Busy, fun Saturday !

Current Mood : Real happy !

Started today off with a nice, drenching thunderstorm and some cheddar garlic biscuits. I’d been wanting some for a while, what better day to make them ? While Beloved Hubby and Dearest Son are never wildly enthused when I announce I’m gonna make some, they somehow always disappear faster than even I could have eaten them…

Then, today became ‘Do It’ day. There’s a long list of stuff I’ve wanted to do, need to do, been meaning to do, but I haven’t because…well, I was afraid of screwing it up. Or it’s been so long, I don’t know if it still works. Still, it all needs doing, so I started with the biggie. My chair.

I can’t complain that it developed a worn spot – not as much as I sit in it ! Plus, I bought it used four or five years ago, from a vacant lot fulla chairs, for just $15. It still performs just as I need it to, it’s just finally showing its age, much longer than many chairs we bought for me brand-new. Anyway, the spot soon wore into a tear big enough to show foam rubber beneath. It got bigger over the last two weeks, too big to sew together again. Then another worn spot started… It needed a patch. But my iron-on patch kits (bought who knows how long ago, at a yard sale, they still have the 10c price sticker on ‘em) say they’re not for nylon or rayon fabrics. I have no idea what this chair is made of, but I’m willing to bet it’s polyester, which is about the same. Still…I went for it and the patches are holding. Not the most attractive patch job in the world, but it’s holding, and should be OK until I can make a new seat cover or cushion for it. I’m happy.

I also found the mini Clover iron and matching eight-inch ironing board my M & FIL got me for Christmas, possibly as far back as 2003. I’ve used it once. Which is a shame, especially when you see how wrinkled many of my finished doll clothes are, and that I actually asked for it. Well, today was a good day to try it out, as I had some lovely second-hand silver rick-rack that needed a bit of straightening before it went on a hem somewhere, so I reassembled the ironing board and found the perfect spot on my desk to use it. Coolness. I predict much use in the near future and from now on, now that I know how easy it is to use it !

If you’re not familiar with Clover mini irons, they’re shaped more like a soldering iron, but they work the same as yer everyday household one. Some come with interchangeable tips – different sizes, even a ‘hot knife’ option. I have one with a good size ‘plate’, and I can buy the tips separately. It has an on/off switch and an ‘on’ light, separate from the temperature dial, and came with a stand – important, ‘cause this thing’ll burn ya faster than a glue gun ! – and a cool-down pouch. M & FIL went deluxe for me. And it de-kinked the rick-rack in one smooth slide. Together with that cute little ironing board, I hope to have my craft works looking better and better !

Satisfying as everything was, none of it was on my list. So after lunch, I gave Spectra a boil-rinse, to ease out the packaging  / ponytail bend in her hair. I won’t know until it’s fully dry, probably not ‘til tomorrow, but it may take two or three boil-rinses to get it gone. It looks slightly better, but not much, right now.

Then, I removed the Monster High school playset from its perch on my desk, cleaned the desk and the school, then rotated it 180 degrees, so now the inside is facing out. Much as I’ve enjoyed having the outside available for quick photos, I haven’t been playing much with the inside. And I want to use the inside for photos, too. So now that’s off the list.

Got a few other bits done, and with the list half done, decided to break for a bit of sewing. I busted out the half-yard of purple broadcloth I bought at Hobby Lobby a couple weekends ago and used it and the silver rick-rack for a Shannanigan sheath dress for Spectra. Last time I used rick-rack, it was the tiny stuff on a Barbie dress and I got it completely wrong – I sewed it on top. The dress I was copying (Fancy Free) had it tucked under, everywhere but the waist, so only half the trim showed. I liked my version, but this glittery silver stuff was kinda large…so showing only half of it would add just enough sparkle without being ridiculously out of scale. It came out really nice.

So today’s photo is an accumulation of today’s tasks. Spectra has a new dress and a boil rinse, she’s wearing the silver rick-rack I used the Clover iron to straighten out, and she’s posing in the turned-around school.  And the whole time, I was sitting on my repaired chair. What a nice day I had ! Hope yours was as productive !