I got something I've wanted !

 

Current Mood : Delighted !

Spent on Machine Embroidery : $8. (but I saved $31. !)

 

Not a lot going on today. Got some more dishes done, puttered in the Lab. Tidied up our bedroom a bit. I hate housework.

 

Had a few more errands to run, so I did them today. There's a kind of competition among the gas stations here, about ethanol vs. non-ethanol. I kinda used whatever was cheaper, but as it was pointed out to me when we got her back, Molly's a high-performance car. She did very well on higher octane last month, so today when she needed gas, I figured I'd get it while I was in town. Much as I love the 7-11 across the street, they're very slow about lowering prices, and only a bit slow about raising ‘em.

 

I thought she had nearly a quarter-tank, but that was before yesterday's errands and a quick dinner run - so I ended up pulling into the next available gas station. Their higher octane was the same price as 7-11's, so I pulled in. Turned out, this was a no-ethanol station - and they're usually 10c/gal more expensive. The cashier was more than willing to tell me how much my Molly's turbo engine would love his gas, and would probably get more miles per gallon.

 

He may actually be right. Molly was pretty sprightly today. She was ready to go-go-GO ! Too bad we were just doing banking, with side trips to GoodWill and Dollar Tree !

 

GoodWill didn't have anything of interest this time, and it's really junky-looking in there now. If it wasn't for Easter being Sunday, I wouldn't have found anything at Dollar Tree, either. But Dearest Son's basket is more or less done - with a chocolate bunny, and EVE-to-be eggs filled with bubble-gum eggs, jellybeans, and small candy bars. I haven't yet sewn the basket for him - I was hoping to find Wall-E fabric - so I may use another basket, or just a box. At his age, he's not picky, he just wants the candy.

 

One of my errands was a deposit, so I could buy the $25. roller skate design I've been wanting since Brody was in transit. It finally went on sale for $8., and once the money cleared, it was mine ! So I was really surprised when I went to seal the deal, and the site said my purchase entitled me to two more designs, free ! Wow ! I got a cat looking at the sun through a window - but I'm gonna stitch it as the moon instead - and a cute sewing machine. So I got $39. worth of new designs for just $8. ! Sometimes, I don't even go looking for the really great sales, they find me !

I'm with the Totoro...

Current Mood : Sleepy

Current Image Notes : This is 'Sleepy Totoro', a sort of forest-spirit of Japan. This one in particular starred in 'Our Neighbor Totoro' - doesn't he look so relaxed and comfy ? 

 

Got all the trash out to the Dumpster - tomorrow's pick-up day. And I called Brother about my hoop, and went to Mal-Wart about my inhalers. Kind of a busy day !

 

Brother was upset to hear of my hoop troubles, and apologized several times for the inconvenience. They put a new screw in the mail to me today, so I should have it Wednesday or Thursday. It's coming from Tennessee.

 

Mal-Wart said I could use the $9. inhalers, it was the same medicine. There's just one small catch -  the $9. ones only have 64 doses. Still, it's cheaper per use than the $42. 200-dose one, so I got two. Should be OK for a while. I've only taken two hits since I discovered the last one missing. It's windy, but the weather's warming, and it's dry - I've learned that I react badly to humidity and deep cold. So things are improving !

Dropped off Dearest Son's snack to school while I was out, and no one's seen or turned in a red inhaler. Oh, well. Got some paperwork for the latest fundraiser turned in (sigh) and I'm glad that's over. They only have about six weeks of school left, so I'm hoping that was the last big push. I still wonder where all this cash goes.

 

Got some housework done, and I've fought the urge to nap all day. I was thinking of lying down when I discovered the bathroom needed plunging, so there went that. Tomorrow, I have a small bank errand to run, so while I'm out, I'll turn in library books and probably hit Dollar Tree and GoodWill. I was surprised to learn that jellybeans - even the non-name-brand kind - have gotten expensive. Oh, you can still find classic hollow chocolate-flavored-wax Easter bunnies for a buck, but jellybeans have gone waaaay up. So I'm gonna see what DTree has. Plus, I haven't been to GWill in a week !

