sewing

Hibi says that I have to change those "tag" answers from awhile back...she says I said that I couldn't sew, but now I'm a walking sewing machine. She's not correct, that old flatterer, but here's what I worked on completing all day today:



Here's how this all came to be.

A couple of months ago, I bought myself a good sewing machine. I spent more on it than I'd planned to, but I wanted something that wasn't a piece of junk. I wanted it for making repairs and sewing the odd invisibility cloak. (Capes are my speciality.) I thought, if something more comes out of it, fine.

The kids were excited about my purchase. They immediately went crazy with the sewing machine. Hibi chose an outfit that she wanted to sew, but I told her one piece at a time. She chose to start with a tunic top.

She worked on it for awhile and then messed up the neckline. She was frustrated and left it for weeks.

Fast forward to Holy Thurday. She and I went shopping (dragging an unwilling Zac along, fun!), looking for just the right Pascha outfit. She is very, um, *particular.* She doesn't wear skirts or dresses. (About a year ago she said to me, Mom, I don't think that just because I'm a girl that I should have to wear a dress to church. And I said, you know, I agree with you. The only problem was implementing this....it takes a bit more work to find pants outfits for someone her size than it does to find skirts and dresses.) She doesn't like pink. There are many other unquantifiables that are objectionable to her for reasons only known to her. Oh, and then there's the fair trade issue, which she feels strongly about (and I do, too, but it makes shopping EXTREMELY hard).

Anyway, of course we found nothing. I finally said, we could keep shopping and shopping and still find nothing or we can work with what we've got. I said that I'd fix the neckline of the tunic she was working on, and I'd go to the fabric store and find an *extremely* easy pattern for loose, elastic-waisted, flowy pants.

So, I did. The tunic was easily fixed that day and ready to wear. On Holy Friday, after I dropped the kids off at church for the Sunday School retreat, I went to the fabric store and asked for their very easiest pattern. I took it home and started working. And working. And then I began to make mistakes. I didn't know until I had her put on the pants without the elastic that I'd sewn two right legs, then sewn them together. It didn't help me that the fabric is very difficult to tell the right side from the wrong side. I tried to fix it, but at that point I was panicking (it was Holy Saturday afternoon) and trying to do it fast, take shortcuts, and making stupid mistakes. I finally told her that I couldn't do it. We'd have to revert to plan B, or maybe C or D....she did wear a skirt under the tunic. I think it did help her that I tried--she knew I wanted her to be happy and to have something she felt comfortable in for Pascha.

So, I have been working some off and on to get the pants done since then, and today I sat down and did it. And I could tell you all the mistakes I made along the way, and I could tell you all the things that are still wrong with it, but I think I won't and I'll just bask in the glory of a job...well, not exactly well-done, but DONE at least.