Hail and medicine

 

Current Mood : Overwhelmed - and so looking forward to Friday !

Spent on embroidery : A ridiculous amount, but Beloved Hubby says it's a gift, so...

Spent on sewing : 50c

Current Image Notes : Here's the Barbie Tupperware sandwich box I bought from Goodwill earlier this month. So far, it can hold all my as-yet-unused stitch-outs. I like the way Eve is peeking out in this photo. 

 

Whew ! After a weekend-long absence, our black cat Jack is back. I was so afraid something had happened to him, it's the longest he's stayed gone ever. But here he was on the windowsill this morning, like any other day. What a relief !

 

My Dr. appointment went well. Just had to go through an unexpected hailstorm to get there ! Seriously, there was a 10% chance of rain, I checked - and it started to sprinkle a bit, then I heard a ‘thunk' on the hood. I looked over to see a quarter-size lump of ice. I figured I'd somehow caught part of someone's poured-out soda. Nope. No soda is that big ! I thought I'd be lucky to not get my windshield broken. Then, it poured down rain. (sigh)

 

But it was good news, lungs are clear, heart is strong, prescriptions are refilled for another year. In better news, the Doctor handed me a three-month supply of the most expensive daily-use medicine I take, and another Advair ! Over $300. worth of prescriptions ! I think I need to make her a candy jar, too...

 

About an hour later, the storm had passed. I think, from now on, I'll skip the forecast and just look at the radar. That storm was so obvious, I don't know how they missed it. Got the groceries done, and hit the midtown thrift. Scored another pattern - Simplicity 4435, for purses and totes. I now have three purse/tote patterns, so when I start making my own, between KJ, Brody, and me, we should have some pretty neat stuff.

 

Went through the patterns I had, since Dearest Son is measured and the Wall-E fabric is washed - I have about six different shorts for him, from the 80s to last year. One is too small for him to ever wear again, so I dropped it in the ‘donate' pile. The rest are still good, so this weekend, I hope to let him pick out which style he likes. 

 

And...(sigh) I looked up more embroidery thread goodies. Even more than the Incredible Threadable cases, I like the Madeira Treasure Chest... and there's two of those to choose from. Like the Threadables, one has many colors of small spools, the other has larger spools of fewer colors, leaning more towards frequent-use classics. The Treasure Chest is a three drawer cabinet full of thread, a design CD, a sampler pack of stabilizer, and some ‘snippers', whatever they are. I like the ‘bigger spools/fewer colors' one, since it contains about three times the thread as the small-spool one, and I tend to sub colors just for the principle of it. 120 spools, 1100 yards each, and four bobbin spools at 1650 yards each, two black, two white. Lotta thread, and Madeira is more or less the industry standard. Others are more expensive, others are cheaper, but Madeira is the benchmark. I have some of theirs, and they really are beautiful, and sweet to work with. Those are the ones that taught me the difference between embroidery and sewing threads.

 

Either cabinet runs about $400., and contains about $500. worth of thread, plus all the extras. Too rich for us. Prices stay mostly the same from one dealer to another, but what they toss in to sweeten the deal after Madeira has sold them the cabinets is up to them. One offers a ten-CD set of over 500 designs that I've seen retail for $300. by itself. Another tosses in a rolling case designed to transport sewing machines to classes. Yet another includes $40. in various needles.

 

Nice treats, but I found the one I liked for $200. No extras, not even a color choice of cabinet, but it had what I was there for at a rock-bottom price. Free shipping, too. I put it on the Wish List at Amazon, but figured it'd have to wait.

 

Beloved was happy I was doing well, and when I told him I didn't need the expensive ‘script this month - or for two more besides - he told me to get whatever thread box I wanted. He'd put aside enough for a Threadable, but since I didn't need the prescription funds, I could use those on the Treasure Chest if that's what I really wanted.

 

(sheepish grin) The Treasure Chest is scheduled to arrive Friday.

Thunderstorms, allergies, and the whimsy of callin' in sick.

 

Current Mood : Weary

 

We had another major thunderstorm last night, and Dearest Son woke up with a massive headache and severe edginess. It was about an hour before he was due to wake up that he fell back asleep, so I called him in sick. Yeah, he wasn't bleeding or tossing his cookies, but some days, it's best to just rest. Besides, he only has two weeks and a day of school left - and one of those days is his field trip.

