Yesterday, there was new fleece. Today, there's blankets !

 

Current Mood : Silly-happy

Spent on craft stuff yesterday : $1.61

 

Forgot until I unpacked the Hancock Fabrics bag that I bought three Barbie-size Styrofoam craft cones - 90% off ! Now, if I want to try those felt trees again, I got the cone core to work with ! And ya'll know me, I'd much rather fork over 49c each rather than $4.99 a piece.

 

Changed all the batteries on the U-Command Wall-e last night, and he worked beautifully. And Dearest Son is in love. He couldn't believe that he had one, and just looked at him for a full minute before reaching for him. I think that, since we had to tell him we couldn't find one at Christmas, he thought he'd never have one. Well, that was probably accurate, until yesterday !

 

The bear's dress didn't fit PDorrie, but the hat did. The dress fit Timey Tell and Hi, Dottie. So it wasn't a total waste of 50c ! Since I'm now running a week behind my ‘sew something, embroider something' with this mad frenzy of purchases, I decided to take today to get it started. Since I found the other plastic ‘grid' box like Dearest Son's that got transformed into a Nerf carrier, I decided to cover it as a carryall for the Lab.

 

But what to embroider on it ? Noodled around with Alphabet XPress - after I had to re-register it, for some odd reason - until I had a kinda cute ‘Dorrie's Craft Crap' logo that I liked. Got the twin bags of fabric Aunt S. gave me out of Molly's trunk and looked for one specific length. It was a medium purple, with a sort of kaleidoscope outline design on it, in black. If there was enough for a blouse and enough left over, I'd use it with a black embroidered border. Found it. It's at least five yards, if not more. Could make a matching shirt and pants set and still have enough for the Undercover Cube, with that much. I was intrigued by the floral stripe, but not certain of my sewing enough to tackle a stripe on a square box just yet.

 

In the middle of it all, Dearest Son brought me the slightly-more-than three yards of Wall-e fabric that he'd tossed aside when he saw the U-Command one's eyes peeking out of it. He wanted to take a nap, and it'd be great if I could cut his blanket for that. OK. I also forgot to mention that there was just a bit over three yards of the character fleece on the bolt, so we took it all. I finally got it unfolded... wow. Three yards plus of 59" wide fleece is a TON of fabric. He didn't want a faux-snuggie, he just wanted a throw blanket. So I just cut it in halves, since there was enough for both of us to have a full-size blanket.

 

He wanted to use his right then, but I cut the wordy selvages off mine, rounded the four corners with a bowl, a Sharpie, and the scissors, then took it into the Lab and cheap-serged the raw edges. Fleece doesn't fray, but I prefer even a slightly finished zig-zag edge to nothing at all. I grinned when I realized that, yes, I sewed something. I then thought, what the heck, I'll embroider on it a bit, so I'll be able to tell mine from Dearest's. I'd used dark green for the cheap-serge since it was already in KJ from Beloved's project, so I'd simply use a different color of Dearest's choice on his. He'll have to choose tomorrow, since right now, he's curled up in his new blanket.

 

Even though I'd cleared off my desk in anticipation of moving Brody in for the ‘Dorrie's Craft Crap' design transfer,  I decided to use the heart  from Shapes and letters from Monograms in his permanent memory for my blanket. Checked Embroidery Library for tips on stitching on fleece, and hit it. Loaded up a sharp needle and some dark green thread, and selected a vine design for the heart. It seemed appropriate ("Plant !") for a Wall-e blanket. And from there, I just added a cursive capital ‘D' to the middle, without even rehooping it. I thought I might need a ‘topping' layer, so the stitches wouldn't sink into the pile, but it stitched up nice, and I didn't even repeat the sequence.

 

Only problem with the vine is that there's lots of jump threads. And cutting them often caught the fleece in the blades. So I learned to cut thread with just one blade, by sawing it a bit. Much better. It's a good project that keeps you on ‘goal' schedule, looks great, and teaches something new !

