But then, to be honest, yesterday I had projectitis in the worst way, the sort I haven't had in a long time. The sort where I worked concurrently on three different projects because every time I looked at something new my attention would shift, or while I was working on one thing I'd get an idea for something else. It was terrible. I mean, terrible only if you're the person who has to clean up after me. It was fun for me. At the time. As for the person who cleans up after me? Oh yeah, that's me too. But me at a later time, so I wasn't thinking of her.
See it all started with a trip to the 99cent fabric store. Oh yes, such a place exists. It's in Solvang, and sure, the fabric may not be quality, and you may never know what's going to be there. But for a person like me, who just wanted to make a cute little trapeze dress out of some cotton/lycra knit? Perfect! There were so many colors and patterns to choose from, but the decision was actually pretty easy for me when I saw these. The one on the left is actually not a cotton knit, but it's a shiny stuff that I'm going to make a the same dress out of, only it will be "round 2" which will hopefully be just like the first one, only better because I'll have figured out what went wrong! And the stuff on the right is going to be a pair of dance pants!
Anyway, I got cracking on it immediately, sketching out a pattern on butcher paper. But then had to wait until yesterday to start cutting and sewing. Partly because I have a huge block about *cutting* fabric. Especially fabric that I'll never get any more of, like silk from Thailand that great grandma bought when she took a cruise at the turn of the century. Gah! How does anyone do it! I know I'll screw it up and be sorry. But this ... this stuff I feel okay about slicing up, because it was an investment of $3, and it won't kill me if it's screwed up. I think.
Anyway, I started by tracing a tank top that I already have and wear a lot. Then, I decided to do something interesting with the straps starting out as 3 separate straps then coming together as a braid along the neckline. I'm getting a bit confused as to how to re-attach them on the back side, and really wish I had a dressform right now so I could also get the length right. I tried to reach over my back and attach the strap with a pin, but it was uncertain at best. I hate trying to do this sort of thing. Having the right tools for the job sure would make these projects easier.
I DID invest in an awesome tool that I don't know how people live without, though. It's a long piece of metal with a hook at the end... when you're making these little straps out of fabric, and you have the sewn tube, inside out?? You know how it's such a pain to make it right-side-out? Well, this doohickey saves the day.
Okay, so I spent too long talking about the one project. I also made a rack for all my headpieces for bellydancing. It's awesome, and solves a problem I'd been struggling with for a while now (because some of the headpieces have flowers & feathers on them, you can't just stuff 'em in a box or stack them on top of each other).
And, I made this heart-shaped piece of wood. Mostly, I wanted to try out the band saw on something besides just cutting little dowels of wood for the hat rack. I wanted to see how close I could come to the shape I drew. I did okay, but I think I could do better with some practice. There were a couple "lumpy spots." But I do plan to finally use that chalkboard paint I got, and turn this sucker into a little chalkboard, maybe to hang outside the greenhouse.
But yeah, I never did sit still long enough to actually finish any of these things. When Jerad got home, he mounted the hat rack, so the only finished thing is the one he finished for me. Because I just couldn't focus long enough ... I kept flitting back and forth. And to be honest, I was supposed to be cleaning and packing for our camping trip. Sigh. And this is as far as I got. Beer, water, dutch oven, and (inside the dutch oven) potatoes. Well, I guess I better get cracking on the packing today.
