My new toy

First, WOW! I didn't realize how long it's been since I've posted. Did you miss me? But I've been REALLY busy. I spent an entire week, Sunday to Friday afternoon, in Rockville, MD at a training class. Then, of course, I was behind at work. And tired. And lazy.

But when I drove up to Rockville on Sunday afternoon I left in time to check out the Rockville G-Street. It really is quite a bit larger than the Seven Corners store. I scored a few items off the $2.97 table (yeah, you're shocked, I know), and a couple of skirt lengths wool cuts, including a piece of cashmere blend for $6 each. Sorry, no pictures. Not only is it not very exciting, but my husband left this morning for Thanksgiving and took the dog and the camera. (Not to worry, I'll fly out and meet up at the MIL's on Wednesday. We'll scarf on turkey as a family). I was VERY VERY VERY disappointed that they didn't have the November BWOF. That was a real goal, and I always find a copy at the 7-Corner's store, so I went with high hopes. Alas, they are crushed. And only to be lifted up by MY NEW TOY. The most awesome, bestest, most funnest, greatest time saverest gadget I've gotten (for sewing) short of my machine itself. It is (please create a drum roll in your head here........DRRRRRRRRR): Now this handy little ditty is a double tracing wheel. Both wheels slide out of the handle and can be placed, either singly or together, in 5 positions. (packaged they are placed flat against the handle, to use rotate 90 degrees). Now you have the perfect tracing wheel for BURDA. Oh yeah. I put my BWOF sheet: on my cardboard cutting board, placed my tracing paper (I have a roll of exam paper compliments of Lunesta and BFF) on top. Then, using my ruler and french curve I traced over the wanted lines. This left a double dotted line on the tracing paper. In the right light this was really easy to see, so I cut out on the outside line - yes my friends, a bodacious 1.5cm seam allowance - and drew over the seam line with a marker. Then I could lay my BWOF pattern down on fabric and cut/sew just like a big-4 pattern with seam allowances already there. NO THREAD TRACING!!! Start to finish - tracing pattern to paper to cutting fabric - was about 1 hour. Not the 3-4 thread tracing took. My fingers weren't sore, I didn't use a spool of thread, I didn't shift the fabric all over trying to place the tracing, and my sewing room wasn't cover with all those darned threads. And today I cut out the next pair of Marlene pants (yeah, redundant, I know. Don't care. Love these pants) in 45 minutes. For these, I layed my paper pattern I'd made before with no seam allowances on my fabric (a really soft, steel grey corduroy from G Street $2.97 - see above) and then put down some inexpensive tracing paper along the edges. And traced away, again. Woo-hoo! Now I have, again, 1.5cm seam allowances as my cutting line was marked. And with all the advantages as previously lauded. You have to keep shifting the tracing paper, as the pattern is larger than the tracing paper, but just slide it down and around as you go. Yeah, it gets pretty chewed up, but they sell more. I'm quite pleased!! Oh yeah. Very. Uh-huh.

I wanted to post some pics of this, but remember my camera's on it's way to Nashville. I'll be doing this again, though, and will try to remember. I still thread traced some of the details, but this was really a great time saver. And I think I got a more accurate cut because I wasn't constantly pulling and shifting my fabric to run my needle in and out. Oh, and no blood stains.

So, I'm off to sew these.

I'm not a knitter and I don't have a cat. But I have a BFF who fits into both of these categories. So, for you: