Christmas in July!

It’s been a long time since I got really excited about Christmas. For myself, I mean. Now, I get excited, but the excitement is for the sake of my daughter and my nieces and nephews.

I would like to say that my lack of excitement about Christmas for myself came about because I got older and more mature, and so on. But really, it started happening around the time I started wanting gifts that my loved ones can’t afford. This would be when my mom started buying me psuedo-gag gifts for Christmas, like Spider-Man Potato Head (I have two now, one from a Christmas and one from a birthday), or a Spider-Man poncho (which is probably child-sized, now that I think of it).

If you ask me, the web attachment should go on top of the wrist. Not that I’m being geekishly picky or anything… Source: http://www.coolest-toys.com

Anyway, my point is, I don’t lose sleep wondering what I’ll be unwrapping on Christmas anymore.

But that sort of excitement isn’t completely gone from my life! It’s just that it’s usually self-inflicted excitement. (That didn’t come out the way I meant for it to…)

Case in point: I just ordered the new sewing machine! Free two day shipping–one of the great inventions of the modern world (thank you Amazon)–will bring it into my loving arms by Thursday, along with a walking presser foot and an invisible zipper foot!

Ooohhh… Aaahhh…. Source: http://aromavita.net

The Singer 7258 Stylist. Check it out on Amazon if you’re curious.

I’ve also got some more fabric on the way, and an invisible zipper for practice. My plan is to practice with the new machine by taking another stab at the red and black fabric Spidey shirt, making the new mask pattern, and installing one or more invisible zippers in the first (disposable) red and black Spidey shirt attempt.

I plan to try basting this time around, as per my previous post, and will even try some hand basting at the suggestion of my blogging pal MachineGunMama, who reminded me that basting–as with so many things in life–is temporary (I may have paraphrased and added a smidge of melodrama there).

By then, I think I will be feeling comfortable digging in to the professionally printed project. I am super excited and eager to get started on that, and I think it is because I am so excited that I am being so careful and methodical.

There will be some other things going on too, which will be good. I do have a mild tendency toward obsessing over projects, so much credit goes to my daughter and my GF for pulling me out of my own little world of projects.

This coming weekend is my GF’s birthday, so we are going to a little town on the coast just a few hours away to stay overnight and take in the quaint main street shops, maybe do some canoeing, walking on the beach, and have some seafood. (I never knew I liked seafood until I ate seafood on the actual coast of the actual ocean; makes a big difference, as it turns out.)

 

Pictured: not where we are going. Source: http://www.visitnc.com

The weekend after that, my daughter and I are going to spend time with my sister and her family. My daughter always has a good time with her four cousins. They have a big yard where my handy brother-in-law has built a zip-line and a tree fort, and we usually cook hot dogs by the fire and do other things that we never do here, so it is a fun time for us all.

Smoky Mountains, the beautiful barrier I keep between me and my family.

So, those little mini-vacations will be a good breather before I dive too deeply back into my quest. And I’ll try not to spend the entire time talking to my GF and family about the new sewing machine’s 100 different pre-programmed stitches and large variety of presser feet.

Up Next: Making a List (of sewing needs) and Checking it Twice (at least)