Radios, mugs, and Alphabet XPress !

 

Current Mood : Happy and excited !

 

Another day of lingering ‘round the house. Big sales at Hancock Fabrics and Hobby Lobby tomorrow, with 88c McCalls patterns and 50% off notions at Hancock's and a 40% off coupon and half-off VBS stuff at HLobby. Ordinarily, Vacation Bible School stuff wouldn't interest me at all, but they have plastic mugs with inserts for less than a buck - and I've been wanting to try one with my embroidery. So I may snag a few. They're probably too cheaply made to be watertight, but all else fails, I'd own a super-cool pencil mug !

 

Brought Brody in for new designs. I swear, I make such a big production over it still. Desk has to be clean, not just cleared off, and he even has an outlet that is only ever used for his downloads. His USB cable has its own drawstring bag. If sewing machines could ever develop princess complexes, Brody would have one. And people think Dearest Son is spoiled...

 

Well, I found out that the sewing tool I want is called an expanding sewing guide. Saw one when I attended that Lutterloh pattern seminar (i.e., sales presentation) but haven't seen one since. It's basically an accordion-like metal folding grid that allows even spacing, for buttons or gathering, etc. Knitters use them, too. Only about $15., but it looks like I'll have to mail-order one.

 

Anyway, while I was looking for that, I found The Embroiderer's Buddy, an L-shaped ruler that helps determine where a left-breast design would go, gauging on the shirt size. $25. Problem with that is, the seller had a clear, unobstructed image of it on the sales page. All too easy to left click/save that image, and scale it in, say PaintShopPro, then print out a life-size freebie version, for free. Of course, you'd have to be sneaky and kinda cheap for that, but isn't it just as ridiculous to expect someone to shell out $25. plus shipping for 30c worth of plastic and ink ? I'll let you know, if I ever have reason to use the paper version of it...

 

And, after all that, I was just plain bored. I remembered a thread on the SiCK forum that mentioned a good, fairly inexpensive lettering program that allowed users to combine included (and sold-separately !) fonts with designs, and it had a 30-day free trial. Since that's what Embroidery Fonts Plus was supposed to do, I'd just let it go. But EFP has been steadily getting worse, and I was bored, so... I downloaded Alphabet Xpress.

 

At first, with all my troubles - still unresolved - with Explorations Sizer 1.5 and the SewRed design, I wasn't sure if it would install. But it did, and oh, I WANT !

 

I wanted it when I first downloaded it and had fun with the five included fonts. I wanted it when I went from idea to Matt's ‘Evil Genius' shirt in less than a half hour, and getting the words took maybe a minute of that. You get to see that tomorrow. It even gave me a ‘hoop' so I could make sure I had the size correct. I really wanted it when I could merge any design and AX's texts in a blink, and could edit the text on the fly. I wanted it when I shaped and skewed words just by dragging the mouse around. This is what Embroidery Fonts Plus says it is, but isn't. I loved positioning the words on a circle, and easily changed fonts in the circle, but could put one text reading up, the other down. Nice !

 

But it became a necessity to my value of life when I figured out how to bring in the fonts and alphabets I already had as single images, and merge them together to form what I wanted. That's nowhere in the manuals or tutorials, and a simple ‘can you merge more than one image' query on a message board from another user never really got answered, but I played with it until I figured out how to do what I wanted. It takes a lot of saving and bringing the ongoing work back up to tweak it more, but I can finally use the stuff I bought - including those Disney fonts ! It won't resize the images I import, but that's fine. That's rather beyond a font editor's job. More of an image editing one. And those are $200. for the stripped ones.

 

Anyway, the program's $50. for Ann The Gran club members, $60. for non-members, and for me, it's not worth $30. for a three month subscription to save $10. on it. Thanks to me not doing yard sales this week, I already have $24. saved up. I hope to have it if I'm careful with groceries and such. Each additional font is $30., and I hate to say it, but they don't have anything I want in fonts. What I want, I pretty much already have, and now that I can use them all, I'm pretty excited. I'd dump EFP, but it has a font I like that AX doesn't.

 

Squee ! I have what I want, finally - and soon, it'll be mine, all mine !

More efforts I should keep covered...

Current Mood : OK, but not too happy with the final result...

 

Busy day, although I spent most of it sitting around the house !

 

Wanted to put some new designs on Brody, and to do that, I had to clear off some current ones.  Best way to clear ‘em is to use ‘em, so I finally got busy on those candy jars for Dearest Son's bus driver and bus monitor. I also ‘got' how to change the thread setting from ‘embroidery' to ‘country' (i.e., spool thread) for the first time ever. As good as Brody's manual is, it does tend to leave off the ‘and this makes it so it remembers and doesn't erase what you just did when you go back to the ‘let's embroider something' step. It actually does make a difference, the thread settings, so I wanna make it happen from now on. Besides, he actually has a setting for Madeira Rayon, by name, and since that's what populates the Treasure Chest, I wanna use it while I got it !

