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Monthly Archives: July 2012

I make! Mustache pillowcase edition

These

Or alternatively…

These.

I made a set of mustache pillowcases for none other than, Sheri!  Super Secret Robot Agent, Wrist Brace Girl–Adventuress Extraordinaire!!  And Guybrush.  I suppose he’s a pretty important player in this whole thing.  Because, you see, these were a wedding gift.  You need two people in order to get married after all.  And in this case, it was Guybrush and Sheri.

Now, I explained last time why the mustaches.  But why the ridiculously bright and clashy lime green and orange?  Well, because of this.  I should have worked in some magenta and royal blue highlights as well.  I forgot.  Darn.  And incidentally, the post I linked to also explains this “Guybrush” business.  Not Guybrush himself, but why I call him such.

This was indeed another of project from the week of ALL THE PROJECTS.  I made them out of flannel, which I don’t particularly like for pillowcase material because it’s kind of a hot material…in that it makes your face all hot when you sleep on it.  I believe pillows should be cool and refreshing.  Yes, you heard me.  Refreshing.

But anyway!  I really had limited choices at the fabric store since I was dead set on making a lime green and orange side to the pillowcases and I still wanted to make the pillowcases out of a natural fiber (it’s 100% cotton flannel, I checked).  Unnatural fibers don’t feel so pleasant on the face when you’re sleeping.  Definitely not refreshing.  Anyhoo, I guess they can break these pillowcases out for the winter when it’s all snowy and cold and they actually want to sleep with hothead.

Hmm…like I said, the pillowcases are made with flannel.  Mustaches are appliqued (appliquéd? appliquéed??) on.  I drew the mustaches on directly on fusible interfacing with the help of some of my large circle templates and then the ironing and cutting and sewing.  I’m rather pleased that this project help me use up pretty much all of my bright orange thread.  It was left over from the propeller mushroom.  Also, I used up all the bright orange bias tape I had, also from the propeller mushroom.

Why bias tape?  To keep the raw edges from fraying.  Why not use a serger?  I couldn’t find it.  It’s been missing for years.  YEARS.  Why not use some other generic finishing stitch on the sewing machine?  Because I would prefer to do that with the cutting foot and I didn’t feel like changing feet on the sewing machine because the generic foot is forever getting lost when I take it off.  Also, I wanted to get rid of the bias tape.  Also also, I was perfecting my technique with bias tape and I think it’s some of the nicest work I’ve ever done with bias tape.  So there.

Anyway, they’re regular sized pillowcases.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have regular sized pillows available when I took pictures.  Meh.

Here they are unstuffed.

It’s so healthy!

Recently, I was at my neighborhood Michael’s picking up some supplies for gifts.  While I was scouting for appropriately sized treat boxes, a middle aged gentleman needed to cross behind me in the aisle and excused himself to scoot on by.  He was being polite.  This was all normal stuff (as I understand what normal is).  But then, as he was walking behind me, he stopped suddenly and exclaimed something about how healthy my hair was.  Um…ok.  Normal?  Maybe??  And thus started was seemed like a ridiculously long conversation about my hair in the middle of Michael’s.

I say conversation.  That would imply that we would trade the talking role.  We didn’t.  I mostly just listened.  So…I don’t really know what it was.  Other than being awkward…since we were in the middle of Michael’s…and he was a complete stranger.

Anyway, he had lots of compliments for my hair, mostly along the line of it being thick and healthy.  From what I gathered, he works in marketing for a hair product place.  My hair is really healthy.  He wasn’t trying to sell me anything (they sell directly to salons).  My hair is really healthy.  I can probably live to be 100 and still have a full head of hair.  My hair shines appropriately.  I don’t know how hair can shine inappropriately, but he’s the expert, I guess.  My hair is really healthy.  He didn’t want to embarrass me too much.  My hair is really healthy.  He’s really glad the “salt and pepper” look doesn’t bother me.  My hair is really healthy.  He asked that I do the hair flippy thing in the middle of the store a few times because he really wanted to see the volume.  He wanted me see my hair “just one more” time a few times.  The whole exchange was…awkward.  I couldn’t find a graceful way to extract myself from the thing.

For those who are incredibly creeped out by this…well, yes.  I suppose you have every right to be.  If it makes you feel better, I was not in any immediate danger (we’ll just put aside the fact that I have a very poor sense of personal safety) as we were in the middle of a public area.  Also, he was…kind of fruity.  Not that it’s bad or anything, but if we had gotten into a physical fight, I could have held my own.  He had a limp handshake.  I loathe limp handshakes.  Especially from men.  Gross.

Through this whole exchange, he didn’t try selling me anything, but he did give me a tip.  Apparently, in West LA they are currently looking for hair models.  He said that I would be a prime candidate for the job.  He rather strongly encouraged me to look into it.  I guess…that can be my backup plan…if this new place doesn’t work out.