Happy Birthday to me!

Let’s see, it’s been a busy weekend. I went to a Creative Memories party Friday night. I ended up buying scrapbook stuff with the crazy notion that I would go back through my old albums and redo the photos. Apparently they are bad, photo disintegrating plastic albums. I’ve been taking photos since I was 8 and won a cheap plastic camera. My dad helped me develop the film and I guess he saw a budding photographer in me because he gave me a real camera (a Kodak Pocket 110) for my 9th birthday. Anyway, I have lots of photo albums but I’m having second thoughts about turning them into cutesy scrapbooks. I don’t have the time and I think it would take away from the history and feel of the photos. If I had kids and took lots of photos of them, then I could see making up scrapbook albums because it’s the “in thing.” But it wasn’t a fad in the 70’s and I think my photos will look out of place next to construction paper cutouts and stickers. Am I wrong? I think at the most I will remove them from the plastic albums, arrange them into the new album, and include some words. The old albums have no place to describe the photo, so this would at least be beneficial.

My birthday was yesterday. I was very depressed about it and the whole gift thing. I was hurt when it seemed like my husband wasn’t going to buy me a gift. Oh, he’d buy me something, but only if I’d pick it out. This is a problem because there’s not much that I want. I don’t wait for gift-giving times – if I see something I want, I get it (within reason of course). There was one thing I thought was extravagant and didn’t really need but kind of wanted: an expensive collection of embroidery threads in a 3-drawer wooden box. I think I was more excited about it because it came with a free tote bag for my sewing machine. Then hubby declared the tote bag ugly and questioned why I wanted it. So I convinced myself that I didn’t really need the thread after all (I really don’t). There went my husband’s “perfect” gift that he’d be sure I liked because I picked it out. Then on Saturday, my husband suggested that we buy a Japanese Maple for my present. Wow. My husband remembered that I liked them. Not exactly what I thought of for a birthday gift but since he came up with the idea all on his own, I decided that if I ever want another gift from him, I better accept it. So we bought a tree. My spirits lifted by the birthday gift, I suggested we go to an art and wine festival that just happened to be located where a quilt shop was that just happened to give 25% off on fabric on the day of, day before and day after your birthday. I never need an excuse to buy fabric but I felt like making one anyway. I bought about eight or so 1-yard pieces of various cottons just because I liked them. No plan in mind (except for one I thought would make a nice vest), I just bought them because I liked then.
On my birthday I gave myself another present. I stayed home from work. My husband encouraged me to do so and I’m so glad I did. I actually had a good day! I felt great even though I spent the morning shopping at Target (curtain rods, but also a nice suede jacket and some much-needed socks). I stopped at the sewing machine dealers to pick up vacuum cleaner bags and of course browse the embroidery goodies. I almost bought a design packet but decided I ought to instead use my digitizing software to make the one design I want. In the afternoon I watched some TV and did some sewing. I like the tweedy Chanel jacket look that’s in style this fall and decided that I should get moving or the fad will pass me buy. I have a nice raw silk suiting that I think would be nice as a lightweight jacket I could dress down with jeans. So I traced off Simplicity 4954 and made up a muslin. It almost fits well, but the princess seam isn’t quite right in front. There’s too much fabric above my bust and it seems a bit snug right at my bust. I tried pinning some out of the upper chest but that just created diagonal draglines to the side of my breast. After consulting some fitting books, I concluded that the princess seam silhouette of this pattern is not right for me. The bust apex is too high, which makes sense since it looks like they targeted this pattern at a younger crowd. There’s a Chanel jacket sew-along on www.patternreview.com right now and at least one other person has concluded the same thing about this pattern. She’s decided not to use it but I’m torn between altering the princess seam or starting over with a different pattern. This Vogue pattern looks promising, but I’m afraid that it won’t fit better and I’ll end up doing adjustments anyway. What to do, what to do. Meanwhile my blouse muslin sits and languishes, a victim of fitting woes too.

And more birthday presents arrived in the evening. My husband came home with some books and a DVD “wrapped” in the shopping bag. I also “opened” the non-wrapped amazon.com wish list gifts from his sister. One gift was Borders, Bindings and Edges: The Art of Finishing Your Quilt by Sally Collins. I already knew I was getting it, which took away the surprise - besides the fact that I asked for it on my wish list. I’m bad. I peeked and looked at the “purchased items” a few weeks ago and saw it on that list.

So I really enjoyed my day off and wish I could have more. I wish I didn’t have to work. But then I wouldn’t have the money to buy fabric and patterns and I wouldn’t have anywhere to wear the clothes I’d make. So I guess I will keep working.

Oh yeah. Almost forgot. I changed my hairstyle. I decided I was bored with the old look and why not make a change for my birthday. I like the new cut but it does require more work in the morning. Along with some gel and spray and fussing. I didn't radially change it, I just got layers cut and am trying to grow my bangs out. Yeah, been there, done that and went back to bangs!