I'm Susie Bright, I live in Santa Cruz, California— I like to cook and sew and throw parties and wear costumes and pretend I'm running my own couture maison.
It's a dreamy escape from my other world, which is writing, publishing, & politics.
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The subtitle of my blog, Good Cooking, Fine Sewing, & the Leisure Hours, is inspired from a quote by Kitty Emeneau, the devoted wife of famous linguist Murray Emeneau.
Murray was influential in his field, and Kitty was an exceptional hostess. At one of their parties, a student asked Kitty if she was a behind-the-scenes collaborator on Murray's linguistic epics, in the manner of many "faculty wives" who worked without credit on their husbands' endeavors.
"Oh no, dear," Kitty said, with a trill that rivalled any drag queen's. "I'm strictly for his leisure hours!"
Jonny made a Fimo heart for me to stash my beloved shears. You're in My Heart is carved on the left ventricle. I just wrote about the importance of a good blade in my sewing column for a recent edition of Craft magazine.
But back to love. For today's theme, I thought of the song that was playing the first time I made love to someone who knew what they were doing. Did I know what I was doing? No. But this really helped:
Photo: Honey Lee Cottrell.
The Sewing Machine Guide: Tips on Choosing, Buying, and Refurbishing
I have such a appetite and weakness for sewing books, that I've had to resort to the library so I don't go bankrupt between books and fabric. I wish there was a "fabric library"... where you never get charged until you actually make something!
The kind of sewing book I usually get is one of these two:
= big fancy coffee table book of haute couture, runway porn
= tips about how to tailor your clothes to make you look like you could be making runway porn yourself.
Since I have exhausted near;y every sewing/fashion book at the Central Branch, I'm getting desperate. Today, I pulled out a slim paperback, The Sewing Machine Guide, by John Giordano. The title made me think, "this is a boring nerd manual."
Continue reading "Plasma For Your Sewing Machine, Mister?" »
There is no more important tool in a sewing basket than a fine pair of shears. You can find thread anywhere, or settle for a ball of twine. You can hand-sew the rest of your life without a machine. But you CANNOT cut cloth— or slash to a perfect point— with a butter knife, or your greasy thumbs.
One perfect pair of scissors is not enough, either— you need a brood. Cost is beside the point when it comes to shears. Sell plasma if you need to. If you can’t cut out a design to your satisfaction, your sewing career is screwed. Big, little, serrated, rotary, pinking—even the Swiss Army should be part of your repertoire.
I’m not kidding about the last item. The two most important family firms in Switzerland—in my estimation— are Bernina and Wenger, and this past year they made a 111th Anniversary Jubilee tool, which they call a “Lady’s Knife.”
Ha! It’s a complete sewing kit in a pocket-knife format, with seventeen different tools including a special rotary knife, awl, and hem-measure. This sucker will never get past airport security, and yet every passenger should be carrying one. The tools it employs could get you out of any scrape imaginable.
Next, you must cultivate a sharpener. Like a lover. This is the person who keeps your shears braced for a lifetime. See him often. Dedicate your life to him. Are there “lady” sharpeners who live in rolling caravans with their tools? I’d love to meet one.
