Digitize, Shmizmatize, . . . .

I know those of us that have embroidery machines and then gone looking for the ultimate digitizing software; only to discover that once you buy the software; you have to upgrade every so often to take advantage of the full capability of your machine.

Well I'm guilty of that also.  For years I had been a loyal Viking sewing machine fan; having owned 2 of their embroider machines.  The last one being the Viking Designer 1+.  I was always faithful and bought their version  of embroidery software.  

Well a couple of years ago my husband agreed and got me the Bernina 830 machine.   I so-o-o-o love it.  I don't think I'll ever outgrow this one.  I'm still learning new things about it; and I've had it for over 2 years now.  

Well needless to say every machine has THEIR version of embroidery software that is better than the competitor.  Well I refuse to buy another software that is going to require me to upgrade every year or so to get all the "latest" features.  When Viking mentioned they had a new version, the 5D, and what it would cost to upgrade; yet again,  I decided I just couldn't do it anymore.  

This past fall I attended a sewing seminar by Floriani threads.  I figured what the heck, I already use their threads and stabilizer.  It was an all day seminar,  & you got all kinds of goodies for free.  So off I went.  

They allow you to install a "demo" version to test drive the software  before you buy it.  What is really appealing to me is that all the software upgrades are free.  So I don't have to purchase the upgrade to get the latest functionality. So right now I'm doing a comparison of Floriani with my Viking software .  Both are usable with my Bernina and Viking machines.

So far I've been impressed with it.  I'm going thru the tutorials now.  If you are thinking about purchasing it, I recommend going to one of their seminars/events and purchase it then.  After a seminar they offer a huge-discount, well below the MSRP.  (If you're wondering, I'll be keeping my Viking software; if I can avoid having to pay to upgrade everytime though; I'm all for it).

I'll keep you updated on my Floriani travels, as I learn more about it.

The Coat: 

Now onto the status of my coat.  I got the sleeve welts done.  I started attaching the sleeves, i.e. basting them in place.  I've got a couple of fit issues with respect to the sleeve and armhole.  So I'll be stopping by my instructors shop on Monday to get her guidance on what went wrong (or maybe right, if I'm lucky).

The Alternate Project: 
As I work my way thru my coat, I need distractions so that my patience doesn't get the best of me, and it wind up UFO.  I'm just ordered some silk organza from Dharma Trading.  I'm going to be working on a vintage dress for spring wear, and it will need to be underlined.  I figured now would be just as good a time as any to give Dharma Trading a try.  I saw pretty good reviews of them on Sewing PR.

I found some amazing cotton border prints that I want to make the dresses from.  I'm going thru my patterns trying to choose my first one.

Well, off to finish my Floriani's software training. . . . . . .

What’s a Girl to do . . .

Well let’s see. . . .
First there is shopping. So after a long day of work, and anticipating spending an entire weekend back at work; to finish up; I decided I needed a little retail pick-me-up. Now mind you, all I had intended to do was just window shop! But as luck would have it, there was a sale at DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse). They’d just marked down their clearance section. So for 80% off (the first time I’ve ever seen that!) I got the following in preparation for the warm weather to come:



Not a single pair cost more than $15. Can you believe it, approximately $500 worth of shoes for approximately $80.00. 



Then there was a trip to the fabric  store to pick up some VERY UNNECESSARY fabric. (You can never have too much fabric).  I haven’t decided what I’m going to make from them yet.  But the blue will be a vintage dress with a full skirt; at least that’s what I’m thinking right now.


Second, I did a little knitting. I finished my scarf and hat. Here’s a snapshot of the hat on a stuffed animal. I finished the infinity scarf that goes with it. It’s at work though; since I had to use it on one of my cold days.







Finally is some sewing. There is the coat that I’m still working on. I found an alpaca wool that I am using. I had exactly enough fabric for it (no room for error). So I laid out the pattern pieces, and took pictures of the layout before pinning and cutting it.



















I’m in the process of completing the sleeves. I’m doing a totally hand tailored coat.

In between finishing the phases of the coat, I worked on this skirt and top from Burda 4/2011 issue. I’m into the long skirts. I ended up adding about 7 inches to the length of the skirt. The top I added an inch just as extra precaution.
 
 
 
 
 








In the sewing arena, I’ve also started teaching one of my friends 7 year old daughter to sew. We just started lessons right before Christmas. So far she’s done a “doll” pillow, and a pillow case for her “road-trip” pillow. Now we are on to our first real project, a lap-size quilt. She is a diabetic, and wears a pump to monitor her insulin. She said she wanted to learn to sew so that she can eventually make clothes that are easy to wear with her pump.

OH yea, and for entertainment my son bought me the Wii Zumba 2 game. Its something for when I get bored with everything else – SMILE.   So off to Zumba, I go. . . .

A New Year, A New . . .

So, what else did I do while the bathroom was being worked on, you ask.

Well, I had to have stitches in my right ring finger.  Finally got those out this week.  I think God was telling me to take a break from sewing for a couple of weeks.

Sewing wise, I made a couple of things.

I started on my "winter" coat.  I took a tailoring class at my  LSS (local Sewing Shop), and began tailoring for this jacket (the double breasted version):

I purchased an alpaca wool in a brown.  I am doing hand tailoring techniques which are being taught in the class.  I'm putting in the sleeves and lining now.

I also decided to try my hand at knitting again.  I wanted something that I could easily take with me when I travel (We did a road trip to Nebraska over the break). 

I had some Pattons Classic Wool so I decided to make this hat and this scarf.  This is a snapshot of the hat in progress, it has now been completed:

The hat is a pattern from ravelry.com: Big Slouchy Hat.  The scarf I knitted is the Infinity Trinity Cowl by Debbie Stoller. I've only got about 10 more inches to go and it'll be finished.

I also decided to try some of the classes on the craftsy.com website.  I'm doing the Knit Lab class taught by  Stefanie Japel class.  I didn't think I would be too interested in online classes but these are pretty interesting and definitely convenient.  I've even been able to watch them on my iPhone.  

Oh yea, I got an iPhone also.  I decided to replace my blackberry.  I'm not using my phone for so many other things now.  I found an application called JKNIT for knitting.  I put the instructions for the scarf into this app, and it makes it very easy to keep track of where I'm at in the knitting and its portable. It took a while to figure out how to code the knitting pattern in the application; but it has been worth it.

Also, I've already finished my 1st project for 2012.  I did the top and skirt from the 4/2011 Burda.

 

I'll post the pictures tomorrow.

Here's hoping everyone had a Joyous New Year! Happy sewing!