It’s here!

Some of you may remember me saying that I’d purchased a 2nd coverstitch machine – a flatbed – some months ago. Well, my friend (and mechanic extraordinaire) has been busy (as have I) so I didn’t pester him about the machine. I stopped by the shop last Wednesday to drop off some fabric and was excited that the machine was being delivered that afternoon. He finished building the stand yesterday and DH brought her home this morning. He wants to know what in the world is inside this machine that makes it so unbelievably heavy (the stand actually has steel reinforcement rods). I guess weight of the metal parts and the casting add up. Still, it’s hard to believe that this weighs so much more than my walking-foot machine. I told him to be thankful we have a single-story house!

Since I’ll use the flatbed much more than the binder, I upgraded to the 8800 series. Not that I’ll ever need it but it will sew 6000 stitches per minute. Yikes!

And now that’s it, I’m officially out of space. I’m sure my husband is thankful for that!

She’s all set up and ready to go and I just realized I forgot to put the rubber feet on the stand. :-O Fiddle dee dee, I’ll think about that tomorrow. I don’t dare ask DH to lift this tank twice in one day!

Feelin’ Hot, Hot, Hot!

Woohoo! The Hot Patterns arrived today! I wanted them all but only ordered the Cosmopolitan Dress:

and Flippy Skirt:

for now. I have *cough, cough* several HPs in progress and really, really need to finish my UFOs before buying too many more patterns. Couldn’t resist these two though! If only I could look like Beyonce wearing the Cosmopolitan dress….

I knew this was a must-have after seeing it on Erica B.’s blog, Hook & Needles.

Metro Textile samples

I received these samples from Kashi this week. These are gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous cottons! Unfortunately, they are not my color. 😦 The shirred fabric is a very delicate voile (or gauze) and is elasticated. The pintucked fabric is cotton batiste. They go together beautifully! If you’re interested in these, you can give Kashi a call at 212-290-0418. I’m not affiliated with Metro Textiles – just a very happy customer!

Package from Kashi!

I love ordering fabric from Kashi at Metro Textiles in NYC! Where else can a Sewing Diva get top-quality fabric at discount prices *and* receive personalized service? Once Kashi knows what you like you can expect to receive calls to alert you to new inventory. Isn’t that great? Here’s what I received today:

Swiss-cheese eyelet in white – 6 yards: I will save this for next summer. It’s destined to become a full-skirted wrap dress.

Brown eyelet – 3 yards (with 6 more coming!): I’m planning on making a skirt out of this. I envision something fitted through the hip and full at the hem. Although it is October, it’s still pretty hot here so I’ll be able to wear this for awhile. I’ll make a dress out of the 6 yards I have coming from the 2nd shipment but probably not until next Spring.

Waves eyelet – 3 yards: This I bought sight unseen, Kashi made it sound so pretty. I’m going to make a shirt out of this – it’s really even prettier than I thought it would be. A white eyelet shirt will go with so many things!

I was so excited to hear that Kashi had some good-quality cotton eyelets. I’ve been looking for them all summer! Except for the nice black piece I bought from him this past Spring, most of the other eyelets I’ve seen have been pretty awful – poly/cotton with horrible stingy embroidery. Oh, I did find a gorgeous broderie Anglaise for $200/yd but passed on it. Kashi’s eyelets were $14/yd for the whites and $10/yd for the brown – such a deal! I know he is again out of the brown, but I believe he still has the whites. He also still has some of the beautiful brown velvet eyelet I bought a few weeks ago. Call him at (212)290-0418 8:00-6:00 Monday-Friday, Eastern time. Reasonable shipping rates too!

Yesterday afternoon a little bird flew into the French doors in my living room. It managed to bounce off the glass and grab onto one of my patio chairs. I was a little worried about it because it was obviously pretty stunned. Here in the photo you can see how it’s little eyes are mere slits. It stayed like this, motionless, for several minutes before shaking it’s little head and opening it’s eyes all the way.

My four cats were quite entertained by the little bird. It was pretty funny to see them all lined up against the doors watching Kitty Television. I was so relieved that it was alright and able to fly away a few minutes later.

Hot Patterns Sunshine Top

Finally, here is the photo of my completed HP Sunshine Top. To be honest, I generally wear fitted tops because fuller ones can sometimes look too maternity on figures like mine but I LOOOOOVE this top! The cut actually makes me look slimmer and smaller busted – it’s a real winner. The secret is the cut and depth of the neckline. Beware that this is probably not something you’ll wear to the office as it is (it is in the Weekender collection, after all) although the neckline would be very easy to raise if you so desire.

This pattern uses the new HP sizing. I used a size 10 because that’s what I normally use in HP tops and dresses. I should have tried on my Hippie Chick Dress before beginning because, due to weight loss, it was a little too large through the upper chest. As in the Big 4, an 8 is the best size for me to start with. As always, I had to make a full bust adjustment as I didn’t have enough room in the front even with the gathers. I am very pleased with the fit except for one tiny issue that my fellow Sewing Divas helped me work out. I will show those alterations as soon as I redraw the pattern. I’ll tell you, it is such a luxury to be able to bounce these things off of my very talented sewing friends. The thing I love most about sewing is the constant learning of new skills. I’ve been sewing for years and still have so much to learn! How nice that we never lose those Aha! moments.

One thing you’ll want to be aware of in this top is the length. Hot Patterns are drafted for a tall woman – I am just under 5’4″ with most of my shortness being above the waist. I cut about 3″ off to finish the top at mid hip. Otherwise, this pattern was well drafted and went together without a hitch.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the metallic transfer is the Blomster Print from Shop Onion. I use a lot of transfers in my business and can assure you that these are of the highest quality.