 

Too lazy to even think of a title...

 

Current Mood : Lazy

Spent on crafts yesterday :  $12.39

 

Played a couple of Wall-E mini-games with Dearest Son this afternoon. Yup. It's official. I still rank at video games, even if they are on a computer !

 

We goofed most of the day away, which was nice. I went to embroider on a ribbon - it's on the ‘things to try with Brody' list, since I've seen it on so many sites - but it looks like the hoop he came with really is gone. The screw is completely stripped at one spot, and Beloved Hubby says his tap and die set (often used to ‘regrind' a screw's threads) aren't nearly small enough for this job. So tomorrow, I get to call Brother, ask them if they can send me new screws, and if that doesn't work, I get to see if I can find something similar at Ace Hardware or Lowe's.

 

You'd think I'd just use the other hoop, the one I've barely touched since we bought it, but for some reason, being unable to use the original one just bummed me out, and I ended up not sewing anything. Weak, I know. I just need to get over m'self sometimes.

 

Not a lot else going on. Someone basted the SiCK forums with about 300 ‘thanks for sharing' messages last night, on threads that've been quiet for months. No kidding, just one person, just one line, over and over. I know, because I get notification in my e-mail, and suddenly I had two dozen ‘thanks for sharing' notes from threads I'd written and ones I'd replied to, for no real reason, other than this person evidently wants the points, bad. I hope the moderators noticed and cut her off, but I don't know how to politely say, ‘Could you tell this person to stop saying the same thing over and over in every message she finds ?'. I mean, it's pretty obvious what she's doing, when the entire subheading has her name after every last topic, but I guess our mods are slow. I got three more this morning.

 

Since there's not much else going on, I'm off to bed. Hope your weekend was as relaxing as mine !

 

What a nice Saturday...

 

Current Mood : Happily sleepy

Current Image Notes : Here's the final TOTY jar, filled with candy ! And there's the four discs included. I'm happy with it, and I think she is, too. 

 

Spring's definitely here - the winds are up to 40mph, and the monsoon period seems to have passed. And it's yard sale time ! As usual, most of yer huge ‘six family' sales are in other towns, but there were several to choose from here, and I hit two today. The first one wasn't much, but what can I say, looking around someone else's yard and garage for goodies is fun whether I find anything or not ! And with all the good finds last year, it's harder to get me to buy stuff, with all that's already at home.

 

Second sale was great. I scored a great windbreaker jacket that's a bit lighter than my sweatsuit-fabric hoodie, so it's about perfect for these sunny days that'd be perfectly warm without the fierce winds cooling things off. It's blue with yellow, sprinkled with a star print and an antique ‘moon and sun' design, all nylon with a knit lining. It even fits me !

 

I also scored two nice wooden frames, and three small bundles of pretty stationery. One set of cards will be perfect to hold and give small pieces of embroidery, and I've already used one of the frames (more later). I picked up the nice linen napkins - 6 for $1. - but now I see that several are stained and they may be a bit too heavy for the embroidery project I was considering for Aunt Sue.

Rummaging around in boxes provided me a cool plastic cookie container, with those space-age 60s asterisks and a green lid, an Elphie-sized porcelain piggy bank, and a Barbie Swan Lake pocket folder that'll be perfect to store my embroidery print outs and notes. Got it all, from jacket to folder, for just $3. It's no wonder I miss yard sale season so much, when I get good deals like those ! Even the napkins are still a decent deal.

 

Since I was in the area anyway, I hit Big Lots again, this time with the antique radio stitch guide print-out. Snagged three shades of brown thread and a nice cream, all at 40% off. And I just couldn't resist the Pelleon Peltex - a very firm interfacing - at 25% off, so I got a yard of it, too. Peltex is often used for fabric bowls and other projects that require an almost-cardboard like layer, but has to remain washable. I'm thinking it'll be great for refrigerator magnets and other embroidery projects, too.

