Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Looking for Gemma

Good Morning All!

First things first...Gemma, and Gemma's friends, this is going out to you specially: We have some gig changes. I know we invited you to come back and sing this weekend ( remember Gemma, everyone? ) but the Charlie's Gig with Lorraine and Paul is now going to be on February 17th and 18th 7:30 to 11:30. AND it will be Lorraine, Paul AND John " Big Sexy " Sjogren, playing under the name " Blarney Rubble and Bam-Bam. ( no, I am not kidding ) and we would still love it if Gemma came down and sang. Drop me a note if you see this.....

Now for THIS weekend, the 10th and 11th, Paul and I will be playing at the Liffy in St Paul, from 9-1. ( my sprained finger WILL be better ) Both gigs will in fact, be part of my week long Birthday celebration tho the actual day is the 15th.

( 29, not that any of you are about to ask )

Ok, moving right along, I had a wonderful time with Miss Kitty this week. She is truly a very special magic person. I wish she hadn't left but the lure of LA proved to strong. ( I know how she feels, hee-hee , I nearly de-camped for Malena's myself ) Kitty is going to come out to BaltiCon with us, hurrah, so you will all get to meet her as well.

Kitty helped me quite a bit with the Thing I am making for Malena for Valentines Day. Yes, an actual Craft Thing. Wonders will never cease. Next time I am going out and buying her chocolate. Cheaper and even if I drive for DAYS to get it , it will take less time. The sewing machine is NOT my friend. I'd tell you what it is but that would spoil things I guess, she can tell you how much she LOVES and ADORES it after the fact. The only thing I will say is that even seams are overrated.

Tomorrow the Evil Lisa Snellings ( no, I don't KNOW she is evil, but it's a good bet she is planning Somthing ) decends upon us for a visit. She has requested coffee and a hot glue gun and a hairdryer.

Life, is not dull.

Love and Stiches,
Lorraine

12 Comments:

At 11:28 AM , Blogger Kitty Cat said...

coffee AND a hotglue gun!!!?? good goddess, she is going to brew you something crafty.
i am home in LA, the sunshine & helicopters greet me.
miss the real woodsy addams family mansion so.
Lorraine is quite the band manager wrangling gig phone calls while driving with her broken finger. Impressed ever more daily, i was! Not to mention her sheer determination in attempting to make Mal what will be forever known as Valentine perfection.

As for me, I flew home accompanied by one of the family cats, who has come to hollywood to become a starlet, Zowie, & she, even though drugged, managed to claw a silver-dollar-size hole in the side of her soft carrier, my fellow passengers were terrified of her--but all in all operation kitty drop was a success.
now, back to Miles & spiders, i think he has not read charlotte's web enough times. or better yet, anansi boys! who could fear mr. nancy?
ok, me out.
oh! PS anyone out there interested in sharing a table w/me at Balticon? since i am not out on motley crue, my plans are to go & witness the pure starlight of L'aM!!! xoxox cannot wait! also must see Danth Guyth in a "corthet".

 
At 12:25 PM , Blogger Stardustgirl said...

Lo - 29? I could've sworn it was 28. Especially since you've spent so much time in LA. Time moves slower there ;-)

The sewing machine can be your friend but you must make it regular offerings of oil and new needles, and the occasional pro maintenance 'cos things get out of time and whack into one another. And praise it. Trust me, if you curse at it it will only do things like break needles and snarl bobbins to spite you. I know. I have 4 that do varying things. And beware ye of sergers... high-maintenance hos if ever I saw one.

I suspect Lisa could get evil if there were no coffee. I've noticed coffee people get REALLY upset if there isn't any in the house.

Kitty - just got your email saying you got my reply etc. etc. so I guess we're on. I'm looking forward to BC and a total banishment of slack publishers, dodgy Hollywood producers, pet-haters and lawyers of questionable business practices. I think they should screen at the door for any of those types and have them promptly turned into toads. Not that they aren't already. :-D

 
At 12:34 PM , Blogger mistress mousey said...

What she said about the sewing machines and sergers. I've got one of each and they are both godsends... when they are appeased and working. I think I angered the serger gods recently - bent a little piece just a little bit out of shape so it works just fine... but only after about 10 attempts at re-threading it first.

Personally, I feel if you can do well enough on your own with a variety of guns (staple-, glue-, sticker-, etc.), then you're probably better off.

Very curious about Malena's Valentine perfection now. There will be pictures eventually, yes?

 
At 1:30 PM , Blogger ariandalen said...

Hmmm......things do seem to be interesting in your house.
And we, poor mortals, must wait for all the unveilings.
;)

Just think how much more interesting if you had to actually spin the yarn and weave the cloth before doing any cutting and sewing.
See. It could be worse. ;)

And I proudly own my age of 44 as of last December.

 
At 5:26 PM , Blogger Stardustgirl said...

