Oh how embarassing

Well, because it is September sewing month, and Katy over at No Big Dill is has been having a big party (which I was quite late to, but her blog is great,  and her girls - oy, the pictures of her girls, and their names? I swoon. I wanted to name Ivy 'Olive', but Jason hates olives, so he said... no.) and because I can write one hell of a run-on sentence...

Anyway, she wanted people to try something new. And, even though I didn't know that, I did try something new. Remember the free-motion quilt along? Yeah. I have yet to make anything pretty, for sure. But did I try it? Hell, yah. So there you have it. It is still September (by one hour and 47 minutes) and here is a picture of my sad first attempt at free motion quilting. I must say, though, Christina at A Few Scraps is very encouraging.She even showed us pictures of her first free-motion quilt, and I dare say it was almost as bad as mine. Well, nearly almost.

 

Oh let me make that picture nice and big for you. Did you see the chain o' hearts at the bottom there? Fancy, no? I learned to do that in 5th grade.

Jump Roping

Ah, here we are at the end of the jump rope dress sew along. The dress is adorable, but Blue will never be adorable in this dress again. Hm. Actually, she looks ready to hurl - or bolt. Or smack me.

I had to bribe her (with vintage buttons!) to put this dress on for a picture. Yeeeeas, she picked out the fabric. And yes, I hate the fabric. I hated making it. I hated feeling like I was always behind in the sew-along. And now? She hates the dress. My own fault, though. Honestly, I am pretty impressed that she put it on for a picture, even. She's come a long way in the past three years. This child only wears knits. Knits that are just loose enough and not too loose. Knits that are just the right length and not one smidgen longer or, heaven forbid, shorter. Granted, she started flailing around in it when she first put it on, but she did some calming down and managed to do the pictures. Yay! It seemed appropriate to take some jump roping action shots.

The girl gives it her all, doesn't she? You should see her hula-hoop.

And even if she never wears it again, it was completely worth it for this one picture, which is her in a nutshell. My girl.

A busy, busy Sunday

I'm taking part in Badskirt's Jump Rope Dress Sew Along. Although I don't know if intention is enough to be called participating. Finally, though, I have the pattern traced and the pieces cut out. But what's this? I'm not happy with any of my choices for placket fabric? True. What else is there to do but take a trip to the fabric store. I think I've mentioned my fabric store before: it's a surplus store. Not only can I get out-of-date CocoPuffs to keep the kids happy in the cart, I can also drop my entire weekly cash allowance on fabric. Seriously.

It doesn't look all that impressive, does it? But let me show you. Because, in all honesty, I am giddy like it is Christmas, but my husband and kids? Couldn't care less. And I need to share with someone, even virtual you. So even if you have never left a comment before, leave one now. Please do, so I can bask in the glory of my newest finds.

Did I mention I went in for a half yard of white with a touch of red? Found it.

The musical notes was just a goofy indulgence. I'll make a bag for Blue's piano book and use it for the lining. And I picked up a yard of Katie Jump Rope. It's not my favorite shade of brown so only a yard. Not like the three yards of green I got a few weeks ago. And yes, there is the white with red. Nothing particularly special.

I chose this duo for my second jump rope dress - view B for my favorite niece. (Don't get your panties in a bunch - I only have one niece to date.) Two yards of the patterned corduroy and one of the pink.

And then, my brain just went crazy and bought three yards of soft, soft linen, and a yard and a half of that... shirting? The lines are small bumps.

This was an picture to take, but it is three yards each of pearl colored smallish cord and cream baby cord that is incredibly soft.

And lastly, I got two yards of each of these. The black is something velvety and the brown is velveteen, which will become a pair of pants like these from Olive Juice. Cute, no? I have just been introduced to Olive Juice and I have spent many hours over there, sketching and drooling.

At $3/yard for most everything except the velveteen (which was $5), I couldn't leave with any less than that. The thing about my fabric store is - next time you go in, they won't have the same thing you saw this time. They had oodles of garment fabric today, which is not always the case. I had to pass by some interlock knit because I just couldn't pass up the corduroy.

Now I'm just twiddling my thumbs waiting for the washing machine to finish its act so I can get crackin'.