Shameful secret... free inside !

 

Current Mood : Gleeful !

Spent on Barbie stuff : 54c

Spent on DPrincess stuff : $5.62

Spent on embroidery supplies : $6.08

Spent on shells : $1.08

 

Current Image Notes : Here's my eyelet practice, on a scrap of Pelleon Peltex. You can see how I'll be attaching the pin to the badges, and my many attempts to figure out how to get that eyelet right on target. When there's a dark dot in the middle, I did it - when it's off to the side or nowhere to be seen, I didn't. Eventually, I figured out that if I centered the mark on part of the sole plate and towards the back of the ‘N' foot, it was accurate.

 

Today, I learned eyelets ! Brody will sew a perfectly circular eyelet - like for belts and such - in a 7mm, 6mm, or 5mm pre-set. An awl or the embroidery scissors can trim the middle, and instant neatly reinforced hole ! You just put the needle down, and press the button, and he does it all from there ! Wow. I was thinking yesterday that it's all well and good to hand-sew the pin bar to the Peltex... but what if I sandwich the pin back between the badge and the Peltex, and cut little holes for the pin parts to poke through ? It'd definitely hold...and it hit me. When I was reading Brody's manual, I saw his ‘eyelet' setting. Wouldn't that be perfect ? Before attaching the Peltex to the badge, sew the eyelet holes - and maybe a ‘Made by Dorrie' patch ! - push the pin in, and finish attaching, and it'll look professional and super-cool !

 

But first, I had to experiment. I've not really done any ‘basic' sewing with Brody, except for a few stitches when he first came out of the box. I think the free-embroidery foot's been off him twice before today. So this was exciting - and fun !

 

Beloved Hubby found the partial can of spray adhesive, so I can experiment with that this weekend, too. I found several cans of various brands at Hobby Lobby the other day, and it seems that most spray adhesives for embroidery are for temporary bonding, not permanent. And they're geared to not gum up the needle, always a concern. However, for the way I do fridge magnets and badges, the sewing's complete by the time I reach for the Peltex. So I can use it without worry - long as I'm outside. I hear the fumes are memorable.

 

Well, this morning, after reading the weather's forecast of a zero percent chance of rain before noon, I figured I'd best get going if I was doing much today. Harbor Freight had good magnets, but I'd spend $3. for the 20 I needed for Dearest Son's next craft project. Over at Hobby Lobby, I could get 54 magnets for a buck more with that frequently-used 40% off coupon, and that'd last me for months ! So I decided to wait for Saturday and go to HL then - since there's a yard sale in the area then, too.

 

Dollar Tree was fun - I got two boxes of baggies, one sandwich-size, one snack-size, for 50c each, another package of Disney Princess pencils (I couldn't resist when I saw the orange Jasmine one !), a pack of two huge plastic hair claws for holding clothes out of the way while they're being embroidered, and a small basket of shells. I can't resist them. I love to have them on a desk where I can admire the colors, no matter how sun-bleached or barnacle-ridden they are, I love seashells. There was a cowrie as big as a baby's fist in this one ! $4. well-spent, in my opinion ! And, of course, by the time I left, it was raining. (sigh) Wish I could be wrong at my job 50% of the time - and still have a job !

 

Hit GoodWill anyway, and found a small Lego Star Wars set Dearest already had, but years ago, so he went after it like new. He's played with it ever since he got home from school. All I found for me was a Tupperware sandwich keeper with the Barbie signature and some flowers. It looks never-used. Not entirely sure what I'll do with it yet, but it's very pretty. Kind of a pearly pink color, with a bit of shimmer to it.

 

And I confess. While I was at the grocery store in the same strip, I picked up tomorrow's breakfast - and an issue of Disney Princess magazine. Yes, it's definitely for the under-10 set, but there were several images I liked, including one of a more mature looking Ariel than we're used to. That's pretty much what sold it, right there. Although the ‘Prince Phillip and Aurora Have a Picnic' poster is cute, too...

 

While I was waiting for Dearest's bus, we must've had a power outage. The light was on in the bathroom - it does that - my alarm clock was blinking, and my computer and the DSL modem and router were completely off. Thank Everything I'm in the habit of turning off and unplugging Brody whenever I'm gonna be away for more than ten minutes ! Nothing's damaged, but it's certainly annoying.

 

Rent got paid today, and I had a few bucks to have fun with over the weekend. So I spent $5. on four Barbie designs - the current ‘signature', the 80s 3-D Barbie logo, a Barbie on skates, and one with her and Ken in evening wear. I have plans for all four pieces ! Possibly the skater and daters came from coloring books, they have that sort of ‘look' to them.

I made a bird ! And another D, but those are getting old, fast.

 

Current Mood : Pleased with Self

Spent on crafts : $3.23

Spent on dolls : 50c

Getting the vacuum back after a warranty-paid repair : priceless

 

Well, today I ran out of excuses. After picking up our warranty-repaired Hoover vacuum and hitting a yard sale (more later), I decided to visit Hobby Lobby - heck, there was still more than $15. in Checking, so it wouldn't hurt ! I've dawdled around until my 40% off Hancock Fabrics coupon has expired, but I could still use the website print-out one for HL. There were sales to check out, and there was just one little thing keeping me from trying to embroider on honest-to-goodness us clothes.

 

Cloud cover. I'm not sure if that's the brand name or nickname, but basically, it's a lightweight iron-on that goes over the backside of embroidery, to keep threads and stabilizers from scratching and irritating bare skin. I wasn't able to find any locally, and I know Dearest Son's skin is hyper-sensitive, so that was my excuse - if I did embroider anything, he wouldn't wear it due to the itch factor.