 

After I finish Dearest's, I'll probably start the craft crate cover. Since I found the fabric I liked from Aunt S., I think I'll use the sewing filigree designs I bought last week. If it works up like I hope it will, I don't want to wreck it by embroidering the word ‘crap' on it.

Fleas, Wall-e, and a ton of fabric...

Current Mood : Amazed

Spent on fabric and sewing : $1.96

Spent on dolls : $1.

Spent on doll accessories : 2.50

Busy day today. I had the Boy Scout flea market sale, then Beloved Hubby and I were gonna visit Aunt S. (she wants to have him redo her floors), then head to the fabric store, and PetCo. The dog baths are making him sick, and not killing the fleas past the ones on him at bath time. So we're gonna switch to neck drops. And I wanted to see if they store had the toy squeakers the website does. Somewhere in there would be lunch.

 

The sale, as you can see from the photo, was fantastic. I got all that for $9. total ! The remote control Wall-e was a TRU exclusive, one we were looking for at Christmas, but it was always sold out. And he works perfectly ! Clearly, someone had tried him out before I arrived - the tape holding his remote to his box-chest had been torn - but when he didn't work, they didn't wanna take the $5. chance. I knew two things. One, Dearest Son would love him even if he didn't work. Two, there's usually on/ off/ ‘try me' switches on toys like this. Once I located and activated both the one on the remote and the one on Wall-e, he sprang to life and loudly announced his name. That got some attention, but he was mine, all mine !

 

The sale is sectioned off by troop, and in the same sale, I also scored a Bratz wardrobe that I'd kinda coveted for a while. Just not enough to pay $17. for it and the doll. But here it was, in a pile of various toys, with a $1.50 price tag. Prowling further, I found what must be a late-80s or early 90s sewing box. That turquoise and fuchsia color scheme is kinda telling. But it was nice, and chock full of ribbon, lace, rat-tail cording, hair barrette blanks, and other trims - and the whole thing was marked 50c !

 

I was kinda weighed down, but paid for my goodies happily. I never noticed that the left hinge on the sewing box had popped. Oh, so that's why it was cheap, I guess. One of the salespersons pointed it out. After I paid, of course, but that was fine. Stuff inside was worth a lot more than what I paid ! I tucked off to an unused corner and fiddled with it a bit, and it snapped back into place. Carried it for the rest of my time there, and it held well.

 

Hit a couple other troops' territories and found more goodies. I'd have loved to offer them $5. or so for the bagload of Barbies and props I found, but I didn't have that much with me. But something about the flashy outfit and weird posture of ‘American Idol Tori' appealed to me, so I paid a dollar for her. I also found an unopened set of miniature TinkerToys - cute for the kid dolls - and a stuffed bear in a green velvet dress for 50c each. Bear's gonna give up the dress, hopefully it'll fit Princess Dorrie.

 

What fun ! There was a regular Flea Market this week, and I even saw some of the sellers from it in the BS sale. I decided not to go, since I was broke, but I kinda wonder what I'll see next Flea. Beloved was blown away by Wall-e, and while he showered, I found the directions sheet. Signed up to a robotics message board just to thank the person who posted them, since Thinkway Toys didn't have it anywhere on their site.

 

Aunt S. had a big surprise for me. About 30 yards of fabric ! It was almost comical. And there's this to know.  Aunt S. never buys cheap - sale, yes, cheap, never - and she never buys one yard. It was all beautiful woven polished cotton in wonderful pinks and greens and floral prints. I can probably make m'self at least ten shirts out of this haul ! There was even some of the most beautiful white cotton I've ever seen. I found a receipt in the bag - not even gonna say how much she paid for at least part of that, but it was dated 1994. I felt so greedy, but she insisted that it'd rot in her garage if I didn't take it all. Didn't matter if I passed some along, but she hoped I could use at least part of it. Wow.