 

Only problem with it was that it was a brand new bolt, still in the plastic wrap, but one corner'd gotten torn and dirty. They didn't have an open bolt, just this one. I kinda hated to buy it like that, and even if I bought a half-yard, it'd be there. Well, with good positioning, I could probably cut it away... But I was lucky. The nice lady who was slowly being overwhelmed at the cutting table - I'd evidently arrived just before Rush Hour in Fabrics - saw it, and cut it off, set it aside. She then cut and labeled my yard, and then tossed in the rejected strip, saying maybe I could use most of it. Wow ! I thanked her profusely - I hadn't asked, thinking they'd need to save the damaged bit for accounting or somesuch. But it was so nice of her ! I not only got the Peltex on sale, but I got over a quarter-yard extra, for free !

 

While I'd intended to stay out for a bit longer, Beloved Hubby needed directions, so I headed home. It'd been a great shopping day, and I hadn't overspent and had to drag a buncha stuff in. I unpacked the yard sale goodies, and located one of the earliest designs I made. After I failed at initials - something I haven't yet attempted again - I decided to stitch out a small heart that came with Brody. It came out so pretty, I wasn't sure what to do with it. I thought to give it to Beloved, since he already has my real heart !

 

But it looked so plain and small on the big piece of fabric. So I rehooped it, and decided to sew a shield shape around it. The shields - also a part of Brody's original designs - were what made him an easy sell to Beloved to begin with. He liked all three, and could easily imagine making use of them.

 

I didn't know anything of positioning or centering, so predictably, the heart looks quite a bit off-center in the shield. But I decided to give it to him anyway, telling him he'll always have my off-center heart. He folded it and propped it on the bookends on his desk. I decided to frame it using one of today's yard sale finds, but it would look rather small in the frame by itself. Minutes later, with Embroidery Fonts Plus (you know I love the freebies !), I had words added to Brody, and they were being stitched out below the shield. In dark green. It says, simply, ‘You'll Always Hold / My Off-Center Heart !'. I had it ironed and framed before he got home. It's now hanging over his desk. You get to see it tomorrow.

 

The rest of the day, we just sort of goofed off, watched various shows on our computers, and ate junk food. It was a really nice day ! On the downside, I may have broken my embroidery hoop, the one that came with Brody, but it's probably just a stripped nut or somesuch. Beloved says he'll look at it, and if that's it, it's an easy fix after a trip to Ace Hardware or Lowe's. It just doesn't tighten the way it used to - it slips back out. Since the hoop is basically two pieces of Lexan-like nylon-plastic, from the look of it, and the screw and nuts, it must be the screw. I've only broken Lexan-type stuff once, and that was my first Badge-A-Minit press. And there's barely even usage scratches on the plastic parts. Here's hoping !

A most satisfying Friday...ZZZzzzzzzzzzzz....

 

Current Mood : Happy

Current Image Notes :  Here's the second prototype Teacher of the Year jar. You'll see the final version tomorrow - it's already with the new owner !

 

Got lazy last night and only sewed the cat with Dearest Son's teacher's initial, so I had to hop up today and sew cute kitty, and get it all put together. The TOTY candy jar was gonna go to its new home today. I was determined.

 

Cute kitty stitched out adorably, and Beloved Hubby said that one was his fave. You get to see it tomorrow ! But my idea to sew the designs back-to-back met with less than a success. Ugh. Ended up Fray-Checking the edges, and sewing each design to a plain back of the same fabric. Much easier. And this way, she can put the blank sides to use in her own way, and she won't have to see the less-than-pretty backside. Dug in the ribbon and lace stashes and added that, and an hour and a half later, it was done, wrapped, and ready to go.

 

What amazed me, in a detached sort of way, is that changing thread colors is something I can do without thinking, and it only takes about thirty seconds now. I used to dread switching thread colors, because it seemed to take forever to get Brody threaded. Well, getting the thread under the quilting foot is still a pain, since the thread always goes off in some odd direction I can't quite reach, but I'm sure even that will eventually get easier.