 

You can order the stuff from various embroidery supply websites - but shipping invariably doubled the price. And I don't think we have enough clothes to justify buying ten yards of the stuff. I wanted to find something local. But first, I looked at the Clearance rack, checked out the half-off travel mugs and snow globes you can add your own images and such to, picked out three or four miniature dress forms I'd love to have in Home Décor (and put them all back), found the pin backs I wanted for the ‘Grammar Police' badges, checked out magnets. The only problem with Hobby Lobby's magnets is that they either barely hold an eighth of a sheet of paper up without falling off your fridge, or you need a jackhammer and a prybar to lift it. Prices were good, though. Still, I wanna check Harbor Freight tomorrow, since they're often reasonable on small stuff like that.

 

Got to the fabric section and poked around some. Found some iron-on interfacing that was very soft. $2.79/yd, Pelleon. Everything else was either non-iron-on or stiff. Figured I'd use my coupon to get a half yard on the way out, but first, I had to check the remnant section ! Saw a gorgeous tiny pink hibiscus flower print that'd look sooo good on dolls. But when I did the math, I soon realized that the yard in the pack was the same price as a yard minus the often-issued 40% off coupon would be... and I really didn't need a whole yard. So I decided to wait, snag a half-yard later. Basically, I just enjoyed looking at it all. And waaaay down in the bottom of the remnant bin was... fusible interfacing ! Not sure why, but here was a yard of Pelleon fusible interfacing, listing the regular price as $1.99. But with the remnant discount, it was just $1.19 ! Whee !

 

I used the coupon on the pinbacks, so I got both it and the interfacing for $3.23, pretty much exactly what the pinbacks would have been without a discount. So it's like the ersatz cloud cover was free. But that really meant I was out of excuses when it came to decorating clothes. It was time for me to take a breath and just do it.

 

So I did. After lunch, when Beloved Hubby went back to work, I decided to put another green striped Disney D on an older white t-shirt. I didn't fuss around much with centering the design, just folded the shirt and marked the middle front with a pin, and aligned the hoop with that. Cut out some of the new cut-away stabilizer, and curled the shirt around the hoop, so it wouldn't get in the way. EmbroideryLibrary.com had a great idea - use hair claws or those old banana clips to hold the material away from the hoop, so it doesn't get in the way and throw off stitches. I can look for those at Dollar Tree and thrift stores. 

 

It stitched up beautifully, and isn't too bad - next time, I'd like the design up a bit higher, and it's not as straight as it could be, but for a first effort, I'm pleased. I cut away the excess stabilizer and tried it on... and in ten minutes, the threads and such were buggin' me. So I got out my ‘free' interfacing, and read the directions. I like Pelleon. Every product in their lineup that I've used have been well-made and dependable, as well as reasonably priced. But I hate how they give instructions for ten different products on the same plastic strip insert ! The Peltex was the same way - it had directions for three different kinds, and I wasn't sure after reading them which one I had. Same thing today - the plastic directions strip offered tips on this kind going with that fabric, and how many seconds each needed to be pressed to work. Um, I bought this as a remnant. Aside from Pelleon Fusible Interfacing, I have no idea which texture or weight I have. Well, again, nothing for it but to do it, so I went right down the middle and used those directions.

 

Worked. My skin barely registers the interfacing, but it does show through a bit on the thin white shirt. Oh, well. It doesn't itch anymore, so that's all to the good. I hope to wash it a couple times after I wear it, see how it holds up. I'd show a picture, but it's just like the last striped D, just on white knit instead of a beige-y woven cotton.  And that's one more crossed off the ‘Schedule of Efforts' list ! All that's left is trying the wash-away stabilizer again, embroidering some doll clothes, and finally working up those Sophie Sews tutorials !

 

With that success flush in my head, once Dearest was home, I took a nap ! Then I made a bird. Yup, the one up there. Very simple pattern, directions and all print out on one page. I like how he sits unaided, but if I wanted to use a hair claw as feet, he'd fit in the clasp part just right. His tail started to fray while I was stuffing him, and at first, I thought I'd just turn that to the inside. But then it looked like feathers to me, so I frayed it more. I think the next time I work this one up - there's lots of people I can give the bird to ! - I'll make the tail a bit longer so I can fray it further, and not stuff it so full.

 

I found it on this page - scroll about halfway down, and you can see what they're supposed to look like ! ->

 

http://thelongthread.com/?page_id=2465 

 

Lots more good ideas and patterns there. But if ya wanna, you can go straight to the printable PDF, and save a copy for later.

 

http://www.spoolsewing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/birdpattern1-1.pdf

 

Beloved Hubby's working late tonight - as he has all week - so I'm not sure if I'm gonna laze the evening away with Dearest Son, or sew another bird or something.

 

Oh, and the yard sale today was OK - they had one of those rack and bin toy organizers for $7. that was tempting, but I have no idea where we'd put it. So all I got was a pair of princess slippers - pink with yellow crowns around the ankle and embroidered ‘jewel'  necklaces at the toes - that'll fit the My Size Barbie girls for 50c. According to the soles, they were from Old Navy. I may venture forth for more sales tomorrow, if it doesn't rain, but I have lots of sewing to do this weekend.

 

It's gonna be a busy one. I'm gonna put two new designs on Brody - one small enough for doll clothes, and another Free-Standing Lace one, probably the sewing machine freebie I snagged. I'm hoping to get those worked up and I have at least two more ‘Grammar Police' badges, possibly more. Our old friend Sharon may be coming by Saturday, and I know she'll want one !

 

Gonna wear my ‘new' shirt tomorrow. Wonder if anyone will notice ?

 

Edited to add : if you decide to try your hand at The Bird, you only need to cut one bird body (on fold) and one bird belly. It's a bit confusing since the pieces read 'cut from fabric 1' on the body and 'cut from fabric 2' on the belly. They just mean use two separate contrasting fabrics, not cut one body and two bellies. I swear, you'd think I was an English major, the way I can misread simple directions ! I always over-think simple things...

 

Now with STRIPES !

 

Current Mood : Still Sleepy !

