USB ! Embroidery ! I can do it easily !!

 

Current Mood : Elated and sated ! 

 

I did it ! Whooo-eeee ! The USB holds no further mystery to me ! Of course, I want ten minutes alone with whoever wrote the manual...

 

Beloved Hubby ended up not going to the AirSoft games today - it was only 27 degrees this morning, and that seriously interferes with weapons play. But we were up early, like 5am early, so we had a nice home-made breakfast - link sausages with syrup and biscuits - and went back to bed. DFIL must think we spend most of our weekends in the bedroom, as we were still asleep when he dropped off Dearest Son this morning.

 

Speaking of, Dearest was less than impressed at first with his little monogrammed drawstring bag, once it was apparent there was nothing inside ! He came around later, and started storing Lego figures - to him, the important pieces of Lego ! - inside. It does fit the game controller for his laptop, something that's normally transported inside a Mal-Wart sack tied to the cushioned hard case he uses for his laptop, but it's a bit tight. So I'm gonna make another one.

 

With downloaded designs ! With my guys home, we had a slow, relaxing day. I even took a nice afternoon nap, after re-reading the USB manual a few more times. It's only seven pages, counting the usual FCC regulations page. By the time I was ready, I'd cleaned off my desk, straightened out the USB cable and connected it, and decided which designs would be the first to transfer. The onboard memory on the sewing machine can only hold twelve designs at a time, so I needed to choose wisely. I also wound a fresh bobbin, and got the machine threaded with a full spool of regular ole thread. The drop-in bobbin has a clear case, so I can now see when the thread's running low ! Cool ! Also, when I use the machine's ‘cut threads' function, it pulls both top and bottom threads to the underside. Awesome. Hooped up some fresh unbleached muslin, and proudly bore the machine to my computer desk, along with the manuals and software.

 

Since the manual didn't say whether or not the machine had to be on, and it didn't show a power cord in the illustration, I left it. And had to go back to the Lab to get it. But once it was all installed, my computer instantly saw the Brother as Removable Disk L, the drivers installed in less than a minute, and it was but seconds of click/drag to transport designs between them. Gleefully, I gathered the Brother back to the Lab and got ready to Em-BROY-Derrrrrrr !

 

Unfortunately, the USB manual doesn't mention that you'll lose everything in unstored memory once the power is shut off to the machine. And once you transfer stuff, that's it for the directions in the USB manual.  (sigh) So I unplugged it once more and carried it back to the computer, this time, dragging the main manual along. The main does say that, and offers a way to store designs to the Brother's memory, and they'll stay there until erased. Again, it can only hold twelve, max.

 

So I did it again, and... the designs vanished when I turned it off. And every time I tried to store anything, I got a ‘do you want to delete the current design ?' message. I was really getting frustrated, but I finally got one in memory. Restored, I tried to store another. And got the ‘do you wanna delete ?' message again. What, I could only store one ?! It seemed to be so. Everything else I tried got me either a ‘fail' beep or a ‘delete' message. Arrrgh.

 

Reread both manuals, and didn't know much more after as before. It really seemed as though turning off the power would erase everything, so I'd need to 1) either move the computer back into the Lab, so I could move it without powering down, 2) carry Dearest's laptop to the Lab to transfer designs, or 3) find one of the $60.+ cards the machine was set up to use. How frustrating !

 

But just about when I was gonna take my one design and at least try it, I decided to go through the machine's memory. And the last four designs were in there ! WTH ? Evidently, the ‘wanna delete' just refers to the temp memory, not the stored memory of the machine. Too bad there's no way to tell the difference ! Downloading ‘em puts ‘em in temp memory, and storing them requires deleting ‘em from temp once they're in system memory.

 

Of course, this is nowhere in either manual. So I wrote down how I did it with Design #5, and it worked ! Yeah, it was as kludgy an interface as Dearest's game controller's last week, but I'm starting to think one helped me understand the other. And, heck, I got it, which is the main thing. I soon had #5 in system memory, and wrote down directions in the right page of the manual. Using those, I got #6 in without thinking, so I got it now !

 

Then, it was time. Since I'd already done all the ‘leg work' earlier, I just had to reinstall the embroidery platform and then the hoop, and choose a design. And. It. WORKED !! Dearest claimed the ‘fireworks' design for his next drawstring bag, but I didn't have time to work on putting the new-font free-download initials on the other side. So I'll work on it tomorrow, while he's in school.

