Free-motion on Brody's about the only moving I've done today...

 

Current Mood : Impatient and crabby

 

Another day wherein I'm bone exhausted, but didn't get much done. Of course, when it's 87 degrees in the house, and the air conditioning hasn't stopped running in days, you tend to not move around much.

 

I'm a little distracted now. On Saturday, I bought Beloved Hubby the second season of Pinky and the Brain, dirt-cheap from Big Lots. It's the series, not the original shorts from Animaniacs, and neither of us had seen them. Well, what works hilariously in six minutes suffers in 22. ‘Nuff said. Dearest Son, however, is completely enamored, and now says ‘Narf !' loudly and about every 38 seconds. After asking several times for him to knock it off, then telling him to, I just clipped on the MP3 headphones and cranked the player. He soon calmed down and backed off - no one likes being ignored.

 

Today, too, we discovered the second drawback to having my computer in the living room. The first one is losing about half my desk space, due to room constraints and everyone sitting this end of the sofa uses a desk edge for sodas, snacks, dishes, and remote controls. Today, we had someone send us a fax. There is no phone jack in the living room. The fax/scanner/printer is, of course, connected to my computer. And we sure didn't have a twenty or thirty foot phone cord lying around. So I disentangled the wires and moved the printer into Beloved's Salon, placing it on his chair and plugging it in there. Beloved advised me to buy a phone cord while I was out, but it just seemed ridiculous. This works much better, with no cord to keep up with, no expense. Of course, when we actually did get the fax, it was some multi-level marketing (i.e., pyramid) scheme. I've redone the cords so that next time, I can do it without so much shuffle.

 

We did groceries, and I'm mostly proud of Dearest. He decided, before we left, that he wanted to save his money and get a larger set next week, too. That'll be three weeks for him to save up - first time he'd ever done that ! Of course, he couldn't have bought anything today anyway. I stepped on Lego twice, and he's slowly learning that mean ole momma is standing by Sunday's edict that Lego underfoot = no new Lego. He had a bit of a breakdown as we were finishing up, but I talked to him rationally, reminding him of the set he wants and the Lego underfoot rules. He calmed himself down, and I said he could call me ‘mean mamma' if it helped, and he was soon happy and chatty again, especially after he got to pick the ice cream this week. That lasted until I made him carry in groceries while I put cold food away. He normally escapes that chore by scampering off to play as soon as we hit driveway, but I snagged him this time ! At least he only pouted until lunch. About fifteen minutes later.

 

Checked Brody out a bit. His bobbin race is clean and clear, I even took the bobbin case out and checked for lint or whatever there. Maybe it wasn't seated correctly before. Just for kicks, I took off his embroidery platform and did a bit of free-motion embroidery with him, using yer everyday straight stitch. I'd done that a few times with KJ, when I first got him in ‘04 - it's quite fun, but without the free-motion foot, needle breakage is just too easy. I'd always meant to buy a free-motion foot for KJ, but I could never find one for less than $30., and when I had $30., I always spent it on a ton of small stuff. Now that I have Brody, he has the foot, and it fits KJ, too, if I ever decide to do that on him sometime. I'd been meaning to play with Brody's regular stitches, too - so that got done today. Thought all my noodling around, the thread didn't catch or snarl, so I may be OK with trying to embroider on that shirt. I'll do a simple on-board design first, though, to be sure.

 

Other than that, I'm not sure where the day went. It's 87 degrees inside, with the air on all day. If it weren't for the fan, I'd probably melt. And I completely blew off Wii Fit. At no point of the day was it cool enough to even do yoga without dripping.

Been meaning to update this...

 

Current Mood : Lazy

Wii Fit : 35 minutes

 

Since I skipped the Fit yesterday, it took twice as much effort to motivate my big butt onto the platform today. And some of the exercises that went exceptionally well Friday were real challenges this time. I guess all those motivation messages of ‘keep it up every day' really mean something after all.

 

For today's ‘been meaning to do that', I did something silly and completely selfish. A huge lace score at an end-of-season yard sale last year rendered all the lace too plentiful to fit in the ‘Lace and Ribbon Tote' box in the Lab. Ended up shoving the lace into an unused drawer, where all the plastic bags slip and slide. Most of the lace pieces are in sandwich-size baggies, since I rarely buy the snack-size. What can I say, I'm cheap. If I'm gonna get the same number of bags for the same price, I'm gonna get the bigger ones ! But it does mean that the occasional six-inch strip is in a baggie much too big for it.