 

It hit me last night, right after I posted yesterday's entry. The pin-backs I have are yer typical jewelry findings, nothin' special. They have holes in the back ‘not part of the closure' part to make it easier to glue to something... but that didn't work yesterday, even with Super Glue. But I can sew the pin back to the Peltex, then iron it to the badge or whatever else. It'll hold securely, it won't peel off, weaken with age or heat, or get loose later. I knew there had to be a better way !

 

Not sure if you remember, but as yard sale season was coming to a close last year, I bought a lenticular Disney Princess waste basket and lotion pump, but I wasn't sure why. Sure, $2. was dirt-cheap - especially since we shelled $7 for my tin DP Lab trash can, and that was on markdown -  and the idea that anyone's gonna play with a trash can to see the moving pictures of Belle and Cinderella was funny to blog about. But I really didn't have a use for the can. The lotion pump turned out to have liquid soap in it, and it's in the kitchen, in daily use.

 

Anyway. When I cleaned up in there, I had a bunch of wrapped-as-tubes stabilizers lying around, and new Peltex and cut-away waiting to be stored. It all fit perfectly in the DP waste basket. Since the expensive Peltex didn't come with a nice tube case like most of the other stabilizers, the bare end is covered up with a Ziplock bag, so it'll stay dust-free.

 

And here's a great tip I got, and it works ! I couldn't figure out why sometimes the first stitches in an embroidery design - or the first few of a new color - were very loose. Sometimes it would even birdnest on me. Turns out I wasn't threading Brody correctly. Or KJ, for that matter. Always thread with the presser foot up, on either mechanical or electronic sewing machines. With the foot up, the thread passes easily into the tension discs / dial. When sewing starts and the foot does down, the tension discs then grab the thread and it's at the right tension. Life is good.

 

Threading with the presser foot down means that the discs aren't holding the thread correctly, so there's often no tension at all for those first few stitches. Since the tension dial / discs controls both upper and bobbin threads, this means a lot of thread feeds from the bobbin and gets caught up while the top thread has to go a few stitches before proper tension's achieved. Hence, the birdnesting. I can't believe it's so simple. But ever since I tried threading both machines with the presser foot up, there's been no bobbin birdnesting, no loose upper stitches, and no problems. It's always good when you start off well. So, presser feet up ! 

 

That tip came from a newsletter I got from one of the first websites I found when I got Brody, back when I was signing up for every ‘tips and hints' e-mail I could find. Most of it's crap sales stuff, like ‘new sets' or discount notifications, but I've gleaned a few good tips from most. I can always unsub later.

 

We had pouring, ditch-filling, daffodil-flattening, lightning all around rain today. Those poor horses didn't know what to do. They all barely fit inside, and with horse politics, most didn't want to be cooped up together, so they all chose to be soaked outside. Yet each one seemed to radiate patient suffering. Beloved Hubby picked me up for a wonderful lunch together - I really felt cherished and loved. He always knows just what I need, even (or especially !) when I don't !

 

It was really hard to stay awake before lunch, with the rain pattering a lullaby and the clouds keeping things at a sort of enthusiastic twilight. After a tasty, but rather heavy meal, it was darn near impossible. I'd already done my housework for the day... so I cut out and ironed the ‘new' patterns I bought yesterday, so I wouldn't crash. And for the first time, buying a pattern second-hand bit me in the butt.

 

The sewing machine cover one - McC 5017 - was missing everything cat-themed. And only those pieces. But, after studying the directions, the cat appliqué was very simple, and the cat-head pincushion is even easier. Could easily duplicate ‘em. The patchwork cover is much the same as the cat one, and the hanging organizer's complete, so I'm not out anything. Still, it's bad form to donate an incomplete pattern. I wrote on the cover and directions which pieces were AWOL, in case I decide to donate it later.

 

At least they're usable now. The accessory case pattern is complete, so that was good news. But I found it easier to just loaf on the sofa after they were done, rather than go sew. And our vacuum is fixed ! I called Monday, and after a half-hour hold, was told they were waiting on parts - for mine and four others from the same company. Our hose, and unfortunately, only our hose arrived today, so it's ready for pick-up. If the weather's decent, I can go get it tomorrow. DFIL still has our Bonnie truck.

 

While waiting for the bus, I dragged out a dry chair and finished taking apart the last of the wrecked outgrown clothes that can only be salvaged - two button-down shirts, a sweatshirt, and a t-shirt. Most had some sort of tarry paint on them that Dearest found and proceeded to get all over himself. And the stoop, and the bench, and the sidewalk. He's smart, though, and quickly changed clothes and hid the evidence. Then did it again at least twice more before I found and disposed of the paint. He sometimes changes clothes because he's hot or cold, so I don't think much of it when I know that's not the shirt he went to school in. I found the items when I cleaned his room a couple weeks back. Nothin' for it but salvage buttons, fabric, and rags. I can at least make a small pillow out of that wrecked SpongeBob button-down shirt, and I got some fabric bits to experiment with, along with twelve buttons and a big handful of rags.

 

And that's been today's rainy-day stuff. Hope your day was bright and pretty !

Ever been accused of being the 'Grammar Police' ? Here's your badge !

 

Current Mood : Vastly improved

Spent on thread : $5.84

Spent on patterns : $1.08

Spent on dolls : 54c

 

Sorry for the vanishing act yesterday - there was a lot going on and a lot I had to deal with and work through. Suffice it to say that the worst is worked, and I feel much better.

 

Busting butt yesterday on housework - washed, dried, and put away four loads of laundry, vacuumed the whole house, swept the Kitchen and Lab, and did dishes - meant that I was prepared to do jack-all today. Well, I still cooked and cleaned and did groceries and ran an errand for Beloved Hubby, but the rest of the day was mine !

 

Took a nap after Dearest Son left for school, then feasted on a nice breakfast of ham steaks (freezer leftovers) and going-fast eggs. Made up a grocery list and double-checked Checking, and off we went. I kind of have to plan things with Weather.com since Molly-chan's driver's window is stuck. All the way down. The power window's motor has been iffy for quite some time, and of course, it died during a week when rain's expected every day. At least we have the garage to park her in.

