What is my problem? It's the third day of November and I STILL haven't cast on for NaKniSweMo. Guess I've had too many other things on my mind, such as all the sewing I've been doing.

First, the tablecloth I designed and made in a week for the Halloween party:

( 4 pictures, two with a kitty in them )

The tablecloth was made to fit the dining table that Kate's grandfather made a million years ago, and it fit perfectly. Hooray! I only went crazy sewing it while the cat was trying to sit on it. I made it from a twin size top sheet and an old tablecloth I found at the Goodwill. I think total, they cost me $8.

Next, I decided to join an ongoing swap on Craftster. It's great the way this one is set up... Somebody posts their wishlist, and then the next person claims something off their wishlist and posts their's. If you're too busy to make something, you don't claim anything. It's very low pressure. The lace-up armwarmers I made were for this swap. The second person I claimed wanted ( PJ pants and embroidery scissors with a case )

The PJ pants were AWESOME. Can I just say right now that I didn't use a pattern for these? Oh, and the fabric was free, which I didn't figure out until I'd already walked out of the store and realized the clerk hadn't scanned my receipt from the cutting counter. Apparently she assumed I walked into the store with 2 yards of fabric tucked under my arm? The draw-string is i-cord I knit myself, I made the stencil myself, and whoo hoo! I ended up with pants that would look store bought until you turn them inside out. Have I mentioned I want a serger?

I know I mostly talk about knitting, and I hoard yarn more than fabric, but sewing was my first love. And hey, I've been doing it for... 15 years now? Not bad!

Apparently all I needed was company. Today was Chris' first day where he was CONSCIOUS and not working. He sat in the craft room on the computer all day, while I made shit. It was great!

1) I finished another pants bag for the August Craftster Challenge. I know it's not the best and that I won't win (I had better ideas in my head, but it's not something I'd really want to put energy into. ANYWAY, I figure I get extra points for recycling ;)


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2) Chris, not having been conscious and at home since I knit with his drumsticks, looked at the heart thing on his bass drum, and was like, "I thought you were going to make that into a pillow." So I was like, "ok." And I did. First I sewed the knit thing onto a white napkin from a restaurant I REALLY didn't want to go to when I was a teenager, then I sewed the knit/napkin hybrid onto one of the only white fabrics I had, and it matched the theme of the knitting so I figured why not.


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Chris was less than pleased with the... uh... design of the back, but WTF THERE'S A BIG PINK HEART IN THE FRONT!!! So there. >:P I stuffed it with a small portion of one of the three giant bags filled with stuffing from some free couch Chris tore apart for the wood and saved the stuffing from way back before I met him. Very pillowy. Yay!

3) I FINALLY put the placket on that corset I made somewhere around 4 or 5 years ago. I broke the needle I've had in my sewing machine for however long I've had it (note: more than ten years) on one of the metal eyes, but it's okay, it wasn't going to last forever.





4) I said fuck it, ripped out the waistband from the drawstring thong, and did MATH to find out how many stitches to ACTUALLY cast on to make it work with my yarn. And YAY IT FITS NOW.



I've been wanting to experiment with new cream pie flavors. Until now, I've only done the double chocolate and mint chocolate pie... while I have altered the recipe to make the pudding into banana pudding, I never made pie from that. I want to try a chocolate-peanut butter cream pie and a coconut cream pie. Oh man coconut cream pie.

And I want to make an ice cream cake. Mmmm. And eat it with pie.

Apparently making bags is FAST and EASY. Observe:

Remember the bag I speed sewed for Kate? I took another ten minutes or so and finished up the strap.



More recently I was faced with another challenge: making a bag for the Knit/Crochet Goodie Bag Swap I'm in. It's an easy swap: buy $15 to $20 worth of stuff and mail it. I bought some things but you know, you should be crafting stuff too. A lot of people were making bags to send their stuff in so I figured why not.

Chris gave me a pair of his pants with a hole in it to use as fabric. It was one of my partner's favorite colors so I figured that's what I would use. As I had the pants laid out, figuring out how to go about putting it together, it dawned on me: it was already mostly done. I just had to sew up the holes, add a lining, and put on a strap. So I did.









I think I'll be making more of these. I've never sewn something so easy besides a pillow. And even then, pillows require stuffing and that damn top-stitching over the hole. The strap was one of the leftover legs that I narrowed up. Easy. Easy. Easy.

30 minutes ago Kate walks into my crafting room wearing an evening gown

Kate: Do you have a small black purse?
Me: Uh... why would I have a purse?
Kate: You have a bunch of really random things, I thought you might have a small black purse
Me: What do you need a purse for?
Kate: (holds up cell phone and wallet)
Me: Ahhh the wedding? Hm. When do you need it?
Kate: SOON
Me: Okay, hold on a second

23 minutes later

Me: Here ya go
Kate: Thank you! *kisses my forehead* *runs out door*

I'll post pictures when she gets back. It's a simple, small black handbag made out of satin scraps. The handle was very rushed: I cut a rectangle, twisted it a couple times, and sewed it on. But then, the handle happened pretty much after she needed to leave. Luckily Chris "defies the laws of physics" when he drives, according to Kate.

I'm pleased. I didn't use a pattern or anything, and the purse had interfacing and a lining. I just started cutting and sewing. WHOOSH!