 

It seemed silly to go to Hancock's after that, but Beloved wanted a specific fabric for an AirSoft project, so off we went. And this is funny. All I wanted was about five yards of black broadcloth, while it was on sale for 99c a yard. Our store had none. I mean, zero black. Oh, they had black Royal Broadcloth, but I couldn't tell the difference between ‘em. I held one of 99c Navy, one of $1.99 Royal Navy, and asked Beloved if he could. Nope. He got it backwards, too. I can buy it all day long for $2., so I didn't bite this time.

 

Beloved found what he wanted while I looked around remnants and markdowns. Found a half-yard of a near-denim black for $1.35, and snagged it, along with three yards of Wall-e fleece. Last month, it was $14.99/yd. Last time I was there, it was half price. This week, it was $4.95/yd, so I'm making Dearest Son a blanket ! And if there's enough left, maybe a lap one for me.

 

What I'm gonna do is, drape the fabric over the remote control one, then tell him I'll measure him for the blanket, so lie down. He'll be so surprised when he picks it up ! I'll probably put his Thomas the Tank Engine blanket away. Gosh, how long has it been since I made that one...?

 

We had lunch, and made one last stop at PetCo. Friday is itching a lot less, and I hope the neck drops don't make him as sick as the bath shampoo did. On impulse, we bought a pot of growing catnip for DC - and it was love at first chew. He never reacted much to the dried stuff, but fresh was a whole new game for him ! He even seemed a bit drunk when he purred around my ankles, and I know he was drooling a bit. Got it away from him before he munched more than a quarter of it, but he was already flying high. Hope I can keep it alive !

 

Helped Beloved Hubby make a custom AirSoft pouch, but he sewed it himself. I was surprised at me - I was actually a bit...concerned about him using ‘my' sewing machine. He knows how to sew, and back in the day, he was better at it than me, but I hovered anyway, and even when I left, I had an ear cocked for strange sounds escaping my Lab. Yes, there was a slight problem, but it's been years since he sewed, and it was easily remedied... I really need to get over m'self !

 

Leftover Chinese for dinner ! And you won't believe what a wreck my desk is. I got dolls and toys and stuff everywhere. Clean up time after chow. Hope you had an awesome day, too!

Things calm down. A little.

 

Current Mood : What a week ! 

 

After yesterday, I decided to take it easy, especially since Beloved Hubby was home, and we'd been up late the night before, playing with various goodies. We went back to get Molly that night, and had a bite to eat before buying jumper cables. At least I now have a good set.

 

While Dearest Son had a good Thursday, with his new playset and a visiting Grand-dad to play with, he really wanted to get out for a while too. Since yesterday's plans had included a trip to Target for rice crackers - my first of 2010 ! - before Molly's ignition short wrecked that, I decided we'd both go, have a look around, and get a snack. Had a really nice time, talking about his various interests, and looking at everything. Since he has a new toy coming in the mail Monday, he was more into looking for stuff to earn than wanting anything right now. I'm so proud of him !

 

He picked out a Scooby Doo coloring book from the Dollar Spot, and I got a silly ‘Top Model' magazine, mostly for the Eiffel Tower backdrop inside. Luckily, I didn't see any dolls I wanted !

 

We came home and played. That is, I kept opening Becky's box and staring at her. Posted a little photo-story on In The Pink, mostly to highlight that Becky and Charlotte (Princess and the Frog friend) had the same hairstyle. And I started cutting and did a bad boil-perm on the SuperStar I got at the thrift this week, so I had to completely redo her bangs (which were just fine before I messed with ‘em). I was just gonna donate her, but sometimes, there's just something about one of those big-eyed 80s girls that makes you look at her again.

 

Someone posted a comparison photo of an anime-eyed Steffie next to the Barbie Basics #003 using the same head mold. The contrast was amazing. This wide-eyed, innocent, happy Midge, next to a heavy-lidded, over-made-up, not at all innocent doll with the same face was almost shocking. I hadn't realized...

