New Blue Machine

At Goodwill in Waterville, I came across this rockin' bluish-teal beauty of a machine. Made in Japan and named "General" it sports a 1.5 amp motor (whoo-hoo! Thats powerful baby!) and from what I can tell is a "full size" machine. Singer's 99 is a 3/4 machine, for example. It does a nice straight stitch (no timing issues) and the feed dogs drop, for darning or free motion stitching. Hopefully the free motion bit will work. I haven't tried yet.This machine has won my heart with it's smooth quiet power. I know the picture isn't so great, but as we only have dial-up internet in our humble little home, no big sharp pics for us. Not yet anyway.

Is Octopi a word?

Window shopping at Purl Soho, finding fabrics to inspire more projects. I know I keep pimping purl, but trust me I am NOT getting paid for it...It's just one of my favorite places to go and drool over magnificent cloth/books/notions.
Heather Ross giant octopus (octopi?) for a wrap skirt...purl is nearly sold out so I'm thinking Fabric Worm on Etsy...
Etsuko Furuya oilcloth for totes and maybe a tablecloth...I am really getting into oilcloth here.

Weekend Sewing Projects

Here are two projects I've sewn up from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross.
The everything tote, and the flower girl dress. I also just finished bloomers to match the sailor dress (Ruby's bloomers, also from the book) I just haven't taken any pictures yet.
I modified the construction of both patterns a little...of course. I added several pockets to the tote lining, since I'll be using it as my diaper bag...schlepping a massive amount of books, diapers and other baby & mama related goodies. Also, I only folded the binding and handles once, versus twice, to make attaching them easier (I used a size 16 needle which also helped.)
With the flower girl dress, I had to add a faced slit down the back because it runs quite small. A small hook & eye keeps it closed. Next time I'm thinking of making it from jersey, or making a larger size.
For the tote I used a nice slubby chartreuse linen for the lining, binding & handles. This was a great find on the Joannes clearance shelves at a 1.50 per yard! The outer fabric is Anna Maria Horner Good Folks oilcloth from Sew Portland.
Finally, Mia's dress is quilters cotton, by Micheal Miller found uber cheap at Marden's (my favorite local discount fabric store) The print is soooo cute...kind of a sailor/pirate theme. lol.
I've traced quite a few more patterns from this book, with plans to try out some of the clothing for myself (yay!) I think its one of my fave sewing books so far!