Overwhelmed

Chastity: I know you can be overwhelmed, and you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?

Bianca: I think you can in Europe.


-Ten Things I Hate About You


Christmas is upon us.  I am feeling like that kid that's worried he's going to be left behind in school because I just cannot seem to get my projects finished like I planned.  I'm not even done with Alex's vest or my pants, but Christmas is taking precedence.  Since my mom and hubby read this I'm not going to go into detail with what I'm up to.  Let's just say I'm feeling the pressure because I have many things started, but not completed.  (As a side note, I can't believe how expensive nuts are!)

 As soon as I have something to show I will show, for now....

Here's a picture of a baby in a Santa costume (and the reason my four year old may need therapy eventually)

I Love My Ass...

but, evidently, Simplicity does not.  Amazing Fit my err...ass.  I'm so very frustrated with these pants right now.  I measure and measure and I can't seem to make it work.  I measured my (high) waist and it's a 40, then I measure my hips and they are a 49 (baby got back to spare).  This, of course, is off chart for the pattern.  Finally, I measured my crotch length and it was, no surprise, off chart as well. 

Calculating from the chart on the back of the pattern I might have been able to get away with a 24, but my pattern doesn't go up that far.  (I want to state for the record I have a Levi's size 14 jean in my closet that I wear often and my ass is fabulous in them.)  I'm considering tracing the largest size (22) and then I will have to make adjustments.  I pulled out my Fit for Real People to figure out what needs to be done.  Apparently this book is only useful for shirt, skirts, and dresses.  They have a whole other book for pants.  That's just wrong.

I'm also considering just chucking it out the window and having my personal cabana boy serve me a Pina Colada...

Option three is to just put it on the backburner and make Alex's vest. 

Perhaps a combo of two and three?

See and Sew B5203

I finally finished the shirt.  I was having problems finding the time for a while.

 
The instructions said the collar was supposed to be hemmed with bias tape.  I bought some bias tape that I thought would work with the color of the shirt.  No, really really not.  Too neon green.  Being this shiny (and kinda awesome) green I realized unless I made my own it wasn't going to really match.  I decided to go with a narrow hem instead.  I had done a ton of them for my Halloween cape and with the method from Threads I felt confident it would look great.  I accidentally read the instructions for View A though so no hole in the back. (D'oh!)

Then I was having sleeve "issues".   I looked at the instructions, but decided I wanted to do the sleeves so that it was one long stitch from the cuff of the sleeve to the bottom hem.  Eventually it became obvious that wasn't going to fly with these particular sleeves.  They wanted to be done exactly as the instructions said.  Annoying.  There was a lot of stitch and rip before I just succumbed to the instructions. 

This is honestly the best picture of the shirt on me.  Hair and makeup, but no smile.  :(  I'm starting to think my husband just likes to take pictures of me where I look unhappy.  I did smile, even did a little dance, but those pictures didn't come out right.  Perhaps it was the dance.  Too awesome for the camera to handle.

Here are pictures of my "new" workspace.

You can't see the picture, but the desk has a long arm.  I have a blank dry erase board, a calendar dry erase board, a magnetic board (shown holding pattern instructions!), and a yet to be mounted (hehe) cork board.  So much nicer than just making room on the dining room table.


Next up...measuring my big beautiful ass for pants.

Fall Plans!

Last Saturday I made the trek to Joann Fabrics in the town over (i.e.  the only non-quilt fabric store in 50 miles).  They had Simplicity patterns for .99 so I got the limit of 10 on those.  I had a list of fabrics and notions I was wandering around trying to find when I decided to try their back for the clearance fabrics.  Once there I noticed a sign for their Columbus Day sale.  Clearance was 50% off!  Jackpot!

Now on to my plans.  First up is a pattern that I had (my mom may have sent it, but I dont' remember) that is seriously simple.

This is a crepe backed silk in my favorite color of green. I'm making view B.  It's not going to be super warm, but it's long sleeve and will look good under a coat.

Next we have pants.  Super swank and awesome tailored to my big booty pants.

There is going to be a lot of measuring and double measuring.  The pattern has three fits:  Slim, Average, and Curvy.  With my big beautiful goddess body I'm probably going to need the curvy.  The difference between view A and B is a cuff on the bottom, which I keep going back and forth about.