 

We kind of needed the driveway space anyway - DFIL got his truck out of repairs yesterday, so we got the little truck we bought back. Until the key froze in DFIL's ignition last night. My afternoon errand was taking our little truck to DFIL. (sigh) We call the little truck ‘Bonnie', so we're hoping Bonnie comes home soon - and stays for longer next time !

 

During the grocery run, I saw that they were redoing the thread display in some fashion - mostly I heard this guy getting loudly upset that parts were missing for the new one. I have no idea what it's supposed to look like, it was still cardboard and general upheaval in that section, not much else. I snagged another ‘blush peach' spool and a ‘palest pink', along with a variegated green I've been wanting, for $5.50. Yup, only one was on markdown. Oh, well. I looked over the machine embroidery threads again, but I pretty much have what they do, and bobbin thread was still only average-priced. Someone cleaned ‘em out of the glow-in-the-dark spools. No good fabric remnants, either, but it's not like I really want prints anymore.

 

From there, I hit the thrift, and scored two unused patterns and a small-toy grab bag. The toy bag had a Perfume Princess Cinderella, unfortunately nude, but very pretty. The two patterns were for accessories. McCalls 5012 was all about cases. It included a vinyl tote, a checkbook cover, a glasses case, iPod and Mp3 covers, and a cell phone case. I'm mostly interested in the checkbook cover and the eyeglasses case.

 

McCall's 5017 had sewing accessory patterns. There was a cat-themed appliqué sewing machine cover and matching pincushion, and a patchwork cover. What got my attention was the hang-down organizer. It's basically a divided pocket that fits under a machine and hangs over the edge of the table/desk. I could see this coming in handy for those multiple-spool embroidery designs. And the machine covers... well, here's the truth. I saw one for an embroidery machine just like Brody, with the embroidery platform attached. It covered the whole machine, platform and all. It was a really great design. Too bad the pattern alone was $20., and I was unlikely to make more than one. Let's face it, I'm cheap - for twenty bucks, I'd expect the cover already made, not just a pattern. So I bought this one today in hopes that I can learn enough from it to draft my own embroidery machine cover.

 

I sort of did for KJ's cover. I measured how much fabric I'd need to drape over him, then added sides. I know that doesn't make much sense, and the cover was kinda lopsided, but it worked, and I had fun adding buttons and appliqués and patches to it. Now I want something fun for Brody. And I'd rather spend time and effort on prototypes than a pattern.

 

What was funny about both patterns is that they're unused - but both tissue sections look to be unfolded, refolded... then wadded up and shoved back in the envelope. I'm gonna have a lot of fun getting these cut out and ironed back into shape. I'm not sure why I didn't just decide to wait and get them on 99c sale in better shape, since they were 50c each at the Thrift, but, well 50c saved is still fiddy-cents. And I just now found out that 5012 is out of print, so I think I did well anyway. Plus, it's a good feeling to pull something good out of a second-hand venue.

 

Came home from the day's endeavors and decided to take a trial run at the ‘Grammar Police' designs. Used fabric from the first $1.99 fabric grab-bag - but it was badly wrinkled. So I had to iron it first. Also used the color scheme suggested by the designer. Came out pretty cute, the apple catches light like a real silver badge, but I'm wondering how it'd look with a red apple...This one also got Peltex attached to the back via Stitch Witchery, and got a SuperGlue-applied magnet. I was hoping to make a pin from it, but it wouldn't stick. Hmmm...

 

Beloved says he has a can of spray adhesive I'm welcome to experiment with, so I may try that on the next one. I'm not sure why, but spray adhesive at paint stores is about $4. a can that's about spray-paint sized. Same size can at Hancock Fabrics is about $12. I wonder what the difference is, if there is anything different about them.

 

After dinner, I got a bit bored, so while Dearest was showering across the hall, I hit the Lab with the new variegated green thread. It's official, BTW - my embroidery thread boxes are now full, and the regular thread boxes are at capacity, too. Unless it's darn near raining spools, no more thread purchases. Besides, creative substitution is sexy.

 

The second Disney-font D came out gorgeous ! I can't wait for you to see it tomorrow ! True, it may not be to everyone's tastes, but I think it's awesome. I think I still need to work on the bobbin tension - you can't even see the bobbin thread on the back side ! - but there's no puckering and no errors at all. It's as close to perfect as I've ever come. I may have to iron my fabric before hooping it from now on, if my results are this good.

I don't like Mondays...

 

Not a good day, everyone. Sorry. Lots to work on and work through. Be back tomorrow.

Download Sunday...

 

Current Mood : Relaxed storm-watching

 

Slept for nearly nine hours almost straight. While I'm used to waking up several times during the night for no apparent reason - I'm not gasping or needing the bathroom - waking up only twice is like not waking up at all ! But here's the rub, I'm still lazy today.

 

I'm glad I remembered we had leftover biscuits from last night's takeout, as they made a great breakfast. Heat ‘em up for thirty seconds in the microwave with a damp paper towel around ‘em, and they're fresh and warm without being dry and crunchy. I always have the best intentions to use the uneaten biscuits the next day, but usually forget. Mostly because they come with the fried chicken I especially enjoy, and it's hard to remember bread when there's tasty chicken in the fridge !

 

Started out the day on my usual Sunday online rounds - download the three freebies a week from one site, vote on the SiCK site for points I don't really use, cruise by several embroidery forums, check the CuteEmbroidery site for their daily freebies. Y'know, now that I think about it, it's been a darn rare day that I don't snag at least one free embroidery design from somewhere. And today, I scored over and over !

 

The CuteEmbroidery site had both the redwork cat and the appliqué stars designs I wanted as freebies today, so I was very happy. Got my three from the other site - only three more freebies on my wish list there now ! - and looked around a bit. Not much new. One forum listed a link to a ‘new freebie every ten minutes' group. Four different pages, each offering a new design, every ten minutes. I've spent a good chunk of time there ! By the time I got one downloaded, categorized, stored, and imaged, it was time for at least two more freebies to come up ! Lots of flowers and roses.

