Happy Fourth of July!

Hard to believe July is here already.  Seems like it was New Year's Day just a little while ago....I'm celebrating July 4th by watching a Twilight Zone Marathon on TV and working on my poor, neglected sock at the same time.

Poor, neglected sock.  Now with a turned heel and most of the foot done,
thanks to Rod Serling.  Photo to follow.

Didn't get as much done during UFO month as I was hoping to, but I still got a few things completed.  Which is better than none, right?











So for me, July is Extended Education Month.   I've set more than a few goals for myself, and hopefully I'll get further through my list this month than I did last month:

1. Finish more UFOs.  (Might as well see how many of these I can clear out of my workroom.)
2. Painting purses & fabric.  I have tons of examples in my "style file" on my computer.  Just Google "handpainted purses" and you'll get an idea of what I would like to try my hand at.  (Sorry for the dangling participle.  I couldn't help it.)
3. How many ways can I use Vogue V7883?  That is the question.  First up: using an oversized shirt I bought at the Assistance League for about $2.50.  It ought to look pretty awesome in its new incarnation!
4. 
5. Revamp the porch swing.  Oh, you're gonna feel so sorry for this swing when you see the Before shots.  Hopefully you won't feel so sorry for it while viewing the After shots!  I've already got the new fabric to make the cover and some assorted coordinating pillows, the new seat foam, and a plan.  And I sure hope I can get new canvas for the awning part of it before that completely disintegrates! 
6. Unzip and reformat all my purchased, downloaded embroidery files, and learn how to use my embroidery software (Husqvarna 4D Embroidery Pro) to make a catalog of sorts.  Because several hundred unavailable (and currently unviewable) embroidery files do not a happy camper make.
7. Experiment with free motion stitching, to be used in upcoming purse projects.  Maybe I can even put No. 2 and No. 6 together. Oooh, that sounds like a plan!  My Husqvarna came with a free piece of equipment called a Fabric Mover that is something quilters can use to regulate stitch length while free-motion stitching.  Time to get it out of the closet. 
8. Mastering Wacom's Bamboo Craft Tablet - I just bought this new "toy" with money I've been saving from all those hemming/mending/alterations I've been doing this year and am already having a lot of fun learning how to use it.  Not only can I use this with my Husqvarna embroidery software (using it for graphics files to digitize and for "drawing" my own embroidery using a module called 4D Sketch), but the tablet  also came with bundled software of its own: Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 and Corel Painter Essentials 4.0.  Having fun with that already:

There are no blinds in this room, believe it or not.
It's a figment of my imagination (via Photoshop Elements).

Got the idea from this book:  Photoshop Elements drop dead lighting techniques by Barry Huggins.
(And for those of you who teach or wish you could teach English - I did not mistype that title.  I think it was some sort of affectation on the author's part.)  This book, along with several others in my ever-growing stash, ought to make life a little more interesting in terms of making some improvements in my sad little photography skills.  While I don't really have a reason to produce mock mini-blinds in a self-portrait, it was certainly a fun thing to try.

I just wish I hadn't given myself that wild Uni-brow.