 

Anyway, the jars came out very nicely, and I made reversible designs this time - when I tried to do that last time, for Dearest's teacher's jar, I had to cut the fabric a certain way so it'd ‘seat' in the lid correctly, ensuring each design had to be separate. This time, it was easy. I've learned the hard way to not wait ‘til the last day of school to give these things out, so they get ‘em Tues. morning. Normally I would wait ‘til the last day, so they don't feel obligated, but last two years I've tried that, either the monitor or the driver took the last day off, so some stranger got the gift.

 

Beloved Hubby was up weird hours Friday night, and so was I. So I slept late today, and decided against going on a flea market / yard sale trawl. I'm still digging out from last year's finds and deals, I don't really need much of anything right now. Stayed in and sewed instead !

 

Ironically, I took about 35 photos detailing how to make a paper machine cover pattern, so anyone could make their own cover, to fit their specific machine. Ironic, because I used mine to make Brody's cover just today, and it looks like h#ll. It's saggy and baggy, the angles where the embroidery platform starts don't match on each side, so that really looks bad, and the fit is somewhere between ‘tent' and ‘throw material over it, and take in a few darts or something'. (sigh) Well, live and learn. At least I tried. I'll have to try again later. Meanwhile, it looks like crap, but mostly fits, and it looks better (slightly) than the coarse red knit fabric I'd been throwing over him. So it'll do until I get tired of looking at it and rework the pattern.

 

This disappointment needled me, so I decided to sew again. The single biggest, thickest design I had on Brody - and the one I most wanted. Bought it back in April, when it was $2. instead of $6., and immediately started trying to find enough different shades of brown to stitch it out. I figured, with all the new thread, I probably had enough to sew an eight-color, thirteen step/stop antique Cathedral radio. I love using the thread rack I salvaged out of our Donations pile. It made the ‘use #1156 for steps 2, 4, and 8' easy.

 

The resulting design - it went together well, but took nearly an hour and a half ! - seemed thick enough to repel bullets. Seriously. I tried to tuck some odd snipped bits to the underside, and had trouble pushing a pin through it. Only problem I have with the design is that, for some reason, the designer put ‘stay stitches' in the middle of the jump threads. Makes it very hard to cut threads that are anchored down with three or four microscopic stitches. Otherwise, it came out well. You'll get to see it tomorrow.

 

Between that, the stuff I did earlier this week, and the candy jars, I soon had half of Brody's design memory cleared. About all that was left was the four Wall-E designs, one Barbie, and the Grammar Police one. I have to sew a GP for me - we gave away all that I made. So I daydreamed a bit and decided what to stitch next week. I still haven't tried Free Standing Lace and Water Soluble Stabilizer (they go together) since my one failed attempt, so I picked two of those out, and figured I'd get the other Barbie design I knew I wanted on. I also haven't tried embroidering towels yet, so I put a simple fish design on the list, and two more I wanted to put on t-shirts of mine. I figure I'll try the towels and at least one of the FSL ones Monday, and get the GPolice one done tomorrow - I can't wait to get that off Brody's memory. That'll clear space for what Beloved wants, in two sizes. His project is gonna require me to really work on my placement and alignment skills, which are nascent at best.

 

That decided, I took naps and read for a while, and then, today was over. Hope yours was productive and happy. Even my semi-failed cover wasn't that bad, so it was a good day.

 

Covers in progress and washers that work !

 

Current Mood : Elated !

 

I did it ! Whoo-hoo ! That paper blocky thing you see over there ? That's a work-in-progress pattern for a Brody cover ! I did it last night - Beloved had a friend over I don't particularly like, so I opted for quality time with the Lab. He's also my DFIL's friend, so he was here, too - and Dearest got some quality bonus grand-dad time. Leaving me free to start something I'd been meaning to for a while. 

 

Anyway. I've been tossing a length of red knit over Brody when he's not being used. He actually came with a nice cover, but it doesn't fit when the embroidery platform is docked. Since I still have KJ, our sewing-only machine, up and running still, his embroidery platform is always docked. I wanted to make him a nice cover, but wasn't sure how.

 

I made KJ one, years ago. Basically, I draped fabric over him (how do I always get male sewing machines ?) until it hung right, then sewed curved pieces on the ends, and miraculously, it fit. But this was gonna be a challenge. He's bigger on the platform end than on the handwheel end, and much longer than yer average machine.

 

Found a pattern that would probably work, although it was designed for a bigger platform. Unfortunately, it was $20. for just the pattern ! Sorry, but for twenty bucks, I'd expect to have a cover made and done, not just a pattern and a few embroidery designs. Besides, the red knit drape was doing what it's supposed to, keeping dust off Brody's ultra-sensitive inner workings. And we'd already paid for that !

