Spooky Basket: Things Synonymous With 'Awesome'

I'd like to confess something:
I have a bit of a fetish.

A foot fetish.
(que dramatic music).

Not the typical fetish you see... I'm in love with presser feet.

There are a myriad of presser feet for a plethora of applications-- it's liable to make your head spin!
I found it incredibly irksome that my machine only came with 6 (6 is honestly quite a lot...). I needed them all, even if the probability of me using each one is really low in the grand scheme of my sewing necessities.

Last month, my brother-in-law gave me money for a late Christmas present, and because my wishlist was rather barren from Nov. and Dec. rush of gifts (spoiled rotten), I knew exactly where to use it...

That's right, a 32 piece set and a little walking/even feed foot on the side! It just came in yesterday, and let me tell ya, that wait felt like forever-- I was that excited. Hell I even doodled my excitement into another piece to hang in my sewing room, hehe...

Can't seem to stop drawing banners in my doodles these days...

I bought the 32 piece off ebay from a vendor whom I shopped with before: Windylegend. I like them a lot; they're always reliable, affordable, their products are always spot on to what they described, and they give you a tracking number that actually works. They all snap beautifully into the ankle of my brother SE 400. I haven't given them all a test sew yet, but the few that I have (cording, rolled hems and low shank zipper foot) work just as intended.

Now, for the walking/even feed foot, I went with another vendor on ebay; 99hk. I am always a little wary with new people I shop from, but it turned out to be yet another really good vendor that offered the same as Windylegend; tracking number, spot on description and pictures, etc.

 It's completely worth it to have this strange and complicated looking foot; it works very similar to that of the walking foot on an industrial... only you don't get the torque and differential feed of the actual industrial.
Anyway, point being, this thing is invaluable with multiple layers that you either can't pin or clip together, but need to keep the layers together as accurately as possible under the capabilities of a household machine. I also took this little guy for a spin, and it worked amazingly to sew a rather thick case for my neighbor's external hard drive without any fidgeting about on the feed dogs (2 internal layers of wool felt, and 1 quilting cotton exterior).

Maybe some day I'll get into the specific functions of each foot, but not today-- the function of the even feed is enough... that's a lot of territory to cover, and I need time to prep! Heh.

Moving on, I took it upon myself to create two costumes for a friend attending the Calgary Comic Expo (which I desperately wish I could attend, as well). Then discovering, upon my visit home, that the drafting tools I had left behind had rusted or somehow broke...

It was a fairly devastating and desperate situation.
So, I have made the checklist of items I lost, and have begun searching deals for their immediate acquisition... I took on more freelance work, so it's kind of important that I get it all again, heh.

I do most of my searching on ebay, and why not, deals are abundant there... and that's exactly where I found this little set; from the vendor Sharpsewing.

Left to right: pattern notcher, awl, needle point pattern wheel

Since I've already finished the first draft of one costume, I'll be discussing the uses for each of these tools in that coming post. For now I bequeath the deal unto anyone seeking decent affordable tools for drafting. Mine did come with a tape measure, in case you're wondering where it is in my set.

Last, but definitely not least...

The ever beautiful, Homepro LR by American Tag. Sadly, it was discontinued and ripped from every imaginable retail shelf, and naturally, became an item of great desire among sewists.

Purple and cast iron-- is there a better combination? I think not.

It's a grommet/eyelet/rivet/nailhead/rhinestone/snap setter. It's nigh impossible to find a setter that has that amount of space in the "mouth"-- it's where it gets the 'LR' in its name (Long Reach). My youngest brother snatched it up for me on ebay, and it included a treasure trove of different bits, grommets and eyelets. It was quite a catch.

 I managed to track down and buy the remaining bits for its other applications, so it's technically as complete as it could be... well, minus the elusive carrying case it was once sold with. It was pretty ugly and didn't match the homepro in the least, anyhow. I haven't really got a chance to use it on real time projects, just testing purposes... but so far, it's everything the hype promised.

Bonus!

I made an impulse buy...
I know, surprise surprise.

Thinking about the dusty purple damask chenille I left behind, I decided I better decide quickly (lol) about what I intend to make once the desire becomes too much to hold back.

Target style: View B

Yeah, it's another pattern. Hey! I'm building a nice collection here *wink*.

I want to make the base the main view of these options; view B (minus that awkward chunk of faux fur they call a collar). Of course, I'll be adding alterations à la mortem.
I'm really thrilled with my choice! Because if I let myself mull for too long, and I purchase the fabric, I would get to the point where I'd be too afraid to cut into it... and that would be a damn shame.

Man oh man, I have so many things to work/budget/plan on now-- I'm extremely thrilled to be such a busy body!

"Shop smart, shop S Mart!"