Running Stitches

 This is a super simple pattern for a spool pin doily.  If you have basic crochet skills you probably don't need these step by step instructions, but for those who have never crocheted in the r...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2024/07/crocheted-spool-pin-doily-for-vintage.html

Just a short post to show some more "jelly roll bags."  By that I mean that the exteriors are entirely made of jelly roll strips (the interiors are made from yardage.) I made these three items ...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2024/06/more-jelly-roll-bags.html

 I never really wanted a white Featherweight until one just "happened" to come my way. I tend to go through phases in sewing machines:  The Black Straight Stitching Singer phase (15-91,...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-white-featherweight-why-would-you.html

 It's been a while since I featured a new machine here.  Mostly I've been selling them, not adding them. I'm trying to downsize. This post shows my "skeleton crew" of machines that made the pu...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2024/05/singer-featherweight-222k.html

 Trying to switch up my sewing a little bit and tackle a new challenge.  I went on a brief but furious quilting frenzy recently and churned out four quilts in a couple of months (none of them ...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2024/05/denim-shorts-trying-something-new.html

  I change it up often, moving things around to suit me, but this is the latest arrangement. I have downsized my collection of machines - no really!  Yes, I have pared it down to the one...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2024/04/my-sewing-space-updated-for-2024.html

 In a previous post I compared the Kenmore 1050 "Mini Kennie" to a Featherweight.  But this Kenmore machine really has more in common with another, lesser known, Singer model - the Genie (aka ...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2024/01/singer-genie-versus-kenmore-mini-kennie.html

Continued from The Reluctant Quilter Part I - Piecing the Top   It doesn't take long to figure out one thing about quilting - piecing the top is the "fun" part.  Well, "fun" if you enjoy cutt...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-reluctant-quilter-part-ii-basting.html

 I have been sewing for more years than I want to admit, and yet I have never made a quilt.  I never WANTED to make a quilt, it just isn't my jam for lots of reasons. But when a seven year ol...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-reluctant-quilter-part-i-piecing-top.html

 I just saw this listing on Shop Goodwill, and it caught my eye because it was so shiny, perfect, and beautiful - at a glance, anyway. Really the first clue this is a reproduction is just that...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2023/02/how-to-spot-vintage-singer-reproduction.html

 If you have a low shank (vertical needle) zigzag sewing machine of ANY brand, you might consider one of these. Singer Professional Buttonhole for Vertical Needle zigzag machines While thi...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2023/02/singer-professional-buttonholer-for.html

 I've been through more Kenmores than I can count in search of the ultimate model (not all of them are included on this blog.)  Every time I think I've found the best machine, I seem to find o...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2023/02/kenmore-158-1760.html

I've spent more time recently collecting sewing machines and gadgets than actually sewing, so I dusted off an old pattern that's been in my collection for a while now.  I liked it so much, I ma...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2023/02/review-for-butterick-5861-and-kenmore.html

I recently acquired a Kenmore monogrammer for my beloved 158.1774 (one of my favorite machines.)  I've been using the Singer counterparts for a number of years now so I was anxious to see how th...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-monogrammers-singer-versus-kenmore.html

I don't only use vintage sewing machines, I also use an "almost" vintage serger (they haven't been available for home use long enough to be truly "vintage" yet, they've only been around since may...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2023/02/kenmore-serger-385-16641.html

 A girl can't sew ALL the time.  Right now, this is my latest jam - making jewelry from seaglass I collected in France and England.  I can loosely connect it to the theme of this blog because ...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2022/10/when-im-not-sewing-seaglass-making.html

 So, I watched a few YouTube tutorials on how to make mitered corners for placemats, and all I could think was that it really shouldn't be THAT complicated.  And guess what - it really isn't! ...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2022/06/how-to-miter-corners-for-placemate.html

So apparently the 158.1941 is one of the last of Kenmore's high-quality, all-metal machines. You've got to hand it to Kenmore, though, they held out at least a decade longer than Singer which rol...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2022/06/kenmore-1581941-all-metal-wonder-machine.html

 I couldn't resist the Q humor - but the Q-uestion is this - do the much ballyhooed Q-foot and/or Q-needle live up to the hype? It seems that every vintage Kenmore owner covets a set of the...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-kenmore-q-foot-and-q-needle-any-q.html

...Continued from Kenmore 1050 and 1030 HOW DO THE MINI KENNIES STACK UP TO THE "OTHER" FAMOUS MINI? Singer 221 Featherweight The Featherweight is iconic: the cuteness factor is off the ...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2022/04/kenmore-mini-kennies-versus-singer.html

I've been sewing for decades (I won't admit how many, but it's a lot.)  I've sewed garments, costumes, dolls/doll clothes, accessories of all kinds, home dec, even a patio umbrella (no kidding!...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2022/03/quilting-just-doesnt-work-for-me.html

 Like most sewers I am beguiled by jellyrolls and other quilting precuts.  However, I don't quilt! (except small items such as table runners, potholders, tote bags, etc.)  Quilting isn't my ja...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2022/03/1-hour-crossbody-cellphone-purse-made.html

How To Make a Purse Strap and Add Hardware First of all, decide the finished width you want, keeping in mind the hardware you'll be using which is usually D-rings, swivel clasps and possibly a...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2022/02/how-to-make-strap-for-purses.html

As I've branched out into vintage Kenmore machines in the last couple of years, many models have come and gone.  Some I didn't even bother to review, I just dusted them off and passed them on. ...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2022/02/kenmore-15817741-its-bomb.html

No two are the same, because all items are fabricated from various remnants and recycled materials including vintage fabrics, trims, buttons, and zippers.  (New fabrics and hardware are used...

http://runningstitches-mkb.blogspot.com/2022/02/reclaimed-stitches.html