Weekend craftiness

I had occasion this weekend to sit and listen to the TV for four 2-hour periods, and it's times like those that I wish I knew how to knit or crochet. I just don't do very well with sitting still and not working--it drives me nuts! I went looking for a few projects I could work on while still listening and found this, my last unfinished project left over from Silver Bella in November. It only needed a little bit of work and now it is finished and I can finally wear it!


This was the Bella's Bracelet class I took from Teresa McFayden. It was a class I was so excited to take but when the day came, I was all thumbs and could barely manage to thread my needle, let alone sew gorgeous creamy vintage velvet ribbon into a flower. Sewing the lace to the brown ribbon was ridiculously difficult for me, and sewing that fiddly ball chain on with a loop between each ball? Beyond impossible. I stuffed it all away and although I did make a few more ribbon flowers in December, mostly it has sat in its bag on my desk since I unpacked in November. But it's done and it was fun and easy this time around, and I think I might even make a few more while I'm in the mindset. I had to go to two separate craft stores yesterday to find fabric glue and more ribbon clamps for the ends, so I might as well make my search worth it.

The other project I worked on this weekend was another smock for Maren. I have had this cute thrifted fabric and the matching thrifted bias tape for months and months now and since I made the George Curious smock last weekend I figured I might as well get to it. I think what was keeping me from getting to it sooner was my dread at working with narrow-width bias tape. Bias tape is my sewing nemesis to begin with, but the narrow stuff is like my arch enemy! LOL On the very first smock I made for Maren I used narrow bias tape and it nearly did me in. I couldn't get the fabric caught securely in the fold of the narrow tape, especially around the rounded corners so it's in pretty sad shape right now. I was more careful this time and really tried to pay attention and go slowly, but I will readily admit that I said some naughty words while fighting with the stuff.


The lady at the cutting counter in JoAnn's once said that she tells everyone that if they can drive a car, they can sew. That analogy certainly doesn't ring true for me, unless you say that it's like driving a car where the wheels fall off and the hood flies up in your face every time you're trying to make your way down the road. My sewing skills are limited at best, and then I kept having my needle come unthreaded or the tape get caught and not advance in the beginning, causing the needle to sew the same place over and over and get all snarled in the thread. Add that to Maren who was changing the settings on my machine when I wasn't looking and trying to "help" while I was dealing with very sharp scissors, pins, and the machine needle, and well--I think you can see why the swear words just slipped out.



I do believe this will be the last smock I make for a while until I forget how much I hate to sew and drag it all out again. I predict that will be right before the start of pillowcase dress season. Those require bias tape sewn around the armholes, ack. Let's hope the memory loss happens quickly.