A Break!

Wow, I didn't realize how long it had been since I last posted - I've been so swamped with orders from Jules Ford Maternity that I literally haven't had a moment left to myself to work on blogging - only time I've had to myself was spent on two days' worth of migraine, ugh.  Yeah, it's a break - just not the right kind.

Since I last posted I've added six more maternity dresses, 13 bibs, 2 onesies (samples that might show up at the Sweet Tart Lab), a baby blanket for the marching band director and his wife's baby shower - which I totally forgot to photograph, as that was finished just a few minutes before the freight train went crashing through my upper cranium - a blanket cover and another pantry door curtain for my neighbor, and a meeting with the newest client to my ever-growing list of projects completed.

Oh, yeah.  Add one 35 foot by 35 foot Magic Veil to that list.  The one that nearly did my serger in.  Sheesh.  That project took two days' time all by its lonesome.

That's me, there - buried in my work.  Literally.

I wish I could say that I was glad to see it go - I mean, I was - but now we have to plan and execute the production of 150 matching mini-veils for everyone in the band and colorguard.  This is going to be one very interesting show.....

So now I have a bit of a break.  My client (from Jules Ford) is going on a trip for about 8 or 9 days, and left me with about 7 garments to make up while she is gone.  That seems almost too easy, considering the amount of production I've been doing lately, LOL.  If you had told me even a couple of months ago that I would be able to have this kind of output, I would have told you that you were crazy.  And yet, here we are.  

Most of the dresses I've been working on lately have been duplicates of ones I've already done, but here are a couple of new styles you haven't seen yet:

Meet Frankie.  She's available at Jules Ford Maternity.com

Doesn't look like much on the manni - but just
picture it with one of those trendy "bib" necklaces.
Dusky purple satin crepe.  

Now meet Andie.

Andie comes with these lovely over the shoulder ruffles.
Which are supposed to be narrow hemmed on a regular
sewing machine.  MEH.  Never liked how it looked.  So...

Here you can see I've roll hemmed it on the serger.
A MUCH nicer finish, I think.

The cap sleeves are a bugger to sew, especially because
this baby is completely lined.  I solved the bulk problem
a bit by basting both layers together at the armhole, then
trimming off most of the seam allowance of the lining.  Then I
turned the hem and it laid a little flatter than it had in
previous renditions.  

The back of the dress.  

The Sewing Assistant is feeling much better these days, more like his old self again - chasing the older cat down the hall, begging to be played with, eating up the new prescription diet dry food and whizzing up a storm (which is VERY good - better for his urinary tract).  Still sleeps on the job a lot, though:

He did help us set up the newest cutting table, though.  My old one - around 15 years old and made of cardboard - was in the process of completely falling apart and had bowed in the middle so badly that cutting something out was becoming an arduous process due to unexpected dips of the scissor blades - that means making mistakes in the cutting, which isn't good.  Unfortunately, the newer table I bought at Joann's Fabrics turned out to be a minor headache for my two sons - every single pilot hole for the screws needed to be redrilled, as they were ALL in the wrong place and would have rendered the table unusable, had we placed the hinges where the holes originally were.  Pretty pathetic.  But it was made in China.  Should I have been surprised?  

Neko's version of "helping."

We had to put him in the bedroom before he broke one of his teeth on these table legs.  I guess he was giving us his opinion on matters.  Either that, or he thought it was one giant kitty treat. The table is on rollers, though - he thinks it's great fun to go for one of his Kitty Bus Rides on top.

Off to bed - tomorrow is my day to play with the new machine (a Janome MC6500, for those of you who haven't been following all the time) - along with its walking foot.  Then a project for the newest client, and maybe I'll actually have some time to do something for myself!