I feel a new purchase coming on…

Except I’ve recently vowed to completely pay off my business credit card before making any more purchases of things that aren’t inventory (and even then, they must be absolutely necessary).

I mean, we’re only a few months away from that happening, though, so I can dream…

I’ve always wanted an embroidery machine. Well, not always, but at least since I first knew they existed. I’ve wanted one that’s a nice balance between features and price.

This seems to fit the bill.  The Singer Quantum Futura. Uses a laptop. Oh, yeah. Can embroider pretty much any image I might find. Even pictures. Retails for about $800.

If you click on the link, be sure to chuckle a bit at how the page title – as shown in the very very top bar of your browser window – has the product name misspelled.

The thing is, some of the reviews are not so great, and only reinforce my existing opinion about Singer, which is that Singer is unfortunately not a maker of reliable sewing machines any more. Old singers are great. new singers, not so much.

So ultimately, I probably won’t get this machine. But it does look amazing, doesn’t it?

Freezer paper stencil test

Inspired by this post at CRAFT, and wanting a way to make fun designs on the Roman shades I’m making for the studio, I decided to give Freezer Paper Stencils a try. I not only wanted to see if I could do it and if I was happy with how it looked, but I wanted to see how it would work on the linen shades, and also if it would work with regular wall paint instead of fabric paint. Happy to report, it is easy, and it worked fine with the regular paint on linen.

Go to the link above for a complete tutorial.

Tape design to waxy side of freezer paper, facing the waxy side.
Cut out design.
Iron on to fabric/Tshirt.
Dab on paint.
Let dry.
Peel off.

Easy peasy!

Completed: Bathrobe

I picked up this pattern on sale for 99 cents a while back, thinking about the short sleeved robe. Plus, I’ve always liked pajamas, even though I don’t really wear them. (I mean, talk about impractical. I usually just go for flannel pants with a sweatshirt in the winter or a Tshirt in the summer.) I thought maybe I’d make myself a set of pretty jammies. I’ve talked myself out of it again, for the record.

But I did want to make a summer bathrobe. My only robe is fleece, and it’s great for winter, but altogether too bulky and hot for summer. I just want something to cover my shoulders on those mornings when it’s just a bit too chilly in the morning for just a Tshirt.

And I did own three yards of dark purple cotton knit, which was originally intended for a horrible maternity outfit that I never finished, but which would be perfect for a robe.

I actually decided to make the long sleeve robe, figuring that if it was warm enough to want a short sleeve robe, it was warm enough to not need a robe at all. I finished it up in one evening. Turning the tie right side out took a full half hour, and the rest of the robe took a half hour, also. (I’ll post a tutorial on how NOT to spend a half hour turning a tube right side out soon.)

It’s a little messy on the inside. They have you use ironed-flat bias tape as the facing all around the front of the robe. For whatever reason, I couldn’t get it to stop twisting funny while I was sewing it (possibly a combination of the stretch in the knit and the stretch in the bias tape? and I gave up trying, frankly. So it’s going to irritate me every time I put the thing on, but I guess I’ll get over it eventually.

Another project for the Use What You Have craftalong at Craftster.

WIP: 1940s Playsuit

So I have this rolly bin in my office/workroom and in it was a bunch of started or cut out sewing projects from, uh, when we lived in our apartment. So, pre-1999. Found this outfit in there, cut out but still attached to the pattern. I remember starting it, actually. One piece of the bra top had the darts sewn in, but that’s it. Funny, because it was actually a really easy project. At first. I finished it in about 1 hour a day for 5 days. (That’s 1 hour a day in Mommy Time. Which means constant interruptions.) At first.

Then I tried it on. Holy smokes, the jacket and overskirt are HUGE. I’m going to remove the pockets on the skirt and take in all the seams, then re-attach the pockets (so they’re even this time, lol). I’m also going to try adding a seam in the middle back, removing about three inches, and seeing if I can somehow adjust the front of the jacket so the buttonholes are in a better position/centered. They are off center in a lame-ass attempt to pull the jacket tight enough.

It’s fun, though. I hope I can fix it. Here’s the pattern.

Another project for the Use What You Have craftalong at Craftster.

Completed: Linen Dresses

And here we have four sweet linen dresses. The plain linen is headed for Etsy, the others all have homes already.

The smaller of the two blue dresses is for my niece’s first birthday in June. The larger is for her little friend, Olivia. Olivia’s house was broken a few weeks ago, and Olivia is having a hard time adapting to all the change she’s suddenly experiencing. This little dress is woefully inadequate to make her feel better, but we all enjoy presents when we’re down, so I hope this will help in some small way. Both dresses have matching bucket hats, which are not pictured. (broken = a drunk driver drove through their house going 60 mph – he was going 80 before slamming on the brakes. He drove literally through the house, front to back, in the front, stopped on the deck, also took out a chunk of the second floor.)

The dress in the middle picture is also for my niece’s birthday. I thought the fun crabs were an interesting statement, and I had just enough left over for a pair of matching bloomers.

And, as I said, the plain one is headed for Etsy. These dresses were so fun to make, I couldn’t stop at just three!

PS, I joined the Use What You Have craftalong at Craftster, and this project fits well within that craftalong. All made with stuff I already owned. (I actually kind of had this dress in mind when I bought the crab fabric, though.)

Favorite Craft Blogs

Here are a few of the craft blogs I have in my Bloglines.

SouleMama. I find her work to be very inspirational, perfect for a little crafty pick-me-up. I tend to be not so cutesy as many craft bloggers out there, and find SouleMama’s stuff to be just cute enough, without making me want to vomit. How’s that for an endorsement? “Does not make me want to vomit.” Seriously, though. Amanda uses a lot of linen, vintage fabrics, and repurposed fabric. Love it. And she’s an unschooler, what more could you want?

Old School Acres. A fellow Iowan, Laurie makes mostly stuffed items – adorable pigs, owls, etc. Though this not anything I will ever make or want in my own home, I love the look of her stuff, and enjoy her writing. She uses a lot of wool and tweedy stuff.

Angry Chicken. Another sewer who makes linen goodies for her children. I love it. I love seeing crafters who use a lot of natural fibers. She seems like one of those moms who would be super fun to know, and super fun to have as a mom.

Sew Retro. I’m supposed to be a member of this blog, but it’s beginning to get frustrating to ask repeatedly over and over to please send me an invite so I can actually post only to get no response. However, it is fun to have a theme to work towards, particularly since my vintage wardrobe was feeling a bit stale and consisted of entirely too many items that I simply cannot wear with a nursling. I enjoy seeing what others have created from past patterns, as well.

FutureGirl. Futuregirl makes plushies and crocheted handbags. Again, nothing I would ever do, but I so enjoy seeing her items. She is creative in a fun way. I was going to say “unique,” but that’s really the essence of creativity, isn’t it?

All Buttoned Up. Melissa, like so many of my favorite craft bloggers, sews mainly for her children and her home. Her stuff is so pretty in that coordinating prints way that I can never master. She’s also posted an awesome tutorial for making fabric boxes that I’ve bookmarked but not yet tried.