 

But last night I got bored - all the Barbie dolls are ready for their new destiny, and the larger ones will be ready to go tomorrow -  although I may need some of that red knit to make a few simple tube dresses. While they're not really mine anymore, they once were, so I still feel some responsibility towards them. Last thing I want is for them to leave nude and unwanted. So I always dress my donated dolls, it's the least I can do for them. Anyway, I grabbed some of that old continuous feed computer paper I got from a Free box in a yard sale some time ago, and started cutting and folding.

 

First, I got a rough shape of one side, and cut an identical second one for the other side. Then I cut more paper and taped it together as a bridge between the front and back sides. It was too narrow, so I added another strip of paper to it. That worked. It needs to be an inch and a half taller, and the drop on the left needs to go down an inch once that's done, and I want to curve those sharp angles. But that's the rough basic version. Whoo-hoo ! I trusted me, and did it !

 

I hope that, sometime this weekend, I can take the paper prototype apart, reshape it a bit, then cut it out from some fabric I bought for this project. Make a few final adjustments, and I'll have a pattern I can give away and a cover I can embroider and re-stitch ! I think that, after I take it apart, I'll get a few photos of how I got that far, before I do anything else to it.

 

Now, what designs can I embroider on it...? Maybe a nice, big "Brody" on the front, and a few dress forms scattered around, goss knows I got a dozen dress form /mannequin designs to choose from ! And stars ! Don't forget the stars !

 

Today was also busy. I had a sick washing machine to drain before the repair person got here, a flea market to attend, and at least one yard sale between me and said flea. I also wanted to vacuum and tidy up a bit, so I could have the whole weekend free to sew and have fun. So I got busy early, and got it all pretty much done. Scored a brand-new pair of Kelly-green with white polka dots ballerina flats and a copy of Stephen King's Desperation for a buck each. Flea was a washout.

 

Turns out I diagnosed the washer correctly - the switch that indicates it's safe to continue the spin had sprung. It's a common enough occurrence that they carry spares on the truck. So I now have a working washer. The oven, however, is a dead loss. Control board is fried, and it's too old to easily get replacement parts. I'm sure our landlord will love that, since when I told her it wasn't heating several months ago, she told me she just had it fixed, so there. Discussion over, translation = we're not spending a dime to fix it. Ordinarily, I wouldn't even say anything at all, but I don't want her to think we broke it. How does one break an oven anyway ? In any case, the service call and repair fees were quite reasonable, and it's all taken care of already.

 

Beetles everywhere !

Current Mood : Sleepy

 

Well, things always look better after a decent night's sleep. Too bad DC didn't want us to have one ! Darn cat slammed the screen door to be let in at 10:30, just as I was heading for bed. Dearest Son and Beloved Hubby had been snoozing for a while by then. At 12:30, once even I'd been asleep for an hour, the hairball decides he has to go outside RIGHT NOW ! Luckily for him, I went right back to sleep, or I'd be considering embroidery on cat leather.

 

It's another super-nice day, so I decided to spray-paint ! It's still a bit too high humidity to try doll shoes -  maybe next week, when the ground isn't as spongy - but I had a tarnished basket I'd Dumpster dived a few centuries ago (or so it seemed) and the duo of frames I'd snagged for 25c last weekend getting underfoot. So I cleaned the basket and let it dry while I sand-paper scraped the frames.

 

The only paint I could find was the Fusion grey I'd bought for doll shoes, but heck, it says it works on wood and metal, so time's wasting ! I soon had all three drying in the sun, waiting for the next coat. Hopefully, two is all it'll take !

 

Once I accomplished that frequently-put-off job, it was time to tackle a few more. Got the iron cleaned - I'd thrifted a tube of hot iron cleaner years ago, but never used it. No time like today ! It smelled nice, and got a lot of the old carbon scorch marks off the soleplate. It's not ‘like new', but it's much better ! Amazing that I can even tell the difference, it was only a $10. iron when it was new, and I scavenged it from a junk pile back when we lived at The Pit ‘o H#ll Apartments. Back in 2002 !

 

It was a good day for the iron. It was nice and clean and needed. For I was gonna embroider... a wearable t-shirt ! One of Dearest's, and with a simple, small design, but I was gonna do it today ! If you knew how often I'd put it off, you'd blush for me. But I was out of excuses. I had stitch cover. I had knit fabric experience. The design had been in Brody's memory for weeks. I needed experience in centering and hoop placement. Time to get busy ! I did a test-stitch on more of that beigey skin tone fabric, and it went well - so I stitched the tire part of it twice. Much better. It was too sparse with just one pass. And I wanted to make sure using iron-on interfacing as a stabilizer worked, it wasn't just a fluke when I tried it with the Eve Wall-E design. And every time ya work a new design, ya gotta do a stitch out ! So I did. And it wasn't a fluke. Used dryer sheets again, under the interfacing, too. I don't know if they work that well, or they're just my lucky charm ! So, in the hoop, there was (in order ) shirt, interfacing, dryer sheets.