 

Since I'm gonna hit the Boy Scout sale tomorrow - one of the better flea market / yard sales of the year ‘round here - and Beloved and I are going out tomorrow, we stayed in tonight. Chinese delivery should be here soon ! Hope your Friday is fab !

 

OK, now it's getting a little silly...

 Current Mood : Overjoyed !

Spent on Becky : $32.39

Spent on doll props :  $19.41

Spent on sewing goodies : $10.32

 

 

Yeaaaah, I really went to town today ! But Beloved Hubby encouraged me to do so, since Dearest Son got the big Battle Force Five playset he's been wanting, and we ordered another toy he chose (but earned tickets to ‘buy'), and he's admittedly been going a bit nutz with the AirSoft stuff. I decided to hit Tuesday Morning when he came home, have a bit of time to m'self, see if our outlet had what folks on In The Pink have been finding at theirs.

 

Truth be told, I kinda wanted to find the ‘Most Mod Party Becky'. While I'd never seen one ‘live', I liked her history as the friend-that-never-was, and since she was from 1971, she was in my childhood time. That was the year I got Malibu from the Bragg family, my very first Barbie. And from what the Pinkers were writing, she was only $30., down from her original $120. price last year. No way could I afford that - but I might spring for $30. If I could find her.

 

The toy aisle at Tues.AM was a disappointment. No dolls hardly at all - just a gimmick ballerina Barbie and a Birthday Princess one. But, hey - There's some Kitchen Littles ! Those were so cool not too long ago, my best friend's daughter had their cool miniature stove, with the flipping pancake. They were made by Tyco, and seemed just a bit out of scale for Barbie, but a heckuvalot more realistic than the glitter-princess furniture and appliances Mattel was making, and the foods were common US brands instead of generic, off-colored play food most of us were used to. So it sold well, and still does on eBay. When Mattel bought the foundering Tyco, they got the KL name, and proceeded to make a few toys, then dropped it and returned to too-small fridges and ugly food.

 

Somehow, International Playthings got the name, and made the awesome stove, fridge, and counter again, with the great mini food and appliances, around '05 or ‘06. But, good luck finding them. I never did, even when I saw them in store ads, until today. I methodically went through every shelf in their Toys section, and scored two ‘Popcorn Time' sets ($3.99 each) and the awesome Deluxe Cookware pots and pans set ($9.99). Now I didn't feel like the trip was a waste ! I also found the storage pantry, but since it was simply a paper-hinged box with shelves, I didn't find it worth $8., and didn't buy it.

 

It occurred to me that, yeah, I didn't find what I wanted, but I didn't find any collector dolls. No Barbie ones, no Madame Alexander, no nothin'. Hmf. That was odd, since the last time I was there, all toys, collector or not, were together. Possibly they were somewhere else...

 

So I went down every aisle - and there they were ! On the very top of an end cap that normally displays nice china or stemware. And there was Becky. Just as others had said, $30., and absolutely perfect. Grab ! Ours also had two Malibu and three Bubblecut My Favorite Dolls for $20. each, along with two Jonathan Adlers, a red Ferrari, a blonde Harley, and a Dallas Cheerleader - none of those had prices. There were also a small army of small Madame Alexanders, a Karito Kids girl, and some holiday themed Lee Middletons. Not what I wanted - I already had that !

 

I was so dazed and excited, but I looked around a bit more. Found a great pink pincushion dress form ($7.49) and some small scrapbook-style adhesive button sets with sewing machines and cute sayings - I snagged three at 69c each. They also had a neat Kelly-size stuffed chair pincushion for $6., and some fantastic storage boxes, but I kinda felt that what I had in the cart already was plenty.

 

Got back in Molly-car...and she wouldn't start. Oh, well, at least Beloved was home. He was pleased that I'd found what I wanted and was so happy. Heck, I'm still a bit dazed ! It's so amazing to open the box and see her, so beautifully arranged. Less than 8,400 were made worldwide - my first Gold Label.

