Sewing Sunsets

I like to watch old tv shows, especially the sitcoms of the 50′s and 60′s.  It may not have reflected life exactly as it truly was during that time, but it’s a “mirror” of sorts, I suppose.  I’m always amazed at how much has changed, and yet, how little has changed.  Yes, we have made many technological advances and our lifestyles have changed, but in many ways, nothing has really changed.  Everything has changed and nothing has changed.  I guess that’s where the old saying that “there is nothing new under the sun” originates.  Women still worry about their looks and their relationships at home and money.  Men still want to be good providers and have good careers and they, too, worry about money.  The lifestyles  may have changed because many women today choose to work outside the home and some men choose to be househusbands and stay home with the children while their wives work and are the primary breadwinners.  I think we’re much busier than we were many years ago, and I’m not sure that’s a good thing.  It seems to take more and more and more to entertain us and prevent us from being bored.  And so we go, go, go all the time.  We hire nannies to watch our children and maids to clean our houses, perhaps thinking that this will give us more leisure time.  Perhaps we do have more leisure time, but do we tend to fill that time with more and more activities?  Do we really ever slow down enough to stop and just enjoy a beautiful sunset or a newborn baby’s cry?

 In years past,  life seemed to be lived at a slower pace and simple things were appreciated.  As a child I remember going outside after supper in the evenings and finding joy in catching fireflies in a jar or playing chase with the neighborhood children.  Adults often sat on the porch and visited with the neighbors, or listened to a ball game on the radio, or even just sat and talked with each other.  The old tv show that I watched last night reminded me of this because the characters sat outside on the porch after supper and just talked.

 Another childhood memory I have is the clothesline in the back yard of my home.  Clotheslines always remind me of simpler times as well.  It wasn’t as convenient to hang wet laundry outside on the line to dry, but nothing could beat the smell of the laundry when it was brought in the house to be folded and put away!  Clotheslines also tended to foster friendliness because women would often meet  and talk while in the backyards  hanging the wash. Even though modern clothes dryers offer convenience and perhaps a bit more ease of doing laundry, I think we may have lost something as well.  I think we may have lost the ability to find contentment in simple things such as just enjoying a sunrise or a sunset, smelling the sweet fragrance of fresh flowers from the garden, or hearing a baby giggle.  Those are simple things that can bring a smile to anyone’s face, but do we really ever slow down enough to enjoy them?

Sewing also reminds me of simpler times for several reasons.  Even with all the modern technology and computerized sewing machines, sewing any project, whether it’s a garment, craft, or quilt, takes time.  You’re forced to slow down and not be in such a hurry, because if you rush, mistakes may be made.  When you sew, you have to learn to enjoy the process. And you must have the ability to laugh at yourself because when you sew, you will make mistakes!  And when you do, you learn to laugh at yourself, take it in stride, learn from your mistakes, and move on.  Most sewers learn to enjoy the process as well as taking pride in the finished garment. 

Perhaps I’ve romanticized the “good old days” a bit, but I still long for life to be slower paced and less complicated.  I hope that I never get so busy and rushed that I forget to take joy the sunrises and sunsets or a baby’s giggle. 

I love sewing!  In fact, I will often find any excuse to sew!  These days I do a lot of sewing for my grandchildren.  Even though I love to sew garments, they prefer blankets and quilts, so that ‘s what I make for them most of the time.  Reversible flannel blankets and easy fleece blankets are great quick sewing projects.  Quilts take more time, but I enjoy the process of hand quilting, even if I’m not very good at it.

 My favorite things to sew are children’s garments.  I really love making things for little girls, but now that I have two grandsons, I have discovered that I also enjoy sewing camp shirts and shorts for little boys. 

 My current project is a girl’s matching top and shorts set.  I am making View A, but noticed that View B has ruffles, so I think View B will be my next sewing project!  

This is the pattern I’m working on now.  It has been fun to make, but I’ve discovered that the sleeve caps still pucker a bit, so I’ve decided to put the sleeves in flat the next time I make this little outfit, which will be very soon, I’m sure!

Yesterday, I spent some more time in my sewing room, and I actually made some progress on my project.  I got the shoulder and side seams sewn and serged, which makes this project begin to look like a bodice.  It’s always a good day when the facings are sewn onto the main bodice and understitched!  Whew!  I also managed to get the sleeves put in, but I find that I’m still having problems with this particular pattern.  The sleeve caps always seem to have a tendency to wrinkle a bit, no matter what I do.  I did manage to press out most of the small wrinkles, but I’m still not 100% pleased.  Next time I make this shirt/top, I think I’ll put the sleeves in flat, which should eliminate the puckering at the sleeve cap.   The sleeve hems and shirt hem are pressed up and pinned, so they’re ready to be hand hemmed soon.  For some reason, I never buy buttons for my projects until after they’re almost complete.  Maybe that’s just my excuse for making more trips to the fabric store!

I spent some time in my sewing room this afternoon.  A couple of days ago, I found another  sewing pattern that I really like.  Perhaps it’s old enough to be considered “vintage”, but I’m not sure.   It’s a girl’s top and shorts pattern.  I like the short sleeved top that buttons down the front.  The fabric is  a really cute print  with ladybugs and daisies on it.   The background is blue.  I don’t have quite enough fabric for both the shirt and the shorts, so I suspect that means another trip to the fabric store soon. 

Today, I got the shoulder seams and side seams sewn, serged, and pressed.   I also fused the interfacing to the back and front facing pieces, so I got quite a bit accomplished in the sewing room today.