 

Between all the time at school and just plain slackin' off, the house is starting to look bad again. So I did five loads of laundry and got them all put away, found Dearest's missing Wall-Et, tidied up the living room, cleaned out the fridge again, and bussed dinnerware to the kitchen. Not much time to sew, between Dearest being still mildly out of it and the housework. And with my window still stuck down, no way to do groceries. I should have time if the weather holds after my appointment tomorrow, though.

 

I earned enough points, though, to get the new bookmark set from SiCK today. It'll be easy to leave off the ‘Happy Mother's Day Sis' stitching and use them my own way - the under-stitching is quite pretty. Plus, Free Standing Lace (or FSL) remains a technique I've not yet mastered, and having a new set should motivate me into trying again. Basically, you sew on a surface that washes away, and the stitches alone are enough to support the design. My first two attempts met with stitches tearing out of the washable stabilizer, with nothing being sewn, so I tried the same design on doubled dryer sheets, and it worked perfectly. I haven't tried again yet, but I've been studying.

 

I also have to restart the Sophie Sews tutorials. I got through #5, but it was a bit confusing, and I haven't gone further. So I'll work that one again, and hopefully finish the other three this week. I started a kitty design that may or may not work, so wish me luck !

 

I was looking at a certain stocked thread case yesterday - yeah, the Incredible Threadables cases. It's clever how they're engineered to store and dispense thread, but they're kind of expensive. Well, when you add up everything that comes with the case, it's actually a deal, but who has $130. sitting around that often ?

 

Well, Beloved Hubby saw it, and watched the video with me. I think I know what I'm getting for my birthday ! Still, it's rather expensive, and I already have a lot of thread... but I'd enjoy the heck out of it ! I also discovered that Brother has a ten-spool thread stand that would also keep most design's worth of thread ready for embroidery. Intrigued, I looked it up. $99. ! Plus shipping. Wow. I think I'll stick to my little 50c GoodWill rack, thanks.

 

But I did a little more research... and identical racks from other sites run about $30. to $40., usually with free shipping. Sheesh. I could understand a $10. or even a $20. difference, but an over 200% markup seems a bit much. Heck, I could probably fashion something similar from the rack I have, if I could find more thread caps. Embroidery machines use those to cover over the thread spool ends, so the thread feeds out as smoothly as possible, and won't get caught in the little notch in the top. Most embroidery-specific threads eliminated that thread-catch notch for just that reason, but their alternative methods to thread end storage are less than stellar. KJ, my previous machine, came with two of them, but I had no idea why, since the notch invariably was on the bottom of the spool when I followed their threading guide.

 

Here's Chez Insanity's latest Ladies in Red !

 

Current Mood : Happy !

Spent on Embroidery : $18.52

 

Happy Mother's Day !

 

I hope your Sunday was nice, if you were celebrating Mother's Day or no. I got breakfast at computer, and had the day to do as I pleased. Dearest Son gave me a project he'd done at school, and a Disney Princess Valentine's day card that read To Mom From CJ Happy Day. If all the rose-print paper magnets we made in his class Friday are any indication, several area moms got those this morning. Dearest Son evidently thought the leftover scrapbook paper pieces were mine, as they're in the box I used to carry the supplies Friday. But I'll be at the school Monday anyway - I have to drop off a few things - so I'll return them then.

 

I'm not entirely sure how I wasted an entire day without napping, but I did. I did no housework, no cooking, heck, I didn't even get dressed ! Closest I came to work today was ordering pizza for dinner.

 

I did, however, manage to buy $82. worth of embroidery designs for $17.62. Many incredible sales today, and a bunch of good downloads. I got glamour girls and 50s outfits on dress forms (both appliqué and stitched), a Halloween house, a phone appliqué, and a crystal ball applique that can double as a snowglobe, carp streamers for Japan's Boys' Day, a Chinese lantern, a short-haired fairy with lacy wings, a starry crown, and a bright jukebox. I also have two lines left on the old ‘Designs I Want' list, and they're probably gonna get erased. I don't really want them anymore. Well, actually, I still want the ‘Sew Red For Women' one that Bernina has as a fundraiser, but I spent pretty much what I allowed m'self to already, while things were on sale. But the ‘I Sew Stuff' one I can do myself with a dozen sewing machine designs I already have (well, it's probably closer to two dozen of those by now), and the stick-figure Cinderella and Wizard of Oz sets have lost their appeal since I first saw them.

 

Designs by SiCK came out with a fantastic bookmark design set for Mother's Day - on Saturday. I should have enough points to buy it for free Wednesday. I'm hoping I can leave off the ‘Happy Mother's Day' step, and use the rest in other ways !

