Wednesday, September 9, 2009

cannot live without my sewing machine.

it's been a busy week or so over here at our house. fortunately it's also been rather warm, so i don't feel guilty sitting inside and sewing instead of being out and enjoying all that sunshine. imho it's hard to enjoy a nice day when you're standing in a puddle of sweat.

the keema alu i made last week was WONDERFUL. so delicious and quite simple and cheap. i think brian was less than impressed however, and definitely less than impressed with my dal. nor did he want to go out for indian food when it was suggested as a possible activity at some point in the future. well, oh well. we might anyways, because sometimes we do things i want to do too. i took a picture of the whole delicious dinner but i can't find it now, sorry.

my package arrived and oh, how i love getting packages in the mail and new toys to play with. i was very surprised, the zorb is like felt. i am not sure what i was expecting, but. the diapermaker lining jersey reminded me of sports jerseys, only not mesh. i also got a half yard of organic french terry, which was a super splurge and i must say i'm not sure i'm thrilled with french terry. i used all of this to make washable soakers for the kiddo's diapers and i L.O.V.E. them. i used two layers of zorb (i think even three might be better) sandwiched between a layer of lining jersey and a layer of french terry; the jersey goes against her bottom, of course, to wick away the moisture. even though it is like felt, the zorb is not stiff, which was the problem with using only terrycloth - i had to use three or four layers to make it absorbent enough, and then the soakers were so stiff it was like putting a mattress between my baby's legs. no thanks. a walking foot (which i have since purchased) would have made making the soakers so much easier, but oh well, she's only going to pee on them. i got 13 out of $23 worth of fabric which comes out to $1.79 each. w00t!

i've also been sewing up a storm, sort of for the new etsy shop. alice's sexy kitchen set was a huge hit at the bridal shower and with the bride herself, and one of her friends asked me if i would be willing to make her some aprons and potholders to give as gifts. i said yes on the condition that i could use the pictures to start the etsy shop, and lo, she ordered four sets! the aprons are all finished as are half of the potholders; the other half are waiting on insul-brite which the fabric store has been out of lately. i am ridiculously excited about the etsy shop and really hoping this takes off, if only to support my sewing/fabric habit. also, my sewing machine? is my mother's old elna, which she received as a high-school graduation gift. 42 years ago. it has been in pretty much continuous, daily use since the day she got it. it's a wonderful machine... but it's old. she had to have the foot pedal replaced a couple years ago, and her repairman told her that it was getting harder and harder to find parts for it and there would come a point where he would not be able to repair it. currently the clutch is slipping a little, but it's only mildly annoying and not preventing me from working. but... brian has been informed that when the elna dies, we will need to buy a new sewing machine, and with the way i sew, a $100 singer from target is not going to cut it. (no offense to anyone who owns a $100 singer from target.) this will be a MAJOR purchase, on the order of $1500-3000, and not something that can be delayed for long after the elna dies. so if the etsy shop takes off, it will help ease the financial pain of buying a new machine, which means i will [hopefully] be able to get a more fun machine that does lots of fancy stitches and embroidery.

also, if the etsy shop takes off? i am SO getting one of these. and then one of these, because making bias tape? is the bane of my existence.

5 comments:

Kelly said...

are you going to put your soap for sale in your Etsy shop?!?

Because I will buy some, since I mentioned forever go that I wanted to try it, and then never emailed you about it, because, well, I forgot.

Also-friendly feedback about your shop:
Your descriptions of items are awesome and you have great pictures of everything!! And I love that you showed different fabric choices.
I did find it a bit confusing that for the placemats and some of the napkins didn't specify a quantity.
But overall it's very nice.

Jaimey said...

So excited for you about the etsy shop! Go kick that old machine so you can get to picking out a new one! Oh I mean, be gentle on that ol' girl! :) LOL

Jessika said...

I have a cheapo sewing machine. It's right now on the fritz. :( I would love for my mom to give me hers, but that's not going to happen ANYTIME soon! :)

Congratulations on the etsy shop! Things look great in there!

eireann said...

thanks for the love on the etsy shop!

kelly, at the moment i'm not going to sell the soap, but i'll send you some. working in the insurance industry has taught me to not be too careful about liability for something like that. an apron is one thing, soap is another.

i didn't know how to specify a quantity... the default quantity i "1" on the shop and if you have more for sale then you pay extra for your listing i think? maybe i should just put it in the description? i really wanted to sell them in groups, like placemats as a set of two or four, but i don't know how to set the listing to do that. maybe i will just put it in the description like i did the napkins.

jaimey, it's almost an antique! i could decorate my sewing room in mid-century modern with the machine as the centerpiece! :)

Sarah @ BecomingSarah.com said...

Me and my $100 sewing machine from Target are very offended by ye, great Discriminator Against Cheap Sewing Machines.

Actually, we're really not. We've already had The Talk. My sewing machine knows that as soon as it dies, it's plastic-parts ass is on the road and I'm investing in something much more durable.