Late nights and tree skirts

My man is in Dallas for the next few days, so I've been using those lonely nights to get things off my Christmas list!

So far the past few nights have been very productive, but mostly cleaning and organizing before the baby's birthday party. I've rearranged some artwork, finished my lovely little forest banner from Purl Bee, and worked on a few Christmas surprises that obviously won't be made public until they're seen by the recipient ;)

I do have something to show for myself the past few days, however. We finally pulled out the Christmas tree at work, and I guess the tree-skirt was lost in storage somewhere. So, what's a crafty girl to do? Ask for petty cash to whip up a new one over night :)

It was SUPER easy! I used this tutorial from Design*Sponge. I did all my cutting while the baby was happily pulling DVDs out of the entertainment unit, and finished the whole thing in probably 45min total. What a difference a properly working machine makes!

I fixed my tension!

No, not my shoulders. They still need some help.

My sewing machine has been the bane of my existence recently...and by recently I mean the last, oh, year. The tension was all messed up, with the top thread way tighter than the bottom thread. It made for ugly top stitching, and scrunching fabrics, and flimsy seams. I've loved sewing, but I always had to accommodate for that.

My issue was the bottom right one.

This awesome instructional article on Threads Magazine, however, finally saved me! There IS a Singer shop literally across the street from my house, but the thought of lugging the baby and my machine over there was just not working for me. Turns out my bobbin was loose...and I'd been adjusting the top like I was looking for my favorite song on the radio.

To think of all the projects I've done recently... (including finishing THIS!) How much better would they be if my damn machine actually worked right?

Oh well. Back to work!

Who wants to buy this for me?

I found this beaut on Craiglist (I'm somewhat obsessed with a chancy for my bathroom.) it's colorful, and simple, and kinda looks like grandpa would have made it. And its in my hometown! Merry Christmas to me? (click image for post.)