 

Few weeks ago, I scored a large box of snack-size baggies, dirt cheap. So today, I pulled out all the lace and rebagged the ones that needed it. Surprisingly, this took well over an hour. I was careful to squeeze air out of the baggies, and I got a good look at everything, which was nice. However, once it was time to put it all back, I could swear the pile got bigger, not smaller. Go figure. Recycled most of the sandwich baggies to the kitchen, and some to the Lab. It feels good to get that done, but also kind of silly, and I'm sure there were better uses of time, but what the heck.

 

Beloved Hubby was home early, so I got to stick to the menu - meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Kind of a heavy meal when it's 102 degrees outside, but we were taking it easy in the evening anyway. I've learned that simply planning dinner out a week ahead of time makes it a lot easier - no 8pm decisions on what anyone feels like eating, and I can make sure we have all the ingredients. Since Beloved is a man who'll pretty much eat what I put in front of him and Dearest will whine about whatever's served, it's easier on me, too.

 

While elements cooked, I had enough time to begin plotting my next embroidery. Figured I'd jazz up one of my old white t-shirts - the new ones are still in the hamper, waiting for a wash cycle. I already had the crown I bought a month or two ago in Brody's temp memory, so I grabbed some knit fabric and did a stitch-out first. So glad I did. I'm still not sure why, but the thread broke several times, and snarled, too. Guess I get to do another stitch-out before going for the shirt, darn it. Gonna make sure it's fixed before I wreck wearable clothing. Right now, though, it's late, and I do have a mostly-successful stitch out, so I'm gonna crash. And leftover mashed potatoes for breakfast !

 

Sometimes remaking something is just more fun !

 

Current Mood : Overheating

Current Image Notes : I wasn't much on the thick clear vinyl fairy test stitch as a window ornament, so I cut the ribbon and trimmed the edges with scrapbooking shaped scissors. Mostly to hide the Sharpie marks from where I drew the oval to cut it out earlier. It's a lot nicer as a bookmark !

 

The closest thing I did to anything all day was making a couple meals and chewing out Dearest Son. (sigh) I hate to do it, but...

 

Found Dearest Son's $$$ camera and several $$ Wii games on the floor, in the middle of the path from the front door through the living room, after numerous admonitions to never leave them there. I confess, I lost patience. He got a very long lecture about being responsible for his possessions and ours, and this time I laid it on the line. If he can't respect what he already has, and take care of it, or at least keep it from being damaged, he's certainly not getting more any time soon. In fact, until the day comes that I don't step on a piece of Lego, we weren't buying any more.

 

He cried, but I had to stand firm. He is waaay too old for his seeming belief that robot maids pick up all this stuff for him. We clean up nearly every night before bedtime, but he gets more and more slack about it, and when it's been an hour, I have to admit, I'm not eager to go crawlin' the carpet looking for more plastic. It's past time to put the responsibility for that where it belongs - on him.

 

His therapist suggested confiscating the left-out pieces, a long time ago. We tried that, of and on, for a while. I've had a box going for a month now, and he doesn't even miss what I've collected. Oh, he wants it when he sees it, but that only works for a day or two. Once he gets the box back for good cleanup behavior, it's only hours before we're back to Robot Maid status.

 

On the plus side, Embroidery Library sent me a slightly-belated birthday gift - my choice of either $10. off any design purchase, or 50% off any sets or designs. I think you know my plans... finding about $12. worth of whatever I want, then using the $10. coupon ! It'll probably take me a few days to decide... I love looking at everything when I have magic money to spend !

Sassafrassin' cheap Mal-wart crap !

Current Mood : Pretty happy !

Current Image Notes : Here's the good trial, the one I did with UltraSolvy. I have no idea what the difference is - same tension, same thread, same design, same machine. Only the stabilizer is different, and most others use it with no problems at all. Oh, well. Can always use the junk on towels and such. 

