sewing on christmas

This has been a good weekend. We had a cold front come through yesterday. The temperatures stayed in the low 80's under a sprinkly blanket of clouds. It was lovely because its a rare day that we get that. I went and sewed with Roxanne, and we got a slip sewn up, and 3 more skirts in the works. She had an interesting idea of making skirts to layer. Wear one as a slip, and another on top. I think it could - with the right skirts - be really cute. I mean the slips we've made for her are pretty much just white skirts. She wears a lot of skirts and I'm sure she will get a lot of use out of the ones we are making regardless of whether she wears them one or two at a time. We'll have to have a little fashion show, she and I, to see how those layers look.

Today, the weather cleared up, and I got to enjoy a rare day of going NO WHERE. Not getting in the car even once. Wooo! Frankly, I would not like it if I were home bound. I enjoy going and doing, and the freedom of having a car to do it in. Still, the day at home for a change is a treat. Of course I sewed something together. 

I've been enjoying making tote bags, and I worked on one today. I can't show the picture online yet, because it is a gift, and no early peeking! Still, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, and the creativity I used to make it. It gave me some problems along the way but I think I pretty much solved them. The most perplexing one happened when I surged the handle pieces together. An "outside" and an "inside" piece of fabric (or top & bottom, whatever) and some facing fabric for strength. Well, the facing had a little stretch to it, unexpectedly, but I thought I had that going OK until I was done with the whole seam, and one of the layers of fabric had stretched in the seam as well, almost as if it had been cut on the bias, which it had not. The errant fabric was a fat quarter that we had gotten as a contrast to the other two pieces, and those were a better weave, I think. I think that the final product works all right, but, man. I learned not to use THAT facing again, in a handle at least.

I have more tote bags in the works, and some of them may even be gifts... Wouldn't it be nice to be done with Christmas making before December? Won't happen...