 

Did my SiCK voting, and found that they had a new set - road signs ! Ten you're likely to see on your way to work or Mal-Wart any day, in two different sizes. Including a Route 66 sign ! Dearest Son just flipped over ‘em, so I used my stored-up points to ‘buy' them. I'm a girl who just loves freebies ! Guess those points were there for a good reason ! Maybe by the time I get a couple hundred more saved, they'll be a new set someone here will want...

 

DFIL really loved his Betty Boop bag. He said the folks at work couldn't believe he didn't buy it, and that if I could do that, I could make a ‘ton of money'. Um. They didn't see the spots where I touched Betty's hair and dress up with a Sharpie marker, because the bobbin thread showed too much, or the puckering under DFIL's name. They don't know I used old boyswear as fabric. I know every last error on that thing, and those errors are legion. I know I need a lot more practice before I actually think of selling anything. Besides, no one here's hiding their underwear for fear I'll embroider on it if I find it, so I have lots of practice space still to go ! I'm assuming DMIL liked hers, but I haven't seen her in a couple of weeks.

 

Teacher Appreciation week starts May 4th, so I installed the ‘Grammar Police' badge design I bought earlier this month - I hope to make at least two for Dearest's teacher. One as a fridge magnet, one with a pin back. To think, I originally bought it for me ! Also got those two yard sale vases washed and darn near sterilized. I like me when I plan ahead. 

 

Finally got to the Lab Dig-Out. It's much cleaner in there now - so much so that I miss our vacuum cleaner. I think I'll call the repair shop Monday, since I haven't heard from them since I dropped it off. Anyway, I even cleared off the cutting table, so I may sew something doll-related this week. After embroidering on it first, of course !

 

Never did get to the Sophie Sews tutorials last week like I said I would. May not get to ‘em this week either, I got a fierce urge to sew something. My fingers itch. Among the remnants from the last $1.99 thrift store bundle was a cartoon Tazmanian Devil patch attached to a plaid square. While I'm not a big ‘Taz' fan (more of a Pepe le Pew girl, m'self), it's too well-done to toss. So I've been itching to try another zippered pouch with it. Even have the backing fabric all picked out, and it's bundled with KJ in the cabinet. And ‘embroider doll clothes' is on the ‘Schedule of Efforts' list, too...

 

Sometimes all you need to want to cook again is a clean kitchen. And sometimes a clean Lab is the best inspiration in the world.

Some yard sale and Disney fun Saturday !

 

Current Mood : Content

Spent on dolls today : $1.05

Spent on frames for embroidered stuff : $1.25

Spent on just plain fun stuff : 75c

Spent on a piece of junk : $1.50

 

The original plan for the day was to stay in, take it easy, do some cleaning up in the Lab, find places for the stuff I've dragged home in the last three weeks. Last night, we met with the first of Dearest Son's potential summer tutors, so things got shuffled around fast. I thought we were going out, but Beloved Hubby reversed and said that she was coming here. Yikes. Lots of stuff got shoved into the Lab fast, including my KJ sewing machine, and all the goodies I got yesterday. This morning, I honestly couldn't get in there.

 

But that was before Beloved called - on his way to work, he saw a flea market in a nearby parking lot. Looked interesting, so he thought I'd like to go. I was dressed and on my way fifteen minutes later. They got $4. of the $5. in my wallet in short order. I got a Crayola "Cutter" device that operates but doesn't work for skit (it's already been reboxed for donation - maybe someone can use the stencils and supplies), but at least I didn't pay much for it, four frames, the Barbie Swan Lake movie on VHS, the Cinderella ‘Royal Wedding' doll (missing shoes), and another Little Mermaid kid suitcase, this one is square and dates to the Saturday morning cartoon series. I am such a sucker for those.

 

The ‘Royal Wedding' doll was an amazing find. I've owned two of the ‘Cinderelly's Surprise' version - she's from Playmates, and is about 14 inches tall. I kept the one I had from the thrift store, and redressed and donated the yard sale one. I was just thinking a couple weeks ago that it would be nice to have found the ‘Wedding' one, since her dress design seems to be a challenge to replicate in doll scale, and I'd like to see how Playmates did it. And there she was. For fifty cents. Wow.

 

Came home, and cleared out space in the Office cabinet for KJ and his few supplies. That way, he's off the dining room table, but close by. Was starting to work on the Lab when Beloved asked me to run an errand for him. While I was out, I stopped by Big Lots. Ours never has dolls. But I found a "Lots of Bots" Wall-E book for Dearest for just $5., so I snagged it. It's a bit below his reading level, but I know he'll enjoy it just the same. Decided to go ahead and snag the tiny Tommy shoes card while they had ‘em for 50c. They also had Kelly sets, but I already have tons of shoes for the girls in that line.

 

Came home again, and bundled up all the fabric from the thrift store that's been washed and sitting around. I like doing that with a Mystery Science Theater 3000 tape on ! Found spaces for most stuff, and my Lab's walkable again. But I really need to start a serious clean in there. I can't put the new kaleidoscope away because there's dolls and boxes of fabric between me and the ‘visual toys' basket !

 

Hooped up one fabric scrap while I was sorting - I wanted to stitch out at least my initial before I left feedback for the eBay seller. And I needed to test out the new hoop screws. The Disney font stitches out great, and was laid out well. Brody, and I'm assuming other embroidery machines, doesn't like stitching on top of stitches. The classic Disney ‘D' I did cleverly avoids that, but all the while, it looks ribbon-smooth. As though the stitches were done by a fountain pen loaded with thread. I had to fix it a bit - I had a slight error that was my fault, not the design's - and it shows, but I have complete confidence in this font. I can nit-pick the bare-bones shipping method and the odd organization on the disc, but the designs themselves are fantastic !