I'm in love with this fabric.  It was $7/yd on clearance so that made it $3.50.  It's a poly/wool blend.  It's really soft and doesn't feel "artificial" like some poly's I've felt.  I love the blue stripe.  The original plan was pants and a jacket, but I just don't feel like any of my jacket pattern "go with" this fabric.  I bought the rest of the bolt (5yds 17 inches) so I will have lots to work with.

I didn't forget about Alex in my planning.  I'm going to make him a vest.

This was not a clearance fabric.  It's sweatshirt fabric, but I had a 50% off coupon.  Alex insists he won't wear vests so either he's going to have to get over it or I'm going to have to make it with no armholes and zip him up so he can't fight it.

Lastly, this isn't new just something from last year that I've been staring at all summer.

This is wool and feels super warm.  Again, favorite color of green.  When I purchased this from fabric.com I was supposed to get 5 1/2 yards of it, but they accidentally sent me 1 1/2 yards.  I contacted them and they didn't have any more of this fabulous-ness so I had to get something else.  Kinda sucks, but such is life.  This was going to be the very gentlemanly coat of Simplicity 2526 till I realized that it would look oddly out of place with Alex's everyday wear of jeans and long sleeve t-shirts.  He's more of a kick and tumble kind of kid and since we don't church like we should he has no occasion to dress up.

Anyway, now I'm trying to figure out what to do with it.  There is a winter-ish dress I'm thinking about and a couple of tops.  I was surprised that jackets take more material than a dress, but when I think about it I guess it makes sense. 

I have no idea in what order I'm going to attempt these things.  I'm slightly scared of the pants since they require a bunch of measurements, but I've been scared before and things have worked out fine.  The other two should be a quick-ish sew.  Off to the tracing board!

So What's Next

We got back a week ago.  When we left September 10th it was still seasonably hot here in WV.  I had planned on working on a cute top and a summer dress when we got back.  That would have been appropriate in Austin where it's currently 86 degrees.  However, here in WV it's at least 20 degrees cooler.  I decided to go through my fabric and patterns and found that the majority of my planned projects for myself are for warmer weather.  For Alex I'm set pattern-wise, but still don't have the needed appropriate fabric.  The few patterns I have for me that aren't spring/summer are for jammies and coats.  This means I have to either brave Joann Fabrics or just order from Fabric.com.  So that's what's next:  A Fabric Hunt.  As soon as I have a plan I will update!

Vacation!!

There will be no posts or sewing till the end of the month because I'm going on vacation.  Walt Disney World and a Disney Cruise!!!

FINALLY!!

The costumes are finished (kinda).  They were three costumes and four items.  It was almost like a sewing bootcamp for me.  I'm so very glad they are finished.  I was stressing about it something fierce. 

Prior to this year I really only sewed a few things a year and took my sweet time on them.  Summer is a hard time for me to work on sewing because even though my son isn't in school there are a lot of things we like to go out and do.  It also doesn't help that we aren't really on any schedule during the summer months.  These costumes needed to be completed by this Friday (Sept 10) because we were leaving to go to Walt Disney World for two weeks including Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.  We went last year as a family of pirates (bought costumes) and had a great time so we really wanted to go again.  Next year I think we will actually go in October though so I have a little bit longer to work on costumes.

For my son I used pattern Butterick 3244 for the astronaut (View C) to make Buzz Lightyear.

It's not exact, but I did study dear old Buzz trying to get it the best that I could.  I will be adding some embellishment to his bib...eventually.  The boots, the cuffs, the belt, and the bands are made of felt.  The hood was supposed to be as well, but I made it out of broadcloth (like the jumpsuit) because I just don't think felt on your head is a good idea in Florida.  I made a 4T for my son who turned 4 last May and is in the 50th percentile for height and weight.  I really proud of it and I was pleased to see that Alex loves it too.

For myself I decided to go as Red Riding Hood.  For the cape I used Simplicity 5840 and for the dress I used McCall's 4948.  The cape was featured previously, but here is the whole effect...

And just the dress...