Spent on fabric : $1.93

Spent on dolls : 75c

Spent on embroidery organization : $2.16

Spent on embroidery experiments : $1.01

 

Since the Wii goes with Dearest Son to Granny and Granddad's lately, I get to skip doing the Fit on Saturdays. Which I think is good this week, I kind of needed the break. My back is fine sitting or driving, but standing for a long time - like during today's shopping spree - requires frequent stretches and involves occasional pain. Guess my body's adjusting still. If the Wii is here, though, my brain nags at me to hop on the board and get my workout for the day until I do it. A mind is a terrible thing when it nags.

 

I had lots of fun today. Returned the shirt to Mal-Wart (see if I allow anything labeled ‘Contour Fit' in the same zip code as me again !) and stopped at Game Stop. After the Wall-e debacle, I'd promised to get Dearest Son a new game. He was interested in the Petz Dogs one - kind of a pet sim game - but I read reviews this morning, and it didn't seem as though he'd enjoy it as much as we thought. But I was willing to try, and since renting it for a week is $8., ya may as well buy the thing. At Game Stop, it was $20. new, $18. used. (sigh)  Is it just me, or does it seem as though there should be a greater divide between new and used...?

 

Beloved handed me two of ‘his' games that he never plays, and that neither Dearest nor I play either, and asked me to see if Game Stop was buying. They were. I got $15. for the two of them... and found ‘Hotel for Dogs : The Game' in the Used section - $18. ! No new ones. So I got it almost free, and can't wait for him to see it when he comes home tomorrow. And I ditched the Wall-e game. I am sooo glad we didn't buy that one, new or used.

 

Hit the flea market, but it wasn't much. My favorite cheap doll seller wasn't there, but the car set lady - Brenda - was, so we chatted a bit. Kind of a washout this week. Hardly any vendors. They filled less than half the usual space. Spent a big 75c - on a bag of misc. doll clothes, a perfume or bubble six-inch Disney Princess Snow White, and a tiny Dawn dress. I've always wondered if Dawn clothes would fit the Musical Princess line. They do - like they were made for them. You'll get photos soon, promise !

 

From there, I stopped in at Big Lots, since I hadn't been there in months. Scored some leftover July 4^th tacky bead necklaces, but I'm a sucker for stars. And at least they were half-price. Found a pretty green binder with sliding - not snapping - binder rings inside. Since the design print out binder I was using had only one flaw, a gap in the middle of the center ring, it made sense to buy this one, guaranteed not to gap or catch. Plus, it was green and two bucks. And I found a TV series on DVD that Beloved likes for just $6. - a whole season ! - so I snagged that for him. He nodded off on the sofa watching it.

 

And since Hobby Lobby was across the street, and I'd printed out a 40% off coupon, I decided to go. Got the first all-black t-shirt I've ever owned, to embroider on. Seriously. I have a selection of black pants and jeans, but I never wear black shirts. I never liked black as a kid, and I'm only coming to peace with it now as an adult. I'm thinking of embroidering that crown design I got as a freebie from EmbroideryDesigns.com, and adding a lace collar. On me, black near my face just makes me look grey and tired, so a bit of white near my face should help.

 

Also grabbed a cotton tiny-flowers remnant, and a bit of balsa to embroider. The remnant's flowers are small enough to use even on the Snow White doll I bought today, and the balsa wood... OK, I admit it, I read a tutorial on UrbanThreads.com about stitching designs on thin balsa, and I wanna try it. Only problem is, I got the stuff that's too thick, so I'll have to go back for the right size. When I do, I'll have another coupon, and I'll probably keep snagging white shirts in my size to stitch on, ‘til I run out of cash, coupons, or clothes to buy. I'm planning on a very festive and colorful year.

 

Got home, soaked with sweat and weary with heat, and unpacked the goodies. Snow White is adorable, and the baggie of Barbie clothes was mostly Kelly outfits. That was fine - since the blouses and skirts made for Kelly fit Snow pretty well, too ! A baby bonnet for a larger doll became a dress for Snow - I just need to alter it permanently - and I had fun dressing her in Kelly's skirts and shirts. There was a weird fur rug in the baggie, a blouse for a larger doll, a Perfect Pets bandanna, evidently for a toy dog, and some mismatched My Scene feet and odd plastic pets of some sort, but I got my quarter out of that bag, for sure ! Wrapped and taped the bandanna around the ‘Hotel for Dogs' game, and it's propped up waiting for Dearest to come home. And the Dawn doll dress fits Snow as though it were made for her. So I'll have to try that scan of Dawn designs I have. I'm sure my collection would like something besides gowns to wear !

