Cry Baby

Waa! My serger is officially dead...gone...too far gone to economically repair and the repair technician echoed that nagging thought that had been rattling around in my head for years...that machine was a piece of crap! Mind you, I really tried!. I thought it was me...I didn't understand the complex machine or how to use the coverstitch feature. I must be doing something wrong. The chaining finger broke twice. The loopers were bent and the needle was hitting them. The needle plate was broken as well. I was so upset I cried most of the way home. I have had a serger at my disposal for 30 years and the thought of living without one was devastating. Okay, the drama is a bit over the top, but suffice it to say...my machines are important to me. I just hate to waste money, and I believe that machine was not worth what we payed for it. My sweet darling husband was so good about it...in fact he took it back to trade it for the Babylock Evolve. I am totally overwhelmed at how good he is to me. Guess I will have to make a lot of hats to make a profit this year. Just figures now that the EMP6 is paid off! Oh Well!

The serger is dead...

Well, not dead, but certainly has a problem. I finished the job for Lynn and embroidered the camo hats for the boys and settled in to work on my projects. Made good progress...completed a cover for my dress form so I don't feel like such a fat @$$ looking at the gaps. (I got the medium size okay so I can make clothes for my skinny mini daughter and friends...okay???) Started stitching together one of the fleece jackets and was finishing the edges when I heard a clunk and then the stitching was not good. I changed needles thinking that would make a difference, but no, still not right. I got out the little computer vac to clean and found a broken off piece of metal. I think it is the same piece that broke a few years ago when I was dealing with the crackheads at the SAVE stores. I will not be taking it there for repair...rather my friends at Montavilla Sewing Center. Hopefully it won't be an arm and a leg to fix...I shall miss it terribly while it's gone, but have no fear...I have plenty of things to work on in the interim. The weather is supposed to be nice...maybe this is God's way of saying "get outside and enjoy nature" Amen!

Checking In...

It's a beautiful day...too pretty to be inside working. I have a paying embroidery job to do and then some hats for my honey. He is working today, so I may get some sewing accomplished. I really long to be gardening too (I love Spring!) I want to make a cover for my dress form (so I don't have to look at those gaps...Fatty, Fatty 2X4) and zip up some of the quicker items I have in the queue. The green coat is calling my name too. I have been thinking about fabric Origami closures for a blouse since I read the post over at Sigrid's blog. It's amazing what crosses your mind when you get wakened 1 hour early because somebody has to go potty! Thanks Jo!!! It's all good :)

Following my passions

Today I did very little in the sewing room, but it was a very productive day in other ways. My greenhouse is plant ready! I spent the morning up there, cleaning and organizing. I have a bag of seeds ready to plant and will probably start by this weekend. I am working tomorrow (starting a 6 day stretch) so I need to pace myself. I found out that we will have baby Hayden on Friday, so there will be nothing but baby time when I get off work on Friday. I did cut out 2 fleece jackets last night that should sew up really quick. The grey fleece is so thick, I think I will just use one layer for the flounce and finish with a blanket stitch. not sure what I am going to do for the closures...maybe some snaps...we'll see. Now I am going to watch Big Brother, drink a cup of tea and go to bed early!

Blank

I thought it would be a great ides to grab a few free minutes to blog, but to my dismay, my mind went blank. Must be old age. I was thinking of something really profound this afternoon to blog about and it escapes me now. Oh well. A cool thing did happen to me today...totally unsewing related. I was purchasing some cigarettes for one of our students and the gentleman behind the counter carded me! Can you believe it? A year shy of a half century and this whippersnapper wants to see my ID. All I can say is "GOD bless America!" It sure made my day...obviously he is visually impaired, or just really polite! On tap for tomorrow...clean out the greenhouse and the sewing studio...then make way for sewing! I would like to get some quality time on my green coat since Spring teased us with a little preview. Would be great to have it done for March. Also have some other projects just waiting to be stitched...Maybe Wednesday???

Shut up and Sew...

That's what I should be doing. Instead of cleaning house, searching ebay for vintage patterns (I made another score yesterday...57 patterns for 7.99...ahhhhhhhh!!!!), working, shopping or any other activity that takes me out of the studio. I did manage to work on my quilt blocks for the swap the other night, but silly me, I ran the rotary cutter across my left hand in the process (no more rotary cutters after 9:00 PM) Good thing I'm medically trained. No fabric was harmed in the incident, so all's well, that ends well...who needs fingers anyway??? My darling husband bought me exactly what I wanted for Valentine's day...a red dress form! He got a new anchor and anchor pulling system...we are such romantics. I finished the parka and plan to do a little me sewing before getting back to paying jobs. I have some hydrant bag modificatons to do for the fire department and a harness/poop bag for Kim. I also found the perfect denim to make a replacement for her favorite jumper and the exact pattern came in my last load of vintage patterns. Her birthday is coming up in April. I also purchased some of that clear elastic to try on some of my stretchy knits...I am excited to try that. Tom is on a double, so I should be able to get some sew time in this weekend. I will report back later.