 

Well, not a lot else going on, and I'm getting amazingly sleepy for someone who did pretty much nothin' all day. Hope your day was good, too !

More of the EVE you're looking for ! If you're not looking, well, please come back tomrorrow, OK ?

 

Current Mood : Dizzy !

Spent on dolls : $5.

Spent on a box o' scrapbook junk : $2.

 

Ya'll are not gonna believe this. The designer who created the Eve design I had trouble with last night not only wrote back, but she completely redesigned the stitching for t-shirt knits and e-mailed it to me ! No kidding. Eve now stitches out as one smooth wave, top to bottom, with no jumping or pinching. Wow. I still can't believe she did that, because I whined about it. The designer, Claire, was so kind and helpful, I felt bad for even telling her I had a problem to begin with, and she really went above and beyond to fix it. I am impressed, and you know that's not something that happens every day.

 

I got to sleep in today, and that was wonderful. Ran an errand with Beloved Hubby this afternoon, and saw that the Flea Market banners were up at the fairgrounds. So, I hit it after lunch. Lot to look at, not a lot to buy. Scored two new dolls, though - both vintage-with-damage from the car set seller, but for $5., I'm happy with both dolls, and I'll eventually find replacement bodies.

 

The first is a lovely blonde Free Moving Barbie, with pretty, soft hair and with her red and white jumpsuit. I already have the skirt ! Her hands are chewed, and her legs and hips have severely melted. Her ‘free motion' feature is nearly gone, she's so limp and tired. But her face is just heart-stealing, and for years, this was the face of Barbie for me. It's the same face as Sweet 16s - my childhood favorite Barbie - and Ballerina, and I can't resist it. It's almost Steffie-like, but not quite.

 

And Chez Insanity also welcomes a brunette Twist and Turn, from around 1973. Her hair and face are in good shape, but her hair needs to be retied - it's in a rubber band, and up too high. It may have been cut, but is otherwise excellent condition. Her hands are nice, but her legs are discolored, with dark bands circling around both knees. Her right foot seems to have been torn off and glued back. It's as if the vinyl is shrinking, and the plastic leg ‘bones' are protruding, tearing through the vinyl at the feet. Her left foot shows splits about where the right one tore. She's still very lovely, and I've kind of wanted a brunette TnT. And now I have one. She arrived in an ankle-length red velveteen coat with black accents - lined and fairly well made, but no tags.

 

Well, shoot. Thanks to flea markets, I have a Bubblecut, three TnTs, a buncha Malibus, several Superstars, and I've refused at least two Rockers. I pretty much have the entire ‘My Favorite Doll' repro set already - I just need to find an authentic Ponytail ! 

 

Anyway, while talking to the seller, I remembered that I still had a doll I'd purchased weeks ago - I hadn't even brushed her hair yet. And here I was, buying two more. Well. It's about time for a clean-out, but just for today, I played with my new brunette TnT, my lovely blonde FM, and my now-brushed past find, who I believe is a Tropical. She has that same light tan tone, streaked hair nearly to her knees, and the one-color eyes as in-box Tropicals I've found online. So that's pretty cool. Until Totally Hair came around, Tropical's hair was promoted as being Barbie's longest hair ever. She came in an awesome 80s jumpsuit, with her hair in a high ponytail. It's been brushed out, and I love the streaks. Great quality saran hair.

 

Hit a yard sale on the way home, and snagged a box of misc. scrapbooking supplies - dozens of papers, unopened sticker packs, and card shapes. Whole reason I bought it was because three of the cardstock paper sets looked like tiny Barbie notepads. That, and the papers and rulers and stencils would be fun for Dearest to play with this summer, and there were several packages of photo frames I liked. Well worth the $2.

 

As the night got late, I figured I at least owed a trial run to the nice digitizer who worked so hard on getting Eve right for me. I was fairly confident of the new version. So you can imagine how upset I was when it still puckered. Just one line of stitching, that's all it took. For some reason, I didn't notice that line in Ambassador. Well, clearly no matter how tight I got things, I wasn't getting it tight enough. And I was tired of wasting supplies.

 

Remember the iron-on interfacing I'd hoped to use as stitch cover ? Yup. I measured out a square and ironed it to Scrap #4. Under that, I lined up two sheets of... (wait for it) used dryer sheets. I practiced the good hooping I'd read about, and gave it the ole college try, one more time. And, as you saw in today's image, it bloody well worked. Alleluia.

