Tagged: sewing

NEW BLOG: SamanthaSews Sewing Blog!

samanthasews - creativity and sewing blog

I’m blogging again! I started a new blog in October 2019: SamanthaSews Sewing Blog. It’s been so fun to share my projects again and I hope you’ll come follow my latest crafty adventures.

Here are some of my favorite posts so far (as of writing this post in June 2020).

The Fluffyland Blog will remain open as an archive, but all of my new blog posts will be posted to SamanthaSews.

Sewing Room Tour: 2018 Edition

Fluffyland Sewing Room Tour: 2018

Welcome to my new sewing room! It’s my favorite room in the house: this is where the magic happens. Out of all the rooms, this one has taken the most tweaking to get it just how I like it. It’s a never-ending process, but I love where it’s at right now so it’s time for a tour!

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a flag of independency

a flag of independency

This post is quite the throwback for me. Hello old apartment! Hello old sewing machine! It’s good to see you again.

A common question I get from visitors to my sewing room is: what is the meaning of INDEPENDENCY?

a flag of independency

The story begins, as you might expect, with little Sam finding her independence. I had lived with my parents for a year after starting my full-time job, and I had saved up a good chunk of money: it was time to find my own place. I did some Craigslist research and began apartment hunting.

a flag of independency

One of the places I visited was a condo belonging to a woman in her mid-thirties. I quickly realized it wasn’t right for me: it was on the ground floor with a giant sliding glass door in the back, so I knew I wouldn’t feel safe enough by myself. But she and her father walked me through, and I made mental notes to fine-tune what I was looking for in a place of my own.

a flag of independency

While the place wasn’t quite right, they were an incredibly kind family and her father was absolutely charming. He was an older man of Middle Eastern descent and spoke with an accent. He was so proud of me, this little bird finally leaving the nest. They both told me, “call us if you ever need anything! Even if you don’t take this apartment! We live right nearby, call us any time.”

a flag of independency

And, as we made our separate ways, the old man wished me good luck, and said, “You’ll have a new flag on your head!”

a flag of independency

I cocked my head, puzzled.

“You’ll have a new flag on your head!” he repeated, and mimed a flag pole rising from the crown of his head.

“A flag of Independency!”

a flag of independency

I drove home grinning. I didn’t know what it meant to have a new flag on my head, but I knew he was right. Moving out, finding my first solo apartment: this was a big step in my life. And it felt so good to have someone agree, saying “yes, it’s true, this is a big deal!”

a flag of independency

So I made a goal: once I found my apartment, I would sew myself a flag to celebrate. My new flag: a flag of Independency.

a flag of independency

I found my beloved apartment, I set up my sewing room (sewing room tour 2014, sewing room tour 2015), and I made my celebration flag. I used wool, vintage pennant-style. I made a template for the letters in Illustrator to get the right angles and sizing. I used Heat-n-Bond to fuse the letters – one of these photos shows how I ruined my (old, decrepit) ironing board cover in the process! I then sewed around each letter, and used the same gold wool to bind the edges of the triangle.

a flag of independency

In my new House, the flag still has a place of honor in the sewing room, reminding me of that special time and honoring all the other new flags I continue to acquire.

Happy New Year! Can’t wait to see what flags 2018 has in store.