sew and vac and back

Yesterday was quite a day. First our trip to Frank's. Then fish tacos at Marie Callendar's. Then Natalie and I went to a new sewing class. (I know there's lots of Natalie around here lately, lol, but I will miss my friend when I leave for Houston. So I'm having a Nat-a-rama-ding-dong, and I don't care. She's my Natalie and I'll cry if I want to!)

There's more to the story of how we wound up at this place, and I'll share that at a later date, but our class was at a great sewing/repair shop called Tanner's Sew and Vac. Let me wander over here to this: Is there anyone out there who can tell me how or why sewing machines and vacuum cleaners formed a business? I mean, why not sew 'n toasters? Or sew 'n TV sets? Or sew 'n carburetors? Why sew 'n vacs? Anyway, there's a great teacher there named Capril, and the first time we met her she was so cool and knowledgeable that we had to go back for classes. Natalie bought the multi-class pack. I'm paying for a class at a time, for obvious reasons.

Last night, learning from Capril, I realized I could take sewing lessons for the rest of my life. There's sooo much to learn; something always new. What I learned in our first sewing class has taken me a long way; now it's time to up the skill set.

Natalie and I want to get serious about producing well-made dresses that actually fit our bodies, and we're in good hands with Capril. I've said before that marking isn't my friend, but Capril showed me a faster, simpler way of marking that's freed me from my shackles.

This is the pattern I'm working on:

View C. No giant sash, because I think it looks very, um, retarted.

That's Capril seated at the sewing machine.

Natalie is making Vogue 8232 in a beautiful polkadot Moda cotton. I'm using what I am told is a satin-y lightweight denim (denim + me = no surprise there). Capril says because of its sheen, it might have some Lurex thread in it. My favorite thing about it is that it cost 3 bucks a yard. Welcome to the under 9 dollar dress.