Day One of Drudgery
Had a meeting with my sewing machine today. Always a depressing and belittling lesson in futility. But, I did still know how to thread it. Everything else I wanted to do, I needed the how-to manual. Needed a seam ripper. Got distracted. Thought it was in a catch-all bowl on my desk. It wasn't, but there were 150+ pennies in there. Yes, I counted them. Maybe Habitat ReStore, where we volunteer weekly, needs some. Also, some gold dollars, real ones that haven't circulated like our government hoped. Must be a LOT more tucked in catch-all bowls all over the country. Also lots of buttons. Tokens. "Wheatie" pennies that got stashed again. Hey, bet I didn't clean out that bowl even when we moved up here on the hill 21 years ago. It was like a treasure hunt through an abandoned box at an estate sale! But no seam ripper. On to the drawer in the table by "my" chair. Ah, three extra pads of paper, 5 pens, three pencils, discarded empty candy wrappers, three pair of scissors-all different sizes, 5 spools of thread, two empty wooden thread spools, keepers for my collection, AND...a seam ripper. It is so dull it wasn't worth the hunt. It was the one I needed for freshman year home-economics class. I'm duller now, too. By then it was an hour later and I did find a really good little pair of scissors so I had to unavoidably return to that machine of humility. Got a start on my sewing projects. A meager start. If I get the underwhelming determination to attempt that machine again tomorrow, maybe I'll need some other missing item, like a seam gauge, also from that long-ago home-economics class. If I am lucky that might precipitate a lengthy search to clean out other catch-all places, thus making total machine time, thankfully, less. If anyone makes it all the way through this...you are determined! But so enlightened!
I blame my poor sewing machine attitude on Freshman home-economics. When we did the sewing unit, we had four girls and one electric machine to share. If it wasn’t your turn on the electric machine you had to use a treadle machine. Since I spent an inordinate amount of time ripping out stitches, I made little progress on the best of days. Even my mom had had an electric machine for years, for crying out loud. Hated making clothes. First, I wasn’t svelte and at the end of the unit there would be a program on stage for us to model our accomplishments. Argh. Then there was finding a pattern, picking out fabrics and threads, getting buttons, and don't get me started on those dang zippers. That’s were most of my ripping out was done. Grrrr.
Day 2 of Drudgery
I'm NOT making a bee line for the machine of misery this morning. Only working on pillowcases, can you believe? It's a LONG story. That's the story. They are king size pillow cases and our pillows aren't. Also cut down a big pillowcase to make two small ones. Yes, I'm cheap. Thrifty. Had that task on the docket for four years. Yes, the sewing machine case always needs dusting when I get it out. Healthy dust bunnies this time. After straight line pillowcases, I have some mending and maybe buttons on a coat. Easy stuff. Stuff you talented sewing people would think nothing of doing...zip, zip and it would be done. Me...agony, crooked cutting, crooked ironing, crooked sewing, miscalculations, inside outside seam errors. knotted threads, poor tension, poor vision to see to thread the dang needle....what's wrong with white thread on navy slacks, it holds the seam together?!:)
Success with a sewing machine will never be my goal. Growing up, I always admired my classmate who could whip out nice clothes as easy as pie. It just wasn’t in my genes. (Think about it...think...ok...got it?) My mom did some clothes construction and Grandma did, too. One year Grandma made all my school dresses and some of the fabric was from flour sacks she’d saved. But I was never inspired to learn from Mom and Grandma. I don't think it was easy for Mom, but I remember once that she made herself a dress. Must have been the one year out of 42 that she took off from teaching, our first on the farm. After that she was back to teaching and always took college classes fall, spring and summer and I don't think she had time or desire to construct clothing, just mending and fixing. Grandma made my "pajama's" for the Variety Show song, "Pajama Game" or some such thing, when I was in H.S.
I always did hand sewing, crocheting, embroidery, and cross-stitch. I learned to knit in fourth grade from my favorite teacher of all time. She taught us during frigid and snowy recesses when we couldn’t go outside! Wish I'd had Grandma teach me tatting, but I never did. I know she did it when she was my current age, but I don't think I see well enough now to do it without a magnifying glass. I loved to see her hand and fingers flying. She could visit as she tatted; on automatic. It seemed like magic and the lace was so delicate. I am left-handed and I know it was a challenge for Grandma to teach me to crochet. She would do it over and over and over right-handed and eventually I'd get it reversed in my head to do it left handed. I've done a lots of nice crocheted items, from baby outfits to afghans so it "took" well. I know it is old fashioned, but I love to crochet doilies and have some displayed. I have won ribbons and best of show at the fair, as an adult, for counted cross-stitch pieces and have gifted many relatives and friends with pieces from store bought patterns and patterns I created. So, forget this danged electric sewing machine and get on with it, huh?
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