 

Getting the interfacing in the right place and centering the hoop right at the shirt's center front was a challenge. I bet I rehooped his shirt about six times. Learned to draw a crosshair on the interfacing, line it up with the center marks on the hoop. Luckily, I realized that I'd be embroidering on the wrong side of the shirt that way ! Plus, adding the dryer sheet stabilizers made it hard to see the pencil marks. So I pushed straight pins along the crosshairs, and centered the hoop on the pins... which was centered on the crosshairs.

 

This time, I repeated the stitching on both the car body and the tires, since the white didn't show up as well on the black as I'd hoped, and I already knew I was doubling the tires. Went pretty well ! I'd never done that before. Of course, I'd forgotten that our washer was fritzed when I started. How was I gonna get that interfacing off ? I couldn't put the stitch cover over it, it's permanent, and the stiff interfacing sort of makes a textured shield that's visible on a t-shirt. And what if it washes off in the laundry under the stitch cover ? Well, a bit of picking and a spritz of water took care of that. It peeled right up. Whoo-hoo !

 

The stitch cover went on just perfectly, on a ‘Wool' setting for 15 seconds. It took me longer to open the packaging it was shipped in than it did to use it. I kinda wish I'd gotten it a bit higher, but it's centered well, and looks good on Dearest. He's looking forward to wearing it tomorrow ! And I'm glad to have learned all that I did. While I was looking for a good shirt to potentially sacrifice, I found another with a small hole...Hmmmm....

 

Maybe later. Tomorrow, I have to work out the bus driver and bus monitor's candy jar gifts, since I'll forget about it over the weekend, and I don't stand a chance at getting it done Monday, and I'll give them out Tuesday. Once those are done, I'll have space on Brody for a buncha new designs !

 

Stitches and not sewing...

 

Current Mood : Worried

Spent on sewing stuff : $1.14

Spent on star-shaped stuff : $1.62

 

Well, I kinda thought things were going a bit too well...

 

Last night, a freshly-sharpened chisel slipped and sliced Beloved Hubby's arm open. Seven stitches later, it hurts him, but at least he's on the mend. We wrapped his arm in plastic so he could shower, and he went to work today, like nothing happened. Of course, he got to show off the healing cut to the folks he's working for...

 

Got the groceries shopped, and refrained from buying anything at the thrift. Really, there wasn't much there to want. And with 32 dolls waiting at home for me to redress them and send them on their way, I was very unlikely to buy more. That 70s vintage chair was tempting though. Unfortunately, it came with that also familiar cube-like 70s sofa and two very low benches, and I just don't need that many props. One day, I'll get a set of those. I mostly remember them from Lisa's Barbie Townhouse (aka, ‘Earthquake Manor'), and always thought they were cool. Still do. If there'd been two in the $7. package, I'd have gone for it.

 

Today was good - for the first time in over a month, I didn't get horrible stomach pains when I was in Mal-wart for more than a half-hour. I'm not sure why that kept happening, but I seem to have broken that curse today. Didn't matter when I went, what I'd eaten (if anything), or what mood I was in, about 45 minutes in there, and I was sweating and nearly bent double. Ten minutes after I'd checked out, I was fine. Makes no sense. 

 

One funny thing - it seems like I'm not the only one who's returned embroidery thread. When I bought the final five spools, there were maybe 15 in assorted colors left. Today, while I was over there, I noted that there were about 40. I only returned 9, and of that, I know I didn't return four of that yellow. Maybe other stores are pushing ‘em over to ours since they were selling for a bit there...

 

My big indulgence was a 20" remnant of more Peltex - that rigid stuff I use for badges and fridge magnets - dirt cheap, and a $1.50 star-shaped translucent blue star bowl. Hope to get the red one next week. It's so pretty ! I also splurged and bought a dozen cupcakes for Dearest Son, because they had plastic Wall-E rings on ‘em, and they didn't have them on the six-cupcake sets. I now have a set of Wall-E and Eve rings decorating my desk lamp.

 

Picked up several more of those t-shirts Beloved Hubby likes - he wore the one I got him Saturday - and he has several ideas for embroidery...

 

Came home and got laundry and dolls started. All but four are redressed and ready to go, and I should have them done by tonight. While I was doing that, I got the ‘staying' dolls situated, and noticed that ‘California Dream' Midge's spotted legs had gotten markedly worse. So I did a quick body swap. The body donor got the best of the available outfits.

 

Sometime during the third load, the washer quit working. It agitates, but doesn't drain or spin. Skittles. Beloved didn't even wanna mess with it, so he called a repair service who's yet to call us back. (sigh) I'll take the load that was in there to a Laundromat tomorrow. Dryer's fine, and we always have the clothesline, but this load's dripping wet.

 

Oh, and I called the company that provided the ‘SewRed' design. After a 20 minute hold, I only got a new e-mail address for help, so I hung up and sent a fresh ‘nothing works !' note. I've already been given a ‘trouble ticket' and I'm in the queue, so here's hoping. The donation(s) hasn't/haven't shown up in Checking yet, so I don't know if I've paid twice or not. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Gotta call the Dr. office again, she never called me back.