 

What makes it even greater is that I already know this interfacing comes off in the wash. So I won't have that ‘design shield' look under it on clothes. I get it stitched, throw it in the laundry, and then iron some stitch cover to it, and that should do it. And I didn't have to blow more cash on adhesive spray. Whew !

 

Hand-stitched some filler on those blank spots in yesterday's Eve, and got her fray-checked. Tomorrow, I'll use some Peltex and make her into a fridge magnet. Today's Eve will probably become another change-pouch. And tomorrow, you get to see the dolls I was talking about earlier ! Hope your day was on a more even keel ! Me, I'm nearly dizzy with success on Eve, finally !

Always happens when you're getting just a bit too confident...

 

Current Mood : Mild frustration.

 

Thinking back, I was about due for another machine embroidery failure. I was getting kind of cocky about things....

 

Beloved Hubby and I got to share a busy day. He was home working for most of it, in the Shop, and I was getting things ready for the refrigerator magnet art project at Dearest Son's school. We ran up for Subway for lunch, and Beloved proposed a quick trip to Target - he'd broken another set of Mp3 ear-buds. In the Dollar Spot, there were magnetic Disney Princess note pads, but I didn't get any, and I'm as surprised as you. I stood there for a minute, trying to figure why sheets of disposable Belle or Cinderella-decorated paper was bothering me, but it didn't hit until later.

 

Back in the day (pause for collective sigh), any DP images to be found were in coloring books or other Little Golden Book-type media. And good images were hoarded amongst kids, especially little girls. Heck, we kept our Barbie clothes brochures darn near hidden away, so they wouldn't vanish ! Wasn't such a thing as Princess notepaper, and most ‘scratch pads' had little to no printing on them. Now the DP phenom is so omnipresent, magnetic notepads are a good idea. Just about everything is disposable, even when funds are tight, so scratch pads are nearly as fancy as formal notecards, like anyone uses them anymore. It was an odd thing to realize that.

 

We got my rice crackers, and I've been good about not consuming the whole container in one day. Last time I had rice crackers, I got terribly tummy-sick, and I really don't wanna repeat the experience. Even though I don't know if it was due to that binge or something else, I'm unwilling to take the risk. Just the other day, I felt severely nauseous, and it'd been weeks since my last Target visit. I try to hold down the binges to one a month.

 

Anyway, between Subway (Club sandwich ! Yum !) for lunch, the fridge magnet thing in the afternoon, and Chinese for dinner, I've been good about the crackers. However, they're calling to me now, since it's midnight. Darn things. So. We found the Crystal Sweeper Lego set Dearest has pined for over the last couple weeks, and snagged it.

 

The fridge magnet project went very well, and gorgeous magnets were sent home with their new, proud owners. One little boy sort of attached himself to me, and talked nonstop. Hard-to-hear stuff, but he desperately needed someone to listen, so I did. It was a combination of ‘Gramma called CPS when Daddy went back to drugs, and Mommy divorced him, but Gramma was trying to get Mom in trouble, not Daddy. I miss him, and he cries a lot' and ‘Dearest Son say says he has (insert gizmo) - I have a bigger, better, shinier one. In fact, I have three', with some ‘I'm getting an X-Box once the power gets turned back on, and we get the TV out of the pawnshop' mixed in for good measure. Between the contradictory fibbing (right after he says they don't have internet anymore, his three laptops are all online all the time) and the "I'm better than everyone in this class, that's why no one plays with me" (yes, he said precisely that) , I didn't know whether to hug him or tell him to please give me some space for just a few minutes. The teacher tried to get him to sit at his desk, but that only lasted for a minute or two - soon as she was engaged, he was right back. I really feel for the kid, he clearly has too much going on around him.

 

He even tried to walk out with Dearest and me to Molly - their teacher had to get someone to take him to where he's normally picked up, since he wouldn't go willingly. I wished I could do more for him, but after over two hours of nonstop heart-rendering and occasionally insulting chatter, I was ready for a quiet room and a nice jacket with really long sleeves. Beloved understood, and directed me to a nap while he and Dearest put the Lego Power Miner set together. I thought of how fortunate we are as I crashed.

 

Got to help Beloved with the overgrown lawn - by picking up a few dozen branches and odd garbage that seems to spontaneously appear in the yard as he mowed. Between the wind and the 7-11 next door, we get lots of trash that was never ours. And, I finally sat down to stitch out the Wall-E Eve design. I confess, I wasn't near as precise as I could have been when I hooped up that t-shirt remnant. But heck, I'd worked with knits before, and I was using the new good stabilizer, not the used dryer sheets. I was confident. No problem.

