random thoughts – Day 2,127 (Monday) – sew much fun

Hello, friend.

The planned costume production was started, but with a delay. The sewing machine, which has sat in it’s storage/carry bag, untouched for years, was hauled out to the light of day and the dining room table. It’s amazing how discolored the plastic body has become, even living in a dark bag away from the light. The once white unit is now the color of butterscotch. Over the years, together we have made work suits; party wear; formal wear; Halloween costumes; the Christening dress, coat and hat that all three nieces wore; Christmas dresses for wearing and stockings for hanging; quilts; fleece pullovers for the family; and belly dance costumes. 

The manual was consulted for the pages with maintenance guidance. Having been neglected for a decade, it seemed prudent to clean and oil the important bits of the trusty machine. That’s when I discovered the sewing machine oil I’m sure I have was nowhere to be found. Yesterday, interfacing fabric, today, machine oil. Second verse, same as the first.

The magical all-knowing internet was consulted and it was learned that Wal Mart, located two miles from the house, has the needed item and off I went. To get to the crafts stuff, I went through the grocery section with pauses at the produce department pizzas and the bakery discount rack. The clearance aisle was visited, partly for the entertainment value of the variety of stuff. Personal care items live next to hardware items next to toys. My eye was caught by several ceiling fans on discount, but I didn’t have a cart and don’t know room dimensions to know what size I needed.

The sewing machine oil was in an aisle with sewing notions which usually spells danger to my wallet. A lone spool of silver decorator ribbon with eight rows of rhinestones screamed to me, along with a package of seam bias tape (just in case) and a spool of black thread even though I have several but couldn’t recall if they are cotton, polyester, cotton wrapped polyester, or something else. On the way to the checkout, some nine-volt batteries were added to round out the home battery collection.

The machine maintenance was completed. The four ounce bottle now seems huge after needing approximately eight drops.  A bobbin was filled with black thread. The manual was consulted at every step because it’s been a while. During the threading process, I learned about a threading step I was unaware of for decades. There is a slot right before the thread goes into the needle and it may explain some of the frustrating stitch problems of the past.

Trim for the top.

The first step in construction is finishing the neckline, and the afternoon was spent pinning a brocade trim into place. Then it was pinned to the dress form to check things out. Before the final stitching, I need to trim and fold the brocade trim at the bottom of the vee neck. That can be a tomorrow task. Once the front is fully sewn, the rest will be quick long seams. It’s fun to have things to look forward to. I forgot how much I always loved to sew.

Later, the lead choreographer and I met to work on our duet. We practiced what we created last week, and added more to the dance. We talked about costuming and related details. Brilliant progress was achieved. We are in the home stretch. All is well.