A Note Goes Home

Dear Chronicles:


Ms. Eileen has been absent for the last three weeks, and we have yet to receive a note from home.  Unfortunately, these accumulated absences cannot be excused.  Please contact us as soon as possible, to avoid further embarrassment and potential anxiety caused by her absence.  


Amazingly enough, people are still reading the blog in spite of it.  


Sincerely, 
Blogger

Ever get caught in a funk?  My muse abandoned me lately, stuck in the corner like a refurbished Roomba, repeatedly bonking her head into the wall.  Or maybe that was me, come to think of it.  I was sitting here feeling sorry for myself, worried that since both (BOTH!) on-call jobs hadn't called me in in over a month, I was slowly going broke again just when I'd started catching up.  I know what did it - I was actually thinking that I was going to get ahead for a change.  Danger, danger, Will Robinson!  How can you have two on-call jobs and still be out of work?  I had made merry plans, with all kinds of things I wanted to accomplish this month.  Yet at every turn, things just weren't working out the way I had planned.

I did finish a couple of UFOs...and now in the middle of a heat wave my sons finally have their flannel PJ pants.  (Yeesh, Mom.)

I haven't gotten started on the porch swing yet.  Which was probably a good thing, considering we just had a freak early morning rainstorm a couple of days ago.  Still wondering if I dreamed that....

I pulled out tons of shirts and even bought a dress with an overskirt at the Assistance League to refashion using that Vogue V7883 pattern, only to find out that it required copious amounts of fabric which the shirts and the dress wouldn't yield.  Argh.  Thinking I might mix and match bits and pieces instead, but I don't have enough shirts & fabric that I like the look of together.  So I'm still ruminating on that one.

Haven't pulled out the paints yet to try my hand at painting the purses, though I did manage to find another one to work on at the Assistance League.

Still haven't gotten brave enough to try the free-motion stitching, though I can clearly hear it calling me night and day.  And I'm looking forward to doing some hand-beaded accents once I get going.

It's the Getting Going that's the trick, especially when you feel like nothing is going your way.

Tell you what DID get my butt up and moving, though.  I answered a couple of ads through Craigslist for a seamstress, and lo and behold, they both got in touch with me for potential work.  One wanted to come to the house to bring a test sewing sample, and the panic set in - I haven't cleaned up in my workroom and the living room (a.k.a. the cutting room) in ages...there wasn't even a place for her to sit!  Thus began a whirlwind of clearing out and cleaning up, aided by both my sons and my older son's girlfriend.  After the interview, I decided that I really liked being able to get to the things I need to get projects done, so now we are in the process of figuring out the most logical way to rearrange the entire house in order to make this a more permanent change.  Even though I have to travel a bit more to get to some of my stash & supplies for the time being, it's worth it.  And when I finally get everything settled, it will REALLY be worth it, as I will have reclaimed the workroom for its original intended purpose.  If all goes well, it will STOP looking like a cave and START looking like a more professional workspace, perhaps even with seating for future clients.

In the meantime, one of the new clients does maternity wear and sent me home with a pattern & some lovely navy knit fabric to make it up in.

Floor length maternity dress with tons-o-pleats!

A close-up view of the crossed horizontal & vertical pleating.

I think maybe this shot shows the pleating a bit better.

Not to be outdone, the back had some AWESOME starburst style pleats as well!

Even the shoulder straps are pleated where they meet the bodice, front & back.  The client was so thrilled with it, she sent me home with some coral knit fabric to make another one!  You can see her gowns here:
www.julesfordmaternity.com

I sure could have used beautiful dresses & outfits like these when I was expecting 20 years ago - most of what was available back then was either frumpy or far too pricey for my pocketbook.

The second client sells through Etsy and does appliqued onesies that are just adorable:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheSweetTartLab?ref=pr_shop

Her work has also been picked up by a couple of local stores, which would have swamped her and her business partner with orders, so they needed extra help.  That's where I come in!  Only problem is, I really need to keep the Sewing Assistant away from this project, as they requested smoke-free and pet-free sewing area.  He just doesn't understand the new rules.  (No, he doesn't smoke. Neither do I.)

Things are looking up - two new clients, a big sewing project to work on for Son #2's fall field show (more on that later), a cleaner place to work (and actually be able to get to more UFO conversions), a clearer head, and - now that I have work - more excitement for getting some things crafted for myself during the breaks.  Because that's just how my Muse rolls.  When she's not rolling into corners, anyway.

By the way, the Sewing Assistant is still trying to ship himself out to Grandma, probably hoping he'll get more sympathy (and more kitty treats, I'd warrant)....

(HMPHH!  Pet-free, indeed. Send me to Grandma's house!)

Thank You, Mr. Serling

Ahh...spent most of the last two days in the Twilight Zone.  This time, it was entirely by design, as opposed to wandering through there by accident.

