Short and Sweet

With more to come soon.

I've misplaced my camera and have to find it before I can do a proper update.

I've been stitching a little, but nothing outstanding. I finished my first kitchen piece!, and started my table cloth and taken a few stitches on one of the little kits from the stash I got earlier this year. I've put in a few stitches on the HAED Bulletin Board SAL, but nothing like what I had planned. Sewing and important life stuff has thrown me off my stitching for most of the month.

I've made 2 skirts and a shell top to go with them. There is a whole story behind that simple little shell. I've sewn endless blind hem stitches between the two skirts, (one on the bias, yuck) and as much on the shell since I hand hemmed it and then went back and blind hemmed all of the facings down.

Photo's of all soon with any luck.

And my big splurge this year (okay, it is me and it was 40 percent off plus my discount card), was this Ottlite with magnifier.

Fortunately I don't actually need the magnifier yet, but these things are supposed to last for years and I'm looking ahead to the future. I am not 100% satisfied with it. Apparently there is no way this model is able to hold itself up if you have both the magnifier and lamp leaned over a bit. It very slowly nods down and you have to prop it. For lamp only I can lean the magnifier back the other way and it acts as a balance and the lamp stays perfectly in place. Other than that it is perfect in every way. I decided not to return it (as I thought about doing shortly after I opened the box) after reading multiple reviews that it always does this on every one of this particular model and reading how satisfied others were with it even with this flaw. There is no way, I've read, to tighten it enough to make work properly without stripping it. Having worked with it for over two weeks now I can tell you that I'm happy I kept it and have already gotten used to the lamps one peculiarity.

I'm reading a ton of stuff lately and beginning to wonder if I don't want to possibly make all five garments from the Collette Sewing Handbook. It would be a sort of adventure. Especially since I'd have to alter the bottom halves of anything I made due to being one size larger from the waist down than I am on top. The book is wonderfully clear by the way. Basic pattern altering is described but if you need more there is always Sewing with Nancy's Pattern Fitting with Confidence, which would cover just about anything else you would need. Love both those books.

I've be reading a lot of fiction, or rather re-reading, from The Da Vinci Code (did this guy ever check his facts?)  to Jurassic Park. Also re-reading Elizabeth George's inspirational books. I have 4 or 5 of those and love them. At the moment I am reading her Putting on a Gentle and Quiet Spirit for the first time. Also reading a different sort of sewing book, mostly about knits, called Improv Sewing. Not sure about this one, mostly about knits and a lot of the projects can be found on the internet for free. I haven't given it a thorough read yet though, so I'm withholding judgement on it until I have.

Ok, enough for a short and sweet. I will get back to you with pics soon.

Happy Stitching everyone!
Karen