Stepping Up and Making It Happen

     Wow. This week has been a busy one. What can I say, with work, school, volunteering, and karate there is not much time for much else. I am however making headway with my new hobby. I have completed two projects that are part of my concept of the framework that I have bee working towards.

     The first project I had completed this week was to create a basic light tent for product photography. My daughter and wife have both requested that I revive my photography skills and help them with product photography. Since I love photography and in a different life I was a professional photographer I am more than happy to help. With a little practice I should be back up to speed with the picture taking world again. I am actually really excited for this project because this will give me the opportunity to photograph things that I will be creating also.
     The light tent that I assembled is constructed of 1/2" PVC pipe. The frame is 3'x3'x3' and is covered with a white king sized flat sheet. The sheet is used to defuse the light from the flashes or other light sources that I have.

     The second project that I have completed this week was to create a simple pouch. I utilized two fabric pieces, hemmed one edge on each for the top opening of the pouch. I then proceeded to sew the two fabric pieces together to for the pouch. I put the right sides together and stitched around the 3 outer edges of the pouch leaving the hemmed edges open. I turned it right sides out when I was done with the stitching and my first project was complete.
     There was only one flaw with the way I did the hemming but that served as a great learning point. I pinned the fabric pieces together in order to sew them and at the time of the pinning everything seemed even. I started on one side of the pouch and did a continuous back stitch all the way around the three sides. When finished I found that one of the top was higher up from the other one on one side of the pouch. It appears that The hem itself was not straight. I might have been able to effectively compensate for this with a different sewing technique.
    What I should have done was sew down one side of the pouch, tie off and sew down the other side. Once the sides were done and matched properly I then could have proceeded sewing the bottom of the pouch. I will be doing that with the next one that I do.

     For my last posting I mentioned that I wanted to work on making a tailors ham. Unfortunately the week was very busy and I was unable to complete it. I am not going to be able to utilize the re-purposed fabric that I have. The pieces that I had to work with would put the seams in the wrong places. I think that I can use the fabric that I already have. The pieces are cut out but I have yet to get them sewed together. Hopefully later today I can get the machine out and get them assembled.

     I am really excited to be on this journey. I cannot wait to see where it takes me. I hope that you all have the most wonderful week and keep pursuing those dreams. You will not succeed unless you try.