 

That all lead to an extended eBay visit, where the don't-have-one Ariel doll in that size is still about $20. or so, the similar-size dolls (Starr Modeling Agency, Dawn, Pippa, Family Corners, Rock Flowers, etc.) are about the same price, and the clothes and especially shoes, are still too expensive. So I printed out a page of Dawn patterns I've had for a while, and studied them a bit. You may be seeing a few soon...

 

Sometimes, I like it when things are too pricey for me, or the price is about what it always is, I just don't wanna pay it. It engages my creative gears !

Getting stuff done's not always fun...but at least it is done !

 

Current Mood : All snitty at the WSS

Current Image Notes : You can see where the 'lace' doesn't quite meet the edges. Not good. The blue inset is the way it's supposed to look, image stolen from the place I bought the design from. 

Wii Fit : 32 minutes

 

Well, the new water-soluble stabilizer ranks. It just does. Keeping the tension and everything the same since last night's successful UltraSolvy test did not help the Mal-Wart stuff at all. Had to stop about mid-way through, same place as Trial #2, since it was too far off registry to complete. Again. It would have been a waste of thread and time to continue. Raised the tension and tried one more time on another cut of the crap. It looked better, but was still screwed up. Just crapped out further along in the design this time. (sigh) I can always use it as a ‘topping' when I sew towels, but otherwise, as far as I'm concerned, it's pretty useless.

 

I may snag some no-slip shelf liner next time I go to Dollar Tree, and wrap a narrow strip of it along the sides of the hoop, see if that helps. But if it doesn't, it's scrap. Tired of wasting thread and effort on it.

 

Finally got Beloved Hubby's coat fixed. It'd developed a tear along the pocket, and the lining was sewn down. So I used a ‘football' stitch - weave back and forth along the inside, trying not to catch the visible side, then once it's done, pull it tight - and it mostly worked. At least it's not a gaping hole anymore.

 

I've been meaning to fix that jacket since, oh, January or so. It got stashed in his truck, then brought in with the other sweatshirts and such a few weeks ago. Surfaced again when I finally got close to the bottom of the huge pile of dirty laundry. I would have put it off some more, but I know me too well. I stuffed it in a laundry basket and put the basket just inside the Lab door. Every time I went in or out, I had to squeeze past it. It's too easy to put stuff off when it's not in your way ! So I put it in my way, on purpose. And it's done now.

 

Chinese delivery for dinner ! It feels like a reward...

More pink for ya !

Current Mood : Between jubilation and exhaustion

Current Image Notes : Here's the back detail of the gift card folder. You know I love those tiny dress forms ! It's actually textured - the shiny red part is raised a bit. Nice detail !

Wii Fit : 35 minutes

 

Next week, I'm gonna try for 35 minutes every day. Then next month, maybe 40. I did 20 minutes of yoga today, and it felt great !

 

What also felt really good was going to Hastings. Beloved Hubby was home early, and decided to rent a couple Wii games - he wanted to try We Ski, and Dearest Son wants the Wall-e one, although he already has it on computer. I grabbed the bag of books I'd decided to cull yesterday, and Beloved added a couple. Long story short, we spent $36. in rentals and a new book for Dearest. The books we turned in got us $39. in credit ! Even Beloved had to like that ! We wanted to splurge a bit, but funds are a bit snug this week, so this was perfect.

 

Wall-e was even worse on the Wii - the controls were difficult to use, and it's one of those games where you have to be on the exact ‘right' pixel to make this jump or this goal, so all three of us were frustrated and angry within ten minutes of ‘play'. I'm not much of a gamer anyway, but this game just ranked. And when you inevitably screwed up, you didn't go back one or two challenges - you went back five or more, and got to do ‘em all over again. It's going back tomorrow.

 

Once home, we had a quick dinner, and everyone headed off to their own thing. I decided to try some free standing lace with the new cottony fabric-like water-soluble stabilizer I bought from Mal-Wart that I hadn't tried yet. I already had a neat coaster design loaded into Brody, so no time like the present !

 

First one didn't do well. It was what's called ‘off registry'. Meaning that lines didn't meet where they should. Since this was a mostly open-lace design, that meant that it was pretty much unusable. Well, shoot. I curved it a bit, and hopefully it'll work well enough to keep the stray housefly off my soda glass.

