Seeing Stars

Kind of proud of me today. Michael’s Crafts sent me yet another ‘SAVE NOWWW !!1!!’ e-mail, bright and early, coupons enclosed. I found one aspect interesting – a marquee-style light-up star, battery powered. If ours had them in stock, with all the discounts, it’d only be about five bucks. It’d drain the last of my fun funds, but is doable. I rather need a little extra light in that corner, too. 

But the more I thought about it, the less I wanted to go out shopping to another craft store. Shocking, isn’t it ? But I’ve already crossed the line between ‘pleasantly indulged’ and ‘spoiled rotten’ and didn’t wanna go further to the Dark Side and start expecting this sort of thing. Besides, it occurred to me that I still had that star-shaped string of Christmas lights, in a wad upstairs. They originally came from that thrift in OldTown, I hung them m’self along the ceiling line over my Arena there. Too far away to provide much actual light, but really, they’re just decorations anyway. Still, if I wanted stars, I could have them, just by decluttering and without spending any more, simply by detangling and hanging them up.

That’s when I discovered our step-stool tool box was gone. It was there on the porch yesterday, not there today. Beloved Hubby doesn’t have it, neither does Dearest Son, and it’s not in the garage. Well, shoot. Used a kitchen chair and some push-pins, arranged the stars close to a power outlet, going from ceiling to floor this time. I’ll even get a bit of light under the Arena now ! It’s the most difficult outlet to get to in the whole room, so I’ll probably get a cheep power strip, turn them off and on with my foot, like I did before. Also thinking of moving a small thrifted lamp over there. 

That done, I noticed that Dearest’s ‘new’ PlayStation 2 was on the floor. It doesn’t have wireless controllers, so it couldn’t go on top of the TV – too flyweight,  one wild move would send the system crashing to the floor. So I repurposed a milk crate and made a PlayStation Station – base unit on top, open side out for controller and game storage. Also redid the tangle of TV, cable, two lamps, and two game system wires. Dearest was pleased, and a little impressed.

Of course, the fact that I have all this stuff to repurpose suggests I’ve been spoiled for quite some time, but at least I didn’t take it any further. I mean, that lamp needs a shade, bad,  plus that power strip. . .

Fluttered around all day, finally quit fighting it and went after the DP&M hoodie zipper. Told m’self that, even if I completely pooched it, I could buy another zipper – they’re still on sale – and make a better, improved hoodie, no problem. One really deep breath later, the new zipper was cut to size, roughly half is now scrap, and I was digging for the zipper foot. My new old stars shone on as I attached it with minimal drama, and hand-stitched the last little bits after dinner. It’s a little off at the top, not quite parallel, and I’m not sure how Jen Wrenne’s pockets came out larger than mine (it matched hers ‘til I added the waistband), but I’m pleased with it overall. I like it better with the hood down, too. Might make another with a collar instead of a hood.

Separating zippers are easier to sew, but it was still nerve-wracking to me. In the end, I used three presser feet – the walking one, the zig-zag, and the zipper foot on this one, a new record. Looking forward to the next one, it wasn’t that hard, and now that I have some confidence with it, it should go great ! Plus, I have another zipper ready to go. 

Speaking of craft shops, was ‘Force Friday’ underwhelming for anyone else ? Half the fabrics Hancock’s “unveiled” I’ve seen there for months. The new ones were either all Darth Vader and Stormtroopers, or the new characters I’ve yet to care about. Kids’ crafts kits were pretty much retreads of what we had in the 80s, and how many no-sew blankets does anybody need ? They must put out 60+ kits a year ! I was more excited about the half-off
sale at Uncle Matt’s Crib, of his themed key fob embroidery designs – I snagged Leia and the Rebel Alliance symbol with the remnants of my funds. What fun I had with that money, and I haven’t even used the stuff yet !