Craft Crossovers

Did you ever have one craft you do, make changes in how you do things in other crafts? For years I was an avid cross-stitcher (until I messed up my thumb) and that changed how I hand sewed other items. In cross-stitching you double your thread, and put the ends of the thread through the eye of the needle. This leaves you a loop on the long end. You go up through the fabric, and down, then run the needle through the loop before you tighten the stitch. Voila, the stitch is anchored, and you are ready to go on with no knot sticking up. Well, at this point in time about the only hand sewing I do is to sew buttons on, but I use that cross-stitching technique every time. It anchors my button on with the first stitch, and I don't have to start with a knot. It is a craft crossover.

I was busy sewing scrubs today, and I realized how much quilting has changed the way I sew garments. When I quilt, I do a lot of chain piecing. I never chain pieced anything before I started quilting. I am sewing three different tops all with white thread. Look at what came off of my sewing machine! I sewed the top down on the pockets and sewed the shoulder seams on the facing all in one chain, and I did it for all three shirts at once. I've been making scrubs this way for a while, but I guess I hadn't thought about why I started doing it that way until tonight. I'm sure it's another craft crossover. I didn't used to make scrubs this way, and I've been making scrubs much longer than I've been quilting.

I didn't do any quilt-related sewing today. I am just too tired. I did get three scrub tops made today, so now I'm down to three left. I have step three for the mystery quilt all cut out, but I'd like to power sew through it in one mega sewing session, so I'm thinking it's going to have to wait until the weekend. If I can get those other three scrub tops made tomorrow, I'll be in good shape to do that. I think Step Four is supposed to come out tomorrow, but I will just have to catch up. It's not a race, and I'm really pushing to do it at all. I am having fun with it though.

I have some other projects I need to need to do, but some of the fabric has to be washed before I cut it out. That's not going to happen with my washing machine broken. The repairman was here yesterday, and he won't get the parts until next week. I'm having a hard enough time getting the essentials washed for us, I'm not washing fabric by hand. It can wait! Boy, is that washer going to get a workout when it's fixed after being broken for almost two weeks!