And so it goes...

Losing my sewing companion has been very difficult. It has been a full week since we found her laying lifeless on the landing and yesterday was the first day that I made it all the way through the day without crying. Bedtime is especially hard since she would always sleep with us until that last night. I also haven't done any sewing - save for her shroud - since she died.  My sewing room is the other place I associate with her.  But life goes on, right?  We still have to get up every day and there are other furry ones who depend on us.  So, I did take the first steps in the next stage of grief this weekend and washed her kitty bed and the sheets I had used to cover my work stations. Clovey was our shedder. Seriously. She had the softest fur ever, but do you remember Schultz's Pigpen - the character who was surrounded by the cloud of dirt wherever he went? Yeah, imagine fur and you had Clovey. :)

Anyway, I have been avoiding acquiring new fabric and other such sewing stuff this year since my teaching contract with an online university has not been renewed, but I broke down a little this month. First, I came across this Steampunk Hufflepuff (Harry Potter films) costume. I LOVE it! I have wanted to make my Halloween costume for years, but between not having a sewing room for a long time and now being in school... well, it just hasn't happened yet. However, I am now planning to make a costume for this year. YEAH! We've have a ton of kids come for candy and I would love to hand it out in costume!  To that end, I found a Victorian era bustle skirt pattern online, but it is for a 28" waist which I do not have so I will have to alter it.  Fortunately, it was only $24.  Just in case I can't find a pattern for the vest, I began looking for other costume options. I have been eyeing some civil war era dresses by Simplicity for a while and was preparing an online order when I thought I should check the Hobby Lobby weekly ad. Lo and behold, they had Simplicity patterns for $.99 EACH!!!!! A limit of 10 per customer, so I picked up a few for me (including undergarments) and a couple for the hubs.  

While I was at Hobby Lobby, I also grabbed a half yard of some upholstery fabric to make some chair arm covers for our recliner which sustained some chewing damage when our dog was still very young last summer.

I was looking for a charm pack to round out what I need for a quilt for one of my sisters and found Blessings charm packs for a reasonable $8 each! Who can resist a deal like that!?  I also purchased some quilt patterns/templates and 10" squares of the gorgeous Fig Tree Quilts' Tapestry.  I just love the colors in that collection!

I had managed to complete some projects before my world crumbled so I will take pictures and post them after my exam on Thursday.