 

Beloved came home and went right to sleep. Fine with me - the best thing he can do for his wound is rest. I nibbled on the leftover rice from Chinese takeout Sunday, Dearest chose a frozen pizza for dinner. If I'd have allowed it, he'd have eaten at least half of the remaining cupcakes !

 

Ruthless and useless...

 

Current Mood : Snarky

Spent on useless machine embroidery designs : $10. (possibly $20.)

 

As the Fixx used to sing, one thing leads to another. After yesterday's fiasco, I figured I'd do some good with the cash burning my pocket. I decided to donate $10. to Bernina's ‘Sew Red for Women' campaign, and get their design, which I've been wanting anyway, for a good cause. Everyone wins - and it's a cause close to, well, my heart. http://www.berninausa.com/news_detail-n516-r0-i2730-sUS.html

 

But it seemed as though everything I touched turned to skit. Bernina was quick to send me the design, in a format Brody doesn't use. No problem, I'd just pull it up in Ambassador and convert it, like I have a few thousand times with other downloads. Only...Ambassador saw a name attached to a blank design. Nothing. Even in Print Preview, it was a blank design with zero stitches. The next twenty or thirty tries were the same. And I inadvertently donated a second $10. while trying to send a polite ‘WTF ?' message to Bernina, so now I have two ‘SewRed' attachments that don't work. Yes, I tried the second one a few dozen times, too.

 

OK. (deep breath) Bernina thoughtfully provided a link to a software download I could use to resize and change the design's format. Maybe that would help. Downloaded OK...but (and you knew there was a ‘but' around somewhere) I could hit ‘install.exe' all day long, and dials would spin and progress bars would fill, but then nothing. Nothing installed, nothing asked where to be installed... just spinny wheels doing nothing for a few seconds before they too vanished.

 

And to add to the fun, I got a bill for Tuesday's Dr. appointment. The one I paid cash for before I even had my temperature taken. The one I didn't get a receipt for, like an idiot, because the receptionist said it was all done and OK. Got the voicemail, and after six or eight hoops, got to talk to a human. Who passed me to someone else...and I got to talk to her answering machine. That was several hours ago. Has she called back ? Of course not. Do I get the answering machine each time I call now ? Oh, my, yes....

 

After all that, I just pushed myself away from the computer. I had consumed neither food nor drink, and already had the makings of a whopper headache brewing. I had just too much else to do today. But I was frustrated and angry, so I started where I needed to do the most damage - the Lab. It was high freakin' time I started getting things straight in there. Before, I just pushed things as close to the walls as I could get ‘em, and as long as I had a narrow catwalk between Brody and the door, hey, bully for me.

 

I'd bought dolls I really had no interest in, because they were ‘vintage' or had brown hair. I had multiples of dolls I only wanted one of, and I know by now I'm not gonna make this many custom versions. In short, I bought stuff ‘cause it was cheap, and I clung to everything that passed too close to my grabby claws.

 

Clearly, it was time to let some stuff go. And I was precisely in the ruthless mood such a task required. When the dust settled the first time, 28 dolls were scattered in a pile. Two had suffered head swaps before being pitched onto it. The second time, six boxes that previously ‘yearned for a makeover' were bundled up for recycling. I could finally get to the basket of visual toys, and swapped one kaleidoscope for a better one, and got the Madeira Treasure Chest placed just so. There was still quite a bit underfoot - namely 32 dolls (I'd added a few more) and DC - but progress was being made. Dust is still settling from Pass #3, but there's about two feet more space on the floor, and I can almost see the top of the cutting table again. Decided to rest a bit before #4. That was gonna clear the cutting table and the Slab - which still has the Castle on it.

 

Got as far as the cutting table before I got distracted and decided to sew. As I moved stuff to accommodate the Treasure Chest, I suddenly really wanted to stitch up that ‘Space Command' badge in Brody's memory. So I did ! It finished just in time to take out trash and wait for Dearest's bus. I even got to clip jump threads outside on a beautiful afternoon. (happy sigh)

 

Beloved Hubby was home shortly after Dearest. So we all did our own things for a bit and had dinner together. And I got my hair cut. Beloved always does a great job on it, but as is the case with any artist, I hafta wait until he has time and is in a mood to do it. Aaaah. I love my short hair. I never take care of it when it's long, and it snarls like a beast. But it waves so prettily when it's long that I hate to have it cut. Oh, well, those curls are on the floor, and my neck can feel the breeze again. Much better.

 

Tomorrow, it's back to the old grind - laundry and dishes and grocery shopping. I'm actually looking forward to it, now that I've had some selfish ‘me' time. A great thing about the new thread chest is that it's easy to store Thread #6 while Thread #7 is running. By the time a design is finished, the sewing area's clean and it's all put away.

