Meet Jake!

Here he is. This is *THE* one! We took a long drive out to the breeder on Thursday and definitively selected him from the litters. He's a Devon Rex, low allergenic, short/wavy fur, huge ears, big eyes, known for their wonderful temperment and desire for human companionship. He was snuggling right up on my chest and neck, and in the pic he's cozying up with DD#2.




We can't wait to take him home. I need a soft, fuzzy, and warm computer and sewing companion. DD#2 wants a pillow and homework companion. The only thing I can definitely say is that he will be loved by all. We are SO looking forward to his arrival in about 3 weeks. It's been two years since our last cat died of old age, and we miss having a fuzzy, friendly, loving cat in our house. Over the next three weeks, guess what I'll be doing! Yep, securing all the threads and everything else that little kitties love to play with in a sewing room.


There is a story behind all of this as well. About 20 years ago, DH and I went to a cat show and picked up three business/cattery cards. DH was cleaning out some stuff about two weeks ago, found those three cards and showed them to me. The first two cards were the two catteries related one of our cats that died 4 years ago. One was the cattery of his mother, the other of his father. The third card was simply one we picked up because we found the breed interesting, but there are so many different breeds at the shows. What was breed/breeder on the card? The Devon Rex! And the owners of that cattery 20 years ago sold a cat (for breeding purposes) to our current breeder and helped her get started. It's really a weird coincidence, but really, I believe very few things are coincidence. It was simply part of the "master" plan--it was meant to be.


I hope you enjoyed meeting Jake and happy sewing! Especially if you own any furry or feathery helpful, loving critters in your home.

My Recent Projects

I asked in a previous post where does time go. It flies by, and yet it seems like I have nothing to show for it. What I didn't mention is how totally unexpected things can happen that can befuddle, bewilder, and leave a person (that would be me ;) !) actually shocked and confused. Kind of like walking into a wall. Yeah, friendships can do that to a person.

So, in order to forget the negativity of the situation, I'm reconnecting with my projects. I need feel-good sewing and have something to show for it. So I refocused my much needed attention on sending in my PR Top 10 dress by the date it absolutely needed to be shipped, made a quickie skirt in 45 minutes with a leftover remnant from my "Mini" maxi dress, embroidered and stitched up my great nephew's baby quilt that's been sitting around for 4 months at least, put the final two embroidery lines on DD#1's tennis jacket, and am working on a quickie summer top that maybe will be worn once during the rest of the summer. We have to get at least one more day in the 70's after today.

So here they are in no particular order:

The baby quilt made from Minky and cotton flannel

The quickie skirt I stitched up yesterday and wore today:

The quickie top still a work in progress--I'm futzing with the placement of the straps and will add the facing. I plan on making it short too. Sure hope it doesn't look like a potato sack on me like it does on my DTD.

DD#1's RTW jacket with the last two lines of embroidery for her high school tennis career (She finally got the No. 1 singles spot she's always wanted AND was voted in as Captain.) What a royal pain it is to make sure alignment is as close to spot-on as possible.

Sewing truly is my feel-good-about-the-world activity. It makes the stars all seem like they're in alignment and makes *most* things right.

On my last post about kiddie sewing machines, I wanted to make a clarification. My friend and I did not know each other well when she bought this machine for her daughter. She did not know I did any type of sewing at all. That is why she did not ask for my help. She simply was buying what she thought was a decent machine for her daughter, a beginning sewer.

Peg mentioned the Janome Sew Mini. That would have been a much better option. The reviews for it make it seem like a nice little machine. However, I think the caveat of this machine is it doesn't make buttonholes? So I still couldn't recommend a machine like that to a newbie sewer. It would make for a nice, portable convenient backup though.

Overall, my point was if pattern companies were going to allow their names to be placed on a beginner sewing machine, make sure it's a quality machine from a quality/reputable company. It certainly doesn't need a bunch of bells and whistles, but it needs good basic features found on regular, full-sized machines. And we all know that a good, basic machine CAN be purchased for about $100. But this $70 toy machine was no bargain. Peg, had a very good point--don't shoot them all down before trying them. However, it would be hard for me to shoot down a Janome ;) . I love my Janome machines.

Good night, and happy sewing!

Where Does the Time Go?

Honestly, I don't know! Can someone help me get it back?

First, it was back-to-school shopping. With four kids, each one has to be taken separately, at least two days for each child. Taking all of them, even only two is of no joy to me. They're much more enjoyable one-on-one. It's about appreciating uniqueness, not thinking about how I'd like to send them to some third-world country so they can understand about squabbling. Really, if they're going to squabble and fight, it better be about worthwhile like lack of food or shelter.

