Making It Mine - Vintage Floral Lamp

Making It Mine is about buying a new or vintage item and changing it up to make it mine.

This was my latest project - a lamp base from an antique store.  The sign said "it works" which was good to know, since it was missing some parts.  Just to be sure, I had them try it out with a light bulb before I bought it.

As you can tell, the main thing missing is a lamp shade.

Another thing missing was the knob to turn it on and off.  Luckily it was in the "on" position when they put the bulb in.  Who wants to turn a lamp on and off with needlenose pliers?  Not me.

When I took the lamp to the hardware store to see if they sold knobs that would fit, they told me there was a piece missing from the center, too.  You're not supposed to have just that piece of cardboard.

The hardware store man found a lamp kit, opened it, added the gold center part and put on the knob.  How easy was that?  

I still needed a shade, though.  As you can tell from this picture, it probably originally had a glass globe for a shade, sort of like what goes on a hurricane lamp.

The store didn't have the right globular shape that I needed.  I didn't like the skinny clear ones they had, either.  I liked the looks of this pendant shade, though, so that's what I bought.

 

Here's what it looks like now.  The shade is not the right proportion, but the color is nice.  And that circular band looks a little odd, but so what.  It's definitely not as matchy matchy as it would have been with the original shade.

When I turned the knob, I got a nice surprise: there's a bulb in the base.  So with one click, the base turns on, with two clicks it turns off and the top bulb turns on, and with three clicks you get both.  I like the lamp even more now.

Almost Done with Boutique Apron

I'm ALMOST done with my boutique apron.

Last week I sewed the bib to the bottom.  That curved seam taught me a little something about multiple 5/8" marks on my sewing machine.

Today I made the straps and sewed them on.  They attach to the top of the bib, cross over on the back, and go through loops.  There are lots of nice touches like that on this apron pattern.

The straps are 43" long, and it took a long time to turn them inside out after sewing the seam.  The pattern had them at 53" but I cut them down before I realized how they would be used.  I thought they were just going on the waist and therefore were ridiculously long.  But even after trimming, I think they'll still work out.  I hope, anyhow, because it's too late now.  Guess I should have read the directions before cutting.

Today I also made these little loops and sewed them on.  They're located at the waist and they're what the straps will get pulled through.   They started as a 2" x 4" rectangle, then you sewed a 3/8" seam and were supposed to turn them inside out.  2" turned into 1" when folded in half, then after a 3/8" seam allowance, you had a 5/8" hole to pull the fabric through.  Hmmph.

After a short frustrating try at that, I threw them out, cut new rectangles and went to Plan B:  Fold under 3/8" on each edge, then fold in half with wrong sides together and sew along the edge.  Much easier!

When I sewed the bib to the bottom, the curve made it hard to match the outer edges.  I didn't feel like tearing it out and starting over, because of all the easing on the curve.  So when I put the lining on, I'll just smooth everything out.

And that will be the last step - add the lining.

Monday Is Fun Day - Elephant Pin Cushion

Here's another from my collection of vintage ceramics turned into pin cushions.  I gravitate towards animals, but only certain kinds.  Up to now it's been only cats and dogs.

  But now I'm excited to welcome this cute elephant.

It lives in this little shadow box with elephant button "pictures" on the wall.

When 5/8" Isn't 5/8"

I'm still getting used to my nice new sewing machine (not the Pink Singer).  I learned a little something yesterday.

I'm making an apron with a curved seam between the bib and the bottom.  I'd been postponing this part of the sewing, because I didn't feel like doing all that easing.  Turns out that wasn't the hard part.

This being a garment pattern, it called for a 5/8" seam allowance.  No problem - there it is, clearly marked at the top of the throat plate.  Up where the mark is, it looks like I'm not lined up, but that's because this is a curved piece of fabric.  When you look at where the needle is, you can see I'm lined up correctly.

The good news is that the seam came out nice and smooth.  The bad news is the seam allowance measured 1/2".  Huh?

After some analytical thinking, I moved my needle to the left position.  Sewing this way, you'd get your  5/8" seam.  But who's going to sew like that?  Maybe someday I'll understand the purpose of a needle left position.  

I moved the needle back to center position and kept my seam gauge in there.  And then I noticed that the little orange arm was clearly pointing to the white line on the bobbin cover.  So that's the guide I need to use!

I sewed another seam using the newly-found mark.

And now it's just right.  Instead of ripping out that 1/2" seam, I just trimmed right next to it.  That double seam will keep the allowance nice and neat instead of all frayed.

Pink Singer

A few months ago, I saw that Jo-Ann Fabrics had inexpensive sewing machines in pink, aqua, and yellow.  They were all lined up on display, one color just as pretty as the next.  However, I had no need of one.

But when they went on sale, I realized I did need one after all.  After much thought on the color, I went with pink.  I already have lots of pink in my sewing room, so it seemed like the logical choice.

As soon as I got it home, I got it set up and tried it out.

Things were going well until I encountered the front-loading bobbin.  I was able to wind the bobbin, and knew how to get the bobbin case in and out.   But the threading directions regarding how to pull the bobbin thread through the bobbin case were incomprehensible to me.  All they had was a picture and the parts didn't look the same.

I eventually wandered over to YouTube and found just what I needed to make it work.

I bought this pink metal box at a garage sale a few weeks ago, just because of the color.  It's the perfect size to store the foot pedal in.

Speaking of the foot pedal.  After I had everything threaded and everything plugged in, I stepped on the pedal.  No action on the sewing machine other than a very loud sort of groaning noise, which scared me.  Foot off the pedal to reconsider.  Foot back on the pedal.  More scary noises.  Holy cow, not sure what to do.  Foot back on the pedal, this time flooring it.  Success!  Guess it just needed more power.

So I sewed a few stitches, admired the tension, then moved the pretty pink Singer to a cabinet top.  It didn't cost much more than toy sewing machines I've seen in antique malls.   And that's how I justified my need - not quite, but almost a toy.  And definitely decorative.

Monday Is Fun Day - Dog and Cart Pincushion

Over the weekend, I bought more pin cushions made from vintage ceramic planters.

Here's a dog pulling a cart.  I have it paired with a vintage postcard...

... and some other fun objects.

Tablecloth for My Writing Desk

I have two desks - one I use with my computer; the other I use when doing longhand writing.  Used for different purposes, I like them to have different looks and feels.

This is my writing desk - a nice $5 find at a garage sale years ago.  Simple black, and the only change I've made over the years is to swap out the drawer pull to match whatever the desk happens to be sitting next to.  It's not that I move the desk that much, more like the decorating around it is a moving target.

My new favorite color is mint green.  This year I picked up lots of mint green accessories: wall clock, desk lamp, rolling cart, and lots of baskets.  I recently consolidated all of them together in this one room.  And since the room gets a lot of sun, I wanted to cover up the hot black wood with a cool-colored tablecloth.

These are the blocks I picked out from my first layer cake.  I chose twenty of the blue, green, and grey, plus one pink.

I added the pink strips to tie in with my stool.  This tufted and well-padded ottoman is so comfortable that it's the best seat in the house.   

There's also a little bit of pink in the ribbon board (not sure what you really call those things), where I like to stick notes.  These ribbon boards are so much easier than push pins on a bulletin board, plus I don't have to worry about the dog scarfing up any that might drop to the floor.

In case you're wondering about my color sense, I know this desk lamp is turquoise.  The mint green one is elsewhere in the room.

Not all of the blocks are visible, because the desk is tucked in next to a bookcase and other furniture.  Since all the fabric is non-directional, I can turn the cloth around and see different sides if I ever feel like it.  

But right now when I belly up to it, this is what I see.  Much cozier than a slab of black paint.

  

And here I am, all set up for some longhand writing.