 

Oh, and here's a mild irony. While adding some props and pieces to the Donate pile, I found a plastic thread stand I bought at a yard sale a year or two ago. It held thread in a plastic shoebox for a time, but I found new-to-me had new thread boxes soon afterward, so the stand landed in the pile. The plastic stand is even better at holding embroidery colors in order than the wooden one, so I've reclaimed it. I may just try to sneak the wooden one I bought earlier this month back to GoodWill's shelves. Maybe tape ‘em together and label it as a thread stand. Especially if I can find the feet.

 

Also tomorrow, I get to prepare the dolls for their next homes. Since several are wearing things I made, I kinda want to keep them, even if the wearer's moving on.

 

And that's been my day. I still have two ‘Sew Red' designs that don't work, multiple downloads of an embroidery program that doesn't work either, and the medical billing person never called back. Tomorrow should be interesting...

Field trip fiasco !

 

Current Mood : Bitter. You don't *want* pictures of my day ! 

 

I still can't get over today. The field trip was more boring that a tour of a box factory, I got sunburned, picked up a misery maven carpool partner, and I went to TRU and didn't find a single doll I even remotely wanted. Kind of a weird day for me.

 

The field trip was to an historical farm in the midst of Capitol City, complete with costumed recreationists guiding tours. I'd agreed to drive a carless mom to the farm in Molly, and she complained about her boyfriends and her four kids the whole way. Nice enough woman, just made some bad decisions that probably seemed like good ideas at the time. I already knew her son as Dearest Son's classmate, a nice kid who also really wanted attention.

 

Anyway, we arrive, and are briefly told the safety directives, which include not chasing after the farm cat, Shockers. Of course, Shockers developed an instant attachment to me, and he looked so much like DC, I couldn't resist giving him a quick nose-to-tail stroke. This earned me a chew-out from our costumed host, good and loud in front of everyone, which I bore stoically as Shockers continued to head-butt my ankles and purr a bit for more petting. He was within his rights, of course, but I think things could have been handled without screaming at another adult.

 

Dearest had one of his increasingly rare meltdowns, so I wasn't able to complete watching over one of the corn demos with the kids - another mother volunteered to replace me, so I could attend to Son - but He Who Is Now Known as Jerk decided to chew me out again. He didn't know I'd already taken care of business, and if the equipment is that rare and valuable, why was I put in charge of it in the first place ? Every last piece of the shucker was cast-iron, so it's not like it could get broken, and another Mom was watching, so no one could get hurt. Which I would have told him if he hadn't immediately assumed and started up again. Jerk. I was already dealing with one meltdown, I didn't need his !

 

Luckily, Dearest composed himself and we went to the second part of the tour - going through a small house set up with more indestructible antiques. The tour guide on this part admittedly did have to refocus attention numerous times, since her spiel was pretty dry, but Dearest and I were paying attention - some of his classmates were bored and hungry by now. And I have to wonder why she spent ten minutes describing an item immediately replaced on a high shelf where no one could touch it. I'm not sure if she witnessed my earlier ‘corrections', but she watched Dearest and me like a hungry hawk studies a broken-winged set of sparrows, and even the other mothers commented on it. Of course, we were no trouble there, but the scrutiny was unnerving.

 

By now, I was ready to pick up Son, pack him in the car, and go. Misery Mom could find another way home... but I stayed. For some reason, the third part of the tour never materialized, and after lunch we ended up playing Simon Says and Duck, Duck, Goose on the lawn while waiting for the bus to pick the kids up. I hope I didn't wreck it for everyone, but if acknowledging a cat and letting someone else take over when I can't complete a task because my son is over-stressed is such an egregious sin, they really need to limit visitors to junior-high students or even adults. The two other schools visiting at the same time were also packed with their allotment of rambunctious kids - some of whom actively chased the cat, but I don't know if they got yelled at or not. I was just ready to go.

 

(sigh) Sad part is, the games on the lawn were the only parts most of the kids enjoyed. But I still worried that my actions got on the employees' nerves and we got tossed. But if their nerves are that fragile, maybe they shouldn't schedule three schools' worth of elementary kids within a half hour of each other. And maybe I should act on my instincts and drive.

 

I asked his teacher if what I did cost us the rest of the tour, but she said the guides just left everyone after lunch for the next school's tour, so she didn't think so. For all she knew, the third tour guide was waiting on us, but the kids were too bored by the whole thing to concentrate, no one was enjoying it, so we just played instead. That was a relief, but I still wonder. It really was boring, when it shouldn't have been. But maybe I'm biased because I could mostly just hear getting chewed out instead of lectures on stereoscopes.

 

Feel free to tell me if you agree with the tour guides - I'm half convinced I was the jerk anyway.

 

So. We finish up early and I drive Misery Mom home, who complained about the whole trip the whole way back. Hey, at least it wasn't her quarter-tank of gas ! Dropped her off with enough time for a quick run to TRU. The only item of interest was the Thunder Driller set from Lego's Power Miners line, which Dearest has been yearning for since he got the first set. Seriously, I went through every doll TRU had and found nothing I wanted. Maybe it was due to the fact that they didn't have much new besides the TnT repro, but normally I'd have found something just to make m'self feel better.

