Jan. 21: Sewing is for the brave

I know I keep going on about my hair, but y’know, it’s my HAIR. Who knew how important it was? I promise, I’ll try to talk about something else soon.

I bought a scarf on Etsy a while ago and really like it—good coverage, nice color, isn’t too tight. Perfect. But I wanted a whole bunch of them, and didn’t really want to spend a ton of $$ on scarves I’ll only be wearing (hopefully) for a few months. Also, most of the other prints available were a little wilder than I like, so I didn’t find much else that would work with my wardrobe. Instead, I got a pattern for a similar scarf and took a bagful of my clothes to the fabric store to match. I bought six different prints with the idea that I would make scarves myself, or better yet, my mom would do it.

I finally got around to setting up my sewing machine last week, only to find that it wouldn’t work. I’m pretty sure it just needs to be serviced, but I don’t know when I’ll get around to taking it in. My mother-in-law suggested I use her sewing machine. But do you know what it’s like to use an unfamiliar sewing machine? It’s a lot like using someone else’s cell phone; HOW DO I DIAL? WHERE’S THE SEND BUTTON? WHICH END DO I TALK INTO?

Fortunately, Darlene included the manual with the sewing machine, so by following six pages of instructions, I was able to figure out how to thread it. The bobbin took longer than it should have, I admit, but the dogs enjoyed the happy dance I did when I figured it out. (My happy dance scared the cat.)

The scarf pattern included too many pieces and assembly steps. I should have known at the beginning that it was a bad idea. It took all morning to sew it, and once it was finished I put it on my head and looked way more like Laura Ingalls Wilder than I ever did when I actually wanted to look like her at age eight. WTF? The scarf was totally bonnet-y! I think it’s still wearable—I can push it down in the bonnet-y part—but I don’t love it. Not a bit.

I had another pattern for a hat/scarf, one more like a do-rag, and decided to give that a try. It’s a reversible hat, and it took me a very long time to decide which two of my fabrics to use. I’m kind of embarrassed to admit that. It’s just that, well… it’s a commitment, y’know? What if the prints don’t look right together? True, they don’t have to, but… they should. Oh, just shut up.

The reversible hat was a lot easier to make, but I still hated it when it was done. It’s too huggy to my head.

Can I get a collective curse word here, preferably the really bad one?

Thanks.

Then tonight I had a brilliant idea. I emailed the woman I bought the cool scarf from on Etsy and asked if she could make me more scarves if I sent her the fabric. She said yes. I sure could have saved a lot of time and effort if I’d thought of that first. I’m thrilled she’s willing to make them for me, but I’m still kinda grrr-ing at myself.

For oh-so-many reasons.