Feb. 26: Stupidity and failure

You know what sucks? I’ll tell ya.

What sucks is promising my daughter I’ll make an American Girl doll outfit for her cousin’s birthday and then trying to make it and ending up wanting to throw the sewing machine across the room, because it keeps getting stuff caught because I can’t thread the bobbin correctly because I’m borrowing my mother-in-law’s sewing machine because mine isn’t working and I’m too lazy to take it in to have it serviced because I don’t use my sewing machine often enough to even remember that it needs to be serviced until I go to use it.

That’s what sucks.

No, wait. I forgot one part. What also sucks is taking my daughter shopping at the fabric store and finding the perfect combination of fabrics, appliqués, buttons, and accessories, and none of it is on sale because the universe hates my guts, so I pay full price for everything, and as I leave the store I wonder why I didn’t just go over yonder to Toys R Us and buy a friggin’ pre-made outfit. Then I wonder that the whole way home and for many days afterward.

There’s more.

I bought enough extra of all the materials so I could make one of these adorable outfits for my daughter to have to match her cousin’s, and maybe even enough to make the same outfit for her other cousin too. Because wouldn’t that be so precious, all three girls having the same outfits for their American Girl dolls? Yes, yes, it’s a lovely and lofty dream. And I am an idiot.

Then there’s the fact that I waited until the last possible moment to start the actual sewing of the outfit because there were too many other things going on earlier in the week and I’ve been very, very tired. That might be the worst part of the whole thing. Well, besides the idea in the first place. They don’t get much stupider than that.

And besides the anger at myself (mostly) over the suckiness of this whole thing, it’s also made me feel like a complete and utter failure that because I can’t thread a bobbin—on a machine I’ve used before without any problem—I am quite possibly the worst mom and auntie in the whole world. It’s true.

Also making me miserable this evening? My teeth. They hurt. I’m going to bed.

And if you need me, I’ll be at Toys R Us as soon as it opens in the morning.

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.