 

Looked at the design in Ambassador. Nope, it's fine. Must be my hooping. Cut back to a single layer of WSS, but within fifteen minutes, it was off again. So far, I was not impressed with this new stuff. Hooped up some Ultra Solvy, increased the tension, and tried again. Perfect. Hmm. It was either the tension or the WSS, so I'll try again tomorrow with the M-W stuff. After three of ‘em, I'm tired of the design and the black thread I was using. Here's hoping it goes better tomorrow - or it won't be worrisome that M-W's been sold out of it since I bought the bolt end last month.

I have no idea what to title this, 'cause there ain't much here.

 

Current Mood : Sleepy

Wii Fit :  31 minutes

 

Oddly, the little workout seems to have helped my back a bit. Maybe that's why the digital trainer guy keeps saying I should do yoga every day - to keep my back from blasted hurting so much ! Truth is, there's several sounds on it (rewards sounds, little themes, etc.) that I am darn near addicted to. The ‘perfect' chime that plays during the very mild step aerobics portion is especially cheery, and almost forever in my brain.

 

Not a lot else going on. Friend on the SiCK forum asked me for help with the freebie download program Embroidery Fonts Plus, which I've barely touched since finding Alphabet XPress. Now it barely works at all. I even removed it and reinstalled it, and it's still trash. I deleted it again, and it can stay off. I was keeping it for the fonts, but they're useless if I can't get the program to work. So, bye-bye EFP !

 

Dearest Son was hyper-touchy all day, so I put off going after his room. Much as I hate to lose a weekend day to it, it's best if I work on it when he's gone. That way, he doesn't see what I put aside for donations and what gets trashed. If he's not here, I'm a bit more ruthless about ditching broken stuff anyway. Instead, I cleaned my side of our sloppy bedroom. Books and papers and doll stuff everywhere. And another trunkload of donations. Got them all bagged up, and sorted through the books, pulled a boxload for either donation or the second-hand bookshops around here. Freed up enough space to give the floor-dwelling books an elevated home in the bookcase that's mostly my stuff. Beloved has ‘his' own, but all the books are ours, no matter what bookshelf cabinet they're in. We trash ‘em all on a regular basis when we're on ‘book benders'.

 

So, not a busy day, but a nice one. And I can see the floor on my side of the bed !

 

I've avoided the whole Michael Jackson Shock and Nostalgia Trip, because even with no TV, it's been darn near everywhere for the last two weeks. But this pretty much summed up my take on the whole thing -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVACUjHn6yU - Michael Jackson is Dead (adult language, and lots of it). Sometimes I hate that I used to be part of the media...

 

Barbie Target Tuesday !

Current Mood : Achy.

Spent on Fabric : $1.78

 

After the flurry of yesterday, I guess it's no surprise that I didn't get a lot done today. In fact, I had to skip Wii Fit, because while I was out shopping, I had to stretch my back several times, or it'd get all stiff and hurty. It was fine after I stretched or sat for a bit, but when it hurt, it hurt ! Even taking trash out to the Dumpster required a ten-minute break afterwards.

 

Had a buncha errands to run, too. Banking and the Library, to start off. Got a call a few days ago that a DVD we'd borrowed and returned was missing a disc. Oh, shoot. I didn't even check... and now I couldn't find the thing ! I tore up the area around the TV and DVD players, no disc. (sigh) Looks like we were on the hook for the $20. or so it cost to replace it, darn the luck. Well, the rewards fairy smiled on me today, for I not only found the disc, but Dearest Son's overdue Beetle book as well. I felt like such an idiot for not only not checking the DVD box, but for making them wait before I found it - but once there, I discovered they had a whole drawer of DVD boxes, each one missing a disc. Didn't feel quite so stupid then ! Paid most of our fines, and got books for each of us. The art books Beloved Hubby requested, several selections of Dearest's, and a copy of My Life in Toons, by Joe Barbera ( of Hanna-Barbera !). I'd been wanting to read that...