 

But I'm still gonna debox her. Eventually.                                                            

I shoulda known this was coming when I said, 'No more dolls !'

 

Current Mood : Havin' fun !

Spent on dolls :  $4.31

Spent on doll food props : $2.16

 

Ya'll are sooo gonna laugh at me, but when I saw that broadcloth was 99c/yd at Hancock Fabrics, I knew I had to go. I'm nearly completely out of black ! I didn't toss any during last year's big clean out, since I know you can always use more 1) black, 2) white 3) most any solid color - it's the prints ya gotta watch, for scale and color and everything. Most every fabric I tossed was a print of some sort, in knit, in woven, didn't matter. Mostly florals, because those go from ‘neat' to ‘oversized' to ‘downright gaudy' really fast. Plus, it's easy to end up with a huge collection of prints without even trying. Solid colors often look boring folded up, and don't often inspire as much, but ya gotta have solids ! They come in handy for nearly everything, and broadcloth is a great weight for nearly anything.

 

Plus, the cheapest I've seen broadcloth is $1.20/yd ($2. minus a 40% off coupon), although about once every four to six months, Hancock's marks it down. It's just that I haven't needed any, since it's not like I could inventory that mess I had. Our local Mal-Wart has a selection of broadcloth colors all day long for $1.87, but I noticed it went up a bit at that store that only has pre-cut ‘Celebrations' fabric. Bah.

 

I also decided I wanted to check Michael's Crafts, see if they ever got more 6mm foam sheets in stock. Then hit the thrift, and do a bit of grocery shopping. I was getting dressed when it hit me - today's the 3^rd. Broadcloth sale starts on the 4^th. (sigh) So I called Michael's, and they remain out of stock on the foam sheets. Well, no point in driving across town today, so we'll keep things small with the thrift and groceries.

 

At least I knew before driving all the way there, right ? I had to pop poor Molly-chan's hood open twice to break up the ice and snow enough to slide it off, then repeated the action with her trunk, but at least that only took one good slam. Dearest Son helped. Twenty minutes and four frozen hands later, we were ready to go. Too bad Molly-chan didn't start. Oh, well.  Hooked up the battery charger and went back inside for a half-hour. Shoot, I thought. I'll barely get her out of the driveway before Friday - when we're expecting snow again.

 

But once on the way, everything went well. Dearest found a neat police truck that's precisely in scale with his DeLorean for $2.99, and it worked perfectly, soon as we got fresh batteries in it. We saw the exact vehicle a few minutes later at Mal-Wart for $25.

 

And here's another, bigger laugh - I scored a bag of dolls (sigh) for $3.99. Got today's nude crown-attached Ken, with two Prince-type outfits with boots, and a pretty blonde SuperStar, with a purple party dress. I just can't resist the good-lookin' guys, and the dress was really pretty. I also got two more packages of those food-shaped, Barbie-sized erasers. What can I say, I'm a total sucker for those bento-box lunches ! 

 

Once the groceries were put away, I had some fun with an empty candy box - and enjoyed emptying it, too - and the new guy. And I started in on a new ‘do for ‘Gabrielle'. Yup, it's gonna go shorter and hopefully not so cotton candy-like. Oh, and Beloved Hubby wants to go with me to Hancock's Friday, since he wants to create something. Awesome !

Icicle ! Icicle ! Icicle ! (yeah, again with the 'Bicycle Race' theme)

 

Current Mood : Slightly giggly - we rented Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. Full of sight gags.

 

Current Image Notes : It's gone now - Beloved Hubby knocked it down before it fell down and possibly hurt someone, since snow and ice are melting fast now - but isn't this an amazing icicle formation ? 

 

Quiet but happy day here at Chez Insanity. I'm still a bit dazed, but I'm feeling much better. Still had to kinda take it easy, but Dearest Son and I worked together for over an hour, and got the living room all cleaned up. All it needs now is a run-through with the vacuum. I feel so much better about life in general, when the kitchen and living room are in fairly decent shape. He joked about doing our own ‘Clean House' while straightening up his desk and play table, so I had to grin.