 

I guess most of the ennui was due to the fact that I already have a major doll surplus, and sooner or later, I'll have to buckle down and thin the herds. The Cinderella doll shuffle was just an easy, early part of that. I'm not looking forward to it, but it's gotta get done. I can barely walk in the Lab again, and with the new embroidery stuff, it's just beyond. So this week, I hope to get that over and done with. Or at least begun well.

 

I guess this year, I really need to knock off the yard sales. About all we really need are Fall clothes for Dearest, and it's been hard to find those for the last two years. Giving consideration to simply picking up a few thermals for him this year, and letting him wear his T-shirts over them, instead of hunting for sweatshirts. I've given up finding good-shape pants for him on the second-hand circuit. They're either worn out or like-new priced.

 

Picked up Dearest from school and we soothed our tempers with slushies at 7-11. Beloved came home and they put together the new Lego set, and it was about that time I noticed my left arm hurt. Sunburn ! Both arms, my neck, and my face. First clear day in about three weeks, bright sunny day with no rain at all, and I get burnt. Sunscreen did not even blip on my radar. I feel so stupid. But a quick vinegar rinse has relieved most of the tightness, and some aloe vera should ease me to sleep tonight.

 

If I don't stay up worrying that I screwed up everyone's field trip, that is.

Cinderella showdown !

Current Mood : A bit giggly

 

I don't know why, but I really get a kick out of putting something out on the curb with a ‘Free' sign on it. Today it was an old computer chair, since we upgraded Beloved's. Not sure when it vanished, but it did. Yaaay !

 

Never got back to the big Lab clean-out today either, since we had DM & FIL over for dinner tonight. But I got both not-little-Princess 15-inch Playmates Cinderella dolls together for the ultimate showdown - I only have space for one. Who would stay, and who was moving on ? ‘Cinderelly's Surprise' had the home advantage, but ‘Wedding Cinderella' had shorter hair and lighter makeup. After spending some time with each, I knew that I just preferred the Wedding doll. So I got them ready for what comes next - and discovered that Wedding had a badly stained body that didn't respond at all to cleaning. So, I swapped their heads. I still have to redress ‘Surprise Cinderella' for her future new home, but ‘Wedding Cinderelly' is already comfortably in Chez Insanity within the Lab.

 

I also opened up the small bundle of sewing-themed fabric I bought during yesterday's  yard sale spree. I knew the piece I bought was actually a vest, printed out and ready to be stitched together and worn. I've bought several fabric pieces like that, and just use the fabric any way I like instead. What I didn't know was that there was a yard of coordinating print fabric with it ! Same designs and everything, just yardage, not a printed no-pattern project. Whoo-hoo ! It's Daisy Kingdom, too, which I haven't seen much lately. They always went cutesy, but some of their stuff was really nice. They just really go overboard on girls' dresses and Christmas pieces. Both the vest and the yardage have sewing machine and dress form squares on them ! Lucky !

 

I was over at Burda ‘Open Source Sewing' (http://www.burdastyle.com/ ) for a while, because I'd read patterns there were downloadable and free. Um, no. They are pretty cheap, and some are free, but most are downloadable for a fee. And, of course, 90% is sized for thin folks, not me, and of the remaining ten percent, half of that is hipster stuffies, more makeup bags/organizers, and tips on how to make hairbows. The other 5% is adapted plus size designs, but for some reason, all the photos from those who've sewn them up show super-tight fitting. I mean, some stretched seam tight. So I let that one go. It's not like I don't have enough patterns in my size already !

 

Yet another big-spender weekend !

 Current Mood: Campy

Spent on various craft stuff : $22.85

Spent on doll stuff : 54c

Spent on house stuff : $1.

Spent on misc. and Son stuff : $1.

 

Today dawned heavily overcast, with clouds so thick, I don't think sunlight could have penetrated even if Sol was as close as the Moon. I really did not want to go out and return the thread - because I'd also have to gas up Molly, and if I was out that far (she especially likes one station's gas), I might as well hit GoodWill and get lunch. But I couldn't do the returns tomorrow, and Monday is Dearest Son's field trip, so it was today or Tuesday. So, into the shower with me.

 

Since I had a receipt on some but not others, I got cash back for the receipt ones and a gift card for the rest. They were very fair, and I got back all I spent, in one form or another. Poked around for a bit, and was about to leave when I spotted the return of a certain kind of t-shirt Beloved Hubby mentioned liking when I bought ‘em a couple years ago. Digging around revealed one in his size, in his favorite color - orange ! - so I happily bore it off to the register and used the gift card. Then, I was off again.

 

Molly got a full tank - and most of my cash ! - but I still had a few bucks, and the day was getting prettier the longer I was out. GoodWill got $2. from me, for a working TalkBoy - a tape recorder/player that was a prop in one of those awful Home Alone movies, but I've clearly had a thing for 80s electronics of late - a small tin lunchbox, and a u-shaped Lucite stand that'll be great for doll photography.