 

Afterwards, I decided that today was a good day to empty Molly-chan's trunk. So we passed by the local thrift downtown and dropped off a three loaded-arms trip load. They were happy to see all the doll toys, saying they didn't have a Barbie section. My answer was obvious - "You do now !". It was also a good lesson for Dearest, who isn't quite happy with his folks' declarations that his room would have to lose some outgrown and years-neglected toys soon. And here was momma, dumping tons of hers ! Mostly because, I explained, I had other pieces I wanted to keep more than these, and I couldn't keep everything. So I chose the ones I wanted most, and decided to let someone else have the rest. I hope he remembers it when I tackle his room soon.

 

Dearest is making real strides in reasoning lately. After finding nothing of interest in the toys section at Mal-Wart, he decided to wait ‘til next week, and maybe wrangle something bigger later. I bought a t-shirt that doesn't fit me well at all, so it's going back later this week. Mental note : ‘Shaped fit' = made with enough Lycra to qualify as a tight swimsuit. I'll keep the pretty remnant I found - looking forward to trying it as an appliqué. And I got to put the groceries in the trunk for the first time in months !

 

Beloved was home early today, so I got to head out to Target for my favorite rice crackers, and stop by Hobby Lobby with this week's 40% off coupon. My crackers were on sale, and I found something really cute - today's image ! It's a sweet Barbie gift card, and it really does have a very simple dress inside, you'll see that tomorrow. Her hair highlights and jewelry are reflective, and it comes in African-American, too. Same dress. I only put $5. on it, which I can use later, so the doll dress really is free. Sweet !

 

And I got a grey heather t-shirt at Hobby Lobby, for just $3.59, with the coupon. All they have in my size at that store are black, white, and grey. I'll probably snag a white one this weekend. Luckily, I'll have time to get this one washed and dried - and hopefully shrunk as much as it's gonna shrink ! - beforehand.

 

After that, it was dinner and a movie with my guys, and lots of rice crackers ! Tomorrow, I have to conquer Dearest's room, so I have to rest up for that. It's kinda sad, when someone who is home all the time, starts to long for the weekend, huh ?

Weighty day...

 

Current Mood : Worn out !

Wii Fit : 33 minutes

 

Yeah, it's kinda silly to record the Wii Fit time here, but it encourages me to keep up with it. I've only put a total of eight hours on the thing since we got it, so maybe this'll help. According to it, I lost four pounds yesterday, but gained two today. But it's fun, and if it gets me moving instead of sitting, any weight loss is bonus.

 

Kind of a quiet, if busy, day. I had to return a birthday gift, a super-cool digital photo keychain, today. It wouldn't allow direct file transfers at all, instead, it required its own software to load photos, and my virus checker detected and eliminated a Trojan Horse in it ! After that, it wouldn't load at all. I wrote the company, checked their website, tried another computer - nothin' and the same. Kinda ranks, because I really liked it, and it was very thoughtful of my DM and DFIL to get it for me. They'd included the receipt, so we got cash back. Dearest Son found a coloring book he liked, and I snagged a bag of chips and some kitty litter (we were out, and DC was finally home, after a worrying two-day absence). Not as awesome as the keychain, but I appreciate their thoughts, and those were really good potato chips. Beloved Hubby even said so when he got home and had some.

 

I can stash the rest of the cash for the flea market this weekend. We also hit Dollar Tree, where Dearest got a lesson in Pez. He could have another dispenser and two sleeves of candy, or no dispenser and six sleeves ! He decided on straight candy, and soon located his old ‘racing car truck' dispenser, and was happy. I found two ‘customize your own' glass paperweights with no air bubbles or cracks, and plan on adding some small embroidery pieces to them. Since we have a fan going in the living room, a paperweight is a good addition to my desk. Also for embroidery area, I got a few small ‘hair claws' - those are good for holding the bulk of shirts out of the way while Brody works on ‘em. The ones I bought earlier are just too big.

 

Some food slid in the freezer, and kept the drawer from opening, so that was something I saved to work on after my little digital workout. Now that we have an oven, the freezer's finally getting cleared out a bit. I even found some leftovers in there that made a tasty lunch. After that, it was finally laundry time, and I spent a solid hour sorting and turning right-side-out. Took a break and went after getting it all hung up and stored. I've already learned that, if it takes me an hour to sort, it'll take me  about an hour to store. Not including socks. By Friday, I'll have two or three loads ready for the whole cycle again. But for now, it is DONE ! Even the socks.