Driven

Why am I so driven sometimes? Got Jay's (of Tiffy and Jay) ski jacket in for a zipper replacement an the zipper came out no problem...the problem lies in finding a replacement zipper. The offending zipper is 32" long...stock 2 way parka zippers come in 30" or 36"...looks like I will have to special order one in...grrrr...I wanted to get it done...go slow to go fast Mary!!! My trip to the fabric store was not a complete bust though...my embroidery scissors have sported a broken tip for quite some time now and needed replaced, however, being the cheapskate that I am, new scissors would wait for a sale...preferably 50% off. Imagine my surprise when I found some gold plated Ginghers in a bin at JoAnn's for $6.97!!!! I bought both pairs as that is a phenomonal price and the extra pair would make a great gift if I don't decide to keep them all to myself. They also had a dress form on clearance for $99.00, which I almost bought, but found it to be rather flimsy. There is one on Craigslist that looks better...I called about it, but the girl couldn't tell me too much about it as she was not home at the time...it would need a stand and from our conversation I learned that she would like to get more than $40.00 for it...I don't know...it would be nice, but can I really justify the expense...there I go being a cheapskate again!!! I'll talk to Tom about it...he'll know what to do!!!

She can fly the Jet!!!

Sara took possession of her sewing machine yesterday and showed great proficiency in it's use by completing 3 projects...a pin cushion, a sewing machine mat with pockets (that she embellished with a decorative stitch) and a quilt block at the quilting party we went to in the afternoon. She displayed great problem solving skills and even made notes in her machine manual. I am so proud! I think it will be fun if she continues to sew and we can create things together. I took pictures, but of course I have not downloaded them yet (some things never change)...I will add them later...Go JETS!!!

Gone, but not forgotten...

Wow, it's been a busy week! I have been busy with work and life and sewing. I finished another order of 20 Portland fire hats and Michael said there are talks going on within the uniform committee. That could transpire into a really big order. That would be nice...monotonous, but nice. Pretty easy money. I worked on cleaning up the sewing room and putting together Sara's sewing box last night. I have a lot of stuff I have decided. But it's all good stuff...don't get me wrong...it just is overwhelming sometimes. It will be great if Sara catches sewing fever...then she can take some of my stuff home! More of the same this afternoon...more cleaning and hope to work on my green coat. I have pictures to post...they haven't been transferred from the camera yet...maybe later...

Super Sunday

It's Superbowl Sunday...go Patriots!!! I really don't care...I just think Tom Brady is cute, so there you have it. I pick my favorite teams based on cuteness. But enough about sports...lets talk about something really important like sewing. embroidery and quilting! Good news on the business front. Michael came in and paid his bill with a smile and ordered 20 more hats (18 Portland Fire and 2 Estacada Fire) I suspect he has marked them up to turn a quick profit himself, which is great...that's what business is all about. I am making a fair share on them. Getting paid before Valentines Day helps immensely in my diabolical plot, but I dare not post more in case a spy should read my blog...more on that later. I finished the vintage top and I am pleased with it. I may make the dress version at a later date and I count on you, dear blog, to remind me to lower the sash to accomodate the girls! I started on the green coat last night and it looks like it will be a rather simple project. I need to decide on buttons...I may get some big snaps to use under the buttons, not because I am afraid of button holes, but the Vera Wang stuff I checked out at Kohl's all were done that way and it seems to be a trend. (As Mother would say..."If everyone else was jumping off a cliff, would you do it too?") I definitely will use snaps for the lower part as the pattern instructions show so it will stay closed. Sounds like a spy may be coming up the driveway...gotta go!!!

Another one bites the dust...

I just finished another project in my sewing queue...the stash is dwindling...NOT. I finished a vintage top from a pattern I made >30 years ago...I was so thrilled that I could still fit in it (it is a loose top with an empire waist tie), but I didn't take into consideration that the girls are considerable larger than they were when I was 17...hence the empire has slid a little south over the years. After I adjusted for that, the top sewed up nicely...Ain't it great to get old??? I will take a picture later...I am so bad about posting pictures...I take them, but then can't be bothered to download them from the camera to the computer...maybe tomorrow. Next up, I have some simple embroidery projects I want to do and some puppy jackets for some special beany babies. I don't always mention to the students I embroider, but Mary is a special student and she wants beany baby jackets with her guide dogs name on them for her grandkids...how can I refuse??? Then I think I will work on my green coat...it will be a nice spring coat...if spring ever comes!!!