 

Um, big problem. For some reason, the Eve design stitches out part of the left side, then goes to the far right, and starts stitching from there. I evidently didn't have the fabric hooped tightly enough, and a pinch, a pucker, a pleat of fabric between the stitches soon developed. And got bigger as I watched. *&^%4. I stopped the stitching and removed it. No way to fix it - if the design started, say, from the left and continued on to the other side, any loose fabric would pucker outside the design. Not in the middle of it. No, this pleat was too big and too messy to finish the character.

 

So I read up some more, and cut fresh stabilizer and found the blue rag remnant I'd used before. I had that in there good and tight, it thumped like a drum, and was on grain. I reduced Brody's upper tension a bit, and double checked the threading and bobbin race, all good. And the exact same thing happened again ! This time, I actually cut the fabric pleat off the stitch-out, reworked some of the design over the blank spot, and continued on. It still looks bad, but at least I got to finish it.

 

About the only thing I haven't tried is hooping the stabilizer, then using a spray adhesive to attach the shirt to it. The shirt doesn't get hooped this way, so I'm not sure how good the stitch-out will be, but it's recommended. So, next time either Hancock Fabrics or Hobby Lobby have a good notions coupon, I'll pick up a can. Stuff's $13. for an eight ounce can at regular price. I also wrote the design seller, asking for any tips she may have. I wonder if she ever worked it on a knit before. According to the design sheet, the stitch-out was tested on a woven cotton. Oh, well. All else fails, I'll stitch Eve out on cotton, and make a patch out of her. For that textured 3-D effect all the kids like on their T-shirts !

 

Next week, I return to my lazy, no volunteering ways...

 

Current Mood : Successful !

 

Busy day, so I'm glad it's over. I actually lost sleep last night ‘cause I was worried I'd forget to do something. I got it all done, even though sometimes it was a squeeze and that slooooow train didn't help much, but at day's end (yaaay !) it was a good one, and I got a lot done.

 

Dearest Son wanted me to go to ‘Muffins for Moms' this morning, a sweet gesture from his school. So he got to ride in with me today, instead of take the bus. For a kid who thrives on routine, he really enjoyed today's break from it ! His teacher thanked me again for the flowers and the badges - I was glad to hear that she liked them.

 

I was barely back home before I was cooking up two and a half pounds of rotini for pasta salads. Teacher Appreciation lunch. I think it came out pretty well - it's the first non-family ‘vat' cooking I've ever done. It was very gratifying to see the surprisingly large spread put together for the teachers, all by parents and families. Last year, they took up a collection for sandwiches. Either way, we spent about $10.

 

Once home I had a small surprise - the stitch backing I'd ordered was already here ! Ten yards of it, brand-new on the bolt. You know me, I'll make it last ‘til it rots !

 

I kinda lazed the early afternoon away, and napped. Made the "#1 Bus Driver" and "#1 Bus Monitor" designs for them today, for their end-of-year candy jars. I should get them stitched out and ready to go next week. While it's nice to have a fairly simple last-minute gift out, it's also a good idea to make it up as early as possible ! I also organized the stitch print-outs a bit better, and it was nice to see what I've made already.

 

I was deciding which designs to ditch out of Brody's memory, to make way for the new ones, when I saw the clock again. That was only design that I had so many problems with, I tossed it out rather than try to save it. Well, as far as I knew, it wasn't the design's fault, it was my screwed-up, stripped-out, bad-tensioned hoop. But it taught me how to skip stops, and I still liked the design itself, even though it was bigger than I thought. I'd originally wanted it for Barbie backdrops.

 

Then it hit me. Timey Tell ! Her entire theme was clocks, so why not make it for her ? Like the crab appliqué dress I made for Debbie, I could easily stitch up something pretty for Timey, and finally get that clock worked up, so it wasn't a constant reminder of a crashing fail. So I stitched it again this evening. And it's a heavy, dense one. Took about an hour and a half, with maybe, oh, 150 jump threads to cut. Ten colors - that used four of the new markdown spools, and a never-used one from when we went on that initial supply spree right after Brody arrived. The registration (how the different stitches meet) isn't as tight as I thought, but it wasn't bad at all. And I have a fun project for the weekend. Now all I have to do is find a telephone motif for Hi, Dottie ! Princess Dorrie is probably getting at least one of these ‘D's.