It's a little big because in my rush to finish I decided this wasn't going to be the first pattern alteration I made.  This was only my second zipper and I hate them with a fiery passion.  It looks fine though.  Especially since no one is going to see the back since I will be wearing the cape.  I was going to hem the cape to a length closer to the dress, but decided the longer length would work fine.  I used Gingham for the apron and broadcloth for the sleeves and top (the same cloth I used for Buzz's jumpsuit).  Since I have a boy and I have never made myself a costume before these are The Girlest Sleeves I Have Ever Made.  Very puffy.  Cute though.

When I decided to do this costume the companies hadn't come out with their patterns for the Autumn yet.  Imagine my surprise and frustration at seeing McCall's 6187 which is a Red Riding Hood costume.

Lastly we have my husband the Jedi. 

I didn't make him pants because I ran out of time.  I suppose I could run out to Joann Fabric and whip something up, but I'm not going to.  ;p  He and I agreed the pants don't matter as much as the top.

He's always wanted to be a Jedi.  Last year the plan was for him and Alex to be Jedi, but when I was shopping for fabric he had an opinion on what kind of fabric he wanted me to use.  This year he was not consulted and broadcloth was once again used.  I am a fan of broadcloth for costumes because it's what my own mother used every year.

I am extremely glad these are done, but kind of frustrated that they took me so long that I'm probably not going to make Alex another Disney shirt before we leave.  That's fine though, just means he will get to celebrate more when we get back.

Red Riding Hood

Woo hoo!  I have nearly completed the cape!

Excuse the folded caplet, it really does lay fine.

It's Simplicity 5840 view A.  It still needs a clasp and to be hemmed.  I'm holding off on the hemming till I have the dress finished and can figure out how long I need it.  After I started sewing I realized most red riding hood costumes don't have sleeves and are more cape like.  This is a little more medieval, but I'm hoping if I shorten it up (a bunch) it will look fine.  My husband stated that as long as it's red and has a hood people will know what I'm going for.

This thing was a mountain of narrow hems.  The sleeves, the middle edges, the caplet, the hood.  I don't know if I saved any time with all the sewing the Threads method requires, but I definitely got a lot less frustrated.

Picture just doesn't do it justice.

This was also a lesson in READ THE FRAKIN' DIRECTIONS.  I was ticked at Simplicity because I cut out all the pieces and didn't have room to cut out the hood.  In the directions (just looking at the picture) it seemed I was supposed to cut it out of some random piece of stray fabric.  I managed to cut it in two pieces instead one in the scraps and added an extra 5/8" where they were supposed to be one so I could sew them together.  After I get to sewing I find out I was only supposed to cut one of the caplet and cut the hood out from the layer under that.  Oops.  You can't tell so no harm done, but lesson learned.  I had another cutting error/mad at pattern maker for no good reason, but I'm going to save that anecdote for the post when I finish the dress.

Quick Note of Thanks!!

Thank you Threads Magazine!!  I am using their instructions for narrow hems (same Threads July issue referenced in Mickey Shirt #1) and it has made things ten times easier.  I'm working with a polyester interlock and it's extremely slippery.  This technique has given the fabric the weight needed so it doesn't roll.  Hopefully this will cut down on frustration and make things go quicker.  Fabulous!

No Power!!!

My power went out from Wednesday at 5pm to this morning (Friday) at 4am.  I just taken a dinner break from sewing the red riding hood cape when this happened.  It was really annoying.  The upside I guess is that because we had to go out for meals yesterday we spent the whole day out.  I'm not a going out kind of person lately, but it gave me an opportunity to get the car the 60,000 mile check up (important when driving from WV to FL in 5 weeks) and I got the final notions needed to complete the costumes.  I have the Jedi tunic half done just hanging in the closet waiting on hwt interfacing.  The cape didn't really need anything so it's almost finished (again, narrow heams = Evil).  Hopefully I will have something to show after this weekend. 

Thanks all who are reading this because without you I'm just talking to myself and that's crazy enough when I do it out loud let alone out in public.

The Plan

The last week or so has been all about tracing and cutting.  I'm still not done, but I wanted to update with "The Plan" for the Halloween costumes.