Lo - Oh dear. You are having a time of it. Let's see.... if you can find an owner's manual lying around (or look online at the manufacturer website for a user guide) they typically have a "where the oil goes" diagram for your specific machine. And it's just a tiny drop, not like filling a car. Typically it's places where things move and have friction (on mine you remove one cover and you can see the parts that require a drop of oil).

You can find it at sewing / crafty places and probably even Wally World in you area has it. It comes in very small dropper-type bottles and is typically clear. It should be hanging up with the other sewing gadgets such as the tape measures, hem guides, needles, etc. If you were close by I could solve that in about 30 seconds.

Bobbins - you snarl back at them, only louder. NO, wait... that's not it. It could be that it wasn't wound properly (it happens), and the tension is all wonky. Make sure you follow the path for the thread recommended in the sewing machine manual. If you can't find that and are absolutely fed up, you can get pre-wound bobbins for some models but you'd have to check at places that sell the machines.

Fabric - oh. dear. Hmm... well, the best way to try and get sticky stuff off is to put wax paper or foil over it, then iron on top of that so it gets soft-ish (and that avoids mucking up the iron) and then gently scrape as much as you can with a straight edge thing such as the side of a cd case. Then soak it well in a pre-soak laundry thing like oxyclean and then launder it. It may take several times. It may or may not come off... depends on how much/what kind. If you were planning on just covering it up, then just put the new iron-on over it and stitch around the edges a bit for a good hold to make sure it stays through laundering. And CLEAN THAT IRON before you try it again or it'll get really ugly and I'll be able to hear you scream clear down here. ;-) They make iron cleaner and sell it at most sewing places. I have a good one from Rowenta I got at JoAnn Fabrics. Directions come with it, and it's simple. Don't get frustrated and use and SOS pad on it or it'll be all scratchy and bad for things later. Also, test first before sticking your iron on a fabric. Start with a low-to-medium heat and iron a scrap or inconspicuous spot. Shiny, sparkly things tend to not like much heat and will freak out easily. Linens and cottons take abuse pretty well.

Mistress Mousey - sympathize on the serger! Mine is usually a happy camper but boy when it gets into a "I don't WANNA!" mood, there is no appeasing it. Re-threading 4 spools is sooooooooo annoying.

 
At 5:38 PM , Blogger Stardustgirl said...

Oh, and more bobbin-y stuff I just thought of....

Make sure your tension is adjusted right ( stitches are the same on top and bottom.... one isn't significantly tighter or looser than the other) If it's not, the adjust the tension (should be marked on the machine) until it does. If it refuses then it may need a tuneup. The timing could be off a bit and causing problems. If you hear a loud-ish clicking sound when sewing, that's usually a sign that it needs a tweak.

Put in a brand new needle now, ever if you think you don't need one. Sometimes one will have a burr that'll cause all sorts of glitches and since you can't really see them, it's hard to tell.

 
At 5:52 PM , Blogger vandaluna said...

I have a dream of an Janome sewing machine and a dreamy Elna serger. I've been sewing since I was around 9 years old.

I'm sooo busy these days that I decided I had to streamline. I have eliminated all other types of craft and hobby except sewing and knitting.

Lisa...turn the tables on wickedness...ask her about the inflatable sheepy! ::very evil grin::

Kitty! I'm so glad you'll be coming to Baltic Con.

Hmm...I think a head count from this for Balticon would be helpful for Nora and I to plan the corset party.

Lessee:

Lorraine
Malena
Kitty
Missmousey
Danth Guyth
Ravyn
Vanda
The Rat Queen

If you aren't listed or if I didn't mention someone, please add to the list. ::ulterior motives are at hand::

Thankies!

 
At 6:56 PM , Blogger Stardustgirl said...

I'm going.... Kitty Cat has convinced me :-D

 
At 2:35 AM , Blogger K said...

I so, so want to come to that corset party (and Balticon in general)... why do I live on the wrong continent? Why is April the busiest, most travel-filled month I've ever had in my life? Why do I not get more time off from work?

Maybe I could post you a cardboard cutout of me, and that could attend the party for me :(

I have a sewing machine that was my granny's and has the benefit of being very old and having all the working parts (or nearly) on display. The tension control is probably broken, but I find staring it down mostly works.

 
At 5:01 AM , Blogger Dan Guy said...

Lorraine :: I love "Blarney Rubble and Bam-Bam". LOL

Miss Kitty :: Thank you for convincing Maureen to come to BC!
I asked my friend who just finished making herself a corset if I could commission one from her but she says she's totally burned out on corsets at the moment. *blah* Not that the wife would be pleased with me buying a custom corset now that my cross dressing days are largely behind me! I will have to ask my LARP friends where I can rent one, perhaps.

Maureen :: You @ BC = yay

 
At 12:37 PM , Blogger ariandalen said...

To clean a dirty iron I've used a crumpled ball of aluminum foil. Worked like a charm.

 
At 6:10 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Keep up the good work » »

 

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