 

I also hit six yard sales that were within blocks of GWill. Two were a bust, but I snagged a new ‘moon and stars' bathroom rug ($1.), two third grade math workbooks (unused, as usual ! 25c), a pair of frames I wanna repaint (25c), a copy of Delicate Creatures, a fairy tale book (25c), a bundle of sewing-theme print fabric ($1.), and thirteen trashy novels for a nickel each. So I'm pretty well set for Summer ! I'd have plenty to read while waiting for the bus - if I wasn't nearly done with bus-watch until August !

 

Came home and got the new stuff situated, and started to tear in to the Lab. Positioning the Treasure Chest where I want it involves serious shuffling around, and cleaning up some stuff I've let set. I'd only gotten so far as moving the fan back in there from our bedroom when Beloved came home. He liked his shirt, and was hungry. So we were on our way to an early supper and a book trawl. While I really wasn't lacking for anything to read, he insisted on getting the volume I keep looking at when we go to Hastings, The Big Ass Book of Crafts. I'm not sure I'll ever do any of the works inside, but it's fun to look at and read - and they finally got a used copy in. $20. is just a bit much for it new. He snagged a DVD copy of Flash Gordon, so we had a campy night !

 

I love my life...(happy sigh)

The rainbow arrived !

 

Current Mood : Overwhelmed all over again !

Spent on doll stuff : $4.50

 

Went out with $11. to two yard sales - came back with $4, and two boxes of goodies !

 

At the first sale, $6. got me a VHS copy of Hook, one of Dearest Son's new favorite movies, two tablets of handwriting practice paper for his summer work, three aluminum insulated travel mugs with the logo of a local casino, a thin pocket mirror with another business' logo, a pink glitter plastic star case, a pair of butterfly-shaped Barbie girls' sunglasses, and Ken and Barbie dolls. I mostly got the Barbie as a body replacement for Free Moving Barbie - her left leg falls off now. I also liked her ballerina slippers !

 

The remaining buck got me a bright pink Starlight Carousel Barbie case - the one showing a blonde doll. It's funny, because when the doll went into production, she was a very dark brunette. Holds four dolls, and has shelves inside. I also snagged a wicker cradle that's just about perfect for Baby Ariel, an American Girl-size doll hat with Aurora on it, and a Belle case/pocket. That was the second sale. I didn't wanna linger long, or look for more sales, because I had a delivery scheduled for today !

 

Both sales advertised plus-size women's clothes, but I didn't find any at either. Oh, well !

 

Once home, I put on the Hook tape - plays perfectly ! - and found a trashed sock and the Goof-Off. Five minutes later, the logos were off the mirror and all three mugs. Much better ! Scrubbed at the random paint smears and stray scrapes on the Barbie case, and it's much improved, too. Wheee !

 

Kinda goofed around, waiting for my UPS delivery. Every time I heard brake squeal, I hurried to the door. Then, when I didn't hear anything at all, the doorbell went off. Yaaay ! It arrived ! And OMG, what an incredible cabinet it is. I kept pulling the drawers out just to see all the colors. The designs aren't anything I'd have bought, but it's nice to have them. The ‘snippers' are a little pair of spring scissor snips, and they're perfect in the non-thread section... to keep my mini-king spools and little tubes from crashing into each other.

 

After about a half-hour of gazing and sighing happily, I remembered to check those unused spools I bought on markdown from Mal-Wart. I found perfect matches for every color save for one bright orange that's just a bit more red than the Madeira bright orange. So I'm keeping it, and the spools I've used, of course. But the rest are going back. I found the receipt from where I paid $3.50 for six of ‘em, but can't find the more recent one for the three I paid $2.50 for. If I get back what I actually spent, it's over $32. with tax. If they only give me $2.50 back for each one, it's nearly $25. Either way, it's substantial enough to warrant returning, I think.

 

I'm still staggered. In one swoop, I've gone from having about 30 colors to 120 ! I'd probably be comatose if we got the 190-spool set ! But this was a better value, less expensive, and I'd rather have more of the classics than a drawerload I'll never use. It'd be one thing if the 190 spool chest included every Madeira color - but it doesn't. In active circulation, Madeira has over 300 colors at any given time, with some rolling out and getting retired all the time.

 

If there was anything wrong, it was that one luscious shade of green had broken during shipping. Literally, it had two sets of ends, and part of the thread had joggled off the spool. So, I used it on tonight's image, the kitty above. It's the green swoop and kitty's eyes. It didn't use the whole piece that was broken, so I carefully figured out which end went where, and rewound the far shorter, loose part on a bobbin. Now the spool has just one set of ends, and I didn't waste anything. In fact, I mostly stitched the kitty because I wanted to fix the spool, I wanted to test the new thread, and I didn't dare bring Brody in for a new design. We've got another thunderstorm tonight. (sigh) At least it was pretty and sunny all day long, and Molly's safely in the garage.

 

And I got a rainbow cabinet to play with all day tomorrow !