Monday, August 9, 2010

Simple Afternoon Project

Or – How I Spent My [Entire] Weekend

The Monkey

The actual sock monkey part of this project, while time consuming (because The Angry Seamstress, when placed before a sewing machine, retrogrades to some kind of alternate time realm, not unlike dog years) went well. It all worked out and was pretty uneventful, but to make this part of the story a little more interesting for you followers (all THREE of you now!), I’ll tell you this: I presented the cashier at Hobby Robby the obligatory Rockford Red Heel Socks, two sheets of cardstock, and my 40% off coupon. She asked if I’d like to use the coupon for the socks ($12.00) or the paper (25 cents a sheet). I paused for a moment before answering because that has to be a joke, right? No dice.

The Dress

A friend of mine has made this Simple Sundress for her daughters, so I thought something with Simple right there in the title would provide an easy and quick way to dress up Lady Monkey. I feel obligated to point out that something with the word Simple in the title should not involve French Seams. But the French Seams weren't the problem. It was the sizing. The pattern offers measurements for girls age six months through eight years but mentions nothing about monkeys (who, as I would later learn, are quite tall). I thought, surely, Lady Monkey is smaller than a six month old, so I divided all measurements for the six month pattern by two and decided to just go for it. This is where my all-my-latest-sewing-projects-have-been-going-as-planned-and-making-me-happy streak ran out. Now, Lady Monkey has the word Lady right there in her name, so she should not be showing off her lady business, right? And, is it going too far to add that the area of the monkey that is being covered by the modesty patch is the area where the stuffing was added and then hand stitched? With brown thread? Quite a bit of it? It's all kinds of wrong.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Emphatic Exclamation!

How I Saved $38 by Stealing a Design from an Etsy Seller


I made this "Hurrah Banderole" (no one can bust me with a Google search!) for the nursery, and it makes me very happy. It also introduced me to fabric glue and felt, which decreased tantrums and cursing tenfold.*



* Excluding a trip to Hancock Fabrics where I found out - at the register - that a $7 bottle of glue had been stocked in a slot labeled $2.49.

Mouse: A Survivor's Tale

Or - That One Project that is Taking Forever

Still working, on and off, on Mouse. I lost interest long ago but will persevere as to not disappoint my followers. All zero of you. And since it is taking me so long and is so tedious, it will probably no longer be "Child's Plush Toy" but instead "That Little Guy on the Shelf that You Can't Touch." Sorry, Kiddo.