 

Yeah, I could have spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the Lab, happily embroidering stuff, but it's increasingly rare to have long, leisurely weekends with my fellas. So I chose to hang out with them instead. Tomorrow, I'm going into the City with Beloved, and he's promised to stop anywhere I like. Unless there's a thrift in our path, I don't see us stopping, except for lunch, maybe. I got the Sewing Notions embroidery design set I've been wanting, since I know that USB and downloads work, and I think that's about all I'll need for a while. Aside from any adorable free downloads, that is ! 

 

Oh, and I ordered the MAD doll stands. Her shop is back up, and she says she'll mail Monday. So, expect a review on those soon after they arrive. If they're half as good as they look on her site, I'll be so very happy ! Once I can get to the dolls and stuff, my lab is a wreck right now ! Backed up all my new patterns, old blogs, and photos on the hard drive to a CD-R, something I've not done since maybe October.

 

So, while I spent $42. today, it all came out of my eBay sales, so in my mind, it doesn't count ! I love my creative book-keeping, don't you ? 

 

And I forgot to tell ya - we curb-shopped a free office chair Friday. It was dirty, but in decent shape, so I got it cleaned up today, and it's my new computer chair. Dearest got to choose between his current one and my older one, and his old one is going out to our curb this week.

 

Before I forget again, here's a link straight to the American Girl pattern sets (make sure you have Adobe Reader installed) -

 

http://www.agplaythings.com/AG%20Patterns/DollDressPatterns.html

 

AG Playthings.com is also fun to browse around, once you're done downloading all six sets !!

A bunch of Ms and hearts...

 

Current Mood : Upset that I upset someone else, but otherwise quite pleased with m'self. 

 

I still haven't opened poor New Malibu. It's been a busy day again. It took me a while, and a series of M's, but I finally ‘get' machine embroidery. I stayed with using the on-board designs today, making sure I knew how to use the hoop and embroidery table, and it took some time and a minor headache, but I can use the designs with no problem, even take care of problems like thread breaking or running out !

 

I was experimenting with M's because they're Beloved Hubby's initial. The first one, frankly, looked awful. Thread broke twice - I was using regular spool thread, it's allowed, although embroidery thread is preferred  - and the tension was wrong. Second one tangled on the back and missed a bunch of stitches, but the tension was better. Third emptied the spool, but this time, I knew how to fix things, and the tension was still not right, but it looked somewhat better.

 

Got tired of monograms after the third M, so I switched to something else. Found the leftover - and mis-sewn ! - unbleached muslin from the dining area curtains, and got some of that hooped. Confession time - I'm pulling used dryer sheets from the collection of ‘em I have for stabilizer. Same box I started when I began sewing in '02, and we lived in that crappy apartment with the crappier laundry room. It's working OK for practice purposes, but soon, I'm gonna hafta crack open the expensive stuff.

 

Found a one-color cute little heart, and did that. Perfect ! For fun, I tried to put one of the included ‘frames' around it, in the shape of a shield. I was just a bit off center, but it really showed. It was still cute, though, so I folded it up and left it on Beloved's desk with a note saying he'd always have my off-center heart. It's now hanging up over his computer. (glee !)

 

We watched Point Break together, and he drifted off for a nap. I still wanted to embroider stuff. So I played with putting several different elements on the same ‘canvas', since the machine allows some repositioning and a few editing functions. The British-type crown came out well, so I decided to put a ‘D' under it. Well, I have to learn to record how tall patterns are, because the crown is sitting over the top of the letter. Again, it's still cute, so what the heck. Not sure what I'm gonna do with it yet. Put the same heart design on the KJ's machine cover, which is sort of a scrapbook of my sewing - it's one of the first things I sewed back in '02.

 

I wanted to learn how to put letters together, so I read that part. The machine is, frankly, amazing. You can string the on-board alphabet series' letters together until you run out of space, simply by typing them. And once space is maxed out, you can compress the letters together a bit to make space ! Very cool ! So I did Dearest Son's name in muslin, and it came out great. Fashioned that panel with another into a simple drawstring bag, for his laptop game controller, or Lego, or whatever. Can't wait ‘til he sees it.

 

Remember that Happy Meal ‘Twin Stars' digital watch that nice young lady at McD's gave me ? I cut the band off, and learned that there was a peg on the inside that kept me from simply running a wide band of elastic or fabric for a band that fit my wrist. While cleaning up to use the new sewing machine, I found the strap pieces, and decided to make a doll belt out of ‘em. It'd get ‘em out of the way, and at the time, I was dawdling a bit before the Big Embroidery Experiment. Came out great ! It's a big, wide belt, dark grey with blue stars, that fastens in front. I'll have to take some photos.

