The first thing you have to know is that I hate mending. I’d almost rather throw a piece of clothing away than try to fix it. (I did say “almost.”) Sewing on buttons: no problem; fixing a hem: not my favorite, but okay; but once you get beyond that . . . patches, tears, darning . . . I have no interest and no skill at it. And even the basics, well, I tend to put them off as long as possible.

That said, you should be very proud of me tonight. I fixed the buttons on my coat–they hadn’t quite fallen off yet, but one was awfully close. So, I tightened all of them so that I can wear my favorite coat (with a hood) tomorrow in the snow.

And THEN,

Well, I’m not quite finished yet, but I pulled out the ugly zipper in my Debbie Bliss Cabled Jacket (you know the one, on the cover of Book 4). The one thing I didn’t think of when I picked this lovely apple-green yarn (yes, despite the washed-out photo, it is apple-green) was the fact that they apparently don’t make zippers this color. The closest I was able to come was a pale green, which always looked terrible when zipped. So, I decided that a black one would be better–it still won’t match, but it’s a neutral and dark enough to “blend” a little more with the shadow between the two sides . . . or so I hope! (It was that, or silver, what could I do?)

Anyway, I pulled out the old zipper and pinned in the new . . . which was a challenge, I must tell you. My seam ripper is old and apparently very, very dull, and I managed to stitch through the thread more often than you would think possible, so, well, now my shoulder is sore, so the actual sewing-in of the new zipper is going to have to wait–probably until the weekend. At which time, I hope also to unravel an inch or two off the top of the hood, which is rather ridiculously long. It looks okay when worn, but when not (which, let’s face it, is most of the time), it hangs down to the small of my back, and the weight of it drags the entire sweater backwards . . . awkward to wear. She looks a little indignant about the wait, don’t you think?

Chappy was very interested by the whole sewing thing. I made sure he stayed far enough away from the sharp needle and seam ripper and pins. He wanted to get closer to see, he wanted to come closer and sniff into my sewing basket, but I was mean and wouldn’t let him. So he stretched out on the floor and looked bored, instead. I would have taken a picture, but my camera battery is recharging and, what can I say?

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning // 4 Comments »