 

Plus, we got rent paid and did a bit of window-shopping at TRU while Beloved Hubby picked up a door for his clients. Dearest still wants a ‘Search and Protect' Eve, to go with his Christmas ‘U-Repair' Wall-e gift, so we headed straight for where we bought Wall-e. Nope. Not a single toy from that line anywhere in the whole store. We checked the entire section, and points beyond, three times, and once more, when Beloved arrived to pick us up. Dearest was a bit disappointed, but I knew at least two places to order her from, plus he's still earning tickets for her. By the time she arrives, he'll probably have enough, and some to sock aside for the $32. remote control Ben 10 car he also fell in love with.

 

I got a quick peek at the doll aisles and markdown shelves, and there was flat nothing there I hadn't seen elsewhere, usually cheaper. While they had a larger selection of Barbie Basics, I'm happy with Triana, and don't want another. The only reason I was interested in the Swirl repro was the record player and ‘Dancing Doll' dress, and I can make the latter, and won the former from In The Pink already. Don't need to spend $45. there.

 

I still think about snagging that Pan-Am stewardess repro, but again, with some serious attention to detail, I can probably make it m'self, since I decided earlier this week that the last thing I need on this planet is another doll. Don't get me wrong, I love Charlotte's unique look, but I think I have finally hit doll saturation. Unless Mattel seriously pulls out something new and amazing in the next couple weeks, or I find a brunette #1 at a flea market, I think I'm out of the doll market for a while.

 

Oh, there's still plenty for me to want, but I really don't have space for much anymore. I am not allowing m'self to return to such an over-crowded Lab again, not ever. I still wanna go back to Michael's, see if they got any more of those 6mm foam sheets back in stock, and hit the thrifts, but that's about it for shopping.

 

Evidently, our DVR has decided I don't need to see many more episodes of Clean House, since it's been recording either one to eight minutes of an episode, or recording something completely different, like Whose Wedding is it Anyway ? instead. At least it got Hoarders right. Kinda painful, that show. Most of the family and friends trying to help don't really understand, they just wanna trash everything they find and be done with it. Loving intent is usually there, but all it really does is make the hoarder cling tighter to what he or she has, or insist on going through every single bag and box. That one guy's mother wasn't even really listening to him at all, and his sister had a snide smirk on her face the whole time. I really felt for him.

 

Getting sleepy again. Hope your day was good - I hope to hit some thrifts with our tomorrow !

Ugh.... that's it, just 'ugh'. Oh, and Happy February.

 

Current Mood : Drowning fish

 

Not having a very good day today. My asthma's back, and it's in a foul mood. I sat in the lab for a while, and finally redid the lace and ribbon I had overpacked in a plastic shelf set, which used to be a night-stand. It's still crammed pretty tight, but now it's not stuff scattered any-which-way. There's a lace drawer (seriously crammed full), a ribbon one (partially empty), and a trim drawer, with bias tape, some sequin stuff, and other delights. At least now, if I ever decide to use any of it, I'll be able to find it.

 

Sorry this is late and not much, but I'm not really up to moving around, so I haven't done much else today. I keep falling asleep, too, which is pretty weird considering I'm sucking down steroids via the inhaler.

 

Hope your day's going better !

Day wasn't a total waste - the Lab's clean !

 

Current Mood : Nostalgic - Used Cars is on. 

 

Well, there's the 10c formerly silverware hanging rack - as you can see, it now holds scissors and tools. Works pretty well, and fits just right on the cutting table.

 

We got to sleep in a bit, and enjoyed a quiet day. Beloved fixed my stereo speakers, although he had to take them apart to do so. One had a loose wire, but the other was fine. Turns out the selector switch on the radio / DVD / aux unit is screwing up. Oh, well. My MP3 player worked just fine hooked up to it this afternoon, so I'll enjoy it as long as I can.

