Here are Todays Amazing Essentials Sewing Deals
More Great Information on Essentials Sewing:
Gearing Up For Baseball by Stacey Day
If you are into baseball or just beginning to be fascinated with it, you can never be complete without gearing up for your safety and convenience in and out of the field. Here are some accessories to be considered to be in perfect shape for the game.
The bat
Bat and batter accessories These accessories apply to the players who are tasked to be the batters of the team, the section includes:
Stick grip enhancers This is applied to the grip of the bat to eliminate the chances of losing grip to the handle of the bat.
Rosin bags Rosin bags keep the hands dry, which is essential to batters.
Pine Tar rags These are rags placed on the handle of the bat to ensure non slip grips.
Eye black An eye black is applied to reduce glare.
Leg guards - These gears protest the batter's shin from foul balls, reducing the risk of injuries.
Gloves
Baseball gloves Baseball gloves are essentials for the catchers and the pitchers alike. To prolong the good condition of the gloves glove lacing and conditioners are needed.
Protective inner gloves the gloves serve as a protective tool for the catchers worn under their baseball gloves to give maximum protection to the hands when catching the ball.
Glove conditioners the formula remove dirt, prolong the life of the gloves and condition it for more ball games.
Glove lacing kits lacing kits are used to repair damaged gloves. It serves more like a mini sewing kit.
Glove oil glove oils are similar to conditioners but focuses more on glove enhancement and leather softening.
Catcher Accessories
In baseball, the catcher plays a critical and a dangerous role in the game. The risk of being hit by the ball or the bat is at his side, so here are the most important accessories a catcher has to consider:
Knee savers The catcher is almost always in the crouch position so these knee savers come in a great deal of protecting the catcher's knee.
Throat protectors this accessory attaches to the catcher's face mask to protect the wearer's throat.
Batting helmet face guards and accessories
These are essentials for the ultimate safety of the batter in the field. These include:
Face guards - these are made of steel wires to be attached on the batter's helmet to protect the face.
Chin straps chin straps offer protection to the batter's chin.
Wrist bands
Wrist bands are optional accessories which help the smooth running of circulation from the wrist to the hand.
The list above gives an overview of what a player should take note of in terms of gearing himself up for the game of baseball that he is going to venture himself into.
Stacey Day writes about Fathead Bargains, BaseballExpress Savings and MLB Online Shopping Discounts
Article Source: http://www.earticlesonline.com/Article/Gearing-Up-For-Baseball/140888
Help me stock a sewing room!?
Our theater is building a costume department, and we are starting to gather the supplies to go in the room. Can you help suggest items to stock? Everything from pins & needles to essential sewing or costuming books. I'm just trying to make sure we don't miss anything!
And here are my recommendations...
OK. First--build/buy a good cutting table. It should be at LEAST 4 x 8, and a cork board surface is ideal. You can fake it with cloth covered insulation board (which stinks!) but cork is the best. I recommend at least 2 inset shelves underneath the cutting table for bolt and roll fabric storage. Bins or drawers on the ends are useful as well--but give yourself a foot or so kick-space so you can pull stools up to the table to sit and work. It should be of a height to allow you to NOT have to bend over all day while you're cutting or drafting-ie, higher than the typical dining room table.
A BIG Bulletin board! Cubbys to store small items set aside for a particular actor or actress. Drawer storage for cut fabrics, shoes, and so forth. A couple of dressmaker forms--at least one adjustable. It's lovely to have a trouser form! Several common women's sizes are handy.
Sewing machines/sergers. I, personally, am sold on Berninas and Bernettes. I have a 20 year old Bernina Industrial and a Bernette 4 spool serger of about the same age. They're solid as rocks--real work horses. If you find a good Bernina dealer (mine is actually old order Mennonite and his shop is in his barn), the dealer can provide you with trade-in used models that I'd MUCH rather have than some new piece of trash. Make sure at least ONE machine has a free-arm, and make sure you get the attachment feet that allow things like automatic gathering, hemming, binding, zipperfeet, velvet or plush feet, the button attachment and so forth.
A good place to economically purchase sewing supplies is Newark Dressmaker's SUpply. www.newarkdress.com/ Their prices are good, and they have things like 3 dollar packs of 25 sewing machine needles in a variety of sizes, BIG boxes of pins, T pins, and safety pins. (I like using safety pins for fittings--you don't stab the actor, and the pins stay where they're put, but it takes a LOT of them).
Don't forget BIG cones of thread and Cone Stands for the machines. I always chose BIG cones of white, black, and some mid-range hues, and didn't spend much time directly matching cloth color.
Consider storage--clear plastic bins in various sizes on open, asjustable shelves are my preference! For items that should NOT be exposed to light, I go for the cheap, and pick up Banana Boxes at grocery stores, and basically block the holes. These work very well for pattern storage, too--three rows across. They're free, solid, and sturdy.
Some essential books? I'd start at Dover Press--they've got a BUNCH of great stuff, reasonably prices. I also recommend Theatrical Costume Pattern books--Janet Arnold's 3 "Patterns of Fashion" books are a must! Solid individual references on hats, shoes, accessories, jewelry are useful, too, and something like Milia Davenport's History of Fashion is a good single-volume reference. Fabric Painting and Dying for the Theatre is a source you should have, as is From the Neck Up, on hat-making. There's a terrific book--Corsets and Crinolines on underpinnings. That's an important one! Men's Garments (1832 to...?) Can't remember!) Stage Makeup (the standard textbook).
Start collecting --ESPECIALLY!!! long hair wigs, and you should have some basic hair-tools and some of those styrofoam stands.
Drama Books in NYC and Theatre Arts books http://www.dramabookshop.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp and http://www.theatrebooks.com/ are good solid industry-related sources, although I would CERTAINLY hit Alibris and ABEbooks, Strands 8 miles of books and Powells.com for used sources before I bought new.
A WASHER and DRYER!!! As well as one of those old galvanized tubs with the agitator, if you can find it, for dying. A stock of Rit dye in BULK is useful!
Hit thrift stores and yardsales for old dressmaker patterns and for trims and yardage. It's amazing how much stuff you can find for practically nothing there.
I'm assuming you also have costume storage! You'll need hanging storage, as well as bin storage, and storage for little stuff--collars and shoe laces and jewelry and buttons and so forth.
Buying buttons by the pound is useful. Bulk cloth ribbon is useful. Twill tape and bias binding and other edging stuff, too.
Good scissors--several pair! Button hole scissors, those little sharp-pointed fiskar trimming scissors are a must. One of those gadgets that automatically measures button/buttonhole placement is wonderful. Clear RUlers, olfa cutters and matts, drafting straight-edge and tri-squares are important, as is a roll of craft paper or newsprint for drafting, and a projector for easy transfer of miniature patterns to full-size. MUCH faster than point to point drafting!
Get to know your local antiquarian book dealer, and you can get all sorts of interesting things for reference.
Start collecting hats, glasses, handkerchiefs, men's shirts, men's suits, furs, "retro" clothes that you'll be able to re-shape into period garments, dark socks, fishnet stockings, fans, gloves and so fo