 

The hoop did just fine, but I think I had it a bit tight. I have a bit of ‘hoop burn'. That's when the hoop leaves marks on the fabric. Sometimes, it's just something ya gotta deal with, it's an aspect of the fabric - other times, you put the thing on too tight. I'm still learning my balance.

 

Right now, though, my balance is calling for sleep ! Busy day again tomorrow. I love my life...

Hoop dreams...

 

Current Mood : Happily tired

Spent on dolls today : $ 2.75

Spent on Nostalgia : $5.25

Spent on embroidery : $1.23

Spent on stationery : $2.16

Spent on misc. :  30c

Current Image Notes : I finished the bags !

Outslept most of my tummyache, but I had weird dreams, and frankly, was afraid of food for most of the day. I still felt nauseous, and didn't wanna chance eating my way to ill again. So by the time I was done with everything here, I was pretty lightheaded. Thank Everything for buttered crackers ! 

 

Ooookay. Brody's malfunctioning original hoop is fixed, but in the most confusing way possible. At least it only cost $1.23 for two sets. I also got to hit Dollar Tree, the flea market, and two yard sales, but most of what I bought were toys. Toys I used to have at one point, that I now have again ! Including another identical one that I sold on eBay for some nice cash !

 

Back to the hoop. Ace Hardware was very nice, and the floor manager soon established that I was dealing with a metric screw set. The ones they had, unfortunately weren't thumb-screws, but would need a screwdriver to set. I got locking nuts this time, thinking that might work better, and snagged two sets of screws and nuts, just in case. I even made sure they fit in the hoop, since I had it with me.

 

After all the shopping fun, which you'll hear about paragraph after next, I got home and decided to try one out. Um. That locking screw is a major pain ! To get it even close to tension took about five minutes of dedicated screwdriver time. But it held. Just for kicks, I decided to try the new locking nut with the old, original thumbscrew. And discovered that I'd left that part at Ace. (*&^. Got the replacement thumbscrew Brother sent, and Wow. I could barely get the nut on the thing. I began to wonder if, when I went back to get the screw I left, if I should get the non-locking type, too.

 

But then, I discovered that the old, original nut worked absolutely perfectly with the new screws ! They still slid all over the old thumb-screws, but worked like magic with the Ace ones. Go figure. I'm seriously considering going to Lowe's, to see if they have that kind of nut, since Ace doesn't. But anyway. I now have two options for that hoop - the all-new screw and nut set, or the old nut on the new screw. It may become three if the non-locking type work with the old screw. In any case, I doubt I'll have much trouble with tension on the original hoop anymore. With my luck, I'll probably just break it outright on the next project ! (knocking furiously on wood with non-typing hand)

 

Since Dollar Tree was next-door, I popped in for the new shower curtain - yup, the kittens have attacked our current one - and a set of sunglasses for Beloved Hubby. Also picked up some Wall-E ring pops for Dearest Son, and snagged a set of Ariel stickers - they also have Tinkerbell, Superman, High School Musical, and Hannah Montana - the kind that are six pages of small stickers. Well, more like two pages that repeat three times ! And a nice package of computer stationery. Forty sheets with stars around the border.

 

The first yard sale is at a house I've been to twice prior. At least she finally sold the Disney Princess wallpaper border, I was actually considering it for a brief time. Scored some random Barbie ‘fashion plates' type plates, no frame or anything, and a Madame Alexander Happy Meal doll. Their dresses can be removed and altered for Kelly-size dolls, and I was wondering if they could also fit those Musical DP dolls, they're about six inches tall...Yes ! It takes a small bit of alteration - snugging it up in the back - but it's easily done. You'll probably get a photo of that next week. Thirty cents total.

 

The flea market was about as close to nothing as I've ever seen. But I did find a pretty SuperStar Barbie in a great 80s-style jumpsuit, along with an Avon Barbie's spring dress I wanna alter and the hooded cable sweater that went to ‘So Excellent Earrings' Cali Girl Summer. Not bad for $2.

 

At the last yard sale, I shelled out $6., mostly on toys again. I got an as-close-to-new as I've ever seen set of vintage Fashion Plates, box and all, for $3. ! It looks as though it's never been used, although the papers also in there show that it was. But it's got the directions, the pencils, the pencil box, all the tiles, everything ! I'll probably seal this up in a bag and put it up for sale next weekend.

 

I also scored two small vases - we have many lovely flowers, and the few vases we have are huge. I'm hoping they still look nice so I can take a vase to Dearest Son's teacher Monday. And I was silly, bought a cute plastic tiara I enjoying wearing. I plan to customize it soon with some stars I have sitting around the house. I also found a Rhythm Dancer, worn but in good shape. It's basically a toy version of a gymnastics ribbon, I had one in the late 80s as therapy for my broken arm. Mine got left behind in a move, so I was thrilled to find another authentic one.  Need to iron the ribbon itself, but I can also easily make my own. Squeeee !

 

And, for some reason, I also bought the bag of Badge-A-Minit pinback button supplies. They didn't have the press, but they had the rings and circle cutter, and dozens of pinbacks, so I splurged the $2. on ‘em. When I asked about the press, they said they just hammered on the rings ! We'll see how that works next week. I'll be stunned if that works better than the press - but from what I already know about Badge- A-Minit products, I shouldn't be one whit surprised. I also claimed a toddler Cinderella doll for a quarter or so. 

 

Oh, and the Disney fonts I won on eBay arrived. Very nice, even though the CD was shipped unprotected in a cheap cardboard envelope, no sleeve at all. The disc had some surface scratches, but it loaded up fine, so... hm. where's the PES format ? I looked back at the auction page. Yup. Says ‘PES' is included on a multi-format disc. E-mailed the seller, who told me that, since PES was the most widely used format, it wasn't given a subheading, it was stored in the main directory. Okay. Sure enough, that's where it was, but there was no indication that they'd treat PES any differently than DST or PCS.

