Good lord, if you can't wash dishes safely, you have no business anywhere near a rotary cutter--especially while injured!    Although I suppose you have the "other hand out of the way" part covered at the moment!

I, too, am trying to learn to love mine (just used it to cut out all the rectangles for cuffs, collar, and ruffles, and it *was* nice not having to mark all of that). I recently discovered that it's evidently A Very Nice One--it's a Kai; not sure how I ended up with that, but there you go! And since I never use it, it also has a lovely sharp blade. But I can't seem to master (or get used to) the skipped bits I have to go back and snip by hand--is this to be expected? Is it easier on thicker fabrics? I'm nowhere near ready to try curves yet...

[Orphena]

Just wanted to say how lovely everyone's work is! AlthoughI do not comment here often, it is so nice to get inspiration from such talented people! I am amazed at how quickly some of your projects are completed!

And...gem - thanks for posting this a while back.... I was dreading making straight strips to decorate the paned slops I am working on, and was able to find one today!

...  You should totally go out and get yourself a 2" Clover bias tape maker (go for the real Clover ones; the Dritz *looks* the same BUT IS NOT.). A couple of weeks ago I made the guards for my black skirt, and it was AWESOME! So much fun to run the fabric through that little gadget, and have the strips come out perfectly every time.



I got mine at a local quilt shop for about $12, but you may be able to find them cheaper online.

Hopefully in a week or so I will have a picture for this thread!

[Serenity]

Gem - what do you mean by skipped bits?  I use a rotary cutter for quilting.  Silly question, but you are using a mat, right?  If you are pressing hard enough (I can do several layers at a time with no problem), then you shouldn't have any skipped pieces.

[LadyShadow]

Gem - what do you mean by skipped bits?  I use a rotary cutter for quilting.  Silly question, but you are using a mat, right?  If you are pressing hard enough (I can do several layers at a time with no problem), then you shouldn't have any skipped pieces.

Mine does that sometimes, doesnt matter the fabric. But I noticed it depends on how hard I am pressing if I get the skipped bits or not.

[Ms Trish]

Gem - what do you mean by skipped bits?  I use a rotary cutter for quilting.  Silly question, but you are using a mat, right?  If you are pressing hard enough (I can do several layers at a time with no problem), then you shouldn't have any skipped pieces.

Mine does that sometimes, doesnt matter the fabric. But I noticed it depends on how hard I am pressing if I get the skipped bits or not.

Mine has recently started doing that too, but I think it's because I have a dull spot from overuse or nicking it against something. Try changing blades?

[Auryn]

Once I Figured out that the skipped bits from my rotary cutter are because I need to change the blade, I LOVE mine.

Its really kind of astounding how quickly they can get skipped bits- especially if you accidentally hit the edge of the cutting mat, or if you hit a pin.

[gem]

Gem - what do you mean by skipped bits?  I use a rotary cutter for quilting.  Silly question, but you are using a mat, right?  If you are pressing hard enough (I can do several layers at a time with no problem), then you shouldn't have any skipped pieces.

I do have a mat--but I use it on a carpeted floor. Maybe that's preventing me from getting perfect pressure? I should put the mat on my table and see if that helps.

One thing I do like about it (it's a Kai) is that the blade is pressure-retractable, so you don't have to remember to lock it when you set it down. The blade comes down when you press down to cut, and retracts when you lift it up again.

[Rowan MacD]

   If the 'skipped bits' are at regular intervals, it's a dull blade and you should change it.
   If they are random (1 or 2 per long cut for example) it's probably the surface you are cutting against.  A good mat will help with that, though I have yet to get one since I have limited storage space. 
   lifting the cut scraps away as you go will let you 'fix' the misses as they happen by going over them again.  Otherwise, have a set of scissors handy. 
  Cutting Velveteen dulls rotary blades in an obscenely short amount of time. New blades are expensive, and I have had very limited success with sharpeners.

[gem]

The folks at Pattern Review recommend the much less expensive carpet cutting blades from Harbor Freight Tools. They say they're just as good as Olfa, for a fraction of the price.

[GryffinSong]

Definately try putting your mat on a hard surface. It makes a WORLD of difference. If the problem is dull blades, and you have a Jo Ann Fabric near you, use your 50% off coupons to buy replacement blade packs. If you're not on their mailing list, you can usually get their coupons online.

[gem]

The Smock Is Done!!!

I probably won't get to wear it until next year, but it's on Headless Bianca at the moment, and she looks fabulous. 

The smock itself (I ended up using some beautiful brown velvet ribbon for the ties):
 

With my new skirt!


And a semi-closeup of the collar, cuffs, & ruffles:


I'm *thrilled.* This took three times longer than I expected, but I learned some new techniques (serged rolled hems!) and it turned out exactly like I expected--which is always awesome. The one hiccough (isn't there always one?)... the cuffs are *still* too big! I think I need to put in an eyelet on one end to keep them from slipping down my hands, and to help close up the ruffle.

[Evie McCann]

Beautiful, Gem. You always do such amazing work.