Last year I was supposed to make a Jedi costume for my husband and son.  It didn't happen due to procrastination.  Also due to the fact that my husband had unrealistic opinion on the fabric he wanted me to use.  (Wool?  For Halloween season in Texas and Florida?  Really?)  This year I ignored my husband took matters into my own hands.  Here is fabric and pattern (Simplicity 5840):

View D

Next up we have my costume.  We are taking these costumes to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World in September.  They can get kind of touchy when you dress as a princess.  It's not allowed on a regular day (for adults).  For the party they allow it, but they watch you like a hawk to make sure you at no time do you try to pass yourself off as the actual princess.  (Everything short of following you around and yelling "You aren't affiliated with us!".)  For this reason I'm not relying on my princess Belle knock off dress (that and the fact that it's a 18-22 and I'm a 14-16 so I drown in it).  Disney hasn't had a Red Riding Hood movie (yet) so that is what I chose.

The cape:

View A

The dress (McCall's M4948):

View A

Loving the plan for the cape.  Too cool for just Halloween.  I can probably wear it while I vacuum and iron.  No one will ever know...


Finally there is the plan for short stuff.  I finally convinced him Buzz Lightyear was cool than a pumpkin or a gingerbread man (and learned my lesson about looking at costume patterns with my four year old next to me).  I'm going with Butterick 3244:

View C (obviously)

I still need to get the purple and the grey, but the jumpsuit is all white so I'm concentrating on that first.

Four items, tons of pieces.  More than I thought there would be.  Half way done with tracing and cutting though.  Wish me luck!!

Mickey Shirt #1

This is the first shirt I've made for our Disney trip in Sept (Simplicity 3856). 

Doesn't he look thrilled.

I had originally cut out the pieces last year before the move.  Then moving craziness ensued and it was lost in the shuffle.  Then it got shelved for other projects.  Finally I hunkered down to get it done and my concern that it's too small now was validated.  When I cut this shirt out I cut it for 3T.  I hoped it would run big and still fit when it was finished.  Not so much.  When I had him try it on I realized it was too small, but he can still wear it open with a tee underneath for the trip (I'm hoping). 

I really like these sleeves.  The little sewn in fold is adorable.  Unfortunately, this was the last pattern where I cut out the tissue included instead of tracing so I'm going to have to either trace and make adjustments myself or just wait till Simplicity is on sale at Jo-ann's again for 99 cents.

We now have 65 days till our Walt Disney World trip so I'm freaking out about our Halloween Costumes for the party.  I have them planned (Red Riding Hood for me, Jedi for Brian, and Buzz Lightyear for the little monkey), but now I have to actually make them.  Costumes really are my favorite thing to make so it will be fun, but I'm just paranoid I won't finish them in time or something equally disappointing will happen.

I wanted to let y'all know about a tip from the July 2010 Threads magazine that I'm loving right now.  With the Halloween costumes some of the pieces are bigger than the standard tissue paper I use to trace them.  Previously I just taped tissue together, but in the tips part of the issue they mentioned using plastic tablecloths on a roll like you use for catering.  I got mine at Sam's Club and it's perfect.  I used a black marker to trace and it doesn't bleed through.  So awesome.

Huge Project

Just a heads up that the sewing has taken a backseat while my husband and I clear out the third bedroom in our apartment to make an office for him to study and for me to sew.  It was filled with boxes and packing materials from our move.  I have a new sewing table coming from Wal-Mart that is going to help me get my stitch on whenever I want instead of trying to find a space where ever is free.  Hooray!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame....

My latest project was a pair of shorts for Alex (4 as of May 8!) to wear to T-Ball (Tee Ball?).  In my previous post (Stash) I had mentioned the fabric my mom had sent me that was gray with a blue stripe.  Well, it was just begging to be turned into shorts.  I used Simplicity 2907, which was the same pattern I used to make Alex's St. Pat's button up shirt.  I made them in 3T and didn't do the top stitching on the left leg because it just didn't seem to go with the feeling I was looking for.  I also didn't sew on the top of the lower pocket.  I have it, but I was in a hurry.  I have the piece and may put it on later.  I really love the waistband which isn't elastic all around which makes it flat in the front.  Alex is a boy so pockets are always fascinating to him.  My husband really liked the fake fly on the front.

