Good morning! Grab a cup of something warm (a friend has dubbed our current weather "Juntober", as the calendar says June, while the weather persistently proclaims it's October) and pull up a chair.
Summer on campus means shorter work weeks (running out the last of this year's vacation taking a day off per week) and less stressful work days (the rest of the office is gearing up for the annual financial audit, for which I have minimal responsibilities - yay, me!). A day off per week means more time for fun.
A major fun point from last weekend was finally breaking what seemed to be a personal curse on my ever making progress on the embroidered squares for a class I'm in (see the previous post - saying I'm "in" a class I've only actually been to once in four meetings may be a stretch). The finished blocks are darling; I've gone on to cut out another one and hope to finish it this weekend.
For the last year or maybe longer, I've been carrying around my favorite fine point architect's markers in a gallon zip lock bag. Not exactly cute and classy, huh? One of the smaller projects started last weekend is a quilted zip top bag, sized especially for the markers.
Ordinarily, making a little pouch is an hour's work - I've made them before and it really isn't a big deal. With a new machine to use, however, it becomes an adventure.
1. Create quilted fabric, using the stitch regulator foot when doing the quilting (learning experience #1).
2. Import an alphabet (transfer from PC to USB, attach USB to sewing machine), design the embroidery and make sure the individual letters are lined up evenly (learning experience #2)
3. Hoop the quilted fabric so that the penciled horizontal line matches the line on the hoop template (learning experience #3-5 (had to rehoop a few times to get it right))
4. Stitch out the pattern. Rethread the machine and back the pattern up half a dozen stitches before restarting (learning experience #6-7)
From this point, it's a simple matter to finish. Cut the front and back to size. Insert a zipper. Sew front and back together. Step back and admire finished project.
My brain, however, was tired from learning new things. I should finish up this weekend, and will post pictures then.
Another project is in process, though it's a birthday gift that I daren't describe here, lest the birthday girl figure it out. Let's just say it involves more embroidery, three dimensions and a five gallon pail.
That's the fun stuff here - what are you up to this weekend?
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