 

Got to test out the thread rack, too. I only knocked it over once, and with the heavy mini-king spools, it tends to tip. So I chocked it on one side with the pin keeper/tool holder on the sewing table, and with a prototypical Barbie brush on the other. Very nice. Kept everything in perfect order, and it was easy to see what was next. So that 50c has been a good investment.

 

Sorted out the small wad of fabric over by Brody. Some tiny scraps, some partially used yardages, the cut-up scrapped clothes. Now they're all bundled up and ready for use. One of the scraps is a shirt back - the front was badly stained, and the whole thing was too small for Dearest - that I hope to practice Wall-E's EVE on tomorrow. But tomorrow's a busy day, too, so I never know.

 

This is sort of funny. When I first got the hang of doing appliqué with Brody, I was thrilled - all those tiny scraps would finally get used ! Um, actually, Brody has generated more scraps, from trimming the finished items into whatever use they end up having. (sigh) But at least I'm using fabric... when I'm not out buying it !

GoodWill was FUN today !

 

Current Mood : Sleepy

Spent on books : $3.78

Spent on star : 54c

Spent on embroidery supplies : 54c

 

We were gifted with a gloriously beautiful afternoon, after more overnight rain and a foggy, humid morning. The sunlight is like honey poured all over everything, and everyone's lawns are waaay overgrown.

 

Since I'm kinda booked tomorrow and Friday, I decided to run whatever errands needed to be done today. Needed glue for the craft project, so that was first, then I hit Dollar Tree - snagged a cool Disney ‘Cats and Dogs' coloring book for Dearest Son, along with four brand-new t-shirts for me to embroider on ! I love getting him brand-new clothes for a buck, and these looked great. He has green, blue, orange, and grey now. No adult sizes, except ‘small' and ‘extra small'. Oh, well.

 

Beloved Hubby and I got to have breakfast together, but it used the last of the bread and eggs. No problem - those were both actually on ‘Customer Appreciation' sale at the grocery in the strip. Also got some orange soda and some odds and ends.

 

But I really had fun at GoodWill. Scored four new books ($3.50), a new thread rack (50c), and a hand-sized wooden star with a tiny matching shelf mounted to the front (also 50c). It'd display a thimble quite nicely ! I was gonna paint it, but the back is stamped ‘Japan', which is rare these days. It might be fairly old. So I just added it to the Wall o' Stars outside the Lab, as-is.

 

The thread rack is pictured above. Actually, I'm not sure what it's supposed to be. Even the cashier asked me what it was. I don't know what it was made to do, but I know what it'll be doing - holding thread spools in the order I need ‘em when I'm embroidering. The chopstick pictured with it was used to replace the missing pin, using the new glue. It'll hold ‘em straight up, or at a 45-degree angle. Since many of the designs I have use ten colors or less, this is just about perfect. And it can double as a railing in doll pictures, with clever editing and support ! You can hardly tell which pin was replaced. The rest of the chopped-up chopstick went back to the cup where it had been resting, to continue its as-needed job of holding washed baggies open to dry. Yes, I even get the most out of take-out chopsticks...

 

The books were all great finds. I got the 19^th Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, a manga volume for Beloved, Wicked Women  by Fay Weldon, and a 1963 version of The McCall's Sewing Book. The illustrations are beyond cool. It was the most expensive of today's GWill finds at $1.49, but still a bargain - the published price was $6.95 ! I'm not sure why, but sometimes I find older books are easier to understand than the latest-and-greatest. Especially on the basics. Let's face it, they didn't have to explain machine embroidery or how to use 147 different stitches in 1963 ! Although that Necchi cam machine I had seemed to have that many, if not more...

 

Well, anyway. Hope your day had some sun in it - and maybe a few new (or new to you !) books in it !

Quite possibly the silliest thing I've ever made, yet I'm proud of it.

 

Current Mood : a bit buzzed on jellybeans...

 

It's still blasted raining. And the chance of rain doesn't drop below 30 percent for the rest of the week. (sigh) And I was so hoping monsoon season was over, and I'd not had a major attack...