While I was watching, I was working on finishing up at least the first sock that I showed you ages ago.  Since I was watching TV, though, I mis-knit the toe of the sock and didn't even notice it until I had grafted the toe together, cut the yarn, and had woven all of my ends back into the sock body, then tried it on.

Oops.

Sigh.  I frogged it (or tinked it, depending on your preference) back to the beginning of the toe decreases and proceeded to knit it in the appropriate fashion (meaning, I knit it from the contrast yarn instead of continuing the stripe pattern).  I was pretty proud of myself for unraveling that much of two very fine sock yarns and managing to pick up all the stitches without dropping any.  Too far.

But in the end, it was worth it.  Now the toe coordinates with the contrast heel and looks a lot better.  I knit this sock minus one pattern repeat and am really glad I did - it would have been quite nearly a knee-sock length if I hadn't.  I haven't worn knee-socks since high school (except for the one time I dressed up as a German goat-herder for sign language class, and I'm determined not to go into that here), and wasn't planning to start wearing them again any time soon.

So here is my new sock, courtesy of Mr. Rod Serling and his amazingly entertaining stories:

This pattern was such a great way to use the lone skein of
color-change sock yarn I found in the bargain bin.  I had kept it for
years thinking I'd be able to scout other stores in the chain to find
another skein, but no such luck.  It was truly one-of-a-kind.

I am SO GLAD I dropped that extra pattern repeat - it would have
added another two inches to the length of this sock!  The real reason I
dropped the repeat?  I was worried I'd get to the end of the second sock
and run out of that lovely colored yarn!  Tragedy averted!

Love, love, LOVE the way this yarn makes it look like I have crazy mad Fair Isle skillz!

Now to cast on that second sock, before I lose my nerve....

P.S. - More Photoshop Elements (PSE) fun:

I look like I'm either going to Rio or I'm on an acid trip, LOL!

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.

Well, That Was Interesting

It's been over a week since I last posted, so I had a block of time yesterday to finish up another UFO, AND actually blog about it.  Only Blogger wasn't playing fair.

I did have it finished yesterday, I really did.  I just couldn't tell anyone about it!  (LOL!)

I have a couple of reasons why I hadn't posted for so long (and for why I do not have more finished projects), but they are pretty lame, all things considered.

First and foremost, The Sewing Assistant took over my sewing chair.

This may look like a sewing chair.  In reality, it is
actually a very expensive cat bed.
Could have fooled me.

Seems like he is psychic, sometimes.  Whenever I would start towards my sewing machine, there he was, climbing over the piano, through the cutout archway, over my machine, and curling up on my chair.  Emphasis on MY chair.  But that doesn't fly with the SuperChunk.  He'd move when it was Food O'Clock, but then I would be in the kitchen working on preparing his evening repast and taking short orders for whatever combination of teenage boys happened to be in the house at the time.  So our schedules were sort of out of sync, as far as getting any work done.  

But it probably was a good thing anyway, since I was clumsy enough last weekend to do this:

SPRAIN!

Fancy splint, hey?  I don't even have a good story to tell.  I was just.....walking.  On a perfectly level sidewalk.

Yay, me.

It was a little scary navigating through all my UFOs in my workroom with an unstable ankle, so I decided to take a few days off from sewing and let The Sewing Assistant have his designated spot du jour.  

But I was going crazy.  I must have read through about 10 sewing/crafting books and magazines in very short order.  Whenever I do that, I get hyper, have a hundred working ideas spinning around in my head, and want to drop everything and start letting the creative muse take over.  Normally, this happens right before bedtime (I know, I'm wired backwards).  Crafting books and magazines and I should never come within two rooms' distance from each other at that time of night.  It ought to be a law or something.  

This was in broad daylight, though.  Couldn't get out much, couldn't do much moving around, car was in the shop (that's a story for another day), couldn't take it anymore.  

Before:  Stretchy knit dress from the Assistance League

I'll be the first to admit my figure has gone the way of the dinosaurs - well hidden by layers and layers of time.  There was no way I could pull off a look like this anymore.  It even looked embarrassing on the dress form, and it doesn't have all the added padding that I do in certain places, nor does it have those.....upper arms.  If you are of a certain age, you know of what I speak.  But the fabric was lovely, bright, stretchy and forgiving and it had potential.  And it was only about $3.00.  

CHOP!

Right now my dress form is cringing.  She really
does not like being photographed bottomless.

Since I did most of the chopping while on the dress form, it was a bit on the uneven side.
Off to the cutting table to remedy the situation.
I love my rotary cutter.

And what to do with the excess fabric?  Why, make some sleeves to cover those....
upper arms.
What the hey, someone else already did the work - why not use the hem at the bottom
of the dress for the hems of the sleeves?

Here you can see the hems of the newly cut sleeves a little more clearly.