 

After the embroidery efforts were done, I still had the watch part. I kinda liked it, so I dug through the elastic storage - aha ! Narrow ‘rainbow' elastic, two strips, would go around the internal pin, and give me a unique band. I even detached the embroidery platform and regular-sewed it on the new machine. So I now have a funky digital watch in the shape of a blue star with a double-rainbow band, and a punk doll belt. Not bad for a giveaway HM toy !

 

But, no good without some bad. Evidently the person who sold me the much-delayed, badly packed, shipped-cheap Barbie Country Living Home just discovered my negative feedback. To say he/she wasn't happy with me is an understatement. Let's just say that he's/she's gonna tell eBay on me, and an f-bomb was employed in the e-mail. Also the admonition to get a life. While it's tempting to engage, I'm not even gonna respond. If eBay asks, they get the facts, but evidently, this person forgets that they waited until I asked where it was to even ship it, over a week after I paid, and they used cheaper shipping than I paid for. I have no idea what they're gonna tattle to eBay on me for, other than I hurt their feelings by reporting it like it is. Well, next time, either communicate when you're taking an eternity to mail yer stuff, or ship when you're supposed to, Dear ! (sigh)

 

Tomorrow, in the early AM, Beloved Hubby's going out to play AirSoft, and it'll be just me and Dearest. So I'm gonna try using the USB port to import new designs and try them out. I'll be studying the completely separate USB manual tonight, so please keep those good wishes coming !

Four new barefoot girls !

 

Current Mood : Wow !!

 

Spent on dolls today : $10.

Spent on Lab décor yesterday : $2.70

 

And I fully intended to do a complete review and photo session with New Malibu. That was my intent, fully. But, well, things and stuff... I never know what'll happen next some days !

 

Oh, and I forgot to mention that, when we hit Mal-Wart the other day, we scored a DP Calendar on 75% off ! Whee ! I hung my updated old one in the bedroom, and the new one in the Lab. The graphics on it have been on the Valentine-worded Valentines pictured here this month. 

 

I was also supposed to start embroidery work on the new sewing machine, but I wimped out. I don't know why I'm suddenly so scared and nervous. It's still under warranty, but it won't be forever, so I gotta get on it ! But heck, today was a busy one, and if I'd intended seriously to embroider I'd have either found the time or been upset that my plans were disturbed. That's typical of Asperger's Syndrome folks, so we kinda know where Dearest Son gets that from !  

 

Beloved Hubby surprised me by taking the afternoon off. He had errands anyway, he said, and there was some stuff I wanted to do, too. So, off we went, shortly after lunch. We found a garage sale, and I should have known better, it's too early in the season. Yes, pickings were slim, and it was the rare sale wherein I didn't find anything.(affecting a snooty voice ) After all, everyone knows the Season doesn't really begin until March, sometimes later ! (giggles)

 

We got his stuff done, which included getting the parts we know Molly-car needs -  yaaay ! Now we just need to find time for him to tear her engine and transmission apart. Still, we have parts, so it won't be much longer now. But we weren't headed for home yet. He surprised me again by going to the Flea Market. And I had another surprise waiting for me...

 

 

 

The car set doll seller had these lovelies ! It's rare for her to have anything more than six or seven years old, but there these girls were ! Thank Everything they weren't in a car set ! She's more expensive than most - hers are $3. each, or 2 for $5. - which is still cheap, but most other sellers charge a dollar, tops. Beloved found four VHS tapes at a buck each, and we made a quick circuit. I wanted to get the new girls cleaned up and identified, and he wanted some prime sofa time. Plus, Dearest would be home soon.

 

It took me a while to ID these lovelies. The brunette is heavily damaged and stained, but dressed, you can't tell. She and the redhead are Dramatic New Living Barbies, and their feet work ! I've read about them, how their feet can pose from high-heel to flats, but I'd never seen one before. And now I have two ! The blonde on the far left is a Live Action Barbie, who also has poseable feet. In fact, I'd have believed her to be a DNL like her sisters, but her butt-markings were different.

 

The other lashless blonde was a real puzzle. There are darn few blonde brown-eyed Barbies. And her body was clearly that of a Free Moving doll, with the back-tab. But FM Barbie (snicker) never had brown eyes. Only thing I could figure was that I had a hybrid head-swap, even though the body matched the head so well, I didn't even think that until I had no alternative. The Sears-exclusive Walking Jamie doll had brown eyes, and came in three hair colors, including blonde. That would seem to solve that, but for one problem. Jamie has rooted eyelashes. This girl doesn't even have holes or a slot for lashes, I took her head off to check. It's not like it matters, but it is a puzzle. In any case, welcome four new barefoot lovelies to Chez Insanity !