 

At least the other formats were sort of organized, the PES ones were two files of six sixes all jumbled together. And while ‘1 in the file name means it's the one inch size' makes sense, a 4 description, meaning quarter inch, is less obvious. About ten characters in the half-inch size, 5, were suddenly labeled 3, and the rest were listed as 5 again. All in all, the organization on the disk was lacking, and the shipping was bare-bones. Of the $3. I paid, maybe 25c went to the envelope and .65 went for the stamp. That was all.  Oh, well. Long as it stitches out OK tomorrow, I shouldn't whine, right ?

 

DFIL loved his Betty Boop bag, and wants to see what other designs are available. It'll be interesting to see which ones he likes versus what I think he'd like.

 

Well, tomorrow's a busy day. I found the thumb-screw I took to Ace in a shopping bag, so I don't have to return there, but I probably will. I wanna see how the non-locking nuts work. I also wanna work out some of those Disney fonts. And pound hell out of some Badge-A-Minit pins !

 

I love it when a day is full of potential...

Big Brody day !

 

Current Mood : Stomachache. Ooogh. 

 

Well, last night was interesting. I didn't want to start on DMIL's bag front, even though I got the newest designs installed into Brody's memory, and deleted the ones I've already done. One of the new designs was a wall clock that'd be great in a doll background, but it had several elements I didn't like - a ‘wall' behind it, permanently set hands (I wanted to use real watch hands I could adjust), and some odd ‘motion lines', for some reason. It was on of my ‘Schedule of Efforts' list... could I skip a step (also known as a ‘stop') of stitching ? It was still early enough, and I had time to  play a bit...

 

And I was also kinda proud that I'd never really had a total disaster embroidering, not since the very first initials I tried with Brody. Everything else, even my ‘trial' stitch-outs were good enough to be used for something. Mostly because I got good at salvaging the errors and problems !

 

Well, that fell last night. And my hand still hurts. This is why - that blasted hoop gave me fits. A simple hooping took over a half hour. Just as it got the right tension, and the fabric was nice and flat and taut, sproing ! The nut would spring back about a half inch and there went whatever tension I had. Ya can't embroider on anything that loose. So I'd tighten it again, and... after about twenty minutes of that, I'd about had enough. But I also had it juuuuust right. You know where this is going, don'tcha ?

 

You guessed it. Zxsproing !! I pounded the poor sewing desk hard in frustration. And that's why my right hand is still a bit tender today. I swear, Saturday, if it takes me all day long, I am replacing that blasted nut ! If I can't, I'm calling Brother and let them deal. After about ten more minutes of swearing and clawing the air, I got it secure.

 

And it was nice and tight...for about thirty seconds. Then it sproinged again on me, while it was in the machine. The fabric buckled and puckered. And it did so with such unbelievable strength, it somehow frayed the thread and broke it. Aaarrrgh. I re-threaded, but there really wasn't any point in trying to salvage the design. Which was good, because then the bobbin thread wasn't picking up either. (colossal sigh)

 

Ended up stuffing a bit of tape into the side of the tunnel where the nut goes. This time the bloody thing held. Beloved Hubby says he sometimes has to do that, and it's not gonna damage anything. Well, by hook and by crook, I finally got the first step/stop done. And the second one, the ‘wall' part, was the one I didn't want. It was then I noticed something right above the ‘+ / - needle' icons that control adding or subtracting stitches, so you can back up or fast forward after a problem's been resolved. It's just that these were ‘+ / -‘ spools of thread ! Could it be that simple ?

 

Yup. If I just wanted the clock face and numbers, and nothing else, it was doable. And simple. And I read the manual ! I have no idea why that didn't register then. Possibly because I didn't have enough experience to understand then. Despite the stitched-out disaster, this was great news ! I could further customize some designs I have, easily.

 

Of course, it was then that I realized, I probably could have used the ‘+ needle' button to fast-forward past that first step without sewing a stitch, and still gotten an answer to my query. D'oh !

 

Anyway... with all that behind me, I sat down today with a bit of trepidation to sew DMIL's bag front design, a happy kitty with flowers. A simple ‘country' type design, not real complicated, but I was still nervous. And this time, that *&^% hoop, paper wad notwithstanding, still refused to tighten. So I chucked it over my shoulder, vowing to go out tomorrow or Saturday to end its little reign of terror, and grabbed the new hoop.

 

(blissful sigh) It's nice... took me about 35 seconds to hoop the fabric and stabilizer, and be on my merry little way. And it came out well, too. I used two of the new spools of thread - and I need to correct m'self. When I bought ‘em, I got a pretty lavender, not another grey. I already have four shades of grey, no reason to buy a fifth. I didn't have lavender, though, and it's also on my DMIL's favorite colors list, so I snagged that, figuring I could always use it. You'll see that one tomorrow.

 

I know why I hadn't yet used the big hoop. After having so many problems with the little one, I was half-convinced I'd wreck it, too. But I'm glad I put aside the fear and went with it before I seriously damaged my hand. It occurred to me that I could use the ‘big hoop' nut to test my theory on the ‘little hoop' screws, but I don't want to. I'll get the little hoop problem fixed in the next day or two, and I don't wanna risk my good one.

 

So tomorrow, unless I work on ‘em tonight after Dearest Son beds down, I just have to assemble the bags, run a drawstring through ‘em, and they're done. Since I'll see DFIL first, when he picks up Dearest, I'll probably store DMIL's inside his, and hand it to him. I can't wait to see his reaction. He has no idea I can do Betty Boop designs ! He's gonna go into orbit if I show him that site that has about 60 BB designs for sale. Too bad several repeat, and it's about $60. for the whole set. You know me, I'd rather spend $3. each for the six I like than spend $20. for 30, most of which I'll never use !

 

Since the made-for-bobbins thread is working so much better for Brody and me, I rewound the cone thread onto bobbins for my KJ machine, which freed up the Brody bobbins. So I now have three white bobbins for KJ, and three good ones for Brody. I swear, though, if I ever find black bobbin thread, I'm gonna buy a parsec of it !

