I moved a box and found the tweezers I dropped a few weeks ago, and in putting the substitute back into the spares arm of the futon, I found a better knife for my car-key chain. Also found a loose knife and put it into the spare-knives plastic bag.
Moving the box also revealed three large Milward sharps, but the part of the card that tells sizes, type, and number is missing. A coil-less safety pin suggested that it fell off one of the strips of wool hanging from a spare shelf bracket under the thread shelf.
I slept at Parkview Hospital that night, and every night since. Yesterday I finished darning the black socks. It was tiring because I had to hold the work up into the light from the window to see what I was doing. The light in my lap was equally bright, but somehow I couldn't see details.
It worked! I have access to both LETTERS and PAGESEW.
The pile of bedding fell off the treadle sewing machine (which I *must* get repaired now that it almost impossible to get away for outdoor exercise) and knocked all the day-of-the-week tags for my bras … not to the floor? One of the thread drawers was partly open, and had caught them. So I put the one that hadn't fallen in there too. Won't need them until I find time to make two more bras.
4:41 AM 7/28/2025
Middle-of-the-night insight: running backstitch can be worked as running combination stitch — and I'm not sure I haven't been working it that way.
I touched a needle!
I put bar tacks in the toes of five socks so that I wouldn't confuse them with Dave's socks. The resistor-code kit was in the pattern trunk exactly where I looked for it.
While the home helper is washing four of those socks tomorrow, I hope I find time to remember what I'm doing with the two bras. Sewing the darts is next, I think.
And when dressing the following day, I realized that the toe is the worst possible place to put a laundry mark on a stocking to be worn with sandals, and picked two of them out.
Still reading in waiting rooms. A book is so much easier to put down when I'm called.
At least I'm waiting to be called now, for a routine appointment, and not staying all night!
All false marks out — and I'll never wash those socks with Dave's socks anyhow. I put brown bar tacks inside the knee band of one of my three pairs of Sunday socks. I started to mark it at the back of the knee, as always, realized that the knee band was double, turned to the inside — and noticed for the first time that the shoe size is knitted into the band. Well, one pair is still in the package, so I haven't been wearing them all that much.
I had hopes of sewing the darts in my bras in the morning, so I could tuck the ends of the threads in while waiting for Dave at the dentist tomorrow, but we are getting a visit from a nurse at nine or ten. Though this job wouldn't take very many minutes, I need to be calm and unhurried to remember what I'm doing.
I intend to replace the folder I'm keeping the jersey parts in with one made from the box a wheelchair ramp came in.
Yesterday I flattened the ramp box and put it under the bed. Today Dave washed the sweat pants that he'd bought just before his ambulance ride, and I measured them to be re-hemmed.
Then I familarized myself with what I'd been doing with the bra. And now it's time to print out a shopping list and the check-up list for tomorrow and take a nap.
Today, while waiting for a blood draw, I put orange bartacks in the unworn stockings. I think it was at the dentist that I put red marks in the other pair. I had to thread a needle for the orange one, which was much more work than actually making the mark. I slide the needle between layers for at least half an inch, come up at the top of the bar tack, pull just until the end is inside, put the needle in at the bottom of the bar tack and come up at the top, put it in at the bottom of the tack a second time, slide between laykers to the edge of the band, snip the thread under tension.
I must have done the red one at the skin doctor on Thursday, as I was surprised that there were no scissors on my key chain today. (I cut the thread with nail clippers.) I had my bicycle key chain, which does have scissors, at the skin doctor, but carried my car-key chain today.
Ah, yes, I remember putting the socks with the insulation over my frozen food when I went to Aldi after the appointment.
I re-tied the elastic in the knee of my loose bike knickers today.
I had thought of using the stiffness of the elastic cord to sneak it toward a place where I could catch it with a crochet hook. I was much surprised that there was no opening in the seam — I had put tweezers and other tools through the opening in an effort to snag the end of the elastic on a previous occasion. The other seam is even more secure.
Eventually I pushed a #8 crochet hook in until the label tore the seam open. Much fishing later, I had the elastic out and set it aside to deal with later. I think that that was yesterday.
This afternoon I threaded it through a large blunt needle I keep for use as a bodkin, put the elastic in, discovered that the opening was one-way. Pushed the needle all the way past the opening, lost the elastic while trying to back it through eye first, pulled it out, started over.
Very, very careful not to lose the end of the elastic, I tried and tried to back the needle out of the opening, sometimes going back into the channel on the other side, sometimes catching on the seam allowance. I'd have given up, were it not for the question of how I'd get the needle out after losing the end.
Eventually the eye of the needle emerged into the open air and I tied the ends together.
Then the knot refused to go into the casing. Eventually I managed it by pushing with the eye of the bodkin needle while pulling on the elastic with the casing gathered up on it.
After all which, I noticed a hole worn through the thigh of one leg of the pants. I plan to wear them tomorrow anyway.
"Tomorrow" postponed. I put them on today, noticed that the waist and the other knee need to be tightened, put them away for the winter. Must make a note on next April's diary that they need work.
I cleared the ironing board yesterday, but didn't get at sewing until I was too stupid to iron.
Hasty sewing: the waist of my garish "early spring" tights was loose, I found the hole where I'd put the elastic in, used one of DH's hooks to pull a loop out, cut out an inch that included the splice, fastened it with a safety pin.
After wearing them, I decided it was still too loose, used the safety pin as a bodkin to get a loop out, took it in, couldn't get the tail to follow the safety pin back into the casing, cut it off.
The hole is a round hole in the lining of the casing.
&& asterism &&
My linen-cotton pants felt loose, the elastic was pinned, so I tried to tighten it without taking them off, lost one end of the elastic in the casing, discovered that my favorite bodkin wouldn't go through the grommet, did the job with a tapestry needle — after extricating a pointed needle I'd used by mistake. (Two queries: what is a pointed needle doing on my bodkin swatch, and what is the name of the pointy version of a tapestry needle? [Looked it up: chenile needle.]
And they are too tight. Dast I try to loosen them without taking them off? If I put a safety pin in the shorter end before removing the pin that holds it … .
Worked, but I had a scare or two.
I think it was Tuesday I decided that one of our last few pleasant days deserved some porch sitting and sewed one of the hems on the sweat pants. My light khaki was the best match for the gray pants, but it's not a good match. But you'd have to grovel at Dave's feet to notice.
Today I resume work on the bras. But it's already past noon. I did straighten up the coherent account of how to do it.
Internet is down yet again. May be a while before I can upload updates.
Awakened early by a false alarm. Sewed most of the other leg of the sweat pants in the emergency room. Got some stitching done on the bra after an early breakfast, then neatend up the coherent account some and ate lunch. Sleepy now.
&# C:\ED.DIR/E C:\RUFFTEXT\ED.DIR/E
For raw content see: http://wlweather.net/Pcw/2023SEW1.HTM sewing diary http://wlweather.net/Pcw/2023SEW2.HTM sewing diary http://wlweather.net/Pcw/WEBLOG2.HTM list of changes to site For *really* raw content see: http://wlweather.net/Pcw/blogsew.txt
sewbird.htm is missing some links
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