 

That wasn't the end of my day, though. Thanks to a morning nap - I kept waking up last night - I wasn't sleepy at all tonight. So, I trawled eBay, which is dangerous, because I found something there, too. For the longest time, I've wanted ‘Princess Aurora', a Ballerina Barbie tutu pretty enough to be an evening dress. It's red and gold brocade bodice drapes over tons of gold-embroidered white tulle. When the seller can identify it, it often goes for about $20., loose with no accessories, plus shipping. And finding it on its own without clues is rare, but not completely impossible. I've found it several times, but again, my cheap ways got me outbid every time. Plus, it wasn't ever much more than a sigh and a yearn.

 

Last night, it was a find and a steal. I got a 70s-era case, about ten outfits, the Aurora tutu - and a Ballerina Barbie ! She looks to be in fab shape ! I can't wait to get this lot. Amazingly, I found it with less than two minutes to go, and I was the sole bidder. Yaay, me ! Already paid up, and it gets shipped tomorrow. Whoo-hoo !

 

And now, I'm ready for bed. Tomorrow, while Beloved catches up on all the stuff he kinda blew off today, I'm gonna learn machine embroidery. I'm scared and worried, but I gotta try ! It's time.

 

Wish me luck !

Me and Malibu... together again.

 

Current Mood : Loved and loving...

 

Well, after today, I'm out of qualms and excuses, and it'll be time to play with the embroidery functions of Brother. That's his (?) name until he tells me otherwise. Dearest Son was still wiped out this morning, so we kept him home. I was feeling better, but oddly tired, so after the trash was out and the bus and school were called, I slept for two hours, and awoke feeling better.

 

So much better that I realized something. Even though Beloved told me to enjoy my new toys today, dishes and such could wait (isn't he the best !), I couldn't do it. I was too keyed up to do anything besides while away the morning at the computer and contemplate doing something about the house, but the Lab seemed to be off limits. It was as though I just couldn't relax until the kitchen was at least half-way not a health hazard. I guess it goes back to the old saw, ‘the kitchen is the heart of the home', and until mine had some clean plates, glasses, and silverware in it, I wasn't gonna have any fun.

 

So I got off my butt, plugged in the Mp3, and got to work. An hour later, I still hadn't finished the dishes, but we had enough clean to fill the dishwasher racks and keep us merrily in utensils until I could go after the rest. Hmp. That may explain why I wasn't at all creative last year - I was kinda down and didn't clean much. Was easier to remain on butt. Can't have that this year ! Too much going on, and it's only mid-February !

 

Anyway. Beloved had a free afternoon, so we all trundled into the truck and hit the big 50% off all notions sale at Hancock Fabrics, now through Sunday. While we were just there last Sunday, I hadn't picked up any embroidery supplies, as Dearest was obnoxiously restless. Now, I actually needed them - and back then, I wasn't expecting the machine to arrive until 2/23. I'm glad I waited, because even at half-off, the stabilizers, embroidery thread, new rotary blades, and matching green-stone shoe decoration (soon to become a pair of earrings !) were still expensive. But I have a lot to experiment with, and it's time to go for it. Tomorrow, of course.

 

We hit GoodWill and Salvation Army, too, and only Dearest found anything, another, thankfully smaller BatCar. From there, we hit Mal-Wart, and bought a buncha stuff ! Dearest found yet another Lego set he liked, and a movie, Beloved found a scope and brackets for the AirSoft weapon he has, and I... found that this store had a complete stock of all the 50^th Anniversary Barbie stuff they'd been sold out of for weeks. All the current ‘My Favorite Barbie' reproductions, the travel mug, the playing cards, the magnets, and the cases I'd heard were recalled - it was all there. Even the Julia repro was well-stocked.

 

I confess, when the first ‘My Favorite' run had sold out so quickly, I was a bit sad. I'd talked myself out of wanting that Malibu - the Superstar was an easier no-sale - for so long, it was partially a relief that they were gone. But the regret pangs were sharp for a while. So I really wasn't prepared for them to be back in stock ! Without a word, Beloved lined up the two yellow packages, and stood back. I can has Malibu ? Yes, pick one. Or any of them I wanted. Choose wisely...

 

My greedy eyes jumped back and forth. Yes. I wanted Malibu. I will always want Malibu. Ever since Christmas 1971, when it all began. And then as now, I have a shiny new Malibu Barbie. She's in my earliest memories, and a part of me now. And the world loves us two.

 

(contented sigh)

Everything in a day...

