Another Déclic Top

We had a glorious day of rain yesterday. I am glad I was able to get the grass cut when I did. And because it was raining, I was able to stay inside and sew. I took one of my Déclic tops to the quilt store on Wednesday to show the owner, because the fabric came from her store. I try to do what I can to encourage her to keep ordering a few garment fabrics in addition to quilting cottons. She thought the Déclic would make a good class and sent me home with another rayon challis for a store sample. I sewed that up yesterday and will drop it off this afternoon:

I like it. I made it a size larger than the one I made for myself so she could wear it.

After I finished the top, I tried to work on some stalled projects, but they are stalled for a reason and I couldn’t get them restarted. I am missing my Necchi industrial and need to get the tension assembly fixed so I can use it again. My Janome 6600P isn’t quite up to sewing heavier fabrics. I need a machine of a size between it and the Juki 1541 and that was the niche the Necchi filled, quite nicely. I could pop one of my Singer 31 machines into the treadle table in its place—the Necchi BV and Singer 31 are almost identical in design—but I prefer the Necchi.

Instead, I cut out another New Look 6543. This one has a V-neck instead of a round neck. I did all the prep work of sewing bust darts, making the facing, and finishing the edges on the serger. All that is left is to assemble it and that won’t take long. The rain is still coming down, so I’ll do that this morning.

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After leaving the quilt store on Wednesday, I had a niggling feeling that I should stop at the Salvation Army thrift store. I don’t ignore those niggling feelings when I get them, because they almost always lead to something interesting. I wandered around the store until I got to the furniture department, where I spotted a card table—but not just any card table. It was a card table with a sewing machine cutout. I let out a small gasp of surprise and went over to check it out. Singer made card tables for the 300-, 400-, and 500-series machines. Based on the size of the cutout (although I haven’t measured it yet), I suspect this is a table for the longbed 301. The price was $14.99 so I folded up the table and hightailed it to the register. These tables sell for a pretty penny on eBay. I have another one in the basement that I got for $30. I probably should list them.

This particular thrift store used to have a really nice craft section, but they’ve stopped stocking it. They got rid of sewing patterns a few years ago and won’t take them now. I overheard one of the store managers talking to someone as I came in, and she said that they’re getting too many donations. The last time I took donations to them, I was told that they aren’t taking any “flat pieces of fabric,” including bedding or comforters. I can’t quite square “too many donations” with a store that doesn’t have as much inventory as it used to, so I’m not sure what is going on.

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I spotted another snake in the garden. It was in the strawberry patch. I know it is not the same one I saw by the cucumbers, because the cucumber snake was smaller and a darker gray. At least the snake is eating bugs and not strawberries. A squirrel got into the greenhouse and just about sent me into cardiac arrest because I didn’t see it until it ran past me and up one of the posts. We had a short conversation about what is and is not appropriate squirrel habitat and eventually it left.

I have to remind myself that I am just the groundskeeper. 😐