Toasty Warm

One thing I really want to do, as you may have noted in the first post, lo