 

Current Mood : Capricious

 

The living room wasn't spotless, but I did have delivery people visit ! Actually, I wasn't feeling too good this morning, and I'd just stretched out on the sofa for a few minutes, so my head would quit spinning. I have no idea what I got into - or what got into me - but I was light-headed and a bit nauseous all day. Beloved Hubby said he felt much the same, and Dearest Son's school called, saying he was pale and sound asleep. Beloved picked him up, he was running a slight fever. Dearest, not Beloved.

 

And, of course, I'd just gotten to the warm and floaty place when I sensed movement outside. Mail call ! It was the Country Living Home, finally. The box was... creatively made from a shipping package and a cardboard soda can flat, but at least it got here.

 

It wasn't packed very well, either - all the chairs had come apart, but I was able to fix them. I'm not sure if that crack in the roof was there before or during, it didn't show in the photos, but it wasn't too bad. I was feeling generous, and decided instead of giving them their first negative, I'd simply relate the slow shipping in the comments and go neutral. I was glad to have just gotten it.

 

At least, I was - until I saw they'd shipped it Parcel when I paid extra for Priority. They did, however, spring for delivery confirmation. Well, sorry guys. It's one thing to wait nine days after I pay to ship, but when I pay for Priority, I should get Priority. Sure, it may not have made a difference. But I hate feeling ripped off, and this auction was just one disappointment after another. So, after agonizing over it for two hours, I negged ‘em. I still feel petty and mean, but if I can get my sold items schlepped across town, when I don't even have a working vehicle, surely someone else can make an effort.

 

Still, it's in mostly decent shape, so I'm gonna enjoy it - later. Because my sewing machine came in two hours after that ! Dearest, however, had extracted a promise from Beloved to install Lego Batman  on Beloved's computer, since the laptop was struggling with it. Unfortunately, Beloved had to go back to work, so it fell to me. At least it'd be something fairly restful for him to enjoy, he was still pretty pale. So I got to it.

 

Two hours later, I was done. Whew. The game, while possessed of an extremely kludgy control menu (more later), wasn't that difficult to install. It was Dearest's joystick controller that was a PITA. Couldn't find the drivers, had to download and install ‘em. Then, once the game was up, assign ‘Axis Y' to ‘travel left', and I can assure you, that menu was a serious butt-burr. Got it all done, and started it up - much better ! - and Dearest gladly took the game controller from me... and it seems I set up everything wrong. (sigh) After a half-hour of play, he was pretty frustrated.

 

So, I had to halt the game, take the disc out of Beloved's computer, put it back in Dearest's, copy down all his control assignments, then put the disc back in Beloved's, and fight with the menu again. This might have taken an experienced gamer ten minutes, tops, but I was triumphant, and I count it as a personal victory that I did it, with no further plaints from Dearest. Whew !

 

By the time I got that done, I just wasn't in a mood to immediately go after unpacking and setting up the new sewing machine. And I was nursing the hints of an impending headache. So I rummaged for a late lunch and intended to just relax for a half-hour or so. Plus DFIL needed help - he'd locked his keys inside his car, and was hoping we had a spare. Nope. Kinda felt bad we couldn't help.

 

An hour and a half later, I dragged myself off the computer and got the new sewing machine unpacked. I was oddly reluctant to move my Kenmore/Janome. I was actually sad about it. It's not like I'm gonna abandon it, or give it away, but I'd had some great times and learned a lot with KJ. At least I could still see it every day, and would probably still use it occasionally. But I still felt the bite of nostalgia and a sniffle of sadness.

 

Plus, the manual to the Brother machine took two pages to explain how to turn it on, so I was a bit apprehensive about the learning curve I'd soon be under. When I looked over the ‘how to wind a bobbin' directions earlier this week, I found m'self studying a diagram that looked like a flow chart for installing fuel cylinders on the Space Shuttle. This is how I can explain my apprehension and reluctance to open a brand-new, sparkly, amazing sewing machine.

 

But I got KJ stored where I could see it, and installed Brother. Wow. It took me several minutes to thread it correctly - even with all those drawings, a text manual, and an animated tutorial on the machine's menu screen, I couldn't tell if the thread was supposed to go behind one silver piece or not. Once I got it right, though...wow. Quiet, easy, and fun. The needle threader is fun to watch, even though it's not all servomotors - it's actually spring-loaded, and you control the switch. And there, at the end of the directions, was a few small lines of ‘once threaded, it should look like this'. About three pages from where I could have used it. Oh, well.

 

I soon negotiated through the stitch directory, and sewed a few lines of decorative stitches, played with the needle placement, and found ¼" from both center and left positions. I haven't played with the embroidery functions yet- no time and a headache worked against me - but I will, and soon !

 

Plans and hopes...

