Stitchin's the Thing

At the moment I'm in love with my sewing machine and all the things that can quickly whizz out of it. I do love to knit and crochet but they have completely different speeds. Straightforward knitting I can do snuggling up in the evenings watching TV. I'm a slow knitter. I can also knit without looking which is handy when I want to look around. More complicated knitting and crochet, the stuff which means lots of counting is involved, is something I have to do when I'm fully awake and there are no distractions. As much as I love knitting and crochet sometimes I fancy a change of direction.

Lately I'm on a roll with the dressmaking. That to be sure is testing my patience to the limits, but I'm learning so much as I go along. Right now I'm learning not to scream and attack the eggy dress I've made with a pair of scissors.

Dress all present and correct, but with a too big top half. I've hung it up to contemplate and ponder what to do next. I'm determined I'll win this battle.

On Saturday, as the rain poured down, I got more and more fixed on the need to make a squodgy floor cushion. For many a year I've meant to make one or two, I just never got round to it and then in a flash the need arose on Saturday. Now having two girls means that whenever I make one thing that they like I must make another. That means one floor cushion made and another is being planned for the next rainy day.

Alfie also has his eye fixed on it. It's just the right height to get on when you've short legs and it's very very comfy if you're small and chubby.

Today's sewing involved something it's only taken me six years or so to get around to doing. In our sitting room is a wee side window. In complete laziness I folded up some fabric and banged in a couple of nails not long after we moved in. Now lazy things can quickly become things you just get used to after a while. Last night I decided I was going to tidy up the window first thing. I had exactly the right fabric. A super soft barkcloth curtain given to me by a friend a while back.

There was just enough muslin left over from the squoshy floor cushion lining to back the curtain panel so that made the job even easier to fix. All I needed was some string and a couple of cup hooks and it was job done. A very very easy curtain panel indeed.

Midday and with the panel up I rushed through some other stuff I needed to do and then settled down with my bowl of hexies and a few books to browse through. I'm between books and trying to find one that feels right for my mood. Books and crafty projects are always dictated by how I'm feeling. Sometimes I need a quick fix distraction and other times it's something that I can get my teeth into.

Tommorow is May 14th. On May 14th 1969 I was coming up to five months old. On that day my mum and dad officially became my parents. It was all touch and go on the day as my dad was an older parent at 43. Despite having had me since I was ten days old the judges thought he might be too old to be there for me for as long as I needed him. On my wedding day he said he was glad I didn't want him to give me away as I was given to him once and he couldn't give me back now.

May 14th is my adopted birthday, the day my parents celebrate as the day I was born to them. On May 14th last year I saw my dad for the last time. In the nature of things we don't always know it will be the last time. On May the 18th dad died. I no longer feel an overwhelming sadness when he enters my thoughts. There are still lots of things I can't get my head around though. I doubt I ever will.

I simply wrote this as I needed to record the significance of the date. Please don't think I'm sitting here feeling melancholic or sad at all. Sadness and melancholy rise up when we least expect them, not at a planned time. I feel quite content to be honest, but I would love it if dad could be joining us tommorow too.