A Perfect Mess

I have just seen a reference to this on a blog. It sounds just what I need to justify my slothfulness...

Tidy-ish desk

These cardboard drawers were going cheap in Lidl or Aldi, can't remember which now, and they have gone a long way to helping me keep my desk a little tidier. They have reminders of what is in each drawer, or at least what was originally in each drawer, and hold all the bits that I use each day. If you are wondering about the object on top of the stack, it is a tracing paper covered frame that I use when I take photos of small objects, to diffuse the strong sunlight coming in through the window at this time of the year. That's why the curtain is pulled across to keep the sun off the screen, but let me sit here feeling the warmth....

I haven't blogged much crafting lately because it has been a little boring; One of the residents of the place where we bowl lost his wife about 18 months ago, and he is running out of socks. Yes, he does know how to use a washing machine, but he doesn't know how to knit. He had polio when he was a lad, and since then, one of his legs has stayed the size it was then. He has to wear a brace and an enormous boot, and his wife Mary used to knit him knee socks with a big turnover to stop the brace rubbing. He asked if anyone would be willing to knit socks for him, and I said yes, not realising at the time that he wanted five pairs! He brought me a Fortnum and Mason's hamper containing Mary's annotated sock patterns, half a dozen balls of wool, one completed man size sock and a half completed boy size sock. The man size sock was riddled with moth holes, as were the balls of wool. With a lot of knot tying, I managed to complete the half done sock and darn the holes in the completed one. I then put the whole lot in the freezer for a few days in the hope that the treatment would kill off any remaining eggs. A visit to the local wool shop didn't produce anything with the right wool/nylon mix to survive the wear and tear plus machine washing, so I ordered wool on-line. It arrived the week before Christmas, and I've been knitting it ever since. Three grey pairs completed, and only another two to go....

I should be making shaker cards for the PC swap, but my heart isn't in it at the moment. I fused on a backing and the heat of the iron melted the vinyl on the other side. I tried another, carefully protecting the vinyl in the centre, but afterwards the shakees would not be shook, and they clung resiliently to the vinyl. I'll have to re-think my methods.

Shake it all about

I dropped my Elna SU sewing machine on its head today. I did the ironing first thing this morning, and one of Bossman's shirts needed a repair, so I sat down to do it there and then. As I got up from the machine, I caught my foot in the extension lead that lead out into the hall where I had been ironing (Because the ironing board in the sewing room can't be seen for boxes) . The extension was looped around the sewing machine cable, and as I pulled one, the other followed, as did the machine. I held my breath as I picked it up. Both bobbin holders were at a crazy angle, but I couldn't see any other damage. I undid the large left hand screw/bolt that holds the top of the machine in place, then the smaller right hand screw/bolt. As I turned this one, the whole top oscillated backwards and forwards. The force of the landing had bent it out of shape, but I was able to remove it. The bobbin pins are set into plastic flanges that fit into holes in the metal top. A couple of the lugs had broken off, but I managed to pop them back into place, replaced the wonky bolt, allowing the top to wiggle, then the tightened the large one. A test run showed everything was fine. I don't think a computerised modern machines would take this sort of punishment!

I have signed up for a shaker card exchange. Not the usual card shaker card, but a fabric shaker postcard. Having read the hints of those on the group who have made a start, I decided to test a vinyl page protector through the sewing machine. The machine seemed happy to sew it, and the vinyl didn't split or tear, so I went ahead. I have now made two, but I haven't yet worked out a work-round on how to substitute the foam pad spacers of the card version that allow a gap for the shakees between the background and the vinyl. The first one had snowflake confetti, but it only moves given a very sharp rap, and the second has beads and sequins that seem a little more mobile. What I really need to do I think is to use a couple of layers of felt as a frame around the vinyl area, and to keep this window quite small. I'll play again tomorrow afternoon.

Blogland hints that....

...it is good policy to clean one's home for the New Year. I understand the concept, but have difficulty putting it into practice. I made a feeble attempt in my sewing room this morning. I vacuumed up all the dust bunnies and threads that were lurking under the ironing board, and I even moved the plastic carrier bags that were piled under there first. I spent a good twenty minutes removing cotton from around the castors on my chair so that now I can glide from one side of the room to the other....or at least I shall be able to when I have cleared a pathway....

Then I got sidetracked; I opened a box that was under the table. It has been doing duty as a footrest for the last year or so, since I made a batch of two dozen or so tissue holders for a craft fair. It contained a very crumpled up collection of fabric samples bought as a job lot from the remnant bin of a fabric stall on Warrington Market about 25 years ago. I plugged in the iron, pressed them all, and folded them into postcard size. Don't they look neat?
Pity the rest of the room doesn't....