A week of love, loss, resurrection, reunion, reward, triumph and discovery... but not exactly on a Tolstoy-esque sort of scale.

We're talking MY LIFE here, not Anna Karenina.

Of course the love is all about a gadget..... My new Bernina "jeans foot", bought on a whim last week-and-oh-my-GAWD-I-love-it. 

 

Here it is, sailing smoothly over denim, felted jumper, leather and polypropylene webbing. I have NO IDEA how it does it, but it has some sort of built-in stump-jumping mechanism, that guides it over lumps and bumps and thick, thick fabric, far better than the walking foot can manage.

Loss.. well, the latest was $282 on a speeding fine that I had no idea I'd be getting.  Friends who know me were IMPRESSED when they heard that I don't always drive like the Nanna they've witnessed behind the wheel in my car. 

I just can't understand how I managed it.

There was also a loss of hair, which I didn't notice until I saw this photo three days after the haircut.  I told the hairdresser, "Do whatever you like". 

And this photo is an easy segue (as well as a reminder to re-stitch that side seam) as we move on to resurrection. 

This dress began life as a 'little cowl-neck top' that I made on the knitting machine on my weekend break.  As soon as it was finished, it was obviously too big for me.  I tried wearing it one day but it all felt wrong.  It was too loose and floppy and swamped me.

On the verge of giving it to a taller, curvier sister, I made a last-ditched effort, moving a few seams and turning it into a little mini dress.... which grew and grew and grew as the day wore on, reminding me that there is much to learn about gauge and the properties of viscose yarn before I attempt another project in it.

(Apologies to the taller, curvier sister.  I quite like it now and you're not going to get it after all.)

Unable to wait for summer to wear my new knee-length (and growing) dress, I donned tights, boots and cardigan, and headed out to meet old and dear friends at the Shirt and Skirt Market at Abbotsford Convent last Sunday.

  

I went to see my good friends from Nina Wish Designs, who were stallholders for the day,  and took the opportunity to catch up with a bestie of 25+ years. 

It's a great thing, to spend time with old friends, in that easy space where so much is understood without words, and all is judged with love and respect.  The combination of shared history with genuine interest and care for each other in the here and now, gives all conversations a nurturing depth that is hard to define but wonderful to experience.

All around the market, I bumped into old and new friends, customers and students.  'Twas lovely to feel a part of a community.

Today, I was back in the saddle, teaching a Zippers for Bags class.

 

The couple of weeks break that I've had from teaching has certainly recharged my batteries (I had no idea how exhausted I was until I stopped) and I felt back to my old self today.

Teaching people new tricks and seeing them achieve what they didn't think they could do is the most rewarding part of my job.  Thanks for a great day, girls!

After class tonight, I finally worked out how people take photos with their computer web-cams for Skype profile photos and whatnot.  I know. It ain't rocket-science, but there you go... a discovery for me.    Here's the Eureka! moment, captured for posterity ...and then photoshopped to bring some contrast into the dimly-lit graininess of the image.

Apart from the fine line of (mystery) red blobs running through my forehead, nose and chin, I quite like the idea of low-fi image as an everyday look. It hides a multitude of best-overlooked fine details.

Lastly, TRIUMPH.    Those of you who have been to one of my classes (or tried to have any sort of conversation with me) over the last 6 months or so, will know just how obsessed I've been with 6mm Vliesofix tape: my favourite of all the fusible tapes.  I've been using it to hold hems and zips (and anything tricky) into place before I sew ...and endlessly waxing lyrical about it.



It's been like hens' teeth to get at retail level and it was getting pretty frustrating, sending people off to look for it in shops.  Last week I bought a whole box of the stuff at a bargained-down price (it's soon to be rebranded, so this current stock is soon to be "old stock") and I'm able to pass on the discount to customers - it's $7.50 per 15m roll, in the studio-shop only. 

If you live too far from us to come in and you don't see this product in your local store, ASK for it.  Unless the stores know that there is a demand for it, they may not know to buy it in (when it''s rebranded and more readily available).

And that's another week, done and dusted. 

Not an epic week.

Not even vaguely dramatic. 

But stuff happened and I thought I'd record a bit of it.

Hope your week was a good 'un.