The funny thing about making these was that I had them completely cut out Thursday May 6 and then sewed them almost to completion on Friday May 7.  Then they sat around waiting for the waistband and hem till Saturday May 15 (right before a T-ball game).  I had meant to finish them the Monday before, but there were obstacles.  Not only did I have a hard time finding the time to do it, but it had gotten cold so he wasn't going to be able to wear them anyway.

So they were finished Saturday just in time...

Finish Them!!

That's what's being going through my head in a Mortal Kombat voice for weeks. Well, they are done. I'm home alone (and sick) so I did my own photography in Alex's bathroom. Still, here they are...

First up we have the dress that needed a zipper. Zipper added...and I can't zip it all the way up.

Now with sunburn!

I thought it would be tight in the cups, and it is a little, but it's really just the wrong size. The pattern I had only went up to 16 and that's what I made. Maybe if I take up kickboxing it will fit...

Next up we have the shirt I have been working on FOREVER.

This is what happens when you forget sunscreen (and love chocolate)...

It's supposed to be a really easy pattern, but my downfall was the material. Super soft = Really hard to work with. Rolled all over the place and was an exercise in patience. Nothing seemed to go right with this shirt. It was also too small. It fits, but...not the look I want to sport. Particularly across the boobs. I may wear it sometimes anyway if I'm just hanging around the house. I'll probably hem it, but didn't think it was a pressing issue.

For right now I'm so over sewing for myself. I'm going to work on shirts for Alex. He's a growing boy and summer's coming at us fast and furious so some cute short sleeve shirts are called for.

Narrow Hems Are The Devil

So that's where I'm at today. I'm making a really simple top out of jersey knit. A really really soft jersey knit. (I love touching it so you can imagine how much I want to wear it.)

View B

Thing is that the bodice is all 3/8 with a narrow hem. Really hard on my eyes. Hems annoy the crud out of me anyway. Necessary, but annoying. I just want to sew pieces together!

Also annoying, if I have more than one of the same piece it always seems the first piece I don't usually have a problem with the hem or attaching the sleeve or whatever needs to be done, but I ALWAYS have a problem with the second one. I did the armhole on the first side with no problems so imagine my surprise when the second armhole didn't want to cooperate. This has happened to me with almost every garment I've done on my new machine. The first one always makes me go, "Oh, well that was easy. This will be quick." Doesn't work out that way.

I think I may need more deadlines in my life. I know that when I was trying to finish those St. Pat's shirts I was on a roll, but with no deadlines except Sept for our next Disney vacation I'm not pushing myself as hard to finish any projects.

Excuse the grammar mistakes, by brain no work right today. :)

Old Fashion Stare Down

Things have been hectic the last week or two so the sewing has been slow going. As I've said before I don't really have a space. My sewing stuff takes over 1/4 of the dining table and then the floor on that side all the way to the door. So if other things are taking up space on the table I have no space to sew. (Except the floor and that seems dangerous and, most of all, uncomfortable.)

I do however have a cardboard cutting/measuring board that I spread out on the bed and trace patterns and cut fabric. This means I have cut pieces just laying around staring at me. They are just taunting me with the simplicity of the planned projects, but the lack of time and space. I'm a fighter though so I WILL BE VICTORIOUS....hopefully like this coming week...if I can get all my ducks in a row...

Stash

For the majority of my "sewing life" I've always picked a pattern or project, bought exactly what I needed, and not had much left over. So that means really no stash. Well, with stress, boredom and, of course, my new sewing machine I now have a stash of fabric that I don't really have a plan for.

I tried to only buy for projects I had planned, but sometimes I needed to spend above a certain amount to use my coupon or get free shipping (I'm all about the free shipping) so I would get an extra yard or two of something else. Sometimes it was just on sale and I would think I had a plan for it.

Official "stash" status came with the box my mom just sent me with fabrics from her old stash. I spent this afternoon measuring it all out. Ten different fabrics, from about 1-4.5 yards, and six patterns.



Highlights:


One with farm animals on it (for an apron I'm guessing?),


one funky paisley (will make a great jacket/shrug),


a grey with navy stripe that reminds me of a baseball uniform,


and a pink print that looks like it was from 1985.

I have no idea what to do with the 80's print (big oversized off the shoulder tee with leggings and slouch socks?), but it just cracks me up when I look at it.

