Autumn’s officially here…

Autumn's officially here -- I woke up, and with the window open it was too chilly for me to work in just my pyjamas, so I pulled on a comfy sweater and fuzzy slippers. I'm now eating a bowl of strawberries and cream oatmeal, which is just the perfect food for a slightly chilly morning. I love this weather. It makes me miss mornings in Oakland, which were like this most of the time.

I had a good writing day yesterday, punching out close to 2000 words, followed by a bunch of running around doing errands. Among other things, I finally got around to replacing my sewing machine -- if you remember, mine was stolen when someone broke into Karen's car. The new one I bought is not as powerful as the old one, but I think it's sufficient unto my needs, and it is small, which is a big plus given the aforementioned lack of storage space.

After I brought it home and mended a torn nightgown, Kevin asked me, teasing, how much it would have cost if I had just had the dry-cleaner fix it instead. He was startled when I said at least $10 -- I don't think he has any concept of how much tailoring can cost, even for what seem like very simple mending tasks.

I don't really know how to do much of anything in the way of sewing -- essentially, I can sew a straight seam. A sewing machine's fancier functions are wasted on me, though I wouldn't mind learning how to use it more fully someday. But nonetheless, I had great fun playing with the machine last night (although at one point, a piece went flying off, which startled me quite a bit -- it was my own fault for futzing with bits I didn't need to touch). In a few hours, I:

  • mended a long tear in the afore-mentioned nightgown, extending its life by another month or two, hopefully
  • took in two skirts which had gotten much too big (stretchy waistbands)
  • turned one of those skirts from full-length (okay, more than full-length, I'd been tucking it up at the waist) to knee-length, because I have finally accepted that very short, somewhat round women do not generally look fabulous in the sort of long, full, crinkle skirts that are really only suited to the tall and waif-like
  • used the excess material from the skirt to make a crinkle scarf, because what the heck, you can always use another black scarf, right?
I'm not sure the machine has quite paid for itself yet, but a few more mending and tailoring tasks should do the trick. I have a pair of jeans I need to hem...though actually, I'm not sure if this baby is up to the job of sewing denim. We'll see.

It was all much fun, even if it made my back hurt a bit -- I just wish I had someplace to leave it out. I lust for a workroom, with a corner for my sewing machine, a broad crafts table where I can leave in-progress projects out, a sunny window full of herbs and flowers, a place for my computer desk. Someday.

1 thought on “Autumn’s officially here…”

  1. Heh. i just bought myself an iron so I can start doing sewing projects again. And a few weeks ago I went on a hand-mending spree and fixed a bunch of different garments. Still have most of my “to mend” basket ahead of me, but it felt very good to get those few pieces done.

    Best of luck in your own sewing endeavors!

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