Comicpalooza and Carrier Updates

This post originally appeared at The Dropped Thread on 05/22/2013 .  It has been moved to the blog by the owner.

Two posts for May - I'm on a roll. I told you I wouldn't wait long for my next post.  Hopefully, I can make this a habit.  There won't be any sewing going on at my house this week.  I've volunteered as a Personal Assistant to guests at Houston's Comicpalooza.  Many people ask me if this has something to do with comedians, but no it's a comic book convention.  We have several celebrity personalities who have acted/are acting in Science Fiction related movies and/or television.  This year GalactiCon III has chosen our convention to host their convention.  GalactiCon is held every 5 years with actors from the original and reimagined Battlestar Galactica television series, along with the followup Caprica series.  Here is a photo of me at last year's convention with the voice actors of Zim and Grr from the cartoon series Invader Zim.

Richard Horvitz, Rikki Simmons, and me
Comicpalooza 2012

I'm so excited that the guys asked for me to work with them again this year!  Yay! We had a good time at last year's con, and they are so funny!  We were the most popular table; with everyone laughing so hard you would think it really was a comedian con!

Carrier Challenge Update

This post originally appeared at The Dropped Thread on 4/4/13. It has been moved to this blog by the owner.

Dear Reader,

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter Holiday.  I know it's been a while since I've posted.  I'm already behind on the 2013 Carrier Challenge due to various technical and personal mishaps.  But, I'm not giving up!
I did get several carriers done. Here's an update:

Carrier #1 - Indygo Junction's Crossover Carry-All #IJ890

Indygo Junction Crossover Carryall
Exterior fabric - Duck cloth
Interior - 100% cotton bright pink solid

For my first carrier I used a duck cloth that was on clearance at Hobby Lobby for the exterior because that allowed me to eliminate lining the bag with additional stiffening.  I'm for anything that allows an extra step, and it turns out that the sewing machine I was using at the time wasn't made to handle too many layers.  There were issues with the dog feed.  (Have since replaced machine with a Janome Memory Craft 6600 Professional - Yay!)

I used the short handled version included in the pattern (there is a variation with a longer strap for wearing across the body).  The pattern was easy to follow, but I had to cut the strap enclosure wider than called for to allow for the strap to fit.  Also, as I understood the way the side enclosure and strap are finished, the strap is sewn down and not movable.  This does not allow for the sides of the bag to gather as shown in the pattern front photo.  The purse ended up have a wide opening on each side, which I feel makes it easier for someone to stick their hand into the bag and steal something.

For the interior I used 100% cotton quilting fabric in a bright pink solid, which I had in my horde.  I regret using it because it is too flimsy to hold the snaps firmly (even with interfacing) and will eventually tear through the fabric.  I also used a standard snap (for clothing) instead of a magnetic purse snap.  The snap sides fit so tight, it is almost impossible to get the stupid thing open.  Lesson learned.

Changes I would make if using this pattern again are:

Fabric Store Review - Universal Fabric Center, Rice Village, Houston TX

This post originally appeared at The Dropped Thread on 10/12/12.  It has been moved to this blog by the owner.

Today I visited Universal Fabric Center at 2530 Times Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77005.  They have parking reserved for their store so I didn't have to park in the street, which is a big plus in Rice Village.  I immediately noted the HUGH selection of unique buttons and ribbons they have, including lots of silk velvet and silk satin ribbons.  But I then became a little overwhelmed with just the sheer volume of buttons, ribbons, and fabric.  My eyes didn't know where to go.  I was also kinda overwhelmed by the smell of mothballs.

While walking down the side aisle of sewing notions and trims I realized that most of it looks like it's been in someone's attic (hence the mothballs?) or crushed under other boxes in an old warehouse and forgotten for years.  If you're looking for a notion that is no longer on the market, this might be the place to go.  Of course, I instantly started combing through for Singer Platinum Edition Gold-Plated bobbins (Class 66 and 15), but I'm not having that type of day so no luck.

Don't let the red tags on everything fool you, those are not clearance stickers, that's just the color of their price tags.  They did have one bin of silk fabric marked down to $5 a yard but that was the only clearance section that stood out to me, and it was just printed on a white piece of paper and taped to a white bin.  There may have been others, but not noticeably marked.

Also a note of caution, they only carry Vogue and Butterick pattern books, so if you are trying to match up a McCall's/Simplicity pattern bring it with you.  But they do have a lot of Vogue and Butterick pattern books from several years back.  I didn't check to see if they actually had the older pattern in the store.

"Jewel" by Leesa Chandler for Robert Kaufman,
from the "Culture Club's: Anastasia" line

As I roamed I came across a bin of quilt cotton with bolts AND bolts of older Alexander Henry and Robert Kaufman designs.  I recognized the designs from a few years back when I had my own Etsy store.  My favorite fabrics came from these two vendors.  Most of these bolts were marked at unusual (to me) prices of $17.99 to $29.99.  I could only imagine that this must be per bolt and these were on clearance at cost.  (I quickly pulled out a calculator and figured out the cost per yard from one bolt that had the yardage marked on the end to come to this conclusion).  Suddenly I was itching to buy the entire rack!