 

Anyway. Got together all the unused stitch-outs and found that they fit in the Barbie Tupperware box I got from last week's thrift store jaunt. Remember the one trial that had my name on it twice - where the needle fell out while I was sewing, twice ? I refashioned that into a drinking straw keeper for my purse. Fast food joints always short us on straws around here, and Dearest Son can barely stand a Big Kids Meal orange soda without one. And it's not like that fabric was doing anything else anyway. It folds over at the top and stays down via Velcro ^TM, and is mostly just a tube sewn shut at one end. I added a ribbon so it won't pick up any dreaded Purse Dirt. Needed some practice with knits anyway, and wanted to see if that skill had deteriorated as badly as my zippers one had. Nope. Stitched up nice once the thread settled down. For some reason, it tangled up a bit, but it soon calmed. And I now have the silliest thing ever, a knit bag made expressly for the singular purpose of keeping drinking straws clean and handy. At least it wasn't something I paid for - although I don't imagine even Dollar Tree could get a buck for one of these. And who knows - I may expand into making little bags for toothpicks next...

 

Reason the photo looks funny is because I blanked Beloved Hubby's name out, for security reasons. What can I say, I'm paranoid.

 

I'm not the only one makin' stuff around here. Beloved made Dearest a great bedside wall shelf, perfect for his lamp, rarely-used alarm clock, a small beverage, and a book or six. He loves it. As soon as he gets the paint, it'll match Dearest's bed, as he requested. Only took him about an hour, too. He does the most amazing work with stuff around the Shop.

 

Dearest said his teacher liked the flowers and wore the badge, so I'm thinking she's happy with them. I've already been confirmed for ‘Muffins for Moms' and delivering a pasta salad for lunch Thursday, and doing a craft project Friday. While I'm out tomorrow, I have to pick up some glue and test the project. Glass marble refrigerator magnets. Wish us luck !

 

Not much else going on, so I'm cleanin' the kitchen and ending the day early. Hope yours was drier - I sank up to my ankles in mud when I took out the trash this afternoon. Backyard's a swamp, too. (sigh) I don't know how folk in Seattle deal with it all the time. 

And it came with an extra pack of crayons, too !

 

Current Mood : Pleased with me !

Spent on fabric : $14.82

Spent on thread : $17.01

Spent on machine embroidery supplies : $20.16

 

Current Image Notes : Beloved Hubby snagged this for me tonight. He said he was proud of me for working the Sophie Sew tutorials, and wanted me to have some fun stuff to trace. Squeeee ! He got the set, he said, because it was cheaper than just two of the enclosed books !

 

Well, today, I was several times reminded that I can plan all I want, but I am NOT the one in charge of things ! Finished the pin-back ‘Grammar Police' badge last night, using the spray adhesive that Beloved uses at work - not the designed-for-craftwork stuff. It was quite easy to work with, and I had about 20 seconds to get it all positioned correctly before it began to set up. Of course, it isn't until I compare the fridge one to the badge one that I remember - I didn't Fray-Check the edges on the new one ! It darkens the edges and looks like I used more colors than I did. So I did that, and left it to set up overnight. Works great. I like that stuff ! But I know it'd gum up Brody's needle, so it's best left in the laundry or on the back porch, nowhere near the Lab !

 

Scurried up to Mal-Wart and brought back a gorgeous bouquet along with the week's groceries. Found a matching jewel-tone ribbon in the stash, and arranged the flowers in the vase to the best of my limited abilities. Punched a star-shaped hole in the envelope containing a short ‘thank you' note and the "Grammar Police" badge set, and ran the ribbon through the envelope. Bagged the pretzels and antibacterial wipes we normally contribute at the start of every month, and was off again. Lest you think better of me than I deserve, I kept a sprig of deep wine-colored carnations for Beloved and the eucalyptus for our kitchen !

 

Unfortunately, Dearest Son's teacher was ill today. So I have to wait ‘til tomorrow (hopefully) to see if she likes it all. Darn !

 

But it was a really nice day. M-W had evidently assembled the new thread display without further incidents, and it was smaller but otherwise identical to the one at Hobby Lobby. Looks like they're ditching embroidery thread, since there was no place for it in the new rack. On the plus side, it meant that they marked down what was left to $2.50 for the big mini-king spools, so I snagged the few remaining colors I wanted. It was only six of ‘em this time ! I also got the variegated brown/gold/orange spool that's identical to that green one you've seen so much of, it was down to 75c. It'll be great for stitching out leaf designs for Autumn. They also had some glow-in-the-dark thread left, but I haven't touched the two spools of it I already have from a Hancock Fabrics markdown, so I passed. I basically got all I wanted, especially since someone else snagged all the bobbin thread !