 

Pulled four of Beloved's new t-shirts aside, and three of Dearest's larger ones, for embroidery. I kept buying Beloved new tees, he'd wear ‘em to work, and I'd be too concerned of Brody hitting a dried paint chip to use ‘em to embroider on ! So I'd buy more tees, put ‘em through the wash...This time, I snagged ‘em early. And I plan on doing at least one shirt a week for Back-to-School between this week and First Day. And this week, I start buying m'self some new shirts to decorate. If Mal-Wart doesn't have anything when we go grocery shopping tomorrow, Hobby Lobby has a 40% off coupon this week, and I know HL has my big-tent size.

 

Wonder what I'll embroider on the first one...

Easy, fun Sunday...

 

Current Mood : Sleepy

Time on Wii Fit : 35 minutes

 

Spun around the house most of the day, finishing up projects. Dug out a 25c yard sale frame and got the ‘I Still Play' piece framed and hung up in the Lab. It's done on some of the last of the leftover unbleached muslin from the dining area curtains - I have maybe enough for four more small stitch-outs left, and that's it. It's a great fabric to embroider on, easy to handle, nice neutral background for nearly any color or design. And at only $2./yd all day long at Mal-Wart, no coupon or sale required, it meets that criteria, too.

 

Also used the snap-and-grommet pliers to attach a small hanging-hole grommet to the clear vinyl green fairy effort, so it's now hanging up, too. I went for the bedroom window this time, using a green silk ribbon to match.

 

After a hearty lunch of McD's - the Angus burgers are good, but taste like quarter-pounders, and a third pounder is just too much for me - I decided to get the spray adhesive and try sewing on cardstock. I'd watched a tutorial on Embroidery Library (www.emblibrary.com) Friday, and had been wanting to try it, with some of the stuff I already had around here. I have an untouched box of blank wedding card stock -  nothing frilly, and at 50c with envelopes I couldn't refuse - and small card remnants. Those were a grab bag, $3. at M-W in the Scrapbooking section, bought months ago when I was making tons of little origami boxes. I'd hoped to use them for that, but it was kinda thick and hard to fold, so I put them in a Disney Princess yard sale lunchbox and stuffed ‘em with Crafts.

 

Brody was still threaded with black from the Barbie experiment yesterday, so I chose a mottled beige card that was conveniently 4 by 4 inches. Embroidery Library's tutorial expressly said I should only use their made-for-cardstock designs, but you can already guess how I felt about that. I even looked, and all they had were Christmas and Hanukkah designs, and most of them were for bigger hoops than Brody has. Which is funny, because the tutorial shows a nice, simple ‘Thinking of You' design that they don't have for sale anywhere.

 

Hooped up some old cutaway (i.e., dryer sheet) scraps and sprayed the back of the card with the adhesive. Didn't stick. Sprayed it again, and it only partially stuck. Hm. Pressed it down harder, and let it ‘dry' for a bit. Seemed to be in there well enough to sew on. Chose a simple flower design from Brody's built-in memory, and it worked ! Well, mostly. The first few stitches pulled out. So, before I pulled the hoop off Brody, I decided to stitch a second pass of the same design, right on top of the first. Again, the initial six or seven stitches didn't ‘take' but the rest was excellent ! No tearing or anything, not even where the first ones weren't. Fixed it with a hand-needle and some cutaway thread.

 

Seriously, I was not real impressed with that spray adhesive. I'm thinking of trying the same thing again, but secure the card to the stabilizer with masking tape along the edges. Long as the tape's nowhere near the needle, it should be fine. Maybe the spray doesn't like the dryer sheets, but it's what I'm using, so if it doesn't work with it, well, it's time to explore other - much cheaper ! - options.

 

And so far as ‘only use made-for-cardstock designs', feh. I think, as long as it's a simple design that doesn't use hundreds of tiny stitches, it'll probably sew fine on cardstock. I'm thinking of using my larger hoop to sew on a greeting-size card - since I've barely used that hoop for anything, and my standard-issue one will bend the edges permanently. I can always iron it, but you can't iron out deep creases on paper. Ask me how I know...

 

After that, I sort of goofed the evening away. Thirty-five minutes of Wii Fit and a few games of Wii pinball, a bit of Lab tidy-work, read a bit, napped a while. Brats on the grill and tater tots in the oven for dinner. Yeah. It was a really nice day. Hope yours was, too.