Class

No, I still have none. Even though I took one today. My first sewing class since Junior High when I made white hip-huggers. So, yeah, it's been a while. This was a new owner's class from the dealer. I can't believe how much I learned. There were 6 in the class with various machines - one drop in Pfaff, the rest Vikings of various makes: my Topaz, an Emerald (um, which fell apart IN THE CLASS! yes, she had to leave it with them! A knob or something fell off the top and into the machine. This was brand new out of the box in the parking lot. Had never sewn a stitch until this afternoon!), a Sapphire (all the crown jewells), a Quilt Master (or something like that) and another older one I didn't see closely.

There were all kinds of sewists: on woman who "sews everything, well I haven't made shoes yet" to "I'm sorry, but do I have a bobbin?" It went well dispite the varying abilities.

We did something with every foot we have, though I think we missed one of the buttonhole feet. So we made buttonholes, piping (yes, piping) with our zipper foot, sewed on buttons, blind hemmed (happy dance here, oh yeah!), did some decorative stuff with the memory, overcasted, knit stitched. It was about 4.5 hours and a ton o'fun. I was pleased with both the class and how much fun it was and how much I learned. I'm much more confident with my machine now.

So my last word on this is that if you're offered a class, take it. You may be amazed at what you can learn. I'm so glad I did this today, and am thinking of joining their embroidery club to get some experience.

And I used my 25% off coupon to buy some extra feet and a straight stitch plate.

My MIL was here this weekend and we went into the windy crowds that thronged DC yesterday. It was a mess, it took hours to get from one place to another and so windy it was hard to stand upright. They went to Annapolis today while I went to class and it was a much prettier day. She goes back home in the morning. It was her first time in DC, I think she enjoyed it, being blown away not withstanding.

Oh, and SHE liked my quilt.

A PM response on steroids

I received a PM on a website and my response to her got a little long. Okay, a lot long. So long that it occurred to me that it was a darn good start to a blog entry. So now everyone will have the opportunity read my ramblings.

The winners of the major awards have claimed their prizes and the leg shaped lamps will be on their way tomorrow. Oddly neither recipient thinks their prize is sucky. But neither of them claimed Bea Arthur's tunic patterns, either.

The Marlene pants have come out from under the sewing machine and are in progress. The big construction is done - side, inside and crotch seams. And I interfaced the fly and waistband last night. I may try to put the zip in tonight and start the waist band. Week day sewing is pretty hit and miss and not very concentrated. I forgot the stupid pockets, again, and am debating on whether to pick out the side seams and add them or just skip them. Leaning towards the skip part because (a) I'm lazy (b) the thread is really hard to see on this fabric (c) I'm lazy and (d) It's too much trouble. Oddly enough, I'm looking forward to putting in buttonholes with my new machine. And using the blind hem stitch with the correct foot that works. I've already had a blast actually FINISHING my seams with the overcast stitch. But my old machine did an easier job of putting the button on - it was a one step deal, this one has a couple of quirks.

The quilt will probably get a backing (leaning towards a sheet) and a quilting start this weekend. Thank you all for the nice things you said about it. I love the look, but the proportions are off. I'll work on that next go-around. My MIL is coming for a visit in a couple of weeks, and I'd like to show it to her and then let her get me started on the next one. One more beginners question: when I start to quilt - by machine (good one on the hand quilting, Karendee, I'm still snickering) do I start in the middle and work my way out? Or on one edge and work to the other edge? I'm thinking middle and out to minimize slipping? (I don't have a walking foot). I will probably just stitch in the ditch, though I'm considering putting a couple of embroideries in a few places - just because I can. My batting is poly - I already own it. Next time I'll probably buy cotton, though. I like the feel of it better.

And One for Wendy...

The Threads is still available. Let me know where you want it sent. Sure I can't interest you in some Golden Girls costumery?

And the next Marlene pants are out from under the Singer, they have the basic construction done, meaning legs and crotch seams done and the seams finished. Finishing the seams was great and something I'd never really been able to do. My Pfaff would just squirt the fabric from out of the edge of the presser foot. Viking -ok, she needs a real name - feeds the fabric straight and does the overcast stitch very nicely. Part of the difference is Pfaff had you try this at the edge of the foot, Viking does it in the center of the foot. Tomorrow night I will probably only get the interfacing fused and maybe (eh, we'll see) the zipper. Probably not more than that.

I finished the quilt top. I haven't photo'd yet, but it's kind of neat. My proportions are off - too long and thin, but the pattern turned out interesting. I don't know (a) what to use as backing and (b) how to quilt it - patternwise. Suggestions? I know there's no pic here, but there are a few in previous posts. I have batting.

And I did my first embroidery. No use for the pieces, but it worked perfectly. Another teaser, maybe some photo's tomorrow night. Heck, maybe I'll frame them, my sewing room could use some "art". I used green thread (one of the spools that came with the machine) on dark blue linen, so it's nice. Sorry, all of you who were waiting for Winny to Pooh on my BurdaButt. I am still working on the double B graphic for my back pockets, LOL. Weny: you can share it as a member of the BurdaButt Club.

This morning we took a walk on the GW Parkway to view the eagle family. You can stand on the trail and see the nest across the street. (Photo complements ) She took much better photo's than I did, you should really take a look. Just scroll thru the pictures until you get to the eagles. There are a number of really nice shots. While we watched, an osprey raided the next. Not sure of the damage - if any - done. One of the eagle returned and chased it off pretty violently. It was quite a site.

My New Toy - YEAH!

The the Pfeasco has ended. In case you missed it, the background is here. I traded in my Pfaff Smart 200c yesterday. We went back to Bonny's and I spent some time with Frank, after spending a great deal of time on the Internet and I came home with a much lighter wallet (or heavier credit card bill) and a new machine. I now own a Viking Topaz 30. This is much more machine than I had before. And it has some pretty cool features. I won't bore you with the details, if you're interested you can always check out Viking's Web Site . For those of you "in the know", it is pretty much a Sapphire model with the embroidery unit attached. It's new, only out since last November, and they did some nice upgrades as a spill over from the Diamond - that costs more than my first house. Well, not really, but it's pricey. My favorite "gee whiz" items (so far) are the auto thread cutter, start/stop button (you don't have to use the foot pedal - take note of this if any of my CC friends are reading) and how the presser foot lowers itself and starts to sew. There isn't even a lever to drop it with. (That's a little weird, I have to say). I'm still basking in the glow of new ownership and haven't actually sewn anything yet. Just a bunch of junk on junk. Stitches on scraps. The most constructive was fixing a zipper seam, about 10 stitches worth. I kind of forgot, in the heat of the battle and the dilemma over what to do about this that I would need something to sew when I brought the baby home. As you can see here it pretty much took over our apartment yesterday. DH had enough and left me to it - he did go with me to Bonny's though. And I guess Kacy was ready to trade the whole mess in for her ball.

So in order to have something to work on, this morning I cut out a pair of pants (free prize to the first person who guesses the pattern). No pictures, that just too dull to even photograph. And this afternoon I turned this: My quilt fabrics, into this: Which would be my quilt fabrics cut into 3" strips. Not too exciting, but I also did my taxes (YIKES!) and drove aimlessly around Maryland for about 3 hours. Something I just can't explain, even to myself. Of course, in between it looked like this: That's my Singer 201 hiding beneath the fabric that has been washed, dried and pressed. And yes, the new toy is on the table behind. I'm not sure what I'm going to do next with the strips, as I don't have the same amount of every color (apparently I'm not known for my quilt planning expertise). I starting thinking blocks, but the different number of squares of each color - I'm particularly light on the green - make this difficult. And I want to keep it simple. I may do strips, then the numbers of each won't matter so much. My bed quilt is like this. My new machine (yeah, I like saying that) has some nice piecing and quilting features - particularly for a "non-quiliting" model (Sapphire has a quilting model if you're interested) like the pressure foot float that lifts up the foot automatically when you stop in needle down, the auto tension, extra lift on the foot and feed dog drop, plus a wide range of quilting stitches. Roughly the second row of stitches in the picture above - though I know you can really see them well, trust me, it's a lot.

I need to put the Singer back down in its hidey hole, I suppose, but I'm glad I had that re-bonding time. A silver lining to the Pfaff mess was discovering that so many of my sewing problems and short falls wasn't me. If was Pfaff. I CAN sew a straight line. I CAN sew at the edge. I CAN still eyeball a seam allowance.

Sew, I'm a happier camper tonight. I'm still a little peeved about the whole thing, but it feels good to have made a decision and moved on. Kind of like tossing that wadder or UFO in garbage. No more "what ifs" or "maybes" Done is done. I didn't get the deal of the century, but I'm sewing again and I have a machine that I will not outgrow and that will continue to serve and challenge me for a long time to come. And you can bet that the first time it hiccups, it will be back with Frank.

My son was here last weekend, one reason for the Pfaff/Viking delay. We went to Arlington National cemetery and Philly. There was a full honors ceremony while we were at Arlington. Very moving.

First Jalie

No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth, though spending a week in Boise feels like it may be right on the edge. I had a 3 day conference/training session at our former home office in Boise, ID. A day to get there and a day back and you've blown the week.

I won't bore you with the conference except for one "team building" exercise that was a ton o' fun. We did an (Yellow) Iron Chef competition. Yellow iron is construction speak for the equipment used. Four groups, 4 recipe: pork, chicken, tuna and beef. A secret ingredient: porcini mushrooms. Points for taste, presentation and creativity. They actually turned us loose in the cafeteria's kitchens with 3 of the chefs/cooks from the cafeteria. My group's recipe was chicken - we got to choose 2nd, and the beef was taken by the first choice team. Stayed away from the tuna - it's fast but hard to get right. 1/2 the group of 6 went to the kitchen and half set up the display table. I was part of the kitchen group that fried 48 (yes forty-eight) chicken breasts, added pasta (we got points for creativity on that part), wilted spinach, made sauce and sauteed mushrooms. The outside group borrowed a painting from another part of the building, added wine bottles and glasses, candles and designed the menu. And yes, WE WON! The golden spatula, LOL. Actually a wooden spoon with a gold ribbon. It was seriously fun and really hard work. And we had no blood or burns on any of the crew or contestants.

I have had no word back from Pfaff on my machine. I'm going to call them tomorrow, I just didn't have time last week. **sigh**

A few weeks ago I made a run to G Street and one of the items I bought was the Jalie tee shirt - the one with a tank top and cami options. I traced out the pattern for the tee yesterday afternoon. I cut it and sewed it up today. I was thrilled with how easily and fast it went together and how nice it fits! I put the sleeves in flat and then sewed up the side seams. I've wanted to try that method and since the Singer doesn't have a free arm this seemed like a good choice. The neck binding was off. It was too long, I'll have make sure I cut it right, not only did I not have to stretch it to fit, I cut off about 2 inches. It looks a little stretched, but better after I steamed the crap out of it, so after it's washed it may be fine. About 2 hours from laying out the fabric to wearing it. All in all, for a first try with a cheap knit from G Street's WALL of $2.97 fabrics, I'm way excited. I had only about a yard of fabric so this was a good match. I cut a size "V" and made no alterations (except the neck thing mentioned above). And I hadn't hemmed it yet in the picture. I see more of these in my future, maybe start haunting the XXL size teeshirts for the nice fabric

In other news, the green skirt is a wadder - it's HUGE to start and way too stretchy. Eh, no big loss, there was no passion for that project, it was a filler.

I also made (yet again) another pair of the infamous Marlene trousers. The flash washed it out, but you can see some detail with the lighter flash. Whew, they look great, they really do. But what a trial. I did everything backwards that I could think of: put the pockets in backward - twice; put the fusible interfacing on the wrong side of the fabric at the zipper (fixed with a Sharpie, LOL); made the pleat and dart the wrong way on one side; made one leg of the lining half backward (one seam right the other inside out). Surprised I didn't hem them folded out. I think because I was in a hurry, I wanted to take them with me. I made them from a beautiful black wool/camel blend from Fabric Mart. It's still only $7/yard and there's some left. It's really a nice trouser fabric - but very warm. I used the "other" side as the right side, so the basket weave doesn't really show. And lined it with the rest of the purple from the Burda skirt. I like the look and feel of the lining. I think the purple is a very rich look. I did the side pockets - the fabric side of the right pocket stayed backwards, it was too late to fix it when I noticed it - but no welt pocket yet. Hell, I'd've probably put it in with the pouch on the outside and in the center of my stomach on this pair. But I did finish, and I did take them them and wear them. I re-hemmed them today, they were a little too long. I won't get much more wear out them this year, though. They are definitely winter weight. But you should snag that fabric while it lasts. For $7/yard this is high end stuff.

Speaking of the Burda skirt, the March issue (I ordered my subscription last Saturday and my first issue came yesterday! That's some service, Pfaff should pay attention, here) has a dress with the same waist treatment. And it's their "special" pattern for the month that includes directions. NOW I know how to do the skirt. And I will likely make another one armed with that knowledge. And if you're looking at the skirt from January, get the directions out of March and you'll be done in a flash.

I want to RAVE about GLP. As mentioned, I got my first issue only a week after I placed my order. AND, I had asked to start with February, if possible. I received 2 emails apologizing for not being able to do this for me. The second one even provided local places where I might could find a copy (G Street included). This is, seriously, the best customer service I've had in, well, maybe ever. I responded to the second email telling them this. We all need a pat on the back now and then.

My son's birthday was last week. He's 21! Holy cow, how did that happen? He's coming to visit this week and over the weekend. I likely won't get much sewing done, but that's cool. I think we're going to drive up to Philly and see the historic district.

Safety First

Well, I have a whole new reason to wear safety glasses while sewing. I know we've all heard or experienced the dreaded needle break and fly. Personally, while I've broken many needles, I have never had one fly at me. But I have no reason to doubt those who claim it has. Especially after today. No, nothing sharp and scary like a needle. This was in innocent and benign spool of thread. Black. Not a cone, just a spool in plastic. About 1/2 full. The larger size, not the tiny one. I was making a bobbin on my Singer 201 and had the spool on the bottom spindle beside the tension wheel. You can see it in the picture, just below the serial number on the bottom right. My bobbin was in place, the wheel clicked down and the needle disengaged. Just like I'm supposed to do. And I got started on this, pushing the knee lever for all it's worth and the bobbin's winding like the wind. Um literally. It started going so fast that the spool spun itself off the spindle and flew right up and hit my granny, um safety, glasses and ricocheted across the room. I was stunned! Unhurt, but shocked! And, no, the thread didn't break, it just kept winding (a little wonky now) and there was thread all over the place. Looked like a cat went crazy in there. But, if I had been young with good vision and didn't need Target glasses to see my fingernails I'd likely have a black eye. Okay, at least a mark.
The only thing I can think is that the spool is (a) larger than Singer designed these for. Most of the old old spools were small. (b) lighter than Singer anticipated. The old ones were wooden. This was plastic - I just bought it at Hancock's a couple of weeks ago. I also have some Styrofoam ones from the 70's.

In case you're wondering, I was working on yet another pair of BWOF Marlene slacks (Yawn, I know, but the FIT). I've got a business trip coming up I want them for) The flying spool trick was only one of many incidences designed to prevent me from finishing these by tomorrow night.

Update on the sick Pfaff: I heard back (once) from Pfaff. There recommendation was to send it to them (I pay postage and insurance, of course) and for $30 they would evaluate it. Not fix it, not promise to fix it. No promise to honor the warranty. I think it was a canned response and they hadn't even really read my message. I wrote them back that I was hoping for a more proactive, customer oriented solution and recommended they work this out with my dealer, their authorized representative. We'll see, but I think it's a goner.

And in that vein I drove down the Sun/Sew/Vac store. They were having some kind of embroidery classes and the place was packed full of women eating their lunch (Five Guys) all over the machines. So that was a waste of time. **sigh** Pfaff/Bonny's has a week to work this out before I pull out the big guns (a.k.a. DH).

And as a consolation prize I ordered my subscription to BWOF today. Some things just can't be helped. And keep those safety glasses on!

Disappointing

I took my Pfaff 200C back to the dealer a couple of weeks ago (2 tomorrow) because of the nasty buttonholes. She told me it was "out of balance". Well, I hadn't heard back from them, so I called them today. They told me the circuit board was bad and needed to be replaced. And, because it is now 14 months old - not 12, 14 - the manufacturer (Pfaff) would not honor the warranty and replace the board. The machine cost $556, I know because the slip is next to me on the couch. To replace the board will be about $220. So, for a machine that is only a year old, I'm looking at a repair half the cost of the machine. I'm more than a little fumed and not really sure what I want to do. The dealer offered to take it "as is" for a trade in and would "make a good deal" - no dollar amount was mentioned on the phone. I DO NOT want to spend half the price of the machine to get it fixed, that's just crap.
Now, I know they are legally under no obligation. But 2 months?!?! And this really explains a lot of the problems I've had and thought they were just "me". That I hadn't sewn in years, that I had never used a modern machine, that I wasn't careful enough, that I needed a different foot - needle - stitch length, yada, yada, yada. Things like when I sewed in reverse then back forward it wouldn't stop sewing (sometimes, not always) and had to turn off the machine to make it stop (fortunately it sewed slowly) - because this is intermittant the dealer couldn't replicate it and didn't fix it. I was unable to turn off the "auto lock" feature, so it always tacked the seam at the beginning - not good if basting. The dealer said this was just the way it worked, but the book says otherwise. I asked about both of these last April. I was never able to get a straight stitch, it always pulled to the left. Forget about using the overcast or any near the edge stitches. I thought that was just me. And the buttonholes, I spent a year with stabilizers, ripping out, varying widths and threads... That I just didn't know how to do it.
I just really couldn't believe there would be something really wrong with a brand new machine from a very reputable manufacturer. This isn't a thousands of dollars machine, but it wasn't the Walmart special, either. I emailed Pfaff this evening, I sincerely hope they will work with on this. I know they don't have to, but the right thing to do will be to replace the board. I have really been kicking around upgrading and a Pfaff Creative (not sure which one, yet) was at the top of my list.

Because I'm still pissed

I'm not over last night's mess of a button hole. Truth be told, I'm not over having to put hooks on the last pair of pants I did or giving up on bar tacks on the pair before. So I sat down tonight and tried all the patterns. Total of 12, including eyelet.

All patterns were set up the same except the last 3 that have some pre-set restrictions. I lined them all up with a little green strip in the fabric and the last hole against foot. My machine has a one-step button hole with the foot you put a button in to set the size. I used a pretty good size button to get a large enough sample.

Then I pretty much just let her do her thing while I sucked my thumb where I stuck the needle in it. I started with pattern #17 on the right and moved through to #28 (eyelet) at the right. There must be a little Asian in me after all? Here are my abysmal results. I mean totally unusable with only a couple of exceptions. You don't even have to click on this to see how bad some of them are. Starting with #19, with a rounded end, they're garbage. I could probably use #26, and it's a way cool pattern actually - you should click just to see that one. And the mess of the eyelet? It only, sort of, made 1/2 the pattern. (that part's new, usually it does a crappy unclosed circle, not a misshapen comma).
I've tried stabilizing, different thread, different bobbin, multiple/single/sandwiched layers. I've sworn, cried, stomped and pouted. All to no avail. I sometime use my old Singer and it's attachments, but I don't have very many templates, so choices are limited.

And yes, all this has convinced me to take it to the dealer. This is not acceptable and they need to make it right. I'm out of town this weekend, but it's on the calendar for next weekend. And thank you all for listening. Feel free to report your button hole woes - or others, for that matter. Misery loves company, after all. Did I mention I have bronchitis?

A Rant and a Rave

First the rant. If you've followed along for the past year, you'll have gathered that I really struggle getting my Pfaff to do button holes. To the point that I start to sweat when it comes times. I've had so many really bad ones, spent so many hours picking them out and even wadding up an almost finished garment. Well, here's the latest mess. First the trial. Not too bad, if you don't care that they don't really start and stop at the same place (look at the tops), so I can't use any of the keyhole or rounded templates. Only the straight ones, so they still work. Anyway, I thought I was as good to go as it was going to get. Here's the real one. On my trousers. With the waist band attached and top stitched. Seriously, I almost cried. I still might. I'll try to pick this mess out. And maybe try again with the Singer. WHY!!!!!????? It started at the right, worked to the left, straight stitched up to the right and then zig-zagged 3/4 of the way back and finished off. (if it seems backwards, this is the underside, it shows better in the lighter bobbin thread) DAMN IT!

And my rave, as a follow-up to last night's tracing paper. I promised Kathryn I would confirm whether the Beinfang paper will bleed through a Sharpie. That's be "no". None. Here's my amazing art work. I'll be incredibly humble and decline any requests for commissions. Sorry. And here's the paper I put underneath This is a really cheap absorbent made for kid's art paper from Ikea. You don't see nothing do you? That's be point. Not one mark went through. Now I didn't have a wide Sharpie (isn't that an oxymoron?) but mine are new and, well, juicy. And I held them in place for a few seconds a couple of times. BUT they will smear if not given a few seconds of alone time. And yes, for those of you who are interested, yes, that IS permanent marker on my finger and yes, it is still there after washing my hands.

And finally. Thank you all who left such positive messages concerning both my son and Stem cell research. I was afraid to post this, afraid I would loose followers, that I would blasting messages concerning abortion, GW Bush and where I am likely to spend eternity. I received only positive messages, I didn't delete a single one (if you're keeping score). I am touched by all your comments and proud to call you all my friends. THANK YOU!

Rice Buddies

There was some chatter at SG about rice bags this week and I've been thinking about making some for a while before. I finally got around to doing this today.
First, I want to show you my really cool bag of rice. You can't see it, but there's even a zipper right above the purple line on top and a little carry handle.This is apparently what happens when you send your husband to the store for rice. It came from Safeway, which is in an ethnic neighborhood where he gets his hair cut, so I knew they would have rice by the bag. I don't know what I'll end up doing with it, but I love it. On another fun note, the barber shop was celebrating Chinese New Year and were treating all the customers a catered lunch and they were dressed in their best native clothing. Sorry I missed this.

I turned about 8 of this 10 pounds into rice buddies and pattern weights. I had some scraps left from the PJ's and thought this would be a good use for them. Here's the whole kit and caboodle. The small and oddly shaped ones are meant as pattern weights, the official rice buddies are the one at the top and top right. I made them a bit fancier. This was a lot of fun and I used up all the penguin fabric that makes me smile, so I'll get to smile more. Can't beat that.

And speaking of the PJ's, they're finally done. They' turned out pretty cute. I'm happy with them. Not pleased beyond words, but they're cute and much better than old sweat pants and a tee shirt. I detailed the trials and tribulations of the sleeves in a previous entry, and here's the neckline. I did do the green binding. It turned out ok considering I've never made my own binding and this fabric was a PITA to work with. And it doesn't look as wonky on as it does in the picture. I used a double needle at the edge of the binding with green in one needle and blue in the other. Pretty cool, eh? I really like the way it finished the inside edge. Click the image to enlarge. I used December BWOF #113. It makes a nice sleep shirt, but I wouldn't make a real shirt, it's really big - droopy under the arms and too wide. And I cut the smallest size.

AND I finished the Burda Slacks from the December issue. They've been hanging out in my sewing room for a long time waiting for the hemming. Took me all of about 5 minutes to do it. No excuses. I lightened the photo so you can see some of the detailing. Mostly I want you to see the awesome zipper. Compliments of Sandra Betzina, this is the prettiest and easiest fly zipper I've ever done and am no longer afraid of zippers. In fact, I cut another pair out today from some Italian (Zegna maybe, I have my doubts) wool from Michael's from BFF and my trip up there last February.

Oh, and I broke my Sewing Machine foot. Actually, I don't think I broke it - I didn't hit it or bump it or anything. It's broken. The T foot with plastic front. The plastic broke from the tip of one. It still works, but will snag some fabrics, so I have to find a new one. This pic is complements of SewVacDirect. I may just order form them while I have the site up. This is a Janome foot and my machine's a Pfaff, but a drop in bobbin without the IDT.

I still have one UFO - an unhemmed skirt. I'll likely do that tomorrow.

And I made up for no pictures from the last few entries.

More on my stash

Or more stash. Really. All this talk of downsizing the stash didn't phase me one little whit. If anything, it encouraged me. I made a run (or a slow crawl through traffic, actually) to the Fall's Church G Street yesterday afternoon. My main goal was the January BWOF and some lace hem tape for a skirt. But, of course, THE WALL called to me. It wasn't the best haul I've ever made, but I did find:

The top right is a cotton, likely to become a summer dress, the bottom right is a narrow wale cord (repeat after me, "BURDA-PANTS, BURDA-PANTS") , bottom left is a knit for a tee, and top left is destined to be a blouse. I have 2.5 yards of the dark floral, so it should make a dress with some to spare for a change. And I did remember my hem tape - I didn't photograph it, I hope you aren't too disappointed. And they still had a couple copies of the January BWOF, so my Burda-envy is over. There are a number items I want out of that one:

And a couple of skirts I couldn't fine the drawings for. If I get around to the vest, it will be my first venture into "tailoring". I recognize this will barely be getting my big toe wet in the pool of tailoring, but ya gotta start somewhere.

(All line drawing complements of BWOF http://www.burdafashion.com/en/Magazines/Burda_World_of_Fashion/Trend/1270777-1000019-1679401-1679404.html

And finally, the moment you've all been waiting for. A peek at the PJ's. When I was shopping with my son (21 years old) for Christmas I saw some really cute PJ bottoms at either A&F or American Eagle. I think AE, but just not sure. All those stores blend together into a cheap cologne haze of dim lights and loud music. (dang, I'm old!). They were cute, but for $30, I figured I could knock them off and have some cash to spare. So I quick trip to Hancock's (um technically to purchase 1 spool of black thread) netted some super duper cute flannel for 1/2 off, so about $3/yard. If you look closely, you'll see the penguins are drinking martini's. I get a kick out of that every time I look at them. The green fabric was also from Hancock's - same trip. It's a silky polyestery blend of something that frays into strands of pale green angel hair. Quite annoying. But they turned out well, I think. I didn't take a picture of the inside waistband, but it is also the green. And the cuffs are lined to just below the knee and turned up. If you click and enlarge, you'll still see the pin for hemming. I didn't take time to try them on and hem them yet. These took longer than I thought, due to the need to finish every seam - not only to prevent the proliferance of green angel hair, but also lumps of dark blue fuzz, and I did a few things out of order. I had no directions for the cuffs or waistband, I was just winging it. And the green stuff is horribly off grain, so it was, overall, not a delight to work with. But I still luv my penguins. My button holes for the draw string turn out awesome. The best buttonholes my Pfaff's ever made. I have the top cut out of a dark blue knit (likely from THE WALL at G Street - is was in my stash) from the December issue. Without the belt. It's the same as the nightgown top with long sleeves and, duh, shorter. I was thinking of binding the neck with the green, but I'm not sure the fabric's up to it. We'll have to see. I'll work on it this week as time allows.

We'll be sticking close to home for a few days and let the H00-HA of the inauguration calm down. We live and work very close to DC and on a major route into the district. On Tuesday, well from late Monday night, there is no access via MV from Northern Virginia to D.C., the only way around is the outer beltway. We work in N. VA, so it may be really easy for us to get to work, as all the thru to DC traffic won't be there. OR they could be stopping so many morons that can't read the huge in LIGHTS signs that traffic will be a snarl. Our office, in their benevolent wisdom, chose NOT to close on Tuesday (and Monday isn't a holiday for us). Wish me luck!

Finally, an update

It's been way too long since I've posted. It's just been crazy, I've had a number of travel obligations, in fact I'm in Detroit right now but my son ditched me so I have some down time, including Cleveland and Kingsport/Abingdon and Columbia, MD. My company landed a BIG new job that has entailed a lot of long hours and days away from the office and home.

First, I want to post a couple of pic's from Karen and Beth's Organizational frenzy. We reworked her sewing room while I was there. And yes, the organizer in me was truly in hog-heaven. So here are a few before & after: And 2 more:Just look at all the storage space we made!!! We took piles of stuff from chairs and old shelves and organized it so she can access it and keep the sun off the fabrics. And say "hi" to her Aunt there in front of the shelves. She hung out with us while we worked. Having seen pictures of her house, I'm sure she approved of our attempts, though, compared to her, we were a bit amateurish. Ah well, room for improvement.

I also finished the batik skirt. I LOVE this skirt. It's cute, fits well and is as easy to wear as a pair of shorts. Since I took this pic, I reworked the waist band - the pattern gave no lap at the waist so it tends to gape. I also lined it. And I had all kinds of fun with my twin needle and top stitching. I may top stitch everything now. Hmmmm.

I've tried, again, to make pants. Just a dismal failure. I don't know where to go with them other than the dumpster. They are just too long in the crotch. When I get back to DC, I may try undoing all my crotch seam adjustments and try taking them up from the waist band. That will leave an odd space for the front zip, so I may sew that up and make them side zip. *sigh** I like the fabric - a light grey stretch with just a tiny pinstripe picked up off the G Street $2.95 table on a trip with BFF in February. And I REALLY want to make pants for fall. I have a lot of fabric I've stashed with slacks in mind.

In other sewing news.... I've been on an EBay Spree. I am now the broad owner of more button holer templates (still missing some) and a BLIND HEMMER for my 201. I am in love and lust with the hemmer. It is just wonderful!!! I've never done well with my Pfaff on this (it doesn't like anything that has to be done with the fabric near an edge), but the pictures in the Singer book finally lifted the veil of confusion on how to fold the fabric. And it feeds so pretty and straight. I almost look forward to hemming. Almost.

I also thought I bought a zig-zagger, but it is actually another hemmer. A case of Caveat Emptor, I suppose. I didn't pay enough for it to be mad, just disappointed. A friend emailed me the ZZ manual, though, and it has all kinds of 50's Singer ideas for using the ZZ-er that I CAN use with the Pfaff's stitches. So not a total waste. I'll be deco stitching when I'm not twin needling.... Hmmm, no time for actual construction? After the last pants, that's not such a bad thing.

And I made my first purchase from Vogue fabrics. It came right before I left for Detroit, so I haven't had much time to pet the new fabric much. I do see a long sleeve tee out of one of the "eyelash" knits. Or bed sheets? Sure is soft, so I may just carry it around like a baby.

While here in Detroit, I wanted to deposit some checks that have piled up. I filled out deposit slip, endorsed the checks and dug my wallet out to get my ATM card so I'd be ready. No card. Nope, not in the slots, not in checkbook, not in the change holder, not in the bottom of the purse, not in the side pockets, not in the brief case. Damn-it. Just gone. Last time I used it was at Union Station, couple of weeks ago. The money was in my wallet, but no card. Dumped out everything. Pawed thru it. Swore at it. Realized that I could get a new one issued today at Kroger if I hustled. Kevin wanted to go, for groceries, so we piled in the car and took off. I started with the deposit and told the teller I'd lost my card. She updated my account with my Driver's License and went to call to cancel the card. I put my license back in wallet and shoved it back in my purse and up flipped my bank card. I yelled "HERE IT IS"!! She hung up, mid-sentence, on the home office. How close was that?

And, totally off topic. And for my guy lurkers (do I have any of those????) I hate to show you this, but felt you should know. There will be no more Rambo movies. He is buried in the same cemetery as my parents. May he RIP.

Well the Columbia party was a real snoozer. Traffic was bad, I had to drive an hour back so I didn't drink, everyone was out of there by 6: soccer practice, Christmas programs, etc. Thursday nights just aren't great for parties. Tomorrow night is the big one in DC. Bound to be better than last night. But the weather's going to be bad, Warren may be stuck and not get here in time, and he'll be in a foul mood. Who-hoo!
I went sewing maching shopping today and ended up with a Pfaff Smart 200C. Been playing with it, tons of fun, so far. Decorated the hell out of an old pair of shorts. LOL. Bought a couple of patterns, etc. at G Street Fabrics, I'll make a pair of jamie bottoms tomorrow. I forgot elastic for the waist, need to run up to Hancock. I got some knit fabric to try, as well. Never sewn knits before, so I'm looking forward to a new challenge. I'll have to post some pics as I go.
Think I'll post this puppy and call Pizza Hut, now. I'm tired, busy day, lots of traffic and tough decisions.