And let's talk about my wallet. Not only do I have no time, I have no money. Our public school went to uniforms this year. The BOE calls it a "standardized dress code". Whatever. It means buying all four kids totally brand new wardrobes.

Even with that, shirts, skirts, and pants all need to be hemmed. The shirts can't hit past mid-behind, the pants can't touch the floor, the skirts and shorts have to be at the knee cap. Not what I call enjoyable sewing.

So how about sports. Call me a chauffer. That really is what I am, but get no tip. "Take me here." "Take me there." "Come pick me up." "I need to be dropped off." Then it's fundraising. DD#2's softball team is requiring each set if parents to come up with $200 in sponsorships. So I'm dressing up every day for the next week going all over the place praying that some businesses will provide sponsorships for her team. There IS a reason why I switched out of Marketing when I was in college. I hate sales and I hate selling. Especially during these tough economic times.

I still have to beat the deadline for the PR Top 10 Contest and send my dress in. It has to be mailed tomorrow. Where's the box for mailing? I don't know. The dress was just dry cleaned though so at least that is done.

I want to sew! My Coverstitch has only taken baby steps. Haven't even had time to really get into it and try some new things with it.

This is the second week of school and I have yet to have a "free" day to accomplish some sewing that has value to me, like making a dress, pants, skirt, or coat. My bathing suit! The one I started in May or June? It's still being worked on! I'll finish it for Christmas LOL.

And blogging, don't get me started. I'm scared to look at the blogs I have subscribed to and the ones I plan on subscribing to. My blog is so boring too! First, the look is stale. The content is abominable 'cuz I haven't done much sewing lately. And no sewing means gives me a very cranky frame of mind. Hence, this blog post today. It's just a lot of complaints. And I'm sparing everyone my biggest gripe for the week.

Happy sewing to you all! Some of us have to have some fun ;) !!

My Other New Baby and Sewing Activities

The other day, DD#1, DD#2, and I took a 1 1/2 hour plus trip to visit our new baby. His name is Jake.

Here's a pic of baby Jake OR what baby Jake will look like:

Jake is either the middle kitten OR will look like the black one on the left from a new litter. I have to call the breeder tomorrow because she said we could have the champagne-colored one if the purchaser did not send in the deposit in a timely fashion. If not, we have picked out a little black boy kitten from the newest litter since the current 2-month olds are all technically sold. Either way, we will be so happy.

Our baby is a Devon Rex. We were looking into a cuddly, social cat that is low allergenic due to DS#1's asthma. We had 4 Persians at one time and he tolerated them well, but to be on the safe side we're going with a minimum fur coat that is supposedly well tolerated by cat allergic people and asthma sufferers. Do you know what the fur of a Devon Rex feels like? MINKY!!! I didn't know it at first, but I am embroidering a sample of Minky for my great nephew's embroidered blanket and it feels just like the Devons at the breeder. The adult Devon's fur is very short, a little wavy, and oh-so-soft!!! They are great little cuddlers and like to sleep with their owners :) . DD#2 is so excited about this.

So our "adoption" date is either the beginning of September or the beginning of November depending on which kitten. We are currently preparing for his arrival. I have to make sure my sewing supplies are stored well and my patterns are in a safe place. Cat lovers know how much cats love all things paper!

Back to sewing. As mentioned above, I'm working on sewing an embroidered blanket--Minky on one side, cotton flannel print on the other. It will be embroidered with my nephew's name, birthdate, length, weight, etc., the usual baby vital stats. Next up is working on a tree stand cover for this guy I know who is a hunter. He bought the fabric and I'm going to make it for him. I was going to have in pay me, but perhaps I'll barter and ask him to make me a tall cat stand. I'll buy the supplies and carpet, he's good at making things so maybe he could create a nice one for our new baby.

One quickie summer top is ready to be cut out, maybe shorten a previously made wrap skirt, perhaps make a simple elastic-waist skirt from a great EOS ITY-like print fabric. Then work on some summer capris that I was supposed to make last summer, and of course my bathing suit which will be finished in (probably) December! In between I keep working at my bra and panties. The panties are a quick project and I'm still working on a better fit. The bra takes a bit more time and I need a nice block to work on bra #2. Will bra #1 ever get done? Currently it is a no. I seam ripped enough that now I have little holes in the fabric here and there. It's okay, that's how we learn, from the mistakes we make.

I did have time to enter my Madison Avenue dress I made a while back in the PR Top 10 contest. Of course, I don't even expect to make the finalist stage, but it's nice just to enter. I've already been inspired by several who have posted the creations they have entered. Many of the patterns I wouldn't have even given a second look by the pattern covers/illustrations, but the work of PR members is, of course, amazing! I just loved MelissaB's, LonestarLady's and VeryPrairie's interpretations found in this thread. I'm hoping all will be posted soon.

