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Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Sew, Very Old One, Sew Like the Wind!



Today was the birthday of a little neighbor friend, so I made her a little shoulder bag during Ellen's nap. I thought she would like something frilly and girly, and she did.

Most of the time when I get to sew now, it's a bit of a mad dash. Today was no exception. I put Ellen down, stuck Adam in front of Star Wars, raced downstairs, cut it out as fast as I could, rushed through each step, trimmed the last threads, held it up, and thought, "Oh. I wish I'd centered the print." Ha. I kind of miss the days when sewing was a slow and contemplative activity.

OK, truthfully, I was no stranger to mad-dash sewing even in pre-kids life. I'm still grateful to my mom for taking over and putting the zipper into my prom dress for me back in 1990 so I could have time to jump in the shower before my date arrived. (Thanks, mom!) Then there was the time I was doing the soprano solo in a performance of Handel's Messiah and decided the day of the concert that I needed something lovely to wear and that I could probably somehow squeeze a fancy gown out of that piece of red velveteen my grandma gave me. Several hours later, dressed in red velveteen and costume jewelry, I was lucky to hit enough red lights on the way to the show to get some make up on. I was also lucky that no one freaked out when I didn't show up until moments before curtain time. If I hadn't resorted to gluing up the hem of my lovely new dress, I wouldn't have made it even by then. (I did stitch up the hem properly before the next time I wore it.)

By the way, the little triangle sticking out from under the ruffle on the front of the purse is the button loop. It's a little fussy to open it with the ruffle in the way, so I'd probably do a snap instead next time. I used this pattern. I added the ruffle, plus a bit of topstitching, since I couldn't be bothered to hand stitch the opening closed. I avoid hand stitching at all costs.

The following is to provide the necessary background for anyone who didn't "get" my post title:

8 comments:

Steve Amstar said...

So it wasn't until Martin Short showed up at the end of the clip that I could place the film reference. I think I need to rent "The Three Amigos" for the kids to see.

Heidi said...

That is one of my very very favorite quotes, and someday I'll do a fancy cross-stitch of it and hang it in my sewing room.

PS: I'm glad to know there are other last-minute seamstresses out there. It makes me feel better about all the skirts without waistbands in my closet. ;)

Kaoru said...

Kono eiga ,mita koto ga arimasu.
Three Amigo ,desho?
Nihongo no title dewa
"Saboten brothers" desu :-)
Kono eiga wo, kodomo no toki ni
kazoku de mi ni itta kedo,
sugoku omoshirokatta.

Emily Brimhall said...

Oh, you inspire me. I wish I was experienced enough to whip up one of those in an instant.

Hannah Holt said...

I'm impressed you sewed your own prom dress. Mom sewed both of mine. Of course, I was always standing on the kitchen tabled getting my dress hemmed as my date sat in the living room. Must be genetic.

Betsy said...

Genetic, universal, and archetypal, lol (except for rich debutantes). I bet there's a movie scene or several like that.

Anonymous said...

Blogger wasn't letting me comment the other day so I guess I'll try again.

As you may know that's long been one of my favorite quotes. I also watched "My Little Buttercup" on YouTube with my kids the other day and it was funnier to me than I remember it being the first time I saw it. It may well be that my sense of humor has gotten sillier.

I love the purse and I think taking the extra time to center the pattern might have been a waste of time if you'd done it, since it's so cute and likely no one but you will ever notice its not being centered (except for us now that you point it out. But I think it looks great just as it is.) (I'll bet there was a MUCH briefer way to express that sentiment, but leave it to me to not find the briefer way.)

melissa said...

Hey Mary, I want to see the prom dress and other dress. I know you have photo's of them somewhere. I too was hemming my dress for prom when my date showed up.

The purse is amazing! I wish I could start something and finish it in the time it takes a kid to nap. For some reason, that could never happen for me.