 

I also found a pretty blue floral remnant for $1.76, and got it, just ‘cause. Got our groceries and ran the errands - and put laundry away. Well, shoot. The iron-on interfacing I put behind the green Disney D on that t-shirt came off in the wash. So much for using that as a makeshift embroidery cover. Decided to hit Hancock Fabrics, since I hadn't been there in weeks, and they might just have the stuff, I simply didn't know to look for it earlier.

 

Nope. The manager knew what I was asking for, but they never carried it. No Hancock's would. Oh, well. I already had Beloved's OK to order it online, I just wanted to go local if I could first. Save on shipping, too. But I was happy I went - they had the Wall-E fabric back in stock ! It's so cute ! I got enough to make Dearest a pair of shorts to go with the shirt I'm gonna embroider - as soon as I get the stitch cover. It'll probably be here Friday or Monday. AllStitch.com is really good. 

 

And (sigh) I found a remnant I really liked, a blue cotton with circles like atoms, and the blue fades from dawn to midnight. I'm gonna use it for my Brody cover ! And with that, I came home and ordered the stitch cover and just sat. Worked today's Sophie Sew tutorial, and relaxed. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's tutorial - it's about how to join elements together into a single design. Finally, I'll be able to use some of these alphabets without extensive measuring and hoping !

 

Because of that - and those coloring books ! - I haven't been downloading as many freebies. For one, I already have too much to ever use, and I want space for my own creations ! So I gotta agree with Beloved, I'm kinda proud of me, too !

 

Jack was not impressed with Debbie or her crab...

 

Current Mood: Rain-sleepy

 

I returned the favor today and got up early - so Beloved Hubby had plenty of time to enjoy his breakfast in bed before heading off to work. Yeah, it ranks that he has to work today, especially when the paint store screwed up. But, as he put it, we have a tutor to start paying next month, and I have to see my doctor for prescription refills, and there's stuff everyone wants, so he may as well get the money while the money-getting's good.

 

I've decided that Sunday's about the best day to do the family laundry. The day care center's empty, so it doesn't matter what I'm wearing back there, and while I'm usually running around doing other things, laundry isn't really time intensive. So I can start early and get it done in small bursts. It's my intention to never have another Mt. Clean Laundry on the loveseat again !

 

There's eight Sophie Sew tutorials, so I worked two today and took notes. If I work one a day all week, I'll be done next Sunday, and I can maybe make my own simple designs. Heck, half the ones on those four sites - a freebie every ten/twelve minutes ! - don't seem at all complicated. I pulled up and cropped a page from Dearest's Christmas Wall-E coloring book to experiment with, and it was fun !

 

Last night, Beloved and I went out for a bit, mostly to Hastings. He found a new manga volume he wanted, and I remembered yesterday was Free Comic Book Day, and picked up two that were available for Dearest. I also found a copy of Stuart Little : The Art, the Artists, and the Story Behind the Amazing Movie on clearance for $3. Has a script, preliminary sketches, interviews, the works. Dearest has barely put it down all day.

 

Well, as is usual, I went to make something to give to someone else, something that I've already made once with no problems, and WHAM ! I call down the wrath of the Craft Powers upon me. Happens every time. I sit down to make a doll dress, or stitch out a new design for the first time, whatever, and mentally shrug, thinking that even if it's a total disaster, it'll be on cheap fabric, and the experience is what I'm really after, so I don't really try very hard with things like grainlines and straight centering, etc. And it comes out beautiful. So I decide to do it again, and I try to be precise and do my best, but it's a skip through h#ll the whole way. Goes double if I'm making the second one to give to someone. Drives me nuts.

 

Sat down to stitch the second Grammar Police badge, since Teacher Appreciation week begins tomorrow, and I'll be dropping off flowers anyway. Mal-Wart flowers, but heck. I thought it'd be cute to tuck them into the ‘Thanks for teaching our precious kids' card tied to the vase. Didn't wanna wait ‘til tomorrow, that'd really be pushing it. And I had just about everything go wrong.

 

What's weird is, ya can't tell on the stitched-out badge. All the snarls and picks and broken threads and such don't show at all. This one's gonna be the pin, but I'm taking a break. It took me ten minutes and a consult with the manual before I could get the embroidery foot back on - and I forgot to do the badge back eyelet holes for the pin while the right foot for that was on there. (sigh) This is why I'm takin' a break...

 

Anyway, after dinner and Dearest's bath, I'm gonna put the pieces together on it. Gonna use the spray adhesive on the deck, since it finally stopped raining for six hours in a row.