 

I also figured out what the forum sewists meant by ‘thread bikinis'. For some odd reason, thread on those narrow little embroidery spools unwinds fast if left alone and unsecured. So many sewists either buy stretchy thread nets, to hold the tails in and the thread secure, or use various other methods to hold it down. I simply used the plastic sleeve that came with the little skinny spools, but I'm sure as the thread decreases, they won't fit very well. So, I've tried using the larger transparent rubber bands that come with new dolls, or stickers applied to the top of the spool. Normally, I'd worry about adhesives gumming up the needle, but the thread that gets tucked under the sticker is the very last bit - which usually gets snipped off, either during threading, or as a thread tail in the embroidery.

 

The kids in Dearest's class were very happy to see me again, and were thrilled to learn that we were doing a craft right after recess. They had an absolute blast making designs for their buttons. Many used collage and tear-art in theirs. One young man colored the background to his button red, then cut a star from the camouflage paper I'd brought. With the star glued to the red, then pinned to his camo-print shirt, it was a startlingly amazing effect. As they were getting ready for the next part of the day, many were attaching their new buttons to their backpacks. (happy smile) And asking me when I'd be back !

 

Our Teacher of the Year loved her candy jar, and immediately started trying the various discs on, and thought it was a stellar idea. She'd never seen one before. Goes to show, what's boring in one neighborhood is exotic in another. By then, though, it was time for me to help clean up and scoot. I was tired - it takes a bit to corral nineteen excited kids enough for even a small project - but I felt great.

 

And the ‘Teacher of the Year' gift is off my to-do list - before the end of the school year ! I'm happy with me... And sleepy as any cat in sunshine. Hope your Friday was special, too.

Busy week, really.

 

Current Mood : Mild excitement.

Current Image Notes : This is what it looks like from the back. Yup, used brown bobbin thread. If you look at something you have embroidered professionally, chances are the bobbin stitches are drawn up even tighter. And you can see my classic 'used dryer sheet' stabilizer ! It was April fresh !

 

Yup, I slept like a brick, except for the two times I woke up and needed the inhaler. (sigh) I hate my asthma.

 

Windy as all heck today, which normally amps my symptoms - all the pollen and dust and cold blowing around - but it wasn't so bad today. I got to hit Hobby Lobby and got all the button pieces I need for tomorrow (and used both coupons I printed out !), as well as some decorative papers for the buttons, so this whole project'll only cost about $6., considering I'm keeping four of the 24 button pieces. Class is only sixteen kids, but I'll take 20 pieces, just in case. The other four are for selfish little me !

 

I also picked up a spool of embroidery thread at 40% off. I needed the light grey for several projects, so it was great to get it on sale. Bought and downloaded a fantastic antique ‘cathedral' radio design yesterday, and I can't wait to stitch it out. Only problem is, it takes about six different shades of brown. I couldn't recall which shades of brown I needed, so either before or after school tomorrow, I'll go back, printout of the design in hand, and use the last of the cash Beloved Hubby gave me. I can has five ! Wheee !

 

Their Easter stuff was half-off, so I bought a package of plastic Easter eggs - in white. This way, after Dearest Son eats up the jellybeans and candy, he can have a fleet of EVEs ! Poor Wall-E is gonna find himself surrounded soon. Dearest's done that before, decorated plastic eggs with a Sharpie to resemble Wall-E character EVE, so I thought it'd be fun to give him a bunch to play with. For 33c, it'll be cheap fun, too. We already have a surplus of white pipe cleaners from last year's yard sale booty, to use for arms. And you know me, any excuse to have jellybeans in the house...

 

I decided to stitch out the ‘Teacher of the Year' design again, in primary color variegated thread. The yellows didn't show up much, so I touched ‘em up a bit with a colored pencil. Once I add a few hand-stitched stars, I'm gonna sew the variegated ones together, so she has a color choice, then stitch out her initial and a cute cat design I also got yesterday, sew those together. That'll give her four choices to display. I should have it finished by tomorrow, so I can drop it off while I'm over there. Already loaded the outgrown clothes for the nurse into Molly, so I don't forget.

