I Make Things, Do You?

OK, so this isn't trip related, but I have been meaning to write about this for some time. I love to make things - jewelry, cards, I sew (sort of), knit (kind of), bake (heck yeah! bring on the calories!), cook (not enough), etc etc. Soon after I moved here I started looking for places to take classes, something to occupy my time and to allow me to be creative while not making a mess at home. I also didn't bring my sewing machine over (have you used it yet, Mom??) so if I want to sew I have to find somewhere else to do it. I ended up stumbling across The Make Lounge, an awesome place up in Islington. I have since taken four classes from them, my most recent being this past Tuesday. You spend about two to three hours learning to make things and then you walk away with your completed project. It's fun, laid back, you get to learn how to make nice things, and you don't have to clean up! Well, it's nice to help the instructors clean, have some manners why don't you. So what did I make?

1. I learned how to use an overlocker/serger. We got to make napkins while figuring out how those strange machines work. The Make Lounge has a store (but all materials are included in class prices) and they have awesome fabrics and supplies so it's fun to make stuff out of their offerings. Like napkins made with Eiffel Tower fabric! And notice, two different color threads which means I had to thread the darn machine twice.

2. Next I learned how to make a snap-lock purse/wallet thing. This one wasn't too hard, pretty simple sewing was involved, and again, cute fabrics to choose from!

3. My third class was screen printing, which was really, really fun. This class didn't involve learning how to print the image on the screen using emulsion, we only used stencils to create our prints. But we did learn about printing on fabrics, inks, how to physically print (more technical than it seems) and then we got to make towels and tote bags. The price included two items and you could purchase more for I think two pounds each. I made three towels and one tote bag. And yes, Riley was my subject.

4. Finally, I made a notebook in their bookbinding class. I had my eye on this class for a while and kept on putting it off, then finally went this past Tuesday while Dave was out to dinner. This class was also supper easy, which was nice, as I could really see myself making more of these (Spoiler! Christmas presents!) The bookbinding technique we learned, one of 1,000's, was really easy, and the supplies would be fairly cheap to buy so I was glad to learn something handy and reproducible.

No pictures of the inside because then you'd just be looking at plain white paper - boring! The pink thread is much more catchy.

I am hoping to take their silver charm class next. They offered it the day after I took bookbinding, but I thought it may be over kill to go twice in two nights. So maybe, come October, I will be showing you pictures of my handmade silver charms.

Now I am off to set the table with my napkins, count my change in my coin purse, dry the dishes with my towel all while writing my future best seller in my notebook!