 

Long as I was in the Lab, I got it all cleaned up from the last couple projects. Put the two Barbie bags of stabilizer away, put some doll shoes and props away, re-folded some fabric, found a couple of pins on the floor - and not with my feet this time !

 

And I finally found a place for the clamp-lamp. I couldn't find a single overhang on the desk, but it turns out the slightly protruding eaves on the fabric-storage dollhouse are just big enough for the clamp to grip on to, and the angle is perfect for some extra light on the sewing machines. Exactly what I needed. It's even far back out of the way enough so I don't hit it when I'm cutting fabric. Now I'm glad I bought it again ! I hate to waste three bucks...

 

Not much going on. Thanks for all your praise on the doll dress - I may actually keep it ! What saved my sewing butt was that the collar piece was cut on the bias, so it had some give and stretch. Normally, I don't pay much attention to fabric grain, but I didn't want to take a chance this time. Besides, how do you determine grain on the tulle Modern Art uses ?

 

Michelle, I think it'd be awesome if you made your own Princess and the Frog characters - there's plenty of neat dolls already out there for both ladies ! In fact, a Christie of my acquaintance has lovely big brown eyes, and would make a great Tiana. I'm actually thinking of finding a good Steven and calling him Naveen, since I prefer Steven's sweet face to the character's very pointed chin. His doll, in some ways, looks like the Milo one from Disney's Atlantis. I'm still working up the gumption to take my Tiana's hair down, it's so perfect the way it is, I haven't yet.

 

Well, it's getting a bit late, and Dearest Son's home tomorrow. We already got word that school's closed tomorrow, roads are re-freezing tonight. Can't wait to show you the icicle hanging off our front porch ! Dearest knocked them all off Friday, but this monster grew back today.

 

Hope everyone's warm and safe and dry ! Hi, E !

We got a half inch of ice and eight inches of snow this week !

 

Current Mood : Drowzy, but craft-happy.

 

Well, there it is, the Aileen's Petite Fashions pattern #43, Pak Silk Sheath. Very busy fabric - now I know why the Mattel ones were sold in solid colors only. I get a little dizzy looking at it. Modeling is a headless straight-leg vintage body, too badly damaged and too dirty to use any other way. It's nice to use as a fitting dummy, since it's the original body, and it's all harder vinyl, clothes slide off and on easily, once I get ‘em past her sharp fingers and over her missing pinky. The photo flatters the dress, since you can't see the weird fabric bulges by the bustline.

 

Didn't get out much, but we did actually leave, for a late lunch and to pick up a few things. Thank Everything that Beloved Hubby's big truck is 4WD, although the roads weren't that bad. Parking lots and driveways, however, were skating rinks !

 

Dearest Son got to go with his Grand-dad today, for a day of fun at their house. DFIL is all interested in Beloved's AirSoft stuff, so perhaps they'll get to go play next Sunday. I think it'd be wonderful if DFIL, Beloved, and Dearest all got to play together one day !

 

As for me, I spent another glorious day goofing off, cuddling with DC, watching useless cable, playing with Friday, and working in some minor cleaning and laundry. The snow and ice are just starting to melt, and with nothing new falling tomorrow - and temps near the low 40s ! - it'll be back to normal in no time for us. I don't envy the Eastern Seaboard in the next couple of days, though.

 

About 10pm I realized that, while I'd spent a lot of time digitizing designs and wrestling with Stitch Era Universal, I hadn't embroidered anything. Well, shoot. So, at 10:30, I decide to use one of the appliqué designs in Brody's memory, installed months ago. It was a simple set of initials, for Dearest, that I'd gotten free - one of those ‘get a letter every day, collect the set' annoyances from last year. Stitched up really well, though, and I got to use some scraps from the first milk-crate slipcover that I hadn't cleaned from the cutting table yet.