 

(giggle) Given the two cat designs I'm stitching out for his teacher, I'll have embroidered every day this week, since Sunday ! I've had a lot of fun, and learned quite a bit, too. Yesterday, the bobbin thread ran out again, and I learned that, if I just stop Brody to add another filled one, I don't have to recount or resew, or start from scratch with the ‘add stitches' button. He'll start right from where I hit the ‘stop' button ! It's only when I have to wind a bobbin I have to start from scratch - and I don't have to do that anymore, since I can use KJ as a bobbin-winder when I need to. It's just sooo cool !

 

While I learned last week that using the cone thread was OK for Brody's bobbins, I forgot how to wind them, even with the thread stand Beloved Hubby built for me. I made two that were terrible ! You know what I forgot ? That even when using the thread stand, I have to use that little peg to wind bobbins, just like I do when I wind ‘em from regular spool thread. Going straight from cone to bobbin makes a terrible mess !

 

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. Hope you are, too !

Busy day here, too.

 

Current Mood : Sleepy as a pigeon with its head under its wing. 

 

Phone calls day. The Dumpster didn't get picked up last Thursday, so I had to call, make sure we were on for tomorrow. Turns out, ‘Dumpster Day' is on Tuesday - which I already knew, since that's when I hear them getting emptied every week at the day care center next door and the liquor store / 7-11 across the street. The nice young lady on the phones has no idea why I was asked what day I wanted. Pick up day is Tuesday.

 

Well, nuts. That's two weeks it won't get picked up. She said they'd come by today if I could open the gates, they were locked Tuesday, she noted. Yeah, that's ‘cause there was a horse in there. I took a deep breath, the key, and a jacket and went to it. Those gates are heavy. But I got it done, and wheezingly took out some house trash while I was over there. Couple hours later, just as promised, it was dumped. Wheee ! I wonder if the sound made the day care center and the 7-11 flinch ? Let the horse-tenant know the date got moved to Tuesday, which works better for her. It's all good.

 

While I waited for Dearest Son's bus, I took out some more trash and locked the gates back. It's much easier to close them ! I also had occasion to call our landlord, nothing major, but she wants to do a walkthrough sometime soon. She should have done so in February, she said, but she's bottle-feeding a mom-abandoned calf, and that does take up a woman's time ! Yikes. I gotta get off my butt and clean up this place, or she'll evict us !

 

To that end, I at least got the living room cleaned and vacuumed today. And Dearest Son's day got a bit more structured - while I do my afternoon cleaning, he had to work on his room for an hour. It'll take about a week or so to get it so he can walk in there. I don't dare go in without shoes. Darn sharp Lego.

 

It's a good thing I've about sworn off machine embroidery websites. Or I wouldn't have had any time for fun today. I got to watch Revenge of the Nerds with lunch today, a freebie from Hulu.com, with a booze ad every 15 - 20 minutes. Watched the last episode of Last Scandal yesterday. Phfff, cable. Who needs that ? The $35. a month we pay for DSL gives us plenty of entertainment. That and my much-loved Mp3 player - I hate washing dishes, but the music makes it bearable. I just wrap it with a bit of plastic, since water will kill it.

 

Did a stitch-out of the Teacher of the Year design I plotted. Came out pretty well in the pastels. I'm thinking I'll do one in the primary variegated thread, then sew ‘em together, so the design's reversible. Then do a second set with her initial - it is a Y, after all - and a pretty kitty I have downloaded. That way, she'll have a choice as to what design she'd like for the jar to show. I'm doing a craft project with Dearest's class Friday, so I need to pick up parts tomorrow, and finish up her jar. I got some of Dearest's outgrown clothes ready to donate to the school nurse, too, and there's more to sort through tomorrow. I also need to do dishes. And...

 

Man works from sun to setting sun,

But Woman's work is never done !

 

Gonna sleep well tonight ! Hope you do, too !

Stitchin' and whining, always a fun way to while away an afternoon....

