My sewing machine and I are not getting along. The thread keeps being pulled down underneath the bobbin and getting all sorts of tangled up and I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why this is happening. It’s done this on and off for over a year but it’s a lot worse this time. I know I need to keep trying to fix it—it’s likely due to the tension being off—but it’s so, so frustrating.
And it means that I’m hand-sewing some projects that would be much easier to make with the machine. I will forever be a proponent of hand quilting, but for smaller projects, it’s nice to have the option to just get them done. See that darling dress up there? I sewed it by hand on Sunday because I really, really wanted to make it. There was no talking me out of it, it had to be done. I am quite sure this was my way of accomplishing a task that I could control in the midst of trying to sell our house* (and keeping it clean in the meantime) and the two large photo shoots that are looming on my horizon. My closets are already organized—because I know that people look into them when they are viewing a house that’s for sale—so this was my therapy.
The day before I made this sweet version of Made by Rae’s Geranium dress, I made another version where I made a huge mistake when cutting the pattern pieces for the skirt. I knew when I was assembling it that it wasn’t gathered as much as it should be, but I wasn’t sure why. I eventually figured it out and decided that the mistake dress, which is much smaller than intended and is, in fact, more like a tunic, and will be gifted to a younger baby girl. It’s still sweet, even if I didn’t execute it exactly as intended.
The second attempt was much more successful and I think it even helped my out-of-whack back to feel a bit better. I love how girly and fancy the finished dress looks. (The polka dot fabric is the Speckle Shell Nursery Basics from Cloud 9 Fabrics, the yellow floral was from a dress I wore in college and saved because I liked the pattern.) I’m hoping that it will be Linden’s first birthday dress, even though I realize that she very well might not fit into it in three months. We’ll just have to see. Until then, I am going to keep it hanging on a pretty little hanger in her room because it makes me happy.
I am quite sure that I will be using the pattern (which has two versions and a whole slew of variations and sizes—it’s practically a steal at $10) again and again. But before I do, I’m going to find a sewing machine repair shop and get my bobbin tended to once and for all.
*We’re hoping to move to Pella, a small town that’s an hour away from Des Moines that has its very own windmill and Tulip Time festival. My husband makes the commute to his teaching job there everyday and the ten hours that he spends in the car each week are starting to add up. I love Des Moines (and our house) but since I work at home, moving makes the most sense for our family. Let me know if you want to buy our house (here’s a peek) which comes with two apple trees that should have their first fruit this year!