Snake Dress. Mondo Honor. Serger Drama.

Lots to talk about today. Let's get down to it. 

number one

I finally gave birth to the snake dress. And I gotta say, I am a genius, kinda. I bought sequin trim from Joann's knowing that most snake appliques I've seen on the internet are made with sequins. I had to hand-stitch the sucker on my dress because my sewing machine is getting serviced and it will be gone for TEN DAYS (more on that later). I was pretty proud of myself for how it turned out. 

Or i was happy with it until I went over to Anna's (my sister) house so I could show her my great work, and she said it didn't look anything like a snake. She asked why I didn't put any eyes on the snake, and I said it was because the snake looked too cartoon-y with eyes. She was not impressed. 

Unshaken, I wore the dress to church yesterday to get more opinions. I teach teenagers in Sunday school, and without telling them what the detail was, I asked them what they thought. "It's a snake" Megan said (my new favorite). Steve came home from work later last night, and I asked him as well without any details. "It looks like a snake that is licking your boob". Close enough. I like it so I'm keeping it. So there, Anna. Yay for snake dress finally being created! 

number two 

Mondo was wrongfully terminated from Project Runway last Thursday. I was so mad I almost cried (ask Steve). I couldn't believe what Nina Garcia and Michael Kors were saying in the judging panel. I was pretty PISSED. 

So, in honor of Mondo, I decided to make the perfect dress out of a knit over-sized hounds tooth that I found at Joann's on Saturday. I love love love it. AND since my sewing machine is gone, I can't turn under the neckline, sleeves, or hem and finish them. Nor can I put on the trim on the neckline yet (still more to come on that). So this is all I have so far. Steve likes it more with the belt. 

This is for you, Mondo. You are what I aspire to be!!!

I'm also pretty darn proud that my hounds teeth line up. pretty tricky to do. I lowered the waistline on this version of the perfect dress, so that it hits at the natural waist. I can't tell yet if I like the empire waist of the yellow perfect dress or just a regular waistline. Maybe I like both equally. There's going to be a lot more of these perfect dresses, let me just say that right now. Once this dress is completely done, I'll post finished pictures. 

number three

My sewing machine is gone for ten days. TEN DAYS. Being serviced. I'm supposed to get it serviced once a year, but I've had it for two and this is the first time in the shop. Oops. 

So I make lemonade. I've been trying this whole weekend to get to know my serger a bit better. I've had the thing for about 4 months now and all I've used it for is finishing edges with a 4-thread overlock stitch. well, this beast didn't cost $2300 just for one stitch. At least that's what the manual tells me. 

This morning I've been trying to figure out how to set up the Coverstitch. The coverstitch is what most knits have on their neckline, hem, sleeve hem, etc. For the snake perfect dress I just finished the edges with the overlock stitch, and then turned the edges under and and top stitched with my sewing machine. Pretty simple. But I need to make nice with my serger. 

The directions are pretty simple to follow, but no matter how many times i thread and re-thread the stupid thing no stitches are coming out. I'm not sure what to do now. Can anyone help me??? If you live in Midvale or anywhere near, please email me and help me. SERIOUSLY. Apparently this serger and can gathers, and I really want to know how to do that too. Maybe I should just go to a store and have them teach me. What a thought. 

Do you see why I'm scared of this mother? it's a beast. Oh golly. So for the next two weeks, there is going to be a lot of blogging about the serger. This had to happen eventually.