 

Current Mood : Soft pastel-like

 

Here it is, the Embroidery That Must Not Be Named. This would probably get me kicked off the SiCK forums, and possibly most other ME ones. But honestly, I'm kinda getting tired of them anyway. It's not that the folks aren't nice anymore - they're still really kind and helpful - it's just that between the religious signatures and the ‘we must help the owner again !' stuff, I'm getting tired.

 

Yeah, the SiCK owner-guy posted that he owes $62,000. in taxes (Canadian or US $, I don't know - the site's Canada-based), so he put everything on sale and added a bit of desperation to the place. I'm kind of surprised there isn't more butt kissing, like there was when he upped prices and slashed points, but the ‘help meeeee' message is still there (in two days, it's gone to $66,000.), and I'm getting tired of wondering why I don't feel sympathy for someone when I've spent more money on his site than any other. I'm sure he's a wonderful fella, but when I got folks preaching at me for even thinking of buying the ‘600 Disney designs for $40 ‘ discs off eBay (not that I have $40. right now anyway), and saying each small ‘free' design costs the provider at least $50. and probably more, well, I get tired of feeling guilty for enjoying what's out there.

 

And for this guy, much-loved fella that he is, clearly can't manage his business very well. I have, from various ‘hunts' and giveaways, amassed six pieces of various ten-piece design sets, for free. This doesn't encourage me to buy the set, when I already have over half of it. Much as I enjoy the hunt and the freebies, sometimes it seems like it's all he has to offer. And if he's intent on giving away the store, there's not a lot I can do. I spent as much there as I could, and there's literally nothing there I want. I spent over two hours there, trying to use my points, just to be done with the place, and I couldn't find anything I wanted, even when it's free.

 

Besides, every hour I spend there is an hour I have to find somewhere else, to actually sew something or clean up this mess around here. I don't need to bust my butt to earn points to buy stuff I don't want. I needed yet another wake-up call, and there it was.

 

Still working on laundry. Got four loads washed, dried, and sorted yesterday, and two more washed, including all the new fabric bits, hope to at least get the rest clean today. The laundry room is kind of tacked on past the back door, and I honestly believe the deck Beloved Hubby built last year was done better that it was. The window rattles in the frame - it's truly just a pane of glass in a metal sash. The least little breeze pushes it around, and I got tired of it today, so I literally stuffed a sock in it. One of Dearest Son's, damaged, shoved between the frame and the glass. Still rattles, but it's not that constant annoying tap-tap-tap all the time.

 

I rearranged all four thread boxes - the top one is embroidery-hopeful spools, the second is small spools, the other two are arranged by color. It kinda bites that I'm gonna be buying more thread when I already have this much, but when it's the wrong kind, there isn't much that can be done about it. Besides, I still have KJ to sew with, so it's not like three boxes of thread are a total waste. Oh, and guess what I found when I finally got all of KJ's bobbins together ? I'd been using two of Brody's type bobbins, years before I got Brody ! They probably came in a lot of thread, and they worked, so I used ‘em. That reminds me, I need to wind more for some stitch-outs I wanna do...

 

I also decided to clean the bobbin race on Brody. That's the sole maintenance I have to do on him. No oiling or nothin'. Only took about fifteen minutes, and that's with consulting the manual every thirty seconds. It's impressive how much lint was in there. I'm surprised he stitched as well as he did lately, ‘cause it's the first time I cleaned him ! Rolled up into a ball, the lint's the size of a baby pea. Most of it was under the bobbin case. The reason most folks give for not using other off-market products in their embroidery machines is fear of lint. Um, it took me maybe five minutes to clean mine, when you take off all the manual study. I'll just clean it after each project, and it should be fine. Not like I'm embroidering a six-foot-wide tapestry here. Think I'll invest in a can of air, keep it in the Lab. Should help.

 

The cover that Brody came with is nice, but with KJ in the dining area, I leave his embroidery platform attached. And the cover doesn't come near to protecting that ! So, until I find another way to store the platform, I've got the whole thing draped with a large piece of fabric. It's really dusty around here, and it's better than no cover at all.

