Kassmin’s Creations

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

TNT Blouse and Skirt

Hello, I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday weekend. Below is a skirt and blouse I sewed two weeks ago from my TNT patterns. Last year I blogged about it here. I have not worn the ensemble yet, I am waiting for my hubby to be in the mood to take my photos.
Later.....

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Sewing Books, A.K.A Bibles

I was inspired by Myra and Alethia to write this post. Alethia did a Periscope concerning the role of sewing books, magazines etc. to helps us improve our sewing skills. Unfortunately, the scope only last for 24-hours and then is gone.

Last weekend I dusted and reorganized a small collection of books I keep in my sewing nook (more about the nook in another post). I own a large collection of sewing books (hard-copy and digital). The majority of the books are kept in the sewing laboratory located in the basement. The sewing bibles are kept in the sewing nook and they date from 1947- 1953. These are the hard cover books. In another post I will share information concerning the digital sewing books.

This is the list of the book I called my sewing bibles are:
1. Vogue Sewing Books, I have the original edition that was printed in 1970 with the orange sleeve, the 2nd edition revised in 1976 and the 3rd that was revised 1982. Of the three Vogue books I prefer the 1970 and 1982 editions.

1970

1976

1982

2. Adele P. Margolis- how to make clothes that fit and flatter- 1969 and the complete book of tailoring-1978

3. The Bishop Method of Construction- 1959 and Fashion Sewing by the Bishop Method- 1966.

4. The Singer Sewing Book- 1953 and the revised edition in 1972

5. Simplicity Sewing Book published in 1969 and it cost $1.00 at that time

6. Domestic Sewing Handbook published in 1947

7. Fit for Real People- 1998

8. Power Sewing and Fast Fit by Sandra Betzina.

9. The Singer Collection Library- 29 books in the collection and they are all mine.

These books were purchased slowly throughout the years. E-bay and the local library spring and fall books sale is where you should start because the books are really cheap. Also you can borrow books and magazine from the local library including Threads magazine and Burda magazine. Most libraries have an area where you can buy all kind of books during the year for $.50 cents or less. Flea markets and garage sale are another great resource to find sewing cheap books. The internet and sewing blog are another fantastic resource to help improve your sewing skills. Don't forget You-Tube another fantastic resource and free sewing book from on-line libraries that are free to the public.

The most important message I want to share with anyone who is new to sewing, is to take your time to build a sewing library.
Later.............

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Alpha Kappa Psi

Hello,
In March my son became a member of the academic fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi. After the induction ceremony he presented the paddle below to his “Big” (big brother). He drew the design and my daughter and I painted the paddle and mailed it to him. The red, white and blue represent Venezuela and Panama. Venezuela is where his big parents were born and Panama is where I was born. The opposite of the paddle (light blue) represents his big guiding and protecting him. The best part of this story was my son thanking me and his sister for all the work we did and the icing on the cake was “ I love you mom and thank you “.