Ballard Bunting

When my local Wal Mart discontinued selling fabric, it changed my work habits. Running 62 miles for a zipper forces me to plan... well most of the time. When I see a new project or get an idea in my head, I will travel to get the supplies I need.  The extra miles, usually mean I don't buy "just" what I need either.

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I have a vegetable garden that is growing faster than we can consume all the goodies. I found a zucchini that was the size of a baseball bat... and it was still growing.  I love zucchini bread but no matter how much freezer space I squeezed out, I couldn't fit zucchini bread from 8 cups of grated zucchini in the freezer so I decided to share the goodies with some friends. Two of them stopped by while the bread was still hot so I couldn't wrap it but I didn't want to send it out to the car without some kind of wrapping.  I had a couple of the drawstring gift bags packed away in the dinning room hutch and discovered that the shoe box size drawstring gift bag was the perfect size for a loaf of bread. Now I need to make a few more but this time I think I will make them in some harvest type print fabric...it looks like the garden is going to keep me giving away goodies for a while! I'll use the scraps to make canning jar lid covers... the amount of cucumbers I'm seeing, means lots of pickles!

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I'm about to be a nag but it really is for your own good. This nag is going to save you money if you just take a few minutes to listen and remedy the situation.  I know many of you do not go near your sewing machine in the summer... or at the least you don't sew as much as you do in the other seasons.... So here's the nag part ... are you covering your machine? Even if you throw a towel over it, you're protecting your investment by keeping the dust and dirt out of the machine.  Many of the new machines are designed so it looks like everything is enclosed and protected but the openings that you guide the thread through are also allowing dust into the machine... so protect your investment!

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I saw a piece on the news the other day about how Facebook is the most visited website and it's having an impact on our lives. Suppliers and purchasers are watching Facebook to plan their store stock and more. I have many people requesting to be my Facebook friend but I look for "sewing" somewhere in their profile before I will approve them as a friend. I've discovered many people do not list sewing even though they love sewing. Given the impact Wal Mart had by discontinuing fabric, I think it's important to list sewing as a hobby, interest, lifestyle... some where on Facebook so that we let the world suppliers know we have the numbers that are needed to carry the supplies we need... how about you?

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I really don't need a reason to save fabric scraps... every little piece of fabric seems to talk to me and convince me that it shouldn't be thrown away... it must be big enough for something. If you're an American Sewing Guild member, you've probably seen the great cover article in their Notions Magazine about making fabric beads and jewelry. One of my treasures from sewing shows is the fabric and sewing oriented jewelry I come home with. I have a favorite pair of fabric earrings... that no one realizes is fabric , a collection of charms on a broach, and sewing machine earrings.

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