 

Current Mood : Restless

 

Well, I finally got a tracking number for my dollhouse - the one I ‘won' back on 02/05, and didn't hear jack about until I emailed the sellers on 02/14. Yup, the package I've obsessed about nearly all month is a dollhouse, specifically the Barbie Country Living Home. I fell in love with the graphics on the walls, because they're so like my much loved Friend Ship airplane's designs and colors, and they were only a year apart, from what I can find.

 

Anyway, after losing my third auction for one, always at the last second, I found a Buy It Now, and hit the button. And evidently, the sellers just forgot about it. So glad I paid extra for Priority shipping ! You should have seen me haunt the mailbox all last week, only to find out Saturday that they were intending to mail it that day ! I still had to ask them for the tracking number Sunday, possibly they forgot about me again, the... kind intelligent folks.

 

It's left the neighboring state, so with any luck it'll be here tomorrow. And then I'm waiting on the sewing machine (wheeeee !) and a design set I ordered. With all that, I should be quite sated with stuff for a while... at least, until Friday. There's a flea market - not the Collectables one - at the Fairgrounds...

 

On second thought, I may be too busy. According to UPS tracking, my sewing machine should be here tomorrow, too ! Wow ! You know I'll be hovering at the door all day Wednesday. Living room's gonna be spotless.

Sometimes I don't believe how wonderful my life is...

 

Current Mood : Lucky !

 

Dearest Son was supposed to have today off, but the snow we had last month made it a school day after all. So he was in a mood from the time he woke up. Can't say I blame him, I hate getting up early for school, too.

 

Today was wildly fascinating. While poking around Craftster.com, I found a few ideas for AG-clone doll food that were cute. But what was better was the link someone added in reply - I was able to download all six American Girl-issued pattern sets, for free ! Those same patterns as hard-copy originals run about $20. to $30. on eBay, since they're long out of print. Let me know if anyone wants the link.

 

In that same message (it was a goldmine, I tell you !), there were links to You Can Make This (http://www.youcanmakethis.com/) and it was awash in downloadable freebies, and not just for dolls ! Want to make chef hats for kids and you ? Freebie. Want a hanging star made out of recycled jeans lying around ? Freebie pattern and directions. How about some fresh spring headbands ? Several AG-size doll skirts and a blouse, a Smores-theme scarf, quilting and ruffler tutorials, crochet flowers, paper bag books, Santa pillowcases and window treatments ? Yup, all those and more are all free downloads, you just need Adobe Reader, and you can save a copy to your hard drive for later. There were also patterns for sale, but crafty types like us could go for weeks on selected freebies. That said, I have two patterns saved in my WishList...

 

Then, there was a link from there to SWAK Embroidery (yup, swakembroidery.com), and I was lost for at least an hour or so there. I found a solo ‘I sew stuff' design that I want - I'd seen it on another site, but it was part of a $20. set. Here, it was just $4. by itself. Hooray ! There was nothing else I wanted in the set ! By signing up for their newsletter, I got ten magnificent butterfly designs for free, too. Wow.

 

Only things I don't much like - and it's a weak whine, I'll admit - is that you earn a point per dollar spent with both sites. Which is nice, they don't have to do that. But if you wanna buy stuff with your points, the $4. design is 79 points ! Wow. But hey, free stuff often comes under someone else's rules, so I'm being petulant and spoiled. With such nice stuff on both sites, I'll soon have points to spend. I'll be so broke that's all I can spend, but hey.

 

I signed up for the sewing and general newsletters at You Can Make This, and the embroidery one at SWAK -and they sent me more freebie patterns and ideas ! I really like those guys ! (smile) There's also a newsletter for the yarn aficionados, but since I don't knit or crochet, it'd be wasted on me. Perhaps you might can use it though !

 

Gosh, I'm still so atwitter over the new sewing machine - and it hasn't even shipped yet. HSN says it has, but all UPS.com has for me is ‘we've received pickup notice'. I reserved some machine embroidery library books, but I'm about fifth in line, but that's OK. Again, ya can't whine when it's free, or you sound like a spoiled little snot. Surprisingly, our Barnes & Noble shop didn't have a single machine embroidery book on their shelves this weekend.

 

So instead, I reserved some other books, including the next three in the juvenile ‘Princess School' series. I read the first one I found at a thrift store and liked it, so what the heck. It's cute, and a fun read, but I don't need to keep ‘em forever. I'll probably pick ‘em up when we run to the Post Office tomorrow - amazingly, the item I put up on eBay has already sold as a Buy It Now, and I wanna get it on the way ASAP.

Just one of those (overwhelmingly good) days !

