Mood:
chattyNow Playing: "Shrek" - go figure, Dearest Son wants to watch it all the time now.
Late again. Sorry. Beloved Hubby's working on another AMV, and that does take up the computer time ! I'm just glad he's having fun.
Meanwhile, I burned through some serious cash. While cherry-picking a local grocer this morning, I found that they sold the storage tubs I wanted - cheaper ! Cheapest I'd found was a set of four, at $13.50 each. Had no idea if I needed four, but I'm sure they'd find a spot somewhere. Just kind of a big cash layout. The grocery store had 'em for $11.99 ! And I didn't have to get four ! I thought two might do it, and I was right. Closet's still fulla stuff, but it's better organized now !
From there, I hit the craft store. Three 99c doll patterns - Simplicity 3886, 4271, and 5419 - came home, along with the star pegs and a paper mache star that'll be the door sign and another project, all half off. Also scored two other 99c patterns for me, a cardboard project triptych (doll room !)at half off, and some other odds and ends.
The Mart yielded fabric to make a new for-me blouse, silver spray paint for the stars, and Krylon Matte Finish. The Krylon's for the posters, so they don't glare from camera flash. It'll also come in handy as a sealant for another project I'll tell ya about later. Also a markdown pack of tiny 80 bright-colored eyelets - they're made for scrapbooking, but I have plenty of other uses for 'em !
Totalling up just the doll, sewing, and studio stuff I bought, I burned through over $42. today ! Add the other miscellany, and it's over $50. Wow. I've been trying to keep my spending down this year - last month, I spent less than $20. for the whole thing !
And what really tanks is that I can't do my studio stuff. Humidity's too high to spray-paint the pegs and sign, darn it. I cut out one of the three patterns, #4271. It's fantastic when you get three sizes of doll clothes in one package. It's great knowing that you can probably use all three sizes on your various dolls, and you only paid 99c for a $14.95 pattern. However, it's a PITA to cut out 'Hat Facing 7' three times.
Still, it's unusual for me to cut out a pattern the same day I get it. I normally put it off to the side and rediscover it later. Because patterns have a long, hard road before I can use 'em 'round here. First, it gets cut out. Then ironed, nice and flat and straight. Then, it gets scanned. Another ironing job refolds everything, so it can be stored back in the envelope. Because it probably won't come back out of the envelope ever again. Once I have the scans, I just use them. That way, I don't lose pieces or damage the originals. It's overwhelmingly time-consuming, and I have to be of a mind to do it. As you can imagine, that state of mind doesn't roll around every other day !
Oh, and I'm sure you haven't heard it from me first, but it was all the chatter everywhere I went - Hancock Fabrics is declaring bankruptcy, and our local Marts are discontinuing fabric sales. I'd be more upset, but facts are, I could shop my stash and use a new fabric every day for the rest of my life, and there'd still be plenty for the post-funeral yard sale. I actually see it as an opportunity to use what I have, instead of always searching for more. I know it leaves a lot of sewists out in the cold, though.
Two ladies at the Mart I was in today were pretty much buying up the entire dollar table fabric stocks. One bought entire bolts, including two pretty star fabrics I'd have snapped up myself. Oh, well. We talked while the staff measured and cut, over and over. They took mine in the middle of one lady's binge, and she'd amassed over 178 yards of material so far, with more to go. Bear in mind, this was no sale. They just wanted all they could get before markdowns and news-driven frenzy depleted stocks. They both made a quilt a month, often more. Wow. There was the usual chatter of hiding fabrics from spouses, etc.
My little 2.5 yards purchase seemed downright pathetic next to the folded, tagged textile towers on both sides of the cutting table. But it's all I needed, and with all I'd already spent that day, more than adequate for me. It was just funny that they were encouraging me to root around and buy more. Shoot, I doubt I'll even venture to Hancock's to see if our store's on the chopping block. There's fabric that's been there so long, I wave to it whenever I go. And the scrapbooking, home decor, and furniture there is just annoying. It's always on markdown, and still no one wants it. Meanwhile, there's a bolt I've been waving at since 2003.
So it was a big day today. Tomorrow, I get to iron and scan the new pattern. That's another thing - I have to do it all in a day or two, because having it lie around outside the envelope means I'll lose some of it if I take much longer with it !
