Bron's Blog II

I'm So Baised...

I made this pattern yesterday:

From this incredibly cool material:

That I purchased for $3.00 in the remnant bin at Hobby Lobby. 2 2/3 yd. for $3 is a great deal in anyone's book. :::Grin:::

I'm "biased" because I like this pattern much better than the plain tank I showed you yesterday. This has a bias binding for the armscye that really fits well and gives the armhole...well....give! I'm almost finished with it, I just need to do a couple more seams. I wanted it to fit with ease so I made a size larger than I am and I need to tweak it just a bit. I need to rip the side seams and add a little shaping so it doesn't look so boxy. Then I'll do the hem and add a couple of side slits since I love me some hip room. :::wink:::

I'll show it off tomorrow. :)

I made this yesterday -

And I would have a tea cozy to match, except that I've been sidetracked by this:

I'm hooked on the series. It's smart, fast-paced, sexy and well-written. I'm liking this book so much it's hard for me to put down and that tells you something. :) It's the "Rachel Morgan" series and the first book is Dead Witch Walking. For A Few Demons More is the 5th in the series.

Long may she write. ::Grin:::

I wanted to show you this, another remnant I picked up. Wouldn't it be perfect with that striped button?

I really, really wanted to make that crossover blouse with this and use the button as a decoration on the side but alas, there's only 2 yd., just about 1/4 yd. short. But now that I have it in my head, I'll have to find something to make with it!

Tomorrow: Aquarium pics, blouse pics & tea cozy pics. The excitement just keeps building around here. ::wink:::

An FO Later On Today

I'm knitting the bands right now:

I'm so excited about this one! Now that it's put together enough for me to hold up/try on, the mods I made (longer length, shorter sleeves) look to be perfect. :) I found great buttons yesterday so hopefully I'll be back this afternoon to wrap up Fountain Lace Cardi. ::Grin::

But first, let's talk a little sewing!

In a bit of serendipity, I had Amy Lou ask in my comments yesterday if I still liked my Babylock Ellure sewing machine while at practically the same time I was buying a new pattern to sew:

I've always loved aprons and, lo and behold, they seem to be "in" again. Retro chic & all. ::wink:: After seeing some gorgeous examples out in blogland (Erica is an amazing seamstress!) I had it in the back of my mind to get a pattern of my own & see what I could do. :) I have a TON of fabric left over from my mad quilting days and some of it is 40's/50's retro - perfect for a little apron action. I'm also thinking that having a couple kitschy aprons on hand for next Christmas might be nice 'cause I have a feeling I won't be able to make just one! (I'm aiming for the one on the left OR the one on the right without the ruffly wings on the straps! LOL)

Anyway, back to my Ellure. Here are some pics since I'm sure people have forgotten what I ended up with:

Amy Lou said that she'd had people tell her that Babylocks just break and to go ahead & settle on a Bernina. I can honestly say I've never heard that Babylocks just up & break. I've really loved mine since the day I bought it. Aesthetically, the Ellure was more pleasing to me. Bernina's are boxy and sharp looking - very industrial and, frankly, a little on the ugly side. (Only my opinion, folks - Bernina people, please don't flame me! LOL) Plus, for the same amount of money, I got twice the machine with the Ellure than I could've gotten with a Bernina. The throat was bigger on this model - all the better to maneuver quilts through - and had the nifty brighter light at the needle. I also got the embroidery set-up - something that I'd have to pay another $600 or $700 for on a Bernina. I went ahead & spend another $85 on this bed extension:

And I feel that was well worth the $$ too.

The machine runs smoothly & quietly - I've  quilted one quilt and pieced together another one since purchasing this and today I'm going to hem up a pair of overalls for Doug!

For me this was definitely the right choice. As the sales lady said, she didn't see my eyes light up until I turned around and saw the Ellure. Honestly, there are a bunch of features I haven't even tried yet and one of these days I need to take a week and just sew, sew, sew!

All in all, a sewing machine is an incredibly personal choice. Test sew on several different models before making your final decision. But in the end, go with your instinct!

I'm off to finish up Fountain Lace and I'm going to have a little cosmetic procedure done at 11. (Nope - nothing's getting tucked, lifted or snipped! LOL) Details later on!