Tip Day

On one of the blogs I regularly visit, The Happiness Project, "Every Wednesday is Tip Day". Well, it's not Wednesday, and I don't know if I'll make this a regular feature, but here is a tip I have found useful. I thought it up myself, although I'm sure others have come up with this too.

I hate trying to get patterns back into the pattern envelopes. They never go back right, and if you have to get them out later during the sewing process for reference (because oh, say, you forgot to mark some vital little dot or accidentally ripped your thread marker out thinking it was a stray piece of thread, not that I would ever do that, of course) it's a big pain, especially if it is one of those patterns that has six or seven different views and a host of little pieces to sort through.

So what I've started doing is putting the pieces for the particular view I'm working on into a ziploc bag, and labeling it with the pattern number and some personal identifier that will help me know which pattern it is (Brandon's shirt, for example). Especially on patterns that I plan to use often or have modified in some way, this simplifies my life and prevents frustration.

The Christmas Spirit

I am definitely in the Christmas spirit now, which is a good thing, because I'm making a lot of my presents, and I was just terribly unmotivated for awhile. I haven't got my tree up, but that should happen pretty soon.

I can't show one of the things I made, because it is a gift and I don't want to spoil anyone's Christmas, but I finished this apron using some of the Christmas fabric I bought, and I think it is adorable. The pattern is this one that I got at Hobby Lobby in a 99 cents sale. Yay! It's very simple to make (especially since I omitted the piping that is called for). The ties are made from double-fold bias tape.

Not sure whether I will keep this or use it in a gift exchange. I think I have enough fabric to make another one, but would have to buy more bias tape.

I'm looking forward to trying out some of the other apron patterns, too.

During my absence...

Last week was a busy week. We did a lot of driving. See, Brandon and I finally got to go to Ruidoso and Carlsbad Caverns, as we've been planning to for a couple of months now. Finally all the farm work was out of the way.

Then we had Thanksgiving at his grandparents, and the day after Thanksgiving we went to Texline for a meal with my family (my grandmother and aunt on my dad's side, my parents, and my brother and sister). I ate enough turkey and ham to last me for a month or two. The big news of the week was that my sister, who is expecting, had the sonogram to determine the sex of the baby, and it will be a little boy. So expect little overalls and things in the near future. We are all very excited. It will be the first grandchild for my parents, and my first nephew.

Shiny Object!

This is probably my favorite thing that I've bought off of Etsy. It's from Keys and Memories, and is made from a vintage typewriter key.

Being a writer, I like that it is made from a piece of vintage writing equipment. And it goes well with tee-shirt and jeans, so I actually get to wear it.

The Hat

Here is the completed hat, which I gave to my husband yesterday. I was up late the night before finishing it, and in a hurry. I didn't want to look up pattern with the decrease rows that I usually do, so I winged it, and it turned out kind of funny-looking. But it is warm, and Brandon doesn't mind, so I will leave it as is.

Things I wish pattern companies still did...

Sometimes sewing with vintage patterns is easier to me than sewing with modern patterns. For one, most of them come one size to an envelope, which makes cutting them out a lot simpler process (so you don't accidentally cut on the wrong size line), and eliminates my worries that I might get fat and need the pattern in a larger size, so maybe I should try to preserve the larger sizes somehow so I can use them later. The only foolproof way to do this is to trace all of the pattern pieces onto tissue paper, which is a lot of trouble to go through, and so I usually don't do it, and then I feel guilty because I am throwing all those sizes away.

Also, I wish pattern companies still included a miniature picture on the back of the envelope showing all of the pattern pieces, or at least mentioned how many pattern pieces were in the pattern, so that I don't open it up and start looking at the instructions, and freak out because there are about 19 little fussy pieces. At least I could be prepared. Maybe they are afraid that someone will look at little pattern piece pictures and figure out how to draft their own without buying the pattern, but people that highly motivated not to spend money on a pattern are probably not going to buy your pattern anyway.

But what I really, truly wish most of all was that pattern companies still sold their patterns for fifty cents.

Secret Agent Hat

The hat is coming along, but perhaps not as fast as it needs to...I just realized I have five days, and two or three of them we'll be travelling. I better get cracking.

Today I have dedicated to brainstorming for titles for my novel. For some reason, this is coming really hard for me on this one. Nothing sounds right, I don't even have a working title. Yesterday I hit 175 pages (61,130 words), woo hoo! I think it isn't going to wrap up as quickly as I previously thought, though.