That's it for now. Hope everyone got some sewing in this weekend!

My New Baby!!!

There she is! Isn't she a beauty?!?! My new Janome CP1000. I've been waiting...and waiting...and waiting to bring her home! Since last October in fact. She was on layaway at the dealer and they took care of her during that time.

She took her first baby steps today working on DS#2's travel baseball shirt. RTW sizing is so crazy. The Adult Small t-shirt I ordered for him for his tournament was just the right size, but all were on the smaller side of the range. The kids that got Youth Small or Medium looked like they had a baby's shirt, no kidding. So the new baseball jersey was an Adult Small and the sleeves were between the elbows and wrists, and the hemline of the shirt was between his crotch and knees, closer to his knees actually. So I pinned a new hemline and sleeve hemline to his liking. I took off 4" of length on the sleeves and 3 1/2" of length on the shirt hemline. I have to be careful not to take off too much because the shirt has to stay tucked into the baseball pants.

So here is the shirt:

It really looks much better on him. He was beaming when he put it on after coverstitching the new hems and felt great. My new baby did NOT disappoint!

Below is the closeup of the coverstitch on the sleeve hem. Isn't that exciting! Some pretty stitching indeed. I can't wait to look into the binders and fellers. I checked out Debbie Cook's tutorials on the accessories so maybe with some birthday or Christmas money I'll splurge and get some accessories. Sometime during the next 3 weeks I'm going to sit down and review Debbie's tutorials and try some things with my CP1000. The fact that it has narrow, wide, and triple stitch is just a super thing to me.

ETA...End result. A happy boy!

That's it for machines. Maybe I'll save up for a new serger at some point in time, but my current serger is doing it's job. Jet-air threading really appeals to me though. One thing about my new machine-- I was very surprised to find that the CP1000 has tiny screws for the needles like my serger. Hmmm...that's not my fave feature by far. Those screws are so tiny. Oh well, I'll get used to it.

Okay. Enough gushing. Back to housework but the break to post this so worthwhile! No longer do I have to lust over Karen's and Robin's coverstitching endeavors. I've joined the club :) .

ETA #2...All right. So what was I doing this evening? Geek stuff. I read the Coverpro manual for about a 1/2 hour and studied the pics and text. Good night type of reading for us sewing lovers :) .

The Mini "Maxi"--McCall's 5893

Here's my mini version of McCall's 5893. Previously I made the maxi dress--love, love, love it! I like the short mini version too. DH says it's kind of retro? Think 1960's.

I don't know about that. But it's cool. It's breezy. Feels like I'm wearing pajamas just like the maxi dress. My kind of outfit :) . If only all outfits could be like this! Here are two pics of the front and one of the back. Even picked up some little flats on clearance. Not the prettiest, but far better than what's in the shoe department in my closet. The fabric is an ITY print from Spandex World in NYC, and it's a dream to sew up.

Numbers!

52, 34, 33, 32, 22, 16, 14, 11, 10 !!!

Yes, that's right. Numbers! I've never liked them, never cared for math, Algebra, Geometry, etc. And at my age, they still bog me down. What is the significance of those numbers I have posted? They're the number of blog posts needing to be read in some of my blogfeeds!!! It's the same feeling like when you get behind on a project and feel like you'll never catch up. Or the thought of a delicious weekend, only to find you don't want to step on the scale and face the music. It's why I don't own a scale and haven't owned one in 20 years LOL.

At some point in time I'm going to catch up. Slowly but surely I've been reading and muddling my way through blog posts.

All while working on a second swimsuit muslin (this one might actually be wearable!). The first one was obscenely low. The inner bra is what bogs me down. I need it to be just right and I'm very particular about it.

Yesterday I wore my second pair of panties to assess my pattern modifications. They're a little loose in the back, that was after I tweaked the pattern. At first, I was thinking the back was just too big so I took out some length. Now what I think is that the front is simply too long at the crotch as I've examined some RTW panties for the front crotch seamline. It seems like it falls 1.5-2" farther back than it should. I think I'll add back the length I took off on the back and simply shorten that front crotch area. This will be for panty no. 3. If I find that it simply isn't too my liking, I'm going to drop down a size. I've found my measurement for my KS bathing suit points to a Medium, but there's no way this size worked on my figure and I dropped down to a Small which is much better. I'm thinking the panties might be the same way. I used a Small panty size but think an XSmall might work better. We'll see.

Three days ago I whipped up another dress from my McCall's maxi dress pattern. This is the mini dress version. Pics are forthcoming but my camera battery died :( . Must purchase a new one.

More later.