I have things I *should* be working on, like that dress for the wedding that is less than 2 weeks away.... Instead I've been working on my Halloween costume, It fits great! I made a full bust adjustment and redrafted the pattern to have built in lapels instead of lapels as a separate pattern piece, which is the stupidest thing I've seen in a while. I also reshaped the upper collar since it wouldn't lie right in the back. I hate it. It's so PLAID! too....sigh. Why can I not picture things in my head better? Any suggestions ? maybe I'll scrap the whole thing and make a mermaid outfit instead....

Even the dress dummy looks fat in this thing.

I made this thing last weekend.

I've been on a quest to make work appropriate clothing that feels like pajamas.This little beauty is fleece. Unfortunately it's still too warm to wear it. I also made the ubiquitous BurdaStyle Jenny, it was a breeze to make and is to my surprise extremely comfortable, I can't wait to wear it with patterned tights! Cool weather now, please! 

Please ignore the button gap,
I swear I fixed it before leaving the house!

The best part about this skirt is the finishing inside, wish I had a picture, all the seams are finished with this darling lime green w/ white polka dot bias tape. 

Breakin' Stuff, Fixin' Stuff

The swimsuit didn't work out. I couldn't get the needed um, support out of it, but well summer is all but gone here. I have on the other hand started Halloween costumes! It's my favorite holiday, I guess I'm a bit ridiculous. Unfortunately the BabyLock shit it's self again. Mr. E's' coat was made entirely on HIS old Kenmore. Laugh all you want, my boyfriend owns a sewing machine (I certainly do). Honestly, that thing is a work horse, I mean it's loud and it smells funny, but gets the job done. 

Sorry for the jammie jams!

The coat still needs buttons in the front (the Kenmore doesn't have a buttonfoot), and a helluva pressing, but is other wise done.

Honestly, I miss my BabyLock with all it's quiet speed and stitch options that I never use. Sooooo.................. have you ever wondered what it really looks like under there when you "pop the hood"? Me too. I figured there's no way I'm paying to have this thing fixed AGAIN in less than 18 months. So (naturally) I took it apart to see if I could fix it. 

Does anyone else feel the urge to make something steampunk after looking at this?

Let's be clear on something, when the repair guy mentions "timing", he's talking about the synchronicity of the needle (and feed dogs, which are run by the same gears up top) and the hook part that the bobbin case sits in, you know the piece that brings the bobbin thread around to the needle. To adjust the timing you're going to have to remove the bottom panel on the machine (and in my case the rest of the plastic "skin" to get to the space under the bobbin holder

The above mentioned "hook"

you should be looking at something like this:

This gear is what turns your bobbin holder/hook dealie. If you loosen the teeny tiny screws pointed to in the above picture (they're not actually screws, you'll need the smallest alan wrench ever), mine has three, the gear will stop moving the hook part. Now when you hand crank the machine only the feed dogs and needle are moving.... see where this is going? The hook part can still be moved manually, but is now independent of the other parts. This will take some fiddling with but essentially you'll want the needle to be at it's lowest point as the hook is at about the point in the picture above. Once you have it right tighten those "screws" back down take her out back and take the compressor to her... you wouldn't believe the fabric fluff bunnies that accumulate in there! Now put her back together and pat yourself on the back for saving $90.00; go buy some fabric. Squee!