My First Burda

I know! I know! I said I was going to be more consistent with my posts, and two weeks have passed since I last posted - but it wasn't my fault. I was out of town on business all of last week and I just never had the time to do anything. In fact, I was in the City of Brotherly Love and thought I would get a chance to show some love along "Fabric Row" (Elaray of Another Creation even offered to be my Fabric Tour Guide - thanks again Elaray) but alas, I was stuck at work until late into the evenings.

I began my Burda suscription over seven months ago but I kept putting off trying it because the tracing looked scary. I kept reading other people comment on how easy (or not that bad) the tracing was. So this week I finally decided to take the plunge and am using my very first Burda pattern. I tried it, and guess what? It really wasn't so bad after all. I don't know why I had been so intimidated all this time.

So here's what I making. I only needed a few of my drafting tools. And voila!

Monday Meditation

Yesterday, we studied the Book of John chapter 9 where Jesus gave sight to the man who had been born blind. When the religious leaders asked the man who opened his eyes, he told them about Jesus. They became so bothered by his response that they cast him out of the church. When Jesus heard about what happened, He went to find the man and made him "whole" through salvation. Jesus goes on to say that it was those with natural sight who were really blind.

Sometimes people will ask you about your faith, and when you share with them the Lord Jesus Christ they will often become angry and dismiss you, discredit you, and cast you out of their circles. But once our eyes have been opened to the truth we must continue to stand on our belief that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. When all others have turned their backs on us because of our faith in Christ, He will come to us and comfort us.

Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? John 9:35

Staying Connected

I don't have much to report today, but I don't want to let too many days go by without posting something. I have learned that three or four days can easily turn into two months of no posts.

I was hoping to be able to show my completed living room curtains this evening but that didn't happen. I will try for Thursday night now. Today was my first day back to work after having 10 days off, so to say that I was pretty non-productive when I got home this evening is quite the understatement.

Monday Meditation

Sunday we were studying from a very familiar passage of scripture where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Here is where we read the shortest verse in the bible "Jesus wept." (If you are like me, you might remember choosing this verse everytime you were asked to recite a verse of scripture from memory in Sunday School. LOL).

But the thing I want to meditate on is the fact that Jesus learned of Lazarus's condition while he was still ill, but did not go to him until four days after he was dead. So instead of healing him of his illness, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus resurrecting Lazarus should serve as a reminder to us that no matter what has happened in our lives, no matter how dead some of our hopes and dreams may seem to be, it is never too late for the Lord to resurrect them. But just like Martha was reminded in verses 25 and 40, we must first believe that he is the resurrection.

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live...John 11:25

Addition to the Family

Yes, it's true I have a brand new "baby". Weighing in at about 40 pounds and approximately 30" long she is quite an armful. I took the plunge and purchased the brand new Viking Designer Diamond. I have been wanting a Viking for quite some time and it has finally happened. This big ticket machine sews beautifully. As I post future pictures of finished projects on my blog I will point out some of the many wonderful features of this fine machine.

Isn't she just lovely?

She comes with three bags: one for presser feet, one for the embroidery unit and the large pulley bag for the machine.

One great feature of the machine is the embroidery. I made this skirt out of a light cotton and underlined it with an organza to give it enough strength to support the embroidered border. I still need to shorten the skirt, hem it and attach the lining and waistband.

I was able to complete the border around the entire skirt without the thread breaking or birdnesting one time. YAY!

Another wonderful feature is the feed teeth (Viking doesn't call them feed dogs). I had some gorgeous silk fabric in my stash that I thought would be perfect for a sheath dress, but I didn't have quite enough to cut out the dress in the traditional way. So I had to peice some scraps together (cutting against the grain) in order to get all the pieces cut. Since the fabric is a vertical stripe I ended up with two strips of horizonal stripes in the back. I needed the stripes to match up along the zipper so that the dress wouldn't be too buzy back there. I didn't have to use a walking foot or do any other tricks to get the stripes to match up because the feed teeth did such a great job of feeding the fabric through.

Needs to be hemmed and taken in at hips and shoulders.

Hand-pick stitch on the visible seam of the lapped zipper.

In order to sort of justify the purchase of the sewing machine I have decided to part with two other machines. My Brother ULT 2001 and my Singer XL5000 - If anyone is interested in purchasing either (or both) of these machines and all of their accessories just make me an offer.

It's actually all boxed up and ready to go!!!! Make me an offer.

I have lots of accessories for the Singer too - I just haven't gotten around to taken photos yet.

One last thing, I will be in Philly for one week, beginning July 13th. I will be staying in the historic district, does anyone know of any must-see fabric shops? Please advise.