When I’m sewing, I listen to music.  One of my favorite songs contains a line that says “you’re sewn into the fabric of my life”.  I like that line/lyric; it always makes me smile because of the sewing metaphor.

When you sew a seam, the sewing machine is making a stitch with thread, which binds the two pieces of fabric together, and when all the pieces are assembled, you will have a new creation.  Our relationships in life are like that, too.  People who  get to know each other well, and care for each other, are “stitched”together by the thread of friendship. 

Life in general is “stitched” together by the “threads” of our experiences, our hurts, our talents, our joys, and our personalities.  All those components of life are like fabric pieces being stitched together to create a new garment or creation.  And when we choose to invest in other people’s lives by really getting to know them well, then we may be lucky enough to have a lot of friends that will be  sewn into the fabric of our lives.

It has continued to cool, cloudy, and rainy in my area.  As I’ve mentioned before, those are some of the best days to go into the sewing room and spend the day sewing.  Turning on the lights helps brighten the day, the heat from the steam iron helps warm me, and the hum of the sewing machine calms my soul.  This can make an otherwise dreary day into a pleasant one.

When I sew, I like to listen to music, and I’ve discovered that I really like songs about rain.  I think that most of the songs about rain talk about doing something pleasant while it’s raining outside, so maybe that’s why I relate to them so much.  Rainy days can nice once in a while, because they give you a chance to go into the cozy sewing room and do something pleasant.  However, as pleasant as that may be, having only rainy days and no sunshine isn’t a good thing.  I like  a rainy day once in a while, but for the most part I prefer sunny, warm days.  Lately, I’ve had more “rainy” days in my life and too few sunshine filled days.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a cozy sewing room that I can escape into in real life, so I have to find a way to make it through those rainy days of life.  Sometimes, that isn’t easy, but I keep trudging on through the rain and the puddles and hope that there are more sunshine filled days ahead.   And I will continue to sew and spend time in my sewing room through it all.

Sewing days!  It has been cool, cloudy and rainy here lately.  Sometimes those types of days get me down, but most of the time, they are the best days to stay home and sew.  I always feel happiest when I’m sewing, and  spending time in my sewing room and sewing garments  or quilts during those dark dreary days lifts my spirits.

There seems to be some discussion about what constitutes “vintage” when it comes to fabric and sewing patterns.  The pattern that I’m currently using was copyrighted in 1996, so it may not be quite old enough to be considered vintage.  However, it is an older sewing pattern.  I am discovering that I really like the older sewing  patterns because it seems that the instructions and illustrations are often clearer on older/vintage patterns than on newer ones. 

I believe that one of the sewing magazines recently had an article on vintage sewing patterns.  According to the article,  older vintage patterns have fewer instructions because at that time in our history, it was assumed that most women knew how to sew, and often sewed their own clothing.  Women today don’t necessarily need to sew because ready to wear clothing is often cheaper than it used to be, plus it’s much quicker and easier to buy a new dress or coat in the store than it is to sew your own garments.  However, there are some of us who still like the creative process and enjoy designing and sewing our own clothing, or clothing for our families.  I am one of those women.  I am probably old enough to be considered “vintage”, and that may explain why I enjoy working with vintage sewing patterns.

I was in the sewing room yesterday, happily sewing along, when my machine started misbehaving again!  This particular machine is a brand that  I love, but I had the sinking feeling when I bought this one that the machine might have problems.  At that time, I remember thinking that I would like to ask that the dealer go back and get another boxed machine, but I knew he would think I was being silly, and I dismissed the idea as rather silly myself.  Since that time, I’ve often wished that I had asked him to get another sewing machine, no matter how silly it might have seemed.  I hadn’t had it very long before it started doing strange things and I took it to the shop twice before it finally got repaired.  Recently, I had a minor problem with this sewing machine and took it to the shop and told this dealer about the previous problems and mentioned that I had continued to experience some of the same original problems once in a while.  He said that the computerized sewing machines would eventually need new motherboards.  I always felt that the original dealer should have given me a new machine when I had problems because it seemed to me that this one might have been defective from the factory.

Yesterday, as I was sewing along, the low bobbin thread icon appeared on the screen.  I tried to push the button that will allow me to continue sewing, but it was hard to push–it seemed like the old problems are returning.   This happened two or three times and I finally pushed the foot pedal and the machine continued to sew, but…the display screen was totally out of whack, and when I pushed one button, it would take me to an entirely different screen!  I  kept turning the machine off and back on, and finally, after a little while, it began to behave again.   Since I plan on doing more sewing today and through next week, I’ll be curious to see if I continue having problems. If so, I’ll take the sewing machine back to the dealer and ask him to order a new motherboard, or if it’s cheaper, perhaps I’ll  consider trading in this sewing machine for a newer model. 

I find it interesting that I meet new friends when I go to the fabric store to participate in some “fabric therapy” for my sewing adventures.  In fact, I met a new friend recently at a local fabric store.  She was buying some fabric for a home dec project and I was buying flannel for some charity sewing I had planned to do.   We were both at the cutting table at the same time, and her fabric had little fuzzies all over the place.   We both began laughing and joking about the fuzzies that her fabric was causing and then began to talk a bit more.  It seems to me that we just “clicked”.  At this point, we haven’t had the time to get together yet, but we’ve e-mailed and talked on the phone a couple of times.  She is one of those folks who seems to want to get to know me–the real me, not just my name and what I enjoy doing, but who I am–Me! 

Some time later, I had the opportunity to talk to another friend and I began to think about the poem about people who come into your life for only a short time, but they leave footprints on your heart.  I suspect my new friend will  also leave footprints on my heart.