The Second Miracle of 2013

The first miracle of 2013 was that I blogged.  Technically my last blog was at 10:30 New Year's Eve, but for most of you it was already 2013. I got so many nice comments on that blog post that I wanted to blog again right away. Thank you for all your nice words of encouragement. It means so much to me. The second miracle is that I sewed something. Something wearable, in fact.

This is Simplicity 1716, which is described as a mini-dress, tunic and top. And mini it is! I shortened it two inches at the waist and gave it a two inch hem. It hits me at an awkward length. It's too short for a dress and too long for a tunic. I think it might work with leggings, but all I could find were tights. Don't worry though, I won't be going out in public with this in tights. It looks longer in the picture than it does in my mirror. I didn't get any pictures of it, but this looks really good with a brown cardi. The fabric is a soft poly lycra jersey that I got from Michael Levine's Loft for $2/pound. I love that store so if you are ever in the Los Angeles area, call me. We'll go shopping!

I was drawn to this pattern because of the interesting drape in the front. It's sort of a play on a twist top, but much more modest. I don't want to flash the middle-school boys, so I try to always cover myself up. I hope you can see the interesting neckline in this picture. I know the fabric print is quite busy, but click on the photo and it should magnify for you. The pattern cover photo shows a more rounded shape but they have those tucked in pieces arranged a bit differently than I do.
 

I made my tunic on my newest sewing machine. I've actually purchased two sewing machines since I last blogged regularly. However, I also sold one of my Singer 500a machines so the other one didn't count. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. This Bernina 930 Record machine was found in a thrift store. A long, long time ago I was without a sewing machine and my sister wasn't using her Bernina 930, so I talked her into letting me use it. After nearly two years, she wanted it back. Because of that, I knew exactly what this machine was when I saw the box on the shelf. I opened it up and was disappointed to see that it didn't have the accessories box or the extension table. The knee lift was the only thing in the box besides the machine, foot pedal, and cord. For the last week I stalked the employees at the store bugging them to find the parts for me. No luck. I didn't buy it the day I found it, but went back for it the next day after thinking about it all night. Good thing too because they were having a 30% off sale the next day. I'm not sure why it didn't get snatched up sooner.

I searched through my own stash of feet and found that I still had the buttonhole foot and the zipper foot from my Bernina 1230 that I no longer own. They fit perfectly. The machine was also missing the bobbin case, but I had an extra one of those too. It's a great machine, but to be honest, I like sewing on my Rocketeer better. Mostly because I can control the pressure foot pressure, so I'm debating with myself about selling this one. Even with the missing parts, I think I can ask five or six hundred dollars for it.

Here's a nice picture of a few of my other machines. I shared pictures of these before except for the red one in the bottom corner. It is my other newest machine. This one is a Viking 6570 and is a contemporary of the Bernina 930, but it came reconditioned and with all its parts. And it's RED! If you know anyone looking for a Bernina 930, let me know.