I decided not to unpick the hems of the original sleeveless openings - I knew I was going to have to fine-tune the fit of the newer sleeves into the armholes, so why risk having the fabric run while I was working on the fit?  The pattern I was using claimed that it was "close-fitting," so I decided to go by the pattern envelope sizing chart and used the size that was supposed to fit properly.  

Note to self:  never, ever trust the pattern companies.  

I should know that already.  I had had a severe disappointment using a previous "close-fitting" pattern in my customary size, only to have it turn out like a sausage casing.  Using very expensive knit fabric.  Bummed doesn't even BEGIN to cover it.  Someone really lucked out while shopping at the Assistance League (my treat).  So this time, I figured I'd best cut this one a bit larger from the new pattern, just in case.

This time, however, the opposite problem occurred.  The sleeve was overly large and flapped around like laundry on a clothesline.  

Note to pattern companies:  WOULD YOU PLEASE BE MORE CONSISTENT?  Thank you. 

Yeah, right.  Like that's ever going to happen.  How silly.  After about a half an hour of trimming, testing, trimming some more, and finally setting in the sleeves, the shirt was done.

After a bit of finessing, much better results!  

I played around with some extra fabric at the bottom of the dress form, just so she wouldn't feel so exposed.  I think my next project might be to cover the form completely for a more finished look.  If only my UFO list weren't so long already......

One More Down

One more UnFinished Object - goes over to the Finished Side!

Finished Handbag!

Antique look button trim

Home Dec fabric:  Joann Fabric and Craft Store

Lining:  Black cotton, with inset zipper pocket, snap closure

Contrast Straps and Patches:  Embossed Faux Leather, Jenny's Fabrics

Antique style button:  Joann Fabric and Craft Store

Approximate size:  10" x 12", not counting strap

See and Sew Pattern B4271

Ha. It's Done.

Kept looking at that black and white checked shirt I refashioned the other day, thinking that it still needed a little something more.

I went through my stash and found two remnants that would coordinate, and also used a strip that I had cut off the bottom of the blouse.  I cut each of them into a strip about 22" long by about 2 or 3 inches wide.  Then I rolled them up diagonally, starting at one corner, using the tutorial I found here.  I put a spot of glue at that corner to keep it from unraveling, then put a spot of glue every couple of inches or so until I got to the end, then put a spot of glue at the final corner.  (In case you were wondering, I used Crafter's Pick Ultimate.  I would have used my Beacon Fabri-Tac, but it had dried up.  Same with the bottle of Mend-It that my boss had given me about a month ago.  And that one had never even been opened.)

Top: black velour
Middle: scrap from the blouse
Bottom: a scrap that came with a bunch of freebies at a sewing/crafting sale

After the glue was dry, I started coiling up the rolls and stitching at the bottom, while putting in a fold every quarter turn.











After that, I stitched the end of the coil under the finished piece and voila - roses!

 Shabby Chic Roses!  My camera still hates this black
 and white check fabric - it can't tell where to focus!

Added some beads and some lace "leaves" - you can't see the beads
on the black rose or the checked one in this photo - the grey
patterned fabric was hogging the camera's focus.

Here's a shot of the finished blouse - looks much better with a new focal point by the tie.  You can't see it in the photo but I also added an inner tie to help stabilize the front.

(Note to self:  in the future, photograph the finished tops with some kind of skirt or pants.  The mannequin's bottom looks a little weird, there.)

This will fit a woman's size medium (10-12).  Let me know if you are interested.

It's Hard to Craft When You're Hurting

Love doing flowers.  Just don't love the way I feel after doing these large arrangements for the church.  

This week's arrangement didn't turn out exactly the way I had envisioned it at the floral wholesaler - but maybe by Sunday the pink flowers at the top will have opened up a bit more so it looks a little....lighter.

The whole arrangement

The dahlias that started it all - aren't they delicious?

Don't know the name of these particular flowers,
but aren't they a bit Tim Burton-esque? LOL!

Forgot the name of these flowers - they were the priciest
out of everything I bought today - including the dahlias!

I was going for an understated look.  When I stepped back to judge how things were taking shape, though, I realized that it wasn't quite what I had planned in my head.

Oh, well.  I'm just hoping the pastor isn't going to get weirded out by those Alice In Wonderland creations at the top.

Now I need to go lie down so my back stops screaming at me.  Lifting that heavy soaked Oasis floral foam is a killer, not to mention the umpteen times I have to bend over to cut and insert at floor level.  So any more crafting today is a bit out of the question.

I liked how my black and white checked shirt came out the other day, but it still needs a little something on the side (literally) - I think I'll take advantage of this forced time-out today to make up some specialties and post the finished project tomorrow.  And maybe make a list of the UFOs that I would dearly love to have done by the end of this month - think tacking it to my forehead would help my motivation?