I had to go the beach this morning to collect some marine sediment for tonight's Marine Biology lab and I saw this cute little moon jelly. He was just cruisin' around in the cool water and bright sun. I really wanted to join him in the water.
Ahhh, the serene life of a happy little cnidarian.
These are the little things that help me remember what a cool job I have.
My beautiful little niece, Kaylee, turns one this weekend. I made this Ruby doll for her. Ruby is an easy little doll to make with your fabric scraps. I made Kaylee's with blonde hair and I added some Poly-pellets to her bottom to give her a little weight. I had lots of fun making Ruby. I'm sure I'll be making lots of other Rubies in the future.
I also finished my chickens and polka-dot Duro. I made the whole thing on my birthday present Singer 115. The machine sewed beautifully. With a stitch so fine, it really doesn't matter that you can't back-stitch or zig-zag. This is the only thing I'm going to make until I take it in. It needs a little professional attention and a better cleaning than I can do.
I really like how the dress turned out. I ended up re-drafting the entire pattern. It has kimono sleeves, the midriff band goes all the way around, and the skirt (both front and back) is gathered just the tiniest bit, so it doesn't really hug the hips. The only thing I'll change for the next time, is to bring up the hem a few inches. But, for some reason It kinda hangs funny on my dress-form. I think it's because of the lining I used. The polka-dot fabric is really thin, and you can see right through it. So I lined the entire dress in some fabric leftover from Halloween 2004. It's this really soft slippery polyester stuff, but I think it's a little heavy for the brown polka-dots. Oh, well, at least I bit into my fabric stash a little making this dress. I'm planning on wearing it to Kaylee's birthday party with some cute brown suede boots I have.
My Mom got me one of these beauties for Christmas. I've been so excited to have something so cool to play my records on. It plays records, CD's, cassettes, AM/FM, and I can even play my ipods on it! It's nice and compact so I was able to put it in my sewing room without any rearranging.
I've been listening to all my old vinyl while I sew. I've had fun with Cyndi Lauper and Fleetwood Mac. But I have to say that the all time best sewing record is FAITH. Yes, you must capitalize the entire title; that's how George Michael wanted it.
The only bad thing is that my new turntable has fueled my need to buy useless junk on ebay. I'm so excited to be receiving the Prince Batman soundtrack on vinyl in the mail any day now!!!
Thanks Mamma!
From my new Singer 115 of course.
Michael got me a beautiful Singer 115 in a very ornate treadle cabinet for my birthday. The treadle cabinet works beautifully as a desktop for my serger, and I wasn't really sure what I was going to do with the old machine that came in it. But I decided to look into the serial number anyway. It's amazing how as soon as you name something, you become attached to it.
I couldn't find any pictures of this machine anywhere online, and none of the old Singer collector's websites listed it. So, I called Singer's 1-800 number and gave them the serial number. This is what they told me:
She was born January 8, 1917 in St. Jean, Quebec, Canada. The gold decal design is called "Wings".
Now that I know a part of her story, I love her and have to keep her. I wonder how many different dresses she's made. I wish I knew more about her. I oiled her up really well, and she sewed the most beautiful stitch I've ever seen. I still plan to take her in to get serviced, but first I think I need to make one dress. :)
I found in my fabric stash that I have an unlikely couple that may just make the perfect Duro. After posting my Duro post, I decided I should make a Duro that's a little more fun.
I think I'm going to alter the pattern that I used in Duro number two to have kimono sleeves and a midriff band that continues all the way around the back. But no tie, that was one of my least favorite aspects of Duro number one.
In the meantime I'm working on a cool silky striped shirt for Michael. It's lookin pretty good!
I'm finding that you can't really call yourself a sewing blogger unless you have a Duro post.
So here's mine...
Duro number one is Simplicity 4072. I would have never tried this pattern if it wasn't for my cool fashionista cousin Lindsey. We made one for her, then I had to make one for me. I used a purple Asian floral quilting fabric for the body of the dress and a sea foam green charmeuse (or Shamu) for the trim. Its really comfy, and looks amazing on Lindsey. That's all I have to say about that dress.
Duro number two is Simplicity 6615. This is a much more flattering Duro-type dress. I'll use some variation of this pattern more often than Duro number one. I made it in a slinky polyester paisley that I got for just $1/yard. I lined the entire thing in a cream colored polyester that I also picked up for $1/yard. I didn't use a contrasting fabric for the bands, and I added the trim to the midriff band. I'm planning to try this one out a couple more times. Might be a good option for making a Duro version of "The Little Black Dress"
