It's not just my Bernina

this image from Colette Patterns snippets service 

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And I thought it was just me, grunting as my Bernina sucks up the top thread and anything in it's needle hole area. Becky the Kenmore doesn't (front load bobbin). That crummy Brother I had didn't do it (top load bobbin), although it liked to unthread it's bobbin, which is a bigger pain.

see, Kenneth King is holding his damn threads back too on his Bernina (Craftsy Jeanius class, my screenshot, his hands)

This screen shot of Betz White's handbag class from Creative Live has her trying to trap those threads under her right ring finger

And in the second pass, it nests up before she can get to the threads

Does this happen with your machine? 

Plaidly Insane

photo by Tanit-Isis

This is a skirt Tanit-Isis has been sewing.

Why is this skirt piece shown on this yardage at this angle? Not cut on a fold, which would surely save fabric and brain power.

Plaid potential.

If you cut it at this angle on a regular plaid, centered on the center of the inner circle, it will line up.

Why?

Geometry!

One angle is the reflection/reverse of the other

My proof:

The plaid is pink and brown so I would stop making a pretty, but irregular plaid in Paint.

Yes, Paint. Old and effective tool.

 Paint will not let me make that last little fake rule line up exactly to the cut 'edge' of our semicircle, but it is an accurately flipped ruler of the other edge.

The plaid lines up.

All proving that I do have a plaid problem.

Owie (dressing around injuries)

Okay, I have frozen shoulder.

Which means I can't pull anything on over my head, that my right shoulder is swollen and larger than my left, that what I can wear is limited. Recovery is going slooooooowly.

And most importantly: I have to reset my cosplay plans.

I had such a wonderful time with the Dr Who people last year at Emerald City Comic Con, I could not bear the idea of not dressing up with them this year. And I can, with a little shape flipping and camoflaging.

I mean, I sew. I can draft a pattern. I can do this.

A featured ECCC guest from 2015

The dress pattern to be modified

The fabric will be two Dalek-inspired prints (now not tagged as Dalek per the BBC's recent requests of Spoonflower) I've been bashing away on at Spoonflower.  The grill and panel will be the midriff, the skirt will be the ball skirt design, I'll have black tights and make a stylin' hat with some LED decoration. Shoes will be comfortable; it's a looooong day on your feet. I will also need a coordinating bag (to stash my treasure haul).

If I don't seam up the inside of the sleeve, but put a hook or snap on the hem, plus run the zipper up the right side, I should be good. 

Because I like to mess with the paradigm, I love a mash-up (where you take one theme and crossbreed it with another, hopefully complimentary theme), and the doubletakes from last year were worth their weight in gold.

2015 Dalek / Doctor Who Costume

But that's just an idea. Meanwhile, I gotta ice up.

Face, Meet Palm (or: Shoulda known that's)

Beeswax in a convienient tube form

Threadsmagazine.com: A-secret-to-threading-a-needle

Ruth Ciemnoczolowski buries the lead at the end: Bees wax lip balm as thread conditioner.

Spoonflower survey for the color NOT to use next year

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XVHRHCD

DIYnetwork.com photo

The project I keep thinking about and deciding against

http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/make-and-decorate/decorating/how-to-build-a-sewing-table-top

It would work with the hefty construction foam with the foil backing (so it is less likely to chip) on one side, and a piece of formica or such on the other. It would require having a lot of room (or one empty wall) to store on. I used to have a 4' x 8' x 1/4" piece of plywood that I had taped the edges of, while I was making more than several big bias cut wedding dresses. That darn Bathhouse Theater needed it, and I have yet to buy another (or have another way of getting it to my house). 

I need to borrow a ping pong table. Think the Green Lake rec center may help me better.

I could just rent a table for an hour

http://www.seattle.gov/parks/brochures/northwest/NWWinter2016.PDF