I did an Embroidery today !

Made up my mind, just today, to embroider something cute to wear home Friday, after my surgery. I think it’ll help my outlook, both before and after. Long after I’ve forgotten I even have an implant, it’ll be a nice memory and a sweet souvenir, even if no one else notices. Located a comfy t-shirt that’d be loose enough to camouflage if wearing a bra proved too painful, but if the design totally went south, would only cost a few bucks to replace. Found the embroidery design I wanted, paid four bucks for it (20% discount, yay) watched the free Bernina program digital-stitch it on my computer, printed out a worksheet for it, selected and wrote down the thread colors, then second-guessed m’self and selected new ones, shuffled sewing machines, chalk marked the shirt for placement, and downloaded the pattern from my computer to Brody … then did my very best to avoid the whole thing for the rest of the day. 

Oh, I skirted around it – I couldn’t completely ignore it, I paid money for the design ! But I kept finding m’self busy with other, very important activities as each self-imposed deadline approached. There was too much clutter on the Arena. The floor held too much grit, food scraps, and dust. Lunchtime ! It had been years since I embroidered on knit fabrics – maybe I should read up on the right way to do that, just in case. Oh, wait, this person is wrong about a minor detail in this online article, I’d best let them know. Anything new on Pinterest or Etsy ? You know, the usual. 

But as evening approached – thanks a lot, Daylight Savings Time ! (growlmuttergrumble) – I knew if I didn’t get it done today, I wouldn’t do it at all, and the design didn’t have a lot of appeal after Friday. Oh, I could come up with other uses for it, or I’d have never shelled out real money for it, but it was getting close to now or never time. Nothing is as inspiring as a rapidly approaching deadline. I took a deep breath, dug through the stabilizers, hooped up the shirt, and figured I had at least three patches to cover this up if I totally pooched it. 

And it went beautifully. Only took about 27 minutes (yes, I time ‘em for later reference) and the one thread break I had wasn’t the holo-shimmer glittery plastic stuff. It was the border beige, which had somehow gotten wrapped around the thread pin when I was staring at the stitching. I had lots of trouble with the holo-shimmer breaking on the Odyssey machine cover design, so this time, I added a pencil to the jar, to help ease it off the spool. Worked much better. 

This is a non-licensed ‘Doc McStuffins’ design, according to EmbroideryPanda.com. All I wanted was a bandage, but the heart was a nice touch. It stitches as a solid bandage, so I can skip the heart part if I want to. Evidently, Doc’s band-aids have a pink or red heart – you can't hardly find a bandage design without a heart on it, thanks to ole Doc - but I did mine in the silvery holo-shimmer thread to reflect my new upcoming ‘high tech’ heart. It’s placed on the shirt to hit about where my incision will be, perhaps a bit lower. Don’t worry, I’ll back it with some soft iron-on interfacing made to cover the backsides of crafty clothes. 

I’d just finished when Beloved Hubby came home – and said we were going out for Chinese tonight ! Whoo-hoo ! It was heavenly. What a great day ! 

Up early - tomorrow’s all my pre-testing at the VA. Wish me luck !

I actually am still alive, sort of...

Sorry, everyone. It’s been a heckuva couple weeks, and I may actually have been in the middle of a bit of a depression – it’s hard to tell when you’re in or out of the pit when the walls don’t change. But I am feeling better, and I’ve kind of been writing off and on, so I’ll post when I can.

Right now, I’m preparing for Thursday’s surgery – far as I know, the pacemaker implant is still a go. I have a spate of appointments Wednesday to go to, and I guess if I pass them all, we’re going for it. Really nervous and kind of scared, even though I have utter faith in my medical professionals, one and all. I just hate not being in control of everything, you know ? I think that’s why we all hate hospitals, even when we’re dreadfully in need of them – you don’t even get to choose when or what to eat, or what to wear sometimes.

Did a short grocery run after preparing a menu for the week. Mostly just needed milk and cereal, but I got a few little extras. Also had to buy a battery for my glucose test monitor, one of the few things the VA told me I’m responsible for. Duracell is darn tricky-sneaky. The battery the monitor came with was a Duracell, DR2032 – but good luck finding that one. Turns out, the actual battery is a CR2032, the ‘D’ is for Duracell. Since most of us just buy another of what’s already in the device, for fear of not getting the right voltage or damaging the device, changing the designation helps ensure most people will buy their brand instead of a generic equivalent. I mean, I did the research ahead of time, but not everyone can, and it’s hard to know what to do when you’re standing at the retail display and your phone isn’t internet capable or not getting a signal.

Anyway, I got the generic store brand battery, and it works great. About 50¢ more than half the price of the Duracell. Hmmpft. It’s a good thing I got time, ‘cause I need it to save money !

Stunning Doll Sunday !

Just not feeling it today, but here’s an actual image of my Frozen Fever Elsa – not one perfected by Mattel, not one that  looks better than the real doll.. just something to show you that the real thing is quite as lovely as the Disney Store initial release Elsa. Enjoy !

Why do I keep sewing in blue for this doll ? (sigh)

Looks like my alterations worked ! Measuring everything and adding 3/8” to all the side seams and the tops of the strap worked – actually made the armhole a bit too big. I also hope to shape it a bit more, and I still need to redraw the front darts. I doubled the hem measurement for the skirt, and it’s still not quite where I want it, so V 3.0 will probably have a bit more of a fitted look, with a 2.5x skirt and a slightly wider strap. Not sure when I’ll get to sewing that, abut the third time I sew the same design, I start getting bored with it. Plus, I need to see if it fits the other DP&M girls before I change anything else, knockoff Elsa is just a bit smaller than they are. 

Not sure what’s with me, I’m constantly hungry and on the prowl for food. Even sewing isn’t distracting me – that normally works ! – I still think of what I want to eat even while I’m crafting. Wish I knew why. 

Oh, and forgot to mention yesterday – the Pixie Faire pattern that won the free download vote was an American Girl one, not either of the Ellowyne Wilds. But wondering about that size levered me off my creative butt and led me back to sewing, so it’s all for the good, either way. Went ahead and downloaded their always-free EW tee-shirt pattern. Maybe I’ll make one for Elphie.