a little creativity this past weekend

Finish up with one hat and start another though a slightly different style to use up the rest of the skein.

Actually this morning I am sort of in a holding pattern.  I had run an errand on Saturday and once I loaded the car with the grocery items, the car would not start, just groaned a bit.  Battery light came on, etc.  I called DJ to come get me and give him time to see what to do next.  Of course, it is Saturday, the garage we use is closed.  I told the store manager that the car might have to set a bit.  At least it was out of the way of the prime parking spots at the side of the building.

We stopped to see if our neighbor Robert had any jumper cables.  He and Robert went back in Robert's truck, jumped it and DJ went off to Auto Zone with the now running vehicle, looking to replace the approximately 5 year old battery.  They plug it in---battery is fine and so is the alternator/generator (whatever the other part of the electrical system things is)  Odd?  It took a jump to get it there.  DJ drives it home.   No go.  He puts it on the charger, no go again.  Yesterday he buys some jumper cables so we won't have to pester the neighbor again.  He tries to jump it this morning so we can get it into the garage.  No go again.  The garage is sending out the tow truck.  Consensus theory with DJ, Robert and Robbie, Robert's son and across the lane neighbor is that it "sounds like the starter/solenoid."

Long story short---I don't want to get started with something and then have to leave to drive in with DJ.  So far we have been waiting about 90 minutes for the tow truck to come.  We just DID get the windshield washer mechanism fixed last week to the tune of 160 bucks not counting what he had invested in it trying to fix it ourselves.  He doesn't think the two things are connected.  Neither do I but an odd coincidence.  SIGH  Thank heavens, we have more than one car on days like this.

This is as far as I have gotten with the Snap  Happier purse.  I could be further along but I was distracted.  The green pin dot (left from the Spool Flowers project) is my lining.  At this point I need to box up the sides of it to match the cat exterior.  The green stripe is actually folded over and I THINK it goes over the cat exterior to form the casing there.  The handles pull up from inside the bag.  Then I am to cut lengths of the measuring tape to insert some how.  I am not understanding the directions on the first three instruction readings.  That is not unusual though as it normally takes me going through it sentence by sentence to follow just what I need to do.

I have already discovered TWO things.  My cat fabric is directional.  I should not have cut one long piece and folded it up for the exterior body of the purse.  It looks fine from this side but the poor kitties are upside down on the back.  I should have halved the length and added a quarter inch in length to both halves for seam allowance to seam the fabric to ensure that they were upright.  I did not have enough fusible fleece to start over and this is the prototype anyway.

The 2nd thing----either I did something wrong or I just hate the way they said to do the handles.  I tried it---too many seams required, who needs the padding anyway. I figured out how wide I need to cut them to sew them like I do the tabs on my Button Ups, only so they finish at about 1 inch in width ( 3 1/2 inches as it turns out)

Oh, one more thing-----I think it needed some exterior pockets.  I am used to digging my cell phone and sunglasses/readers out of an exterior pockets but it is too late for that.  It could also use another pocket on the interior.  Actually it is not too late to do that plus I could add a flap to the top of it even since the sides are not seamed yet.  For the checkbook, comb and extra pens, maybe?  Yep, that's what I am going to do.   Make it a little narrow in height maybe and add the flap at approximately the same distance from the top edge.  It was my idea to add the key fob thingie--- easy to track down the keys when they fall to the bottom of the purse,  just reel it in.  I put one in my version of Carol's Convertible Purse and love it!  That is also why I used the exterior color rather than the stripe or green dot so I can spot it right away!

Then I will still be puzzling about the measuring tape or emailing the designer---again.  It calls for an inch tape and I could only find a 3/4 inch one so I had asked where I should make the adjustments for the casing----divide the distance for the seaming lines or cut it smaller to start with.  I was told to divide the difference. 

I will want to make one or two wonder wallets to go with or possibly try a new to me pattern that I had misplaced for some time This & That Koin Keeper  .  (It was hiding out with another purse I have wanted to do for far longer.)  I will have to get a zipper for that one though but I would still like to try the pattern at some point.  Normally I have two wallets, one for MY money and one for the grocery/household fund money.  It helps if they look different when I am digging around in the purse, LOL.  My friend Pam got me started on that idea! 

And sew it goes-----Norma wanted me to be the pattern tester before she tried it so just doing my "job".  Meanwhile go see what the day 4 Tammy Bag ladies came up with.  Links in the previous post.