The art of sewing

Tags

daily life, everyday life, lack of skill, postaday2013, projects, repetition, sewing

I laugh at myself, fairly often I must say and I will tell you why. As I was walking Jack for the third time this afternoon; I was thinking about what to write for today’s post. My mind was going down the list of things that I had done and read about today and I was wondering how to spice up the typical day that I go through. And then it hit me; I actually did something out of the ordinary today, perfect topic to write about. The reason why I laughed at myself is because until I started rattling down the day’s timeline, I had forgotten that I had broken out the sewing box.

This morning, before the baby girl left to go back to college to start her second semester she asked me if I could sew and repair this odd rip in her favorite fitted sheet that makes up her coordinating sheet set. I said sure, why not. We said our good bye’s, hugged and kissed and she went with the baby boy, her chauffeur, off back to school.

I never learned how to sew; my mother learned at school but at my schools there weren’t any home economic courses provided at all; just reading, writing and arithmetic. Looking back I think that a cooking class, a sewing class, a home accounting class and a basic tools course would do a service to both adolescent girls and boys.

Back to the repair of the fitted sheet; the tear was an L shape and it wasn’t near any seam, so I had to piece it together with needle and thread. Funny enough, once I start sewing; I say once I got started because threading the needle is probably my biggest challenge, between the squinting and the shaking; it was a miracle that I actually got it done. As I was saying, once I start sewing, I don’t mind it too much. I tried to make the stitches as small as possible but with the challenge of joining the torn pieces, the stitches didn’t come out as pretty as they might have been. Honestly I looked like I had challenged Doctor Frankenstein in the stitching department or perhaps it was more Igor, you decide when you look at the photos.

The important thing is that I finished it. I will have to remember to wash the sheet in the delicate cycle because I don’t know if the stitches will hold up to much rough and tumble action. I even double stitched the tear but I am still not confident on the strength of my stitching.

So you see, not every one of my days is typical or dull, I have excitement here in the hills of Blandford.

Your favorite quote

Do you have a favorite quote that you return to again and again? If so, what is it, and why does it move you?

I don't do well with quotes because I can't remember the quote verbatim or the person to whom the quote should be attributed to so therefore I stay far away from using quotes to pepper my conversations or my writings.

I remember sayings such as "to err is human, to forgive divine" or "Fool me once; shame on you. Fool me twice; shame on me" but I don't go about my day using them to make a point, I try to use my own words to drive my point across.

However I do admire those who can keep all those words and authors together intact in their memory banks. I think that my admiration is not so much the flair for using quotes in and of itself but in the ability to take a famous person's words to further strengthen your own argument; thereby using the weight of history and prior experience, even if it's not your own, to argue your point. It is an intelligent way of debating and winning your side of the argument or further justifying your position.

I have to rely on my own arguments because there is nothing that weakens an argument more than when you misquote someone or misapply a quote and the opposing party calls you out on it. You are then left only with your own arguments upon which you must then acquit yourself of trying to argue a position based false presumptions. It is really not worth it so that is why I don't quote anyone.