everydaywithvj

Do you sew?  Did you sew at one time and then, well, you stopped?  That’s me.  I learned to sew when I was in, maybe, 3^rd. grade and remember doing a 4^th grade project where I sewed several items that were part of the project.  The teacher didn’t believe anyone in 4^th grade could do that and marked down my grade. Ouch, where did that memory come from????

Over the years I made quite a few of the clothes I wore, depending on how complicated the styles were. A-line skirts, pants without a waistband, simple v-neck tops, and caftan style lounge wear were good bets.  Curtains for the kitchen and bath too and throw pillows.  Over the years I sewed less and less, fixing a hem here and a pocket there.

Recently, inspired by a woman in my Mah Jong group, I decided to make some pants.  Simple, wide leg, elastic waist.  I even had the pattern in a drawer and remember wearing a pair of pants I’d made with that pattern in Oklahoma City in 2009.  I bought the fabric and a couple of weeks later got down to cutting out the pattern.  I opened the envelope, took out the directions, and NO PATTERN!  What?  Where did it go? Then I remembered having a pair of pants pinned and cut out and not making them and giving them away, with the pattern still attached.  Why? I have no recollection. So off I went to find a similar pattern.  But that took a couple of days and so the fabric and pattern sat.

Finally, I got around to cutting out the fabric, working to remember all the steps in aligning the pattern correctly on the fabric.  It took a week until I began to sew. For a bit.  Then got busy. Then sewed some.

Yesterday I sewed the pockets to the front and back and pinned the side seams.  Luckily, I looked before I sewed those long side seams.  My project looked like a straight skirt because I didn’t have two legs.  Duh. I’d pinned front to front and back to back.  Unpin. Re-pin. Sew the long seam from the top, around the pockets, and down to the hem.  Looked pretty good. Put it on the pattern side.  What was that funny seam sticking out from one side of the pocket on each leg? I’d sewn the pockets correctly on the front, placing the fabric pattern side to pattern side.  Then, some sort of brain fade as I sewed the back side of the pockets – back side to back side.

Next.  Sit down. Rip out – gently – the long side seam and the back-pocket seam. Then sew them correctly.  At that point I sew the waistband, leaving space to thread through the elastic, put in the elastic, and hem.  This week I hope.  The fabric pattern is decidedly summer.

Can you relate?  Please tell me.  I hope I’m not the only person to do this.  Do tell!

Every Day Is A Good Day.  VJ