My piping arrived! I tacked it onto the dress, put one sleeve in and it looks brilliant. Tried it on to get the positioning right for the next bit … and the left top section that’s supposed to fold down is 4 inches too short. Face palm. After scrapping around what little remaining fabric I have left for this, I manage to find a piece JUST big enough to cut a replacement part … only to discover that in my haste I’ve done it back to front. I won’t quote myself directly, but suffice to say the language was colourful. So I found ANOTHER piece just big enough and cut the piece out AGAIN, the right way round.
Phew. A lot of unpicking later and I’ve got the new section tacked on – now to overlock it before re-attaching the piping and sewing the piece on. Except now is when my overlocker decides it’s had enough. The agreement we had about me not swearing at it so long as it worked, is now void. I even gave it some lovely maintenance – in return it worked for another 10 minutes before packing it in again.
So I drag the thing down to my local sewing machine shop to put it in for a proper service, only to be told that there’s a two to four week wait. And if you remember the dates for when I need this dress for, kind reader, this would put me pretty much right onto the time that I need it completed. Obviously it’s not the service man’s fault, but it leaves me feeling a tad stressed. I think it’s time to phone a friend …
On the plus side, we’re nearing Halloween – as a goth, it’s got to be one of my favourite times of the year. In the past few years, we’ve started a tradition of sorts and hold a pumpkin carving party at my house. The kitchen dissolves into a chaotic mess of pumpkin bits, delicate carving, bleeding fingers and the smell of pumpkin innards. Carving is taken very seriously – there’s usually four or five adults doing planning weeks beforehand, often resulting in some impressive results – apart from my youngest, who tends to stick to the traditional face. I’m not much of a carver, but I do my bit by collecting the viable pieces of pumpkin flesh and making pies to reward the hard-working carvers.
As a crafter, Halloween is also an excuse to make some really fun stuff. This little guy I made just for fun and finished whilst everyone else was making a mess of my kitchen carving pumpkin art. The magic is in the magnets and it comes from this truly excellent book Creepy Crawly Crochet. Not only does it have some fantastic patterns and ideas, but it also gives really handy pictures and instructions for the crochet techniques. I’ll undoubtedly be showcasing more makes from this book in future blogs.
I also did my nails to keep with the season and hail my favourite subject matter – I got the decals for Christmas and I’ve been saving them especially for this. Happy Halloween!