 

Current Mood : Blessed

 

Today was just one of those really super-nice days. We lazed around all morning, and hit Hancock Fabrics shortly after they opened. Turned out, I wasn't the only one cruisin' for doll patterns ! I'd gone over my list last night, and there were two on it that I already had ! Embarassing. I have got to be more careful !

 

Anyway, with both Simplicity and Butterick on 99c sales, my list was long and fun. I knew there'd be some duplication, so I did what I normally do - select all the ones I think I want, lay ‘em out straight, then winnow the herd. I'd pulled two from the pile when another shopper remarked that she was there for doll patterns, too, but they didn't have one of ‘em that she wanted. Yup. It was in my ‘return' pile. I ended up making her happy twice when I noticed two Winter '08 Butterick pattern catalogs at the register. Were those up for grabs ? Sure, if I wanted them. Well, the same shopper had been just in front of us in line, so I offered her one before she left. She has the same enthusiasm for those I do, so she beamed at me.

 

Poor Beloved Hubby and Dearest Son were getting a bit restless as two other veteran sewists detailed all the joys and pitfalls of machine embroidery to newbie me. It was so nice to socialize ! One woman said her machine cost $10,000., and I believe her. I saw those when I was researching. Only problem with those is you can't drive them to the craft shows. Sorry, but if I'm layin' out $10K for something, it should have either a roof or a steering wheel. But it was interesting to hear her describe it. She actually prefaced it with, ‘You'll probably both be jealous of what I have...". Well, I tend to be more jealous of people's experiences more than their stuff, but it did sound like a nice machine.

 

Dearest was getting beyond restless and into obnoxious, so we moved on, after I returned the other four to the drawers - and I still walked away with ten new patterns ! I probably could have cut it back to eight, but Beloved was willing to shell out a few bucks so he didn't have to endure Elimination Round #2. It may surprise you to know there actually were ten or fifteen patterns I didn't already have, but I confess so you can laugh - they're mostly 18" doll sizes, for Jenny.

 

We got fabric for a Bat-cape for Dearest, and I'll probably get that done Monday. When we went out Saturday, we got him a new Lego set, and much as he wanted the cape, he wasn't much interested in standing still for it. We decided against two of the embroidery books, instead figuring we'd put those funds toward either Embird or PeDesign software. Besides, I have one of those books on hold at the library, when it gets returned.

 

I also found a pretty pale green ‘gemstone' star charm, for 89c. It's supposed to clip onto one of those rubber ‘Croc' clown shoes, but I think I'll attach it to the sewing machine cover instead. Or, if we're back there any time soon, look for a second one, and make earrings.

 

Came home and puttered, all of us. I decided I wanted a bulletin board behind my computer, for school notes and the calendars I print out, but my previous one is behind Dearest's desk. So I grabbed a Priority mail box, flattened it out, attached fabric to it, bored holes to attach the ribbon to hang it, and poof ! Instant freebie bulletin board.

 

We let Dearest talk us into McD's for dinner, and again, he decided on the Hello Kitty/Sanrio watch toy. The nice young lady at the counter gave him his choice - a star-shaped ‘Little Twin Stars' design, or a brown ‘Choco Kitty' one. He picked the cat, and I told him we'd try for the star one for me later. Got home, and she'd tossed both in the bag ! How sweet of her... I hope she has a great tomorrow. It took some doing and an x-acto knife, but I got the too-small strap off, and I'll make a new one. If you decide to do the same, there's a peg in the middle of the watch housing, so unless it's a really narrow replacement strap, it won't go through. I'm probably gonna use two straps of elastic, or maybe fabric, with snaps. Kind of a lot of work for a cheap digital watch, but I like it.

OK, who ordered the Princess MegaLoad ?

 

Current Mood : Miffed and anxious

 

Happy Valentine's Day ! Hope yours is going well !

 

Unfortunately for me, Beloved Hubby has to work, so I'm puttering. Downloaded at least another 40 free embroidery designs, and my butt is aching from me sitting on it so long. Since we didn't eat the thawed Christmas ham leftovers for dinner - thanks for a great dinner to DFIL ! - I'm having ham steaks for lunch. Yum !

 

Another ‘win' on eBay I had to track down - I ‘won' the darn thing on the 5^th, paid Priority shipping, had cash in PayPal... and don't have it yet. Recently, I sold something, she won Sunday, and had it Wednesday, and she was further away than my seller. So I wrote and asked when it'd been sent... and they promised me it'd be mailed off today. Aaargh. This is why I hate eBay. I can make sure I have all my crap together, but the other end can just blow me off for over a week. We had flippin' tornadoes this week, they haven't even had heavy rain, and they didn't bother to tell me there'd be a delay or anything. I wonder if I hadn't bothered them if they'd have stirred enough to mail it. Did they think I just tossed money at ‘em for fun ? And have they sent me the tracking number ? Nope. Negative feedback, coming up.