 

Once he was nice and clean, I wanted to stitch. So, I pulled out the variegated pastel thread I bought years ago and pulled up a downloaded version of my name. Never sewed that before, just my initial that one time. Evidently, I put the bobbin race back together very well - no snags or snarls at all. But I seriously lack putting-the-needle-back-in skills, because it fell out while it was stitching. Twice. I'm astonished that the needle didn't break or even bend, it kept trying to sew without it. Now I know that finger tightening isn't enough, I need to use the screwdriver Brody came with to get it in there good.

 

Had to back up a bit because of the missed stitches, and it was then I noticed that I hadn't ever tried the resize functions, or the flip/mirror. So once my name was done - with no thread changes, it didn't take long, and even looked pretty good in the soft pastels - I did it again, at the bottom of the hoop, shrinking it a bit. Came out pretty well, but it skipped a few stitches for no real reason - maybe resizing it did something to the design. After that, I pulled up Beloved's name, moved it to the top of the hoop, and flipped it, so it stitched upside down. Fun to watch ! Of course, his came out the best, since I hadn't resized it, and no needles sprang free. And I remembered once it was done that he said he hated that font. Oh, well.

 

What makes it funnier is that I used a rag. Literally. It was an old navy-blue t-shirt that was recycled as a cleaning rag, and it went through the wash today. One side had bits of paint on it, but the ‘wrong' side didn't, so I used that. Now I know I can embroider on knits - thick ones like sweatpants, or thin ones like t-shirts. Wheee !

Thread tales...

Current Mood : Wiped out !  

 

Started today off well - found six new designs on a machine embroidery website I liked, and snagged ‘em for free. There was about 20 I liked, actually, so I bookmarked it for later. Man, they really know what they're doing when they offer freebies, don't they ?

 

No danger of me buying any, though - with all the vehicle shuffling and weather this month, we're pretty broke right now. S'Ok, there's food in the pantry and enough for Dearest Son's school lunch, so it's not bad at all. I get to return to my volunteer work this week, so I got plenty to do, and half a gas tank to do it with. Not sure if I'm reading or doing craft work with the kids Friday - but if it's crafts, I gotta squeeze a bit out of checking for those badge pieces. Luckily, there's a 40% off coupon to Hobby Lobby this week !

 

Last night, I went through my thread stocks. And I was utterly confused. Most sites say embroidery weight thread is best for Brody. Something even the manual dances around - it doesn't suggest a weight or type, other than ‘embroidery', and even then, it's merely suggested in the ‘learn to use your new machine' pages, and nowhere else, not even in the embroidery section. Well, I used it on Wall-e, and it didn't "fill" nearly as well as regular ole spool thread. Cheap thread may have lumps or burrs in it, but there is such a thing as good quality spool thread. Even I can tell a difference between the four-spool pack at Dollar Tree and the nicer $2. thread in something as small as doll clothes. Ease of use, shine, etc. Mostly judgment calls, really. So, wouldn't it be OK to use spool stuff if it's the right weight ?

 

Well, good luck finding that info out. Most of my wooden spools had the weight on ‘em, when there was a label still intact. And most of it is ‘50'. But modern polyester thread seems to have no weight designation at all. Even when ya go to their websites, it doesn't really say, unless a thread is cotton or specialty, what weight it is. Just says ‘all purpose', which really doesn't tell you much.

 

I gathered the ones I could tell would work on Brody, and boxed the ‘good' spool thread separately. Still not sure what the difference really is. It took me twenty minutes of hunting before I finally found a site that laid it out - smaller number weight = heavier thread. It's often suggested to use a lighter thread in the bobbin than on the top, to pull the stitches under a bit, so the bobbin thread won't show. So a bobbin often has 60wt (light) thread in it, and the top thread is 30 to 40 (heavier). And since most cotton threads are 50wt, they're probably too heavy for embroidery. Too bad even the Coats website won't tell me what size/weight/whatever their general-purpose Dual Duty threads are. I got a ton of that stuff !