To top it off she sent a Hancock fabric gift card (don't have one near me, but can online order) so I can get even more fabric.

She also sent me a book from Amazon. Fit for Real People: Sew Great Clothes Using ANY Pattern by Pati Palmer and Marta Alto. Now I can figure out how to fit my fantastic boobs into patterns!

Spring Dress

This is the dress I've been working on.



It's So Easy It's Simplicity. (I hate when they pass up an opportunity for a good pun. Why not It's Sew Easy It's Simplicity?) It's also a size 16 because I bought the wrong package. I am not a size 16. That shirt I made for St. Pat's was a 20 because I made the rookie mistake of going by my bust measurement so it was too large.

This is how far I've gotten:



Like many projects before it the is a stall at the zipper. I know I'm just going to have to suck it up and put it on, but I'm just being lazy about it right now. I tried it on and it fits in a lot of places....except the boobs. Once the zipper's in I'm going to pray it zips up on my body. I have wonder-wear that may help it along.

Next up...one shirt, three different fabrics. That's the plan anyway. I have three different stretch knits that I'm making into the same shirt pattern. I know that's a little weird. I buy the same shirt in different patterns in off the rack too, drives my husband crazy (says the man with 15 different polo shirts).

Not Dead, Just Feel Like It

I just wanted to post that I'm still around and working on a garment. (A dress I think I may look like a sausage in, but it's good practice. And perhaps I will lose a few more pounds....hahahaha, yeah, right, sure, and maybe simians will aviate out of my posterior.) Thing is, without getting too downer heavy, I had a horrible cold and then as soon as that was over we've had problems with the selling of our house in TX. These problems have gotten me very upset and tense. And a little depressed and weepy (and a little gag-y). It's not just the house selling, but the money issues with moving and paying a rent and a mortgage. The credit cards have come out too often in the last month or so. Anyway, I'm sure God will help me endure and He will provide. If you practice religion I would appreciate prayers to help me with this difficult situation.

Easter Wreath and Kid Craft Boat

This past weekend I decided to finally do my Easter wreath for my front door. To be honest my front door has been naked except for a hook since Christmas. I was trying to do a St. Patrick's wreath, but I didn't like how it came out. I made this with things from my local Dollar Tree (with the exception of the spray paint).




The ring itself was a light beige, but I like darker colors so I spray painted the heck out of it last Friday. I had found wire rimmed ribbon with the festive egg pattern and wrapped it and ended with a bow (securing with hot glue at strategic points) and then using a pink wire rimmed ribbon folded in half to make a loop to hold it. Next I hot glued plastic fillable eggs and Styrofoam egg ornaments to the bottom. I glued them not only to the wreath, but to each other in places so if one comes loose it can hang on to another egg.

Second, our Kindermusik homework. We were sick last week so we missed class. I kept meaning to look in our lesson book to see if we had any homework, but it slipped my mind till earlier today. It turns out we did have homework. We had to make a boat. With no car and only what we had on hand this is what we came up with...



First we drew a triangle on a cereal box (it was about 6 inches or so) and a matching one out of construction paper (scrapbook paper would have been cute too). We probably could have used card stock, but I wanted something sturdier. I had Alex cut it out the triangles. At this point a more thinking ahead mom would have had their kid decorate the construction paper with markers or stickers (or stamps, or whatever). I was not that mom.

We then used tacky glue to glue the paper to the printed side of the cereal box. I hole punched a hole for the sail. Then I cut at all the points. Fold each side up and fold each corner over one another. I then cut off one of the overlapping corners and hot glued the remaining corner together. Now you have a triangle with sides, a nice base so no one goes overboard.

We then took a straw and put it in our hole. We cut ours to a little more than 5 inches. Secure it on bottom (I'm a hot glue nut so that's what I did). Then we drew a sail out of construction paper and Alex cut it out. This time I was a little smarter and I let him decorate the sail with markers. I think hole punched three holes in it. I cut the top of the straw at an angle because it helped it slide right though the holes. We are both pretty jazzed about it. It of course could be embellished and cleaned up a bit, but I like the made by a three year old charm of the rough edges and crazy marks.