 

I'm thinking of listing something else to sell - boy, machine embroidery is an expensive hobby ! - so I was checking current auctions when I saw something interesting. A box of velvets and brocades, lots of yummy scraps. There's only one problem with buying a random shipment of scrap fabric - by the time shipping's added in, you've spent enough to buy some really, really nice material. That you chose. Another cotton scrap box that had my attention contained some luxe, gorgeous fabrics, and the bid was good. Too bad it cost $20. to ship ! Most fabric lots are like that. For $30., I can pick and choose some good stuff on my own.

 

It's like that with machine embroidery designs, too. While a single design can run $25., a group or set might cost $10. for five or even 20 designs. Problem is, of those 20, there may be five you like. There's CD sets available, with insane numbers, like 500,000 designs for less than $50. A lot of money, sure, but it's just fractions of a penny per design. Problem is, you don't get to see the actual designs until after you buy it, cataloging it all is up to you, and it's probably safe to figure that ya won't use 499,872 of them. You'd have to use nearly 70 a day for twenty years to use ‘em all. So it's probably best to get what you want, specifically.

 

And there's loads of free stuff - or $1. and $3. designs - to snag. After this week's little downloading spree, I'm calling a moratorium on getting more until after the new machine's here. Doesn't do me much good to spend all my time looking and creating new folders if the designs don't work with it. But it looks like I'm all ready to start gaining some experience with it !

 

Just call me 'Dorrie Download' !

 

Current Mood : Still bedazzled by possibilities

 

(sigh) Yeah, guess what I spent 90% of the day doing ? Yup, downloading free embroidery designs. I probably have about 40 already, with a heavy lean towards stars and cats. (embarrassed) Fifteen stars and eight cats. I have found so much I love while getting ‘em all ! You can best believe this one is on the ‘fast track' -

 

http://www.secretsof.com/content/2357

 

Scroll down a bit to FSL Doll Shoes. Yup. I can make lacy doll shoes, and it looks like they might stretch a bit for some of my non-Barbie girls ! The hats are nice, but I'd be likely to stick a stick in ‘em and use them as umbrellas. And the bigger shoes are cool, but I don't know if they'd fit any of my dolls. (sigh) I still need to write up ‘how to make doll shoes' for the site, too...

 

But I'm trying to not spend right now. I mean, the machine was quite a few pretty pennies ! And sooner or later, we'll need to invest in embroidery software - you know we want to customize our stuff ! Once the machine arrives (scheduled for 2/23 !), we'll try out some of the free ones, but I have a feeling that, for what Beloved Hubby wants to do, we'll end up shelling for Embird or PeDesign. $$$ !

 

And for now, I'm gonna shelve 'Best Buy Friday'. With everything else going on, I just haven't found time for photos. I'll pick it up again, though, because I still like the idea, even if my execution ranks ! 

 

In other news, Dearest Son came home loaded on sugar and Valentines. I separated the two - most of the cards had candy attached - and stored the cards in a bag for him. As I did so, I mentioned who gave them to him. Evidently the party took up so much time, they didn't get to open them at school. The ones from the girls got a little kiss before going into the bag ! The ones from the boys earned me an explanation of who was friends with whom, and which kids had been in trouble recently.

 

For me, it was nice to see that there were kids with worse handwriting than Dearest's ! I know I'm petty, but at least I can be petty in the bubble of my own living room, so it doesn't hurt anyone.

 

Before we knew it, DFIL picked up Dearest, so it was just me and Beloved. And we enjoyed the time together, looking at AirSoft stuff (his) and embroidery designs (mine). And chattering. DFIL works at a restaurant, and brought us dinner to go, which was very sweet - he said he wanted to celebrate our anniversary, too ! DMIL called, and I offered her my Kenmore / Janome, if she wanted to take up sewing again. I'd keep it, everyone on various embroidery web sites says to do so, but it'll lock up if it sits around, and I don't really have the space for two machines. And her machine is down. She's thinking about it. I can store it in the Lab closet for now, maybe take it for a spin every month or so.

 

Gosh, the next thing I sew may be the last thing I sew on it. I feel sad about that, excited as I am about the new one. This should tell you something - there's a flea market today and tomorrow at the Fairgrounds, and I am not at all interested in going. I am, however, all jazzed at Beloved's promise to take me to Hancock Fabrics Sunday !