Will I Ever...

1) stop talking about that birthday party? Well, maybe soon, but I did want to say that in my craftiness frenzy, I decided to make something for the birthday girl! A headband! I found a fairly simple, quick tutorial here. So, after a few issues with back-stitching that required the use of the seam ripper, I got it looking pretty good.

Good enough to consider making it a part of a gift! Then, I tried it on H's head. (Hey, I needed a toddler-sized head :) He said it was too tight. I got C to take a look, he agreed, too small. Aargh! I had cut the fabric length halfway between the toddler and child size measurements. I could have remedied this with a bigger hair elastic thing, but of course, I don't have any bigger ones on hand. I couldn't make another headband or go shop for a bigger hair elastic thing, because, I like to leave these things to the last minute, you know the morning before the party! Oh well, one of these days, (begin dream sequence music) we'll get invited to another little gal's party, and I'll be on the ball. I'll make a great headband. The little girl will pull out the headband, and say, "It's so pretty," and I'll smile and say, "I made it" while the other moms ooh and aah. Then, they'll tell all their friends, and I'll have an etsy store - huh? Oh where was I? Back to will I ever...

2) buy a new sewing machine? I'm one of those people who cannot make a decision without agonizing over it, rethinking it, changing my mind, bugging those close to me about their opinions, and the like. So after working on the headband, I realized that my aunt was probably correct when she said she'd never liked this old Kenmore because it never did what she wanted it to do. Well, it's not that bad, but I think there could be some feeding issues, particularly when I attempt to back-stitch. Sometimes, it just seems to sit there (i.e., not back up). I still worry some that it may be OE and would like to get my aunt over to check it out. Still, overall, it would probably be best to get a new machine. This one is about 35 years old, and after using a Bernina in sewing classes, I'm just spoiled. Maybe too spoiled to not have an electronic machine. My dilemma is whether to go whole hog and buy a pricey Bernina or get something less expensive until I see whether I really will stick with the sewing. If I do get something less expensive, which one? Trying to make that decision is enough to push me toward the Bernina. I saw one comment on a sewing forum that said "if you bought the Bernina 220 (the machine I used in class), you'd probably never have to buy another sewing machine." Decisions, decisions! I am so not good with decisions! At least, I know what I'll most likely be asking for at Christmas time :)

I put two pictures beside each other! Hooray!