Bag lady

Ok, so some people have a crazy obsession with shoes, or clothes, or hats. I am obsessed with purses. I love them, and I wish I had the money to carry all the cute Coach handbags I see everywhere. Now that my machine is happy again I was able to finish the super cute purse I mentioned earlier and I LOVE it!!




There is only one problem, It is perfect for spring, but it is now officially fall. I don't care, I'm going to use it for a while anyway, but I'm actually considering making another one for the fall/winter. My family has been telling me I am crazy for even attempting little things like sewing in zippers and when they saw this purse they couldn't believe I would even attempt it. Well guess what, I think it was actually much easier than the apron I made for my mom. It looks really complicated, but the pattern was surprisingly pretty straightforward. I think I put my mom in her place today, she was really shocked and said it looked "professional, like something you would buy at the store". And for once I'm not even going to criticize my work or knit-pick, I am actually pretty proud of it.

Here is the inside which has a zippered pocket.

I usually like to put my cell phone and things like that in my purse without having them floating all around so I can't find them when I need them. So I deviated from the pattern and added my own pockets on the other side. They worked!

And here it is with some stuff in it.



Love it!

Whew!

She's back and healthy! ("She" still needs a name. Suggestions? I'm thinking of being totally unoriginal and naming her Bernie or Bernadette or something, but nothing is really ringing the right bell yet.) Anyway, it was a super easy fix and she is purring like a kitten now. I'm so happy. Here's to finishing my purse this weekend, and dare I say starting on another project as well? I took my first dance class in over 8 years last night. I felt like I was "home" and it was so nice. So, now I need a cute bag to carry my clothes and shoes. Eee! I'm getting excited just thinking about having dance shoes that fit me again! Well, happy sewing this weekend!

Slevage and breakdowns

Yesterday I gave my dog a piece of knotted up fleece selvage and she went CRAZY over it like it was the best toy on the planet.

Why is it that she has this ridiculous amount of overpriced toys and she sticks her nose up at them most of the time, and then selvage provides some of the best entertainment she's had in a long time? Lesson learned I guess.

In other news, I am EXTREMELY UPSET to say that my machine just had a major breakdown. Ever since she came home from her clean/oil/adjust she has had a very annoying squeak. Well I guess if I was a good mom I would have stopped sewing and called to complain right away, but I didn't want to drive the 108 miles that taking her back in would require. Especially since I just did it last week and was told she was in perfect working condition. Yeah, apparently she was not. I think she was screaming in pain and trying to tell me something was wrong. Today she just totally locked up. The needle will no longer move up and down, it is getting hung up on something. I am so upset because I was determined to finish this SUPER cute bag I started before I start my NEW JOB on Monday and won't have as many sewing hours left in my days. Oh and the biggest problem of them all, apparently the Bernina factory in Switzerland had a flood years ago and it ruined all their old and now non-reproducible machine parts. That means if there is something wrong with her that requires new parts it will be a death sentence. No more Bernina sewing for me. I seriously think I'm going to cry right now. I can't lose her. So if you're so inclined please say your prayers, I know I am. I will be taking her back to the "hospital" tomorrow. It's a sad, sad day.

She's back!

My machine is back at home and she is all pretty and clean and oiled and ready to go! Yay! I missed her.

Since she has been home I made some keychains for my mom and myself.

I made a binky clip that I'm not all that happy with but it was quick and easy and I love the owls.

The project I am most proud of though is this toddler sized jumper. It was my first article of clothing and I love it. It was just what I had pictured in my head.

See the pear fabric in the background? That's going to be an apron one of these days. I have so many more projects lined up that I can't even decide which one to start next.

My "baby" is in the "hospital"

or in other words, my sewing machine had to go to the repair shop today. It was time. I got a request for some orders that require an insane amount of sewing (which I still haven't decided if I can tackle in the given time frame or not, or what on earth I would charge) and I just didn't want to burn up my poor motor. No one in my family knows when it was cleaned, oiled or adjusted last. It's been at least 13 years. I live in AZ. Things dry out fast here. Like I said, it was time. I should have taken it in before I even started sewing, but I didn't want to fork over the money. Now I realize I don't want to fork over the money for a new machine and if this one breaks I won't be lucky enough to own another Bernina. So, because I really have no clue what I have on my hands here, I am also having them look at it and tell me what it is worth. I couldn't even begin to guess, but by the reactions of the ladies in the shop today it must be a good thing. I can't wait to find out. I am also really hoping some of "her" previously mentioned "attitude problems" will be ironed out with this little visit. (I just realized she needs a name!!) I am told that she is in really good hands, so that is good. I drove awful far to take her to a certified Bernina shop instead of the several other closer general sewing repair shops so I would certainly hope so. I can't stop rambling, cause I miss her, and I am bored without her here. Is it Tuesday/Wednesday yet?

Banned from any more shopping

Apparently I'm just bad at taking pictures in a timely manner, because that is really what has been holding me up on posting recently. Well that and the numerous full day shopping excursions Corynn and I have been going on lately. I'm officially banning myself from spending any more money for the rest of the month. Let's see 22 days, do you think that's possible? Yeah, I don't think so either. But it sounds good in theory. Hopefully I have enough fabric stockpiled at this point to keep me busy for a while. Anyway, here is what I have been up to:

When I first told my mom that I was going to start sewing her immediate response was "Oh, can you make me an apron?" She didn't want just any apron though, she had a specific idea of one in her head. We never ended up finding exactly what she wanted but we came up with something close that we actually think might better suit what she wanted anyway. Now, she was adamant that I not post her picture online, but does it count if I crop it so all you really see is the apron?




After the apron pattern that made the apron MUCH more complicated than it really was, I needed a quick and easy project…or at least I thought that’s what I was doing. I had some stuff on hand already to make burp cloths from cloth diapers. You would think this would be simple enough, sew a simple strip of flannel to a diaper. Piece of cake! Not so much when you have an old sewing machine that has issues and needs help. First I tried making a burpy with the diaper folded up. I think I ripped it back apart 5 times. Mom even tried. My machine needs help. So the end result is still not up to my standards and I sort of gave up on that idea. Next I thought I would try one with the diaper flat, and a piece of material I cut too narrow the first time. I didn’t have very high hopes for it so I didn’t really care at this point. This is what I ended up with:



In doing the second diaper I learned a “secret trick”. It’s not the ideal way to make one of these, but with the current state of my machine it was necessary to sew in a strange way in order to end up with a final project that was up to my standards. This was a good thing too because by this time I got an order for some baby shower gifts: a “blue geometric print” ribbon blanket and 2 burp cloths. And this is what I made:




I am happy with them. Now what to make next? And how to come up with the money to service my poor old machine with the achy bones and the attitude problem…