 

So, with all that behind me, I think I'll try to use some Dual Duty on the next stitch-out, see if it creates any problems. If it works, I have a wealth of supplies already, and I can get more for about $2. for twice as much thread as what's on a $5. embroidery spool.

 

And here's a funny epilogue. Hancock Fabrics is having a 40% off sale on Coats & Clark thread this week. Entire stock. Excludes embroidery thread. LOL !

 

Case Wall #2 and Wall-E, too.

 

Current Mood : Sleepy-happy

 

Busy day, even if it was just fun little things. I got both Folding Pretty houses together and took the phone / lantern off the Spring Break one and put it on my nice one. Mine had the phone and lantern, but it was missing the handset. I also appropriated the faucet for the bathtub, and the oven rack. Yep, I paid $5. to get a doll phone, a doll faucet, and an oven rack. But I'm happy with my house now - I hated how incomplete the phone looked - so it was worth the five bucks. It's still missing a weather vane, a bird perch, the door wreath (this I don't care about), the grill rack, and the windowsill / lamp assembly, but now that the phone's fixed, I'm happy.

 

Only problem is, I hate to get rid of the donor one. All last year I wanted a Folding Pretty house, and scored one fairly late in the year. Now I have two. I really should let go of the parts donor, but the closest I've gotten is dumping it in Molly's trunk, since there's not much room for it in the Lab. Give me a week, and I'll be ready to donate it. Dunno why I'm being so greedy lately.

 

Used the snowflake stitch-out to make Brody's USB cable bag, and when I couldn't find a good, recent picture of Beloved Hubby and Dearest Son, decided to continue with the narcissistic theme of the Lab and put the ‘crowned D' stitch-out into the newly cleaned sewing machine frame. It actually looks pretty good there !

 

After I cheap-serged the latest few new pieces of fabric - tomorrow's laundry day ! - I decided to make a little sewing kit for the KJ machine. I already had a small box from Dearest's Wall-E figurine set, so I filled it with scissors, a loaded pincushion, the bobbin box, some thread, and the little cat-themed bag I can use for thread and sewing trash. It drapes over the chair next to mine very well, and comes in handy. Fits on top of the fridge, out of the way.

 

After lunch (and later dinner - those Pizza Hut Panormous things are HUGE, we still have leftovers !), I got a bit bored with the computer, and my guys were napping. So I decided to embroider a bit. I'd intended to do at least a Wall-E stitch-out this weekend, so that was on the agenda. Took me a while to find some leftover sweatpants material, though - I used a lot as rags while it was just sitting around. It came out pretty well for being a bootleg and a freebie ! Dearest watched it sew out, near the end, and was entranced, with both the process and the final result. Beloved even came in and watched a bit, asked a few questions. I'm just glad I had the right colors - I used the embroidery thread on this one. It's not as ‘filling' as regular thread, but I'm sure it tastes great (80s beer jokes, from a darn-near alcohol-phobe).

 

Still, the embroidery thread stitched out a lot smoother, with no snarls or pulls, and the sheen is gorgeous. Too bad all I have are yer eight basic colors, white, black, and a medium grey. According to Brody's manual, 40wt. thread is preferred, so I'm gonna go through all my thread - yes, all four boxes ! - and pull any thread labeled ‘40' I find. Then, I'll wait for Hancock Fabric's next big thread or notions sale, and get some fill-in colors. I need at least a light and a dark grey that I know of...

 

I'm thinking tomorrow, while clothes wash and dry, I'll test stitch the Teacher of the Year design, and the bootleg Barbie appliqué design I bought. I'd do it tonight, it's still early, but it took me over an hour to stitch out Wall-E, and cut all the jump threads. Brody is jealous even of the thread, so I can't take my eyes off him, lest he snarl. So my eyes are a bit strained, because I barely even blinked for that hour.

 

Plus, the Wall-E design required nine thread changes, and seven colors. I admit, I've been sticking to one or two color designs, ‘cause I'm lazy. But seeing Dearest's joy and delight, well, I'll just hafta get off my round rump more often, huh ?