Mini-Skirt Apron

It was 10pm, and I had the inclination to sew...

Don't do this.

Vuala: one pocket!

I wanted to embroider a mushroom on it.

Next day

This is him trying to escape.

Picking out buttons.

 Cheboo, after all that work, doesn't like the pocket.

Sewing buddy:)

This is one of the videos I used to learn how to embroider:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL2Kv_vo8l0

I split the thread in half, using three strands for the smaller mushrooms.

He's getting acclimated

Pockets for a hedgehog

I have a hedgehog. His name is Cheboorashkah based on the Russian cartoon character. I call him Cheboo ['chay-boo'] or Che-che for short. 

Meet Cheboo

Che-che is a runt. He's very small for a runt too. His favorite place to curl up is in my hoodie pocket.

June's humid weather is too warm to wear hoodies, though. So I took a plaid skirt that I really like but never wear, and am converting it into a half-apron complete with large, front pockets.

There needs to be an extra layer between my legs and Cheboo on account of his quills.

This type of project is apparently an idea new to YouTube, however, this video has probably been the most helpful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09IbTd57wFU

One of about four practice tries

Operation, go.

All that's left is the pockets!!

Pillow-T for Little-C

My sister asked me to sew her son's favorite T-shirt (that he's sadly outgrown) into a pillow. She could do it herself, but I have her sewing machine… 

So I YouTubed how-to videos and this was the best one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqHfhXgqAl4 

I couldn't follow this girl's directions exactly, however, seeing as the T-shirt was already so small, so I left the sides, sewed the bottom and the sleeve seem.

In my hunt for an old stuffed animal, I found an old downy pillow in the attic and used that for stuffing. 

I then reversed it to right side out, and began the process of stuffing through my one open sleeve. 

It is best to find an unused corner of the yard 

I then hand-stitched the sleeve up, although I should have used the "invisible stitch," from inside out. 

Next I ran to ShopKo and purchased a fur-roller to get excess feathers off the wee pillow. 

My main mistakes, or "learning experiences"as I like to call them :D , were as follows:

1. Downy feathers poke through cotton. Luckily these were really really soft downy feathers, so it shouldn't be aggressive when little-C is cuddling with it. Plus the downy will make it extra squishy. 

2. Next, I should have sewed both sleeves the same, and hand stitched a small center section on the bottom, but little-C is only 4, so he won't care :)

 :)

Button Experiment #1

For some reason I couldn't find a video for a four-hole button sewing lesson. However, I did find one for a shaft button, which I just happened to have in my pack-rat sewing case.

I have a thing for buttons, ever since watching 'The War of the Buttons' as a kid, a 1994 Irish film.

Buttons also appear on many of my as-of-yet imagined creations:

Cuffs on my dream coat.
Cleets!

And I recently purchased leg warmers that satisfied my button passion:

As always, good tunes are a must for any
creative endeavor

The next button endeavor shall be my poor grey coat,

whose buttons have been threatening self-expulsion for some time.

SnowDay Sewing Experiment 2

A thousand miles starts with a single . . . stitch.

Another snow day has given me the opportunity to learn some new basic skills. Today's skills: Mending by hand.

Experiment one: Cinderella's Slipper

Firstly, gather the materials you need, including pin cushion, thread, needle, scissors . . . 

and feather-filled slipper.

First, pin together the tear

                                          Next, stitch. I couldn't find a video that showed this basic stitch. (Why are there no basic videos out there?) At this point, I would ask your mother.

Always have some light entertainment on in the background
(Johnny Depp on David Letterman)

No more feathers flying around my feet in the morning as I'm cooking breakfast

Experiment two: Teddy Bear

My mother and I decided to go on a blizzard adventure to pick up sewing supplies. 

 Witness my sewing bling!…

I stitched my bear (meet bear) using the invisible stitch. 
This is when you stitch from the inside-out.

Vualah!

"be heard"

Delusions of Sewing

I have delusions that someday I will be able to sew all of the specific creations I have floating around my brain. Unfortunately, I don't even know the basics of sewing ...

I was recently shopping in a thrift store with a friend from work. I tried to fit into two dresses that were too small but the colors were fantastic on me.

Enough is enough, I thought. 

Today presented itself as a snow-day. Snow-days are perfect for embarking upon one's dreams. 

First things first, after a few mis-shots I found this site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvNRbqWggWg&feature=endscreen&NR=1 Monkey See is the hot tomatah. 

Next I would recommend setting up a comfy chair (in my case a chair and a stool draped with a comforter and a pillow), and your favorite movie. 

Threading the bobbin turned out to be the most challenging bit. 

I also had issues trying to get the bottom casing off.

 . . . Apparently, though, it slides to the left. 

:D

                                                

                                                     

Unintentional gypsy

I have moved three times within the last year:

Once in August. I moved in with my then current roomy (our roomy-abilities could not have been better) into a 3 bedroom with a man who like to smoke pot... a lot.
The pains I had taken to warn him of my asthma beforehand went unrequited. So I moved in October.
This time with a woman whom I had been roommates with twice before. So I knew what to expect, right? Not so much. Her bipolar condition became much much worse, and I became the imagined source of her depressive mood swings. I have friends and family who suffer from this, and other similar disorders, it's rough. Really rough. But professionals told me to get out, and past a point it was beyond my emotional capacity to remain.
So now I am living back with my parents who live 1 hour away from work. Day 1. We received the sudden news that my uncle passed away.
I think that God DOES work in mysterious ways, though, and I can be a help to my parents. Plus, despite the commute, it is kind of nice to be out of the city.

I have "borrowed couches" to breath, physically and emotionally, so often, though, that I'm thinking of buying a small suitcase with wheels on it.

How 'bout this one?