Weentar Break!!!

This winter break has been really relaxing. For some time now, I have just woken up whenever, sat on the couch with a fuzzy, and watched tv. And I nibbled on peppermint bark. Then I would stay up late and play tetris. And it was great for a while! For the first week or so, I embraced this sedentary lifestyle. Oh and my sleep schedule got really messed up--like I'm still trying to recover.. One day I woke up at 2PM..and I had to get woken up. So I probably could have kept going.

Yeah so after that week, I started feeling like I was too lazy, and being lazy didn't make me as happy anymore... and I wanted to do something with my life. So I made this:
My mom took these pictures for me. She likes my blog.

And I got this thumb injury in the process! I learned that my sewing machine is really hard core. One time, I accidentally left the plastic thing that covers the bobbin under the needle, and the needle sewed through the plastic! CRAY CRAY! But this time the needle didn't do anything bad.. the plastic thing that beats down next to the needle did. Anyway, it was totally worth it. It made me feel like I really did something that day, and I wasn't completely lazy. I made something that I would wear in public (and I did the next day) and I got this battle scar. Yeah! Felt good. So I learned that if I'm ever getting lazy, I need to get out there and do something more risky and challenging.

I decided I was done with just sitting around, wrapping a fuzzy around me, and watching bad commercials (I love my abdominals. I love my abs. I love my abdominals... call now. call. call. call now. call now. please call now. etc.) I wanted to not just settle for comfortable. So I made a dress. I ran... to the Barnes & Noble a couple blocks away. I read. I made dinner with my siblings. I played piano! I wanna learn that cool Canon Rebel XSi football commercial song without cheating off the other youtube videos of people that have already mastered the song. it's gonna be really cool!!
Yeah. I wanna do more challenging things.

And it made me think about what Mr. Chan told me. He said the problem with the church, that I needed to make sure I wasn't falling into, is that people are going and getting fat and lazy. and people just go to feel good and be comfortable, and not really do anything. And I probably have been doing that at New Start for a while. I've only been staying there because it's easier to go and hang out with cute little babies named John and Terri than wake up early and take up the challenge of finding a church that I learn things in, and don't get all fat and lazy in.. shoot, just playing with those cute little babies...

So I'm done with little babies (well not really--I like babies.) and being all lazy. I wanna do more challenging things now. And try harder with finding a church, even if I am going to college next fall.

anyway... look at the BABIES!

Failure

Behold, the Sheryl doll. During day camp this summer, for a counselor gift, I attempted to make a miniature version of the real Sheryl (yeah. you're welcome for the shout out. what great publicity...) The idea was excellent. We were going to create tiny, stuffed versions of each counselor. I bought felt squares at Beverly's, I had the stuffing, and everyone would have clothes that resembled their real wardrobe. Brilliant, right?

So I was planning on giving her a yellow shirt, a pink cardigan, and skinny jeans. I sewed the entire doll inside out, planning to flip it the correct way later. Then, after, I would add hair, a face, details on the clothing, a camp scarf, actual legs, stuffing, etc.

I never got that far.

As you can probably tell from the pictures, felt is very thick. So thick, in fact, that it cannot be flipped inside out when it is sewn in to skinny shapes like... necks. I tried to shove the head through the neck for about half an hour before getting frustrated and asking my mom to help me. It took about another half hour. My mom grabbed a chopstick and jammed the head through the hole. The felt had been pulled and forced in way too many ways, so it looked kinda messed up, and I would have to redo the seams in the neck, which broke while we were pushing the head through. But at least it had a head. Success!

And then I remembered, "Hey... these arms are kinda skinny too. They're skinnier than the neck, and the hands are chubby. I wonder if those hands........

crap."

Failure.

Complete failure.

Sometimes I wonder why I still have this thing. I mean... it's ugly and does not resemble a human in any way. Plus, usually, in my family, we hide our failures. Anytime we mess up, we pretend we didn't. We burn all the evidence that we ever tried. Like, we don't really bring up the time my mom accidentally vacuumed up some purple yarn, undoing half of the afghan my brother had almost finished crocheting. We just show people all the afghans that he has completed. But, for some reason, even though we don't bring up any of our other failures, no one in my family has forgotten about this doll. Every time we need something to remind us that we're not perfect, that we fail and mess up too, we bring it up. We remember shoving a chopstick up its body just to get its head to peep out of its neck. We remember how pathetic it looks, and how the hand is still stuck inside its body. I could never throw this thing away. Big failures like this are good to have around to remind us that we don't have it all together. Plus, it's really funny looking.

But as a side note, I made these for Christina for Secret Santa using the felt that I bought for the counselor gifts. I needed to redeem myself after that felt disaster.

Tote bag! I stole the owl from the print used for the lining.

Hair clips! I bought a bunch from Chinatown and then covered them in felt. This time, I did not flip the felt inside out. What was I thinking when I decided to flip it...

Senior Year

Merry Christmas! I'm a senior. Here is what I have done so far with the year!

I made this blog because I liked the username. I thought to myself, "Hey, I think I'll post everything that I sew. I'll say it's been 'allysewn.' '100% allysewn.' 'Everything allysewn.' 'You've been allysewn!" At the time, I was working on a bunch of Christmas gifts that I had sewn.
But then I forgot to take pictures of everything, so I don't have that many pics to post of my creations. It's okay though, cuz I'll probably post other things, besides just what I make. I don't wanna be boring. Next year I'll be designing/making costumes for Lowell's musical, though, so I'll have things to post then.

Here's the dress I made for senior boat. And Becky. This is a small little picture. I wasn't expecting it to come out so small. We look so tiny. Well, she looks tiny. I look tall and gigantic. I like this dress. It's kinda plain, but I like the color. And it's soft and comfy. Also, the top is separate. It ties in the back. I'm gonna wear the top to some dinner or party or something.
I'm working on another dress now. Or sorta. I figured it out in my head, and I got the fabric, but I haven't started sewing. But I do know it's gonna be white and pleated, if I can learn how to pleat things neatly.




And this is one if the pillows I made. On Black Friday, we went to Joanne's at 7am, and, without thinking, I bought a lot of flannel. I didn't realize that there is not much to make with flannel, since I wasn't making gifts for any babies... So I made a lot of pillows, pajamas, and stuffed animals.. but there is still so much more flannel. I don't even know why I bought it in such great quantities. Ugh. Stupid flannel. Stupid Joanne. If you want something made out of flannel, let me know.

Besides sewing things, I have been playing a lot of nerts, learning "Defying Gravity" on piano, working on agape, and having a lot of dart gun wars. I'm not really busy, and I'm done with college apps. I think I'm using senior year to rest up before I start college and make up for all the fun I missed out on during junior year! I like this.
So this is now officially my blog for life. I will actually stay committed to this blog and post sewing projects, my thoughts, interesting stories, etc.
So follow my blog! I'll follow yours...