Merry Christmas to me!

I've been a little self-indulgent lately and here's the proof, sitting under our (as yet undecorated) Christmas tree.

The most obvious item is a 1985 Bernina 930, complete with all accessories, that I picked up from an older lady today who likes to "collect" Bernina sewing machines. She mentioned several others that she was thinking of selling to winnow down her collection. Wonder why I bought a sewing machine that was built in 1985? Well, just type "Bernina 930" into Google, read the glowing opinions. They are Swiss-made workhorses with extremely powerful motors that are still highly sought after today (and bidding on them on eBay can get a bit ridiculous!) I was shocked to see a hit pop up on Craigslist and immediately contacted to the seller to find out if it was still available and try to get some more details. I was very happy to bring it home with me today, and can't wait to put move my Singer out of the place of honor and replace it with the Bernina.

The second item in the picture may be a bit unassuming, but that is real, authentic Blair clan tartan from a Scottish mill. One whole meter. That cost a lot. That I will turn into a very cute skirt using Gertie's tutorial so that I can use every last expensive bit of this fabric. I looked for fabric while I was in Scotland, but the Blair clan tartans are a bit harder to find. So I searched online a bunch after getting home and finally ordered my precious meter.

Modeled photos of my finished dress are still in order. Hoping to have more free time for myself after giving my students their final exam tomorrow morning. :) Yay! The semester is almost over!