 

I still had the stitch bug, so I took Brody's USB and General manuals outside to wait for the bus. No answers on my latest questions - can you ‘mirror' any design in memory, or just the built-in ones, and is it possible to even upload designs bigger than your stitching area  ?- but it was still time well spent. Re-reading the ‘skip a color' directions made more sense now. Back when Brody still had packing tape on him, I thought ‘skip a color' meant you wanted to use green when the pattern "required" blue ! No joke, I briefly believed that the design called for the colors used, and good luck changing ‘em. You had to change a setting or something. And, since most embroiderers call those ‘steps' or ‘stops', not ‘colors', I can see where I lost the thread. (ha-ha). 

 

So I came back in, had an ice cream sandwich with Dearest, and pulled up the Barbie Silhouette appliqué design. If there was ever one I wanted to mirror, it was this one. And - yes ! It flips, mirrors, rotates, you name it. Today's faces right, and I even made it a bit bigger, but only by about a couple millimeters. I used the pale pink still in Brody from DMIL's bag design, and a beautiful starry fabric. I taped it nice and flat, and it looks pretty darn good. You'll get to see it day after tomorrow !

 

Lunch today was odd, but tasty ! We had spaghetti last night, and I combined the leftover noodles with leftover Monday dinner, chili. Add a bit of water, and chili noodle soup ! I know, that sounds weird, but even Campbell's used to make Chili Beef soup. When it got discontinued, I bought out the one store that carried it before Beloved Hubby gently pointed out that, if I really wanted chili soup, I'd just need to add some water to any can of chili. (facepalm) And adding pasta isn't too weird, at least for me. When I was in college and had friends over, we often dined on ‘hash' - a can of Hormel chili with a cup or so of cooked rice mixed in, garnished with cheese or hot sauce, your choice ! Honors students got to live in honor houses, complete with kitchens, and sometimes even my hash was better than what the dining halls were dishing up.

Earth day today - here's a shoe.

 

Current Mood : Anticipation ! 

Current Image Notes : Please enjoy Dearest Son's most recent art form, flower arranging. He prefers employing found items with natural lines for presentations that guarantee a second look. 

 

Happy Earth Day ! To both native Earthers and those originating elsewhere.

 

I sorta did my part, sorta didn't. Gathered up some trash from the living room I'm sure I should feel guilty about, but didn't drive anywhere today. Took lots of photos for the blog this morning, and I use rechargeable batteries in the camera. Loaded up a new bobbin with the specialty thread that came with Brody, and stitched out DMIL and DFIL's names on some more of cut up Dearest Son-damaged pants. Much better - the bottom bobbin thread didn't show up top at all. And the bags I'm making them should use up all of the useable pants scraps, leaving only a few rags made from the damaged parts.

 

And I even used one of those rags today. When you buy thread like I do - lots of it cheap and second-hand, housed in old sewing baskets and in bulk mystery bags - you get a lot of mystery spools. There's no telling how old, what size, who made, anything about it. I had an odd skinny cardboard tube spool with a bundle of thread professionally wound on it, for forever, and I'd never used it, but it was absolutely DMIL's favorite color. So I really wanted to use it, but there wasn't a lot of ‘good' fabric out of those sad pants if it didn't work. I can buy more thread, but not more wrecked pants ! 

 

So I grabbed the best of the rag selection and loaded up the deep majestic purple mystery spool. It seemed rather silly to embroider her name twice, so I did my initial again, from the built-in library Brody came with. Came out nice. Just for kicks, I decided to use one of the shapes that were also included - the heart this time, in a sort of eyelet stitch. Since I hadn't moved the fabric in between designs, the ‘D' was exactly in the center, and it all came out good. I really like it. So I'll keep it, I'm just not sure if it'll become another fridge magnet, or a changepurse, or maybe even a patch on my jacket. Hmmm... You'll see it tomorrow.

 

Learned two more keys on Brody while stitching out DMIL's name. One changes the ‘start' of a design from the center to the furthest point left, something I didn't know could be changed. Another can join two pieces of embroidery together. Not sure it that's just for what came with Brody or if it can work with whatever's in his memory, but it's pretty cool either way. I can sort of do that with that free download program, Embroidery Fonts Plus, but one of the two images has to be a word using one of the fonts included or one of the proprietary purchased ones.

 

Anyway. When I'm downloading the design for DMIL's bag front - a dancing cat with flowers -  later today, I'm gonna add the clock one I snagged during last weekend's Sweet Embroidery site sweep. There's two parts to it I'd like to skip over if I can, and I don't yet know if Brody will let me do that. Stitching it out's the perfect way to find out.

 

Beloved Hubby scared #ell out of me while I was working on DFIL's name stitch-out. I didn't know he was home until he banged on the open Lab door ! All was forgiven, though - he'd gone to Target just for me, for the rice crackers I love so !  And to think, I just started using the empty plastic jar from the last cracker binge to hold various labels and points that Dearest's school collects. Two more hold buttons in the Lab, and another holds the rice sock we microwave as a mini heating pad. Can't help it, they get empty so fast...

 

OK, confession time. There's a reason I went from barely touching Brody for nearly two weeks to playing with him almost every day. The hoop that had the stripped screw ? It's not really fixed. Even the new screw skips, and I have to play with it to get it to tighten the hoop enough to stitch with. It's probably the nut that's busted, since it does that with both the original and new screws. I was rather upset about it, so I avoided it and him, and embroidery. Part of the housework frenzy last two weeks was to give me plenty to do, so I didn't have time to be upset about it. Yeah, I'm nuts.

 

Rather than go back to Brother and have them ship another huge box containing a tiny bit of metal, I'll just play with it - I figured out how - until I'm frustrated with it enough to seek a replacement or solution at a hardware store. I mostly went with Brother last time because 1) everything's still new, and 2)I was worried that non-Brother parts might damage something. I've since heard from several other embroidery folks who had similar problems solved at Lowe's.

 

But even I have to get over me sometimes, and I guess I did, if I'm planning out what's getting stitched out a week in advance !