Cranky Sharing Time

So last night was going to be like every other Friday. Some pizza and some flicks with my guys. Then I got the lame idea to go to Joann's because I didn't want to go into town this weekend and they were having a McCall's pattern sale.

As I've stated before, Joann's is pretty much all we have here with the exception of a high priced quilt shop. My mom used to work at Joann's when I was in high school (or college, sometimes it all bleeds together) and her and her co-workers were always helpful.

When I got there I saw two people working. An older woman and a "young" girl (younger than me). Another "young" girl arrived after I got there. I'm used to my Wal-mart back in Round Rock Texas where there was a woman always working that was really into fabric and helping people. Even at the Joann's in La Frontera they were kinda helpful. I know just from living here the last three and a half months that people in West Virginia don't believe in customer service. Like anywhere. Restaurants, stores, auto repair, anywhere. The Wal-mart greeters have frowns when you come in. Whenever I find someone that's helpful I go directly to them when I get where ever I am going. OK, whatever.

After finding my patterns and notions I needed I went to find someone to talk to about interfacing because I couldn't find the weight I needed. The older woman was ringing people up and the two girls were in the front of the store just yakking away. When I approached them they looked at me like I was interrupting their deeply important conversation. Then they really had no idea what I was talking about and weren't willing to help at all. Didn't even want to leave to go look at the shelf with me.

Then I find some other fabrics I needed and the older woman cut them for me. All the while one of the girls is yakking at her (instead of helping the customers that are lined up at the register or are wandering around looking for associates to help). I have no idea where the other girl is, but I'm confident she sure wasn't helping anyone.

I then remembered something else that I needed so I went to go find those fabrics. I come back to the table and there is finally someone else there (not in uniform so I don't know how anyone would know she works there) and she was good with the customer service, but she admitted she doesn't sew so she couldn't answer any questions. Frustrating.

Almost all the fabrics I bought were on sale, but I have an inkling I got mischarged on at least two. (So new rule, only go to Joann's when I'm bright eyed and bushy-tailed.) Then I had spent too much. I usually do a tally in my head while I'm shopping, but it got away from my and went from $40 to $90 awfully quick. (Damn fabric!) So, and I know how neurotic this is, I can't sleep because I spent too much money and I've given myself a stomach ache.

I know where I went wrong. I should have strolled in there gotten my patterns, my notions, and then only two regular priced fabrics for my two coupons and strolled out. No, I got over-excited like a new puppy (without the peeing on the floor, of course) and kept getting fabric. And, much like a puppy with an abusive master, I will keep going back to Joann's even though I feel like crap when I leave.

Just wanted to share...

Alex's St. Pat's Shirt

I mostly finished Alex's shirt.



It has no buttons, but I knew with the cool weather that he was going to have to wear something underneath anyway. He really likes this. When Alex was born the motif of the nursery was Frog Prince (my favorite color is green) so throughout his life he's had a lot of things with frogs on them. (I also call him The Allie Gator so he's got a bunch of those too.) I used the shirt pattern from Simplicity 2907 and the fabric is from Joann Fabric. I re-did one of the sleeves (the super poofy one) so now it's totally a boy's shirt.

I was going to applique a tee to go with it, but there was a slight problem with the tee I was going to use. I had bought a bunch of tees from Target on clearance. They were just in a big stack at $1.50 a piece so I bought a bunch. Fast forward to a few days ago when I pull out one that I'm thinking of appliqueing. I unfold it and....it has little girl sleeves. I checked the rest of them and it's the only one. Bummer. I should have just used the tee he's wearing, but I didn't remember he had it till it was too late.

Next up....I have no idea. I found the Mickey Mouse shirt I had been working on before the move and I could probably work on that, but I'm not sure. I have a bunch of those It's So Easy It's Simplicity patterns I'm thinking would be quick and good practice. I will have to go shopping for odds and ends though (bias tape, zippers, lining fabric, etc.) because I always miss something on the back of the envelope when I'm shopping.

Happy St. Patty's!

Mommy's Little Princess?!

Soo...the sleeves on the shirt I'm making for Alex didn't turn out so good...



This one is puffy...



This one is folded...



And this one got eaten by the shirt monster...

I foresee some seam ripping in my future.