bring on that christmas spirit...

I'm getting in the holiday mood a little bit... Thinking about gifts to give and what-not. I think I'm going to try to sew a few things if I can get my act together...

I want to make one or two of these adorable stockings pictured here on your left. It's by Martha of course. She always knows best, doesn't she?

I want to make one of these box bags since I'm getting a bit more confident with them-there zippers. And they can hold stuff. Nice.

I want to make an apron and some hot pads. Practical, eh?

I want to make a hippo hat. Or an elf hat. Or a devil hat.

So now's the tough part. Who in the heck am I going to give all this stuff to? I drew the names of two of my 20-some year old BOY cousins this year. I'm not sure how much they need aprons... Or Martha Stewart stockings. Maybe it can all go to my mom? Well, I guess not the hats. Her head's probably a little big. Hmmm... Or maybe I can keep it all for myself. Ha! Now I'm on to something. What to do with all those hats though...

my baby's back!

Sorry. I'm just excited, because Eric was gone for 5 days. But he's home. Yay! Hungover on the couch watching football. Just where he belongs.

On to other things...

The Sophia Bag is very close to being done. The sewing machine was fixed Friday, and most of the construction is done. I just need to hand sew (yuck) the lining into the bag. I was trying to figure out if there was a way of machine sewing it in that would look OK, but I think I'm going to suck it up and hand sew it. So it might be awhile before it's actually done done. But I can't wait to show you a picture or two...

You can see the pins holding the lining in still... I'm going to try to finish it by next week to enter it in the U-Handbag Amy Butler contest.

bag saga continues...

OK, I feel a little less crabby about the broken sewing machine today. So I thought I would show a picture of what's done so far with the Sophia Bag. Well, there's more done than this... But the rest isn't as interesting to look at. Well, maybe this isn't that interesting either, but too bad. Look at it anyways! Because it was my first time making (or even using) piping. I think it looks pretty cool, and once it's put together it should look quite professional. I may have to use it more often... The sewing machine is supposed to be fixed sometime this weekend, so hopefully I can finish the bag by Sunday. Eric is going to spend a few days with his family, so I should have time... If the machine really gets fixed. *crosses fingers*

a circus of sorts

Now, you may be asking yourself, "who are these crazily dressed people?" Well they're from Cirque Du Soleil of course. My mother was nice enough to take me to see their arena show in Madison last night. I didn't take this picture... No cameras allowed, but I wanted to at least put some kind of picture showing the wild costumes they had. It was one of those things that you watch, and just say "what the eff?" I mean, it was awesome. Don't get me wrong. Just one of those marvels that you can hardly believe. I'd like to see a show in Vegas, to see what it's like on their biggest scale. I'd probably have a heart attack though. I caught myself holding my breath so many times last night when they were doing their wild swinging and crazy feats of strength. It was something.

want to see a broken sewing machine?

Me neither. But you're gonna anyways.

There it is. Busted good. The needle will NOT pick up the bobbin thread. Apparently it's on strike. Or lazy. Or wants to see me in tears. Or needs to be re-timed (probably). But whatever the problem is... I'm just a little devastated about it. Because I was making some serious progress on the Sophia Bag. I was actually putting the piping on the outside panels when the disaster happened. I would take pictures, but I'm just too disheartened. Ugh. So I guess my sewing machine will need to go to Jo-Ann's or somewhere to be looked at. Which will probably be a fortune or take FOREVER. Or both. *Sigh*

the bag begins...

I have a feeling the Sophia Bag is going to be a project of drama. I don't know why I have this feeling... But I do.

I bought all the materials (which took me on a scavenger hunt to 3 different fabric stores and on-line) last weekend. But I'm still
waiting for the pattern! It was sent this week, so hopefully it will come in the mail today. But I have a quandary anyways. Polka dots for the inside or the outside? I was going to line it with the polka dots, but the fabric is quite a bit thicker than I thought. So I'm not sure what to do. I just hope that this is a doable project... I think it might be the test to see if I am still a "beginner" sewer, or if I'm moving up the expertise levels. We'll see...

We're off to Darlington this weekend. It's Eric's mom's Thanksgiving and a party for his Grandpa's birthday too. Should be fun. I just always dread the drive... Sigh.

yes, this is another purse

You must be saying to yourself, does she really need another purse?? Well no, but I wanted to try my hand at copying a pattern without instructions. It didn't work out quite how I wanted, but that's OK. I think I may go shopping today to browse for fabrics to do the Amy Butler Sophia Bag... But I've been caught up in a Project Runway marathon all day, so we'll see if I can make it out of the house. Did I mention that new Project Runway episodes start on the 14th? Well, they do. And I'm excited. I loved the show before, but now that I sew a little bit I love it even more. I can appreciate what they are actually doing in the time they have for the challenges.

So if I come back from a fabric expedition later I will definitely share pictures...