I Must've Been a Good Girl

I got sewing stuff for Christmas!

The biggest gift, literally, was the gate-leg craft table, from The Man of the House. It's a hair smaller in both length and width than the kitchen table, but it's 36" high. Hopefully, that will help with the lower backache that has me moving Real Slow after a day of cutting or tracing. I've decided I want two for church, so we can put them end-to-end...if we ever get a sewing room set up there. ;)

My sister and my mother went together and got Helen Joseph Armstrong's Patternmaking for Fashion Design for me. That's a pretty intimidating volume! So far, I have barely opened it. Is there a good way to digest that thing, or should I just plan to use it for a reference mostly?

Finally, my Dear Sis-in-Law in California gave me a straight stitch throat plate/presser foot combo...that doesn't quite fit my machine. I can fudge the foot by nudging the needle position over a bit, but the throat plate doesn't fit the opening...it's about 1/8" too long. My New Home *is* something like 16 year old, and it may be that the dealer out yonder thought this kind of generic Janome set would fit. I'm going to run it over to my local guy this week and see if I can switch them out for a set that actually fits my machine, but that may not be possible. I really hope it is; I've looked at the day-before-the-Expo classses for the Atlanta Sewing Expo, and both Louise Cutting and Cynthia Guffey have straight stitch throat/foot on the Materials List that students are to bring. I originally bought this machine because I couldn't get specialty feet for my (then)10-year-old Kenmore; I'd hate to replace it just because I can't get feet for it, either...

I've been working all weekend on de-decorating the house; I should have all the trimmings and trappings boxed and ready to carry to the attic before I go to bed tonight. I hope to get to the sewing machine this week; I'll see one of the ladies who helped us move way back when next weekend and I'd like to have at least her thank-you gift done in time to take it with me ;)