 

Still, starting a t-shirt design at 10:30 at night seemed stupid. I was kinda sleepy and hadn't really planned on doing it right that moment, but I wanted to keep my goal going... and surprisingly, it only took an hour, start to finish, from deciding which color thread and fabric to use, to daubing off chalk positioning marks and ironing on stitch-shield on the underside. Normally hooping alone takes about a half hour for knit fabrics, but it just hummed right along. Hm. Maybe I am over-thinking (read : worrying) my stitching sometimes.

 

Hoping to do some dolls in the snow photography tomorrow, and I need to ‘reset' the Lab for another week of crafting. I just love how my Lab looks still ! The desk really makes it. I just need to figure out how to position that clamp-lamp so I can use it on either machine. For all its ‘cubbiness' and shelves, there's very few places I can clamp the lamp. Beloved's gonna have a look at my stereo, the speakers aren't working very well anymore. I hope he can fix them - it's only three or four years old, but then again, we only paid $30. for it !

 

Snow !

 

Current Mood : Snow !

Spent on embroidery designs (sigh) : $5.48

 

We woke up to snow this morning, and it really started in early this afternoon. It slowed down around 6pm, and is now mostly just drifting. Dearest Son and Friday went out to play in it this afternoon, and their tracks were covered within two hours. We start the big thaw tomorrow, but I hope to get a couple doll photos first. It's just been too cold for me to go outside these past few days.

 

So I stay inside, watch cable and Dearest and Friday, craft a bit, shop a bit (guilty blush), and sew. Finished the dress I started earlier this week. Looks OK, but there's still these fabric bulges where I don't want ‘em. You'll get photos of it tomorrow, soon as I put some closures in. Since it's not very good, I'll probably use Velcro.

 

On the plus side, I pretty much nailed the collar. I'm still not sure if I did it the way the directions said to, but it looks fairly good and isn't uneven, so I'm calling the collar part a success. And I even think I know where I messed up the bulges - I may have placed the pattern piece a bit off the fold, which would explain why the darts are also a bit off. And the armhole was on the opposite side of the pattern piece, so it may have been cut a bit small. Since so much worked - and what didn't can easily be fixed - I'll probably sew it again, carefully.

 

I didn't mess with the collar bow, or the same-fabric belt. With fabric that busy, they would have been undetectable anyway. Also skipped the hat. Maybe later, on the retry.

 

I also blew my embroidery budget. Well, that didn't take long. Embroidery Library had some irresistible designs at a great intro price - and they followed that with a ‘half-off $10.' sale ! Long story short, I now have the five newest designs I liked (two filigree sewing machines, and similar dress form, tomato pincushion, and scissor ones) , two freebies, and the two appliqué designs from my ‘Wish List', a VW Beetle and a rocket ship. Not bad for $5.48, but still, precisely what I said I wouldn't do. Oh, well. I really like those new designs, so I'm not that upset with me ! Just need to do better - and hope it'll be a while before EmbLibary comes out with something else irresistible. Then, too, it's not like I'll get to go shopping this weekend, and I'm fairly certain the Flea Market's been cancelled.

 

Oh, and I reconfigured my embroidery stabilizer storage. All the ‘tube' stuff is in the latest "First Class Doll" Barbie tote, and the stuff in envelopes and ziplock-type bags is in the "Who Cares if You're Plastic ?" one from last year. Ranks that this doesn't really display them, since they're stored under the desk, but it does keep them in use, and saves a quick $10. or so for other storage options.

 

Believe this or not, we actually got a UPS delivery today. Beloved Hubby ordered some scratch-and-dent markdown AirSoft stuff on final sale Friday, and it arrived from Atlanta this morning. So he was out in the snow getting it sighted and later, testing the minor repairs. When ya can save 2/3 by mixing epoxy and patching two small spots on the stock, I say, go for it. It's sure not affecting his accuracy - he was doing pretty well out there, from what I saw and heard. Company included some free ammo and a neat fridge magnet with their logo. It looks kind of funky on our fridge, surrounded by Barbie magnets !