What is it about suddenly having time that makes me think I can do anything? And I do mean anything. For instance, I’ve started making my own homemade yogurt (BLECH!) as well as Amish Friendship Bread.
So far, I’ve thrown away more starter than I’ve used to make bread. I just can’t seem to get it all straight…like, is this day 6 or 7? Is this the day I feed it? Or is this the day I stir it? It’s all very confusing. Of course, I don’t think it would be nearly so difficult if I didn’t start THREE at the same time…as in, three separate jars of starter. Why? Because I went online to buy the jar recommended by the person on the Amish Bread site and thought, “If one is good, wouldn’t three be even better?”
The answer is no. No, three jars is unnecessary. Three starters in three jars is ridiculous. Three is not better when one is more than I can handle. Come take a look in my freezer and you’ll see. I’ve frozen approximately ELEVENTY THOUSAND bags of starter!!!
But this isn’t a story about how I had so much starter last Saturday that I decided to make FOUR LOAVES of Friendship Bread. Because that day was TERRIBLE. No, this story is about my pants.
Sometime around the start of the quarantine, I was very stressed. I didn’t handle it well, the way things were changing every day, and so I bought clothes. Lots of clothes. Like, four new pairs of jeans and three new shirts and even a new pair of tennis shoes, even though I already have two perfectly fine pairs.
But even though I sent one pair of shoes back, I liked the pants. One pair, in particular, was really cute. I wore them twice before the rip that was created by the manufacturer, well, it ripped more. Only instead of horizontally, it took off vertically. It looked really stupid. In other words, the fashionable people who wash their new blue jeans with rocks until they look worn, then cut them intentionally, would know that mine accidentally ripped and think I was…gauche. I guess that’s what I’m saying.
So what’s a girl to do? I wasn’t sure, so I set the pants aside for oh, a month or four. Until I decided it was silly not to just sew up the rip. How much worse could they look?
(FYI, never ask that question.)
(Also, if you’ve ever read the book, “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie,” you will probably see what’s coming.)
So what do I do when my new jeans have an unintended rip that needs to be repaired? Well, first, I think about whether or not I should just stitch it by hand. I could do that since I’ve done a lot of hand-stitching in my life, but blue jean material is thick and I knew it would hurt to push the needle through the cloth. So sewing machine it is!
Next, I have to find my sewing machine. Easy enough – it’s in the guest bedroom closet. Only that’s now Brad’s home office. So there was a long delay while I tried to decide A) where to put the sewing machine and B) when to get it so it doesn’t bother Brad.
During that delay, which lasted at least a month, I rediscovered Pinterest. And for reasons I can’t quite recall, began searching up pictures of under-the-stairs closets, and how people have used them. As I searching Pinterest, I came across an article in which someone turned part of their under-the-stairs closet into a sewing closet! Hurrah! I have the solution to my problem!
When I approached Brad with my idea, he remembered a cheap little shelving unit we had in the attic from when we were first married! I think it was a hand-me-down from my sister, but I’m not certain. Whatever the case, it was the perfect size for the space – just wide enough and deep enough to give me space to sew and still be able to fit a chair.
I delayed again after that because I still hadn’t figured out when to get my sewing machine, plus I was worried that there wouldn’t be enough light. Then, one day, I mentioned to Brad that I needed my machine and he went immediately and carried it into the closet! On Sunday the last two pieces fell into place as I went to put a tower fan I had bought Brad for Father’s Day in his home office and saw there was a lamp in the way. It took me a little while to put two and two together, but I eventually realized where I could put the lamp, and it turns out it’s perfect next to my machine and VERY bright! Then I was in our media room and noticed a little desk chair set back against the back wall. We have six recliners in that room, so I grabbed the chair and put it in my closet. (Of course, as soon as Samuel learned what I had done, he told me that was his favorite place to sit and watch his brothers play video games.)
Finally, my sewing closet was ready, so today, when I got sick of working on our budget, I decided to sew up my jeans in my new space!
As I sat feeling very industrious and smart stitching up my pants, I had all sorts of glorious thoughts about starting my own sewing business! Or taking in clothes that people need repaired! Or creating something with my sewing machine that no one had ever seen before!
And then I took my pants off the machine and realized all I had really done was create for myself a pair of quarantine jeans that will never see the outside of our house.
(I might have over-estimated my ability to sew.)
Which is fine, since I rarely see the outside of our house, either.
Heya just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the pictures aren’t
loading correctly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue.
I’ve tried it in two different browsers and both show the same outcome.