Tuesday, December 3, 2013

A Sewist's Christmas & What's Under Your Tree?

This delightful sewing box can be yours for 29 pounds, and found at:
Elephant In My Handbag.
This is MY holiday wishlist. I don't really care about yours. 

Did I just turn into an eight-year-old girl all over again? If I look in the mirror long enough, I'm sure I'll find her tucked away in some corner playing dress-up with a doll. Nope, it's not a dollhouse you see here.  It's actually a sewing box. Wouldn't this be a great gift for that sewist-little-girl (or big girl)? YES...this would be a great gift for ME. Okay...too childish for me?  How about something more nostalgic like a cookie tin with handles? Don't give it to me empty silly...stuff it with lovely embroidery thread and these delectable needles from Bohin. (You can purchase some of the Bohin hand needles on Amazon too.)

Find this at Elephant In My Handbag HERE
I am shamelessly writing this post to tell you about a giveaway that is nothing short of "HEAVEN" for sewists around the world. Tilly and the Button has put together a collection of yummies to fatten up a lucky sewist for months to come. Quick...click onto her site and enter...or better yet, don't click on her site so I can win the whole thing for myself. I'm not kidding.  But to thwart part of my guilt (-y pleasure that is), I am going to share with you some more gifts that I want to see under my tree, besides winning this freaking amazing contest from Tilly and the Button.

Back to the sewing box. I actually saw this on Tilly and Button, and Elephant In My HandBag is one of the contest sponsors.  I poked around their site, and found all sorts of fun sewing gifts. I mean really, really adorable things.  My favorite are their kits. Don't you want to make a lamp, but didn't know how or have the time to collect all the supplies? Don't fear!  Here's a kit for your crafting pleasure...

Lampshade kits and shade choices HERE.
Or maybe one of these cute Japanese dolls (for me of course), if you don't feel a hankering for a new lamp:
This doll is so popular, it is currently out-of-stock. But write them and see when
they are getting the next shipment HERE.
MORE GIFT IDEAS FOR ME!

If you missed the Craftsy class sale that ended yesterday, I'm sorry. They were selling all their classes for $19.99. I splurged. I bought many, and really not enough at the same time considering all the classes that are still sitting in my WishList. But I have a sneaky feeling that the sale is going to come back around before the year ends, so keep your eyes peeled to your mail from Craftsy. In the meantime, there are some pretty fun things going on over there, and I recently picked up some yarn to match the sweater class that I bought (YESTERDAY). Craftsy also has a few kits to consider, and well, compared to some of the US kits out there, I think theirs are pretty darn nice. You know how to get there...I don't need to give you the info right? Okay...here's a little link for ya to something nice HERE for a real little girl and not your imaginary one. For the knitters out there, here's a kit that I think is beautiful and maybe simple enough for even me to tackle HERE.

My husband doesn't like to second guess on gifts. When he was in China, he called me from his phone to video conference me in to look at some fabrics from a local silk shop. But one type of fail-proof gift are Japanese imported textiles.  Particularly from Echino and Kokka. Just make sure you get me at least four yards from any of the print selections HERE at Hart's Fabrics.

You can order this print from this Etsy store HERE in HALF YARD increments,  but it's cheaper at Hart's Fabric.

Available on Etsy HERE in HALF yard increments, and at Hart's Fabric. (Cheaper at Hart's)
As soon as the weather gets warmer...I'm going to sign up for a sewing retreat or a week-long workshop. The first that comes to mind is Susan Khalje's class that's coming to San Francisco. I was also on her site recently and saw an announcement about videos soon to be available!  OMG! I love her, and if you want to get a taste of Susan, then sign up for her Craftsy class, and then read everything she writes in Thread's magazine. I can't wait until her videos come out.  Check her out HERE. Susan also puts together trips to France. Wouldn't that be a dream trip and something fantastic under the tree?

SewEzi Portable Sewing Table. $249.00 Get one HERE.
How on Earth did I almost forget to add this to my wishlist. Here's the thing, I sew on a tabletop, and lately I've really been wanting a flushed surface to sew on. Spending thousands of dollars on custom tables that aren't portable really isn't ideal. One day I'm going to move, and my next home will probably be smaller, and I might even lose my sewing studio (gasp). How do I prepare to size down now and still get what I want in a table? Enter the "SewEzi" table. It's portable folks and it also has custom inserts. I could get one table and multiple inserts to trade machines. The only problem is the price at $249. If I had to redesign my room all over again, I would buy a couple of these to set up my two machines. Santa? Are you still there?  HERE is a review about the table from another blogger.

Another drawback is the lack of tables available for sergers. An overlooked need for home machines. Ever use your serger and wish there was just more space? I do...all the time. The best I can find are extension tables. I am probably not waiting for this one because it's on sale right now at Sewing Machine Plus for $79.00. There's free ground shipping for orders totaling more than $49.

Picture from Sewing Machine Plus. Get the insert HERE.
Well...if you (hubby) are getting a big bonus this year, and feel like splurging it on your lovely wife, here's something that wouldn't fit under the tree, but would look great in my sewing studio. I have saved the best for last.

More information about Brother's new Dreamweaver XE machine HERE.
I have been going back and forth about what I want in a new machine. I think I just want it all, and still keep a high-speed single stitch for everything else. I really can't get away with less than four machines. I currently have six, so I would be willing to part with two of them to have this one. Okay, maybe one of them to have this one.  I've been a big fan of Bernina for years, but after using my Juki, and sampling other machines, I have a renewed respect for other brands. For what this Brother machine offers, a comparable Bernina would be three or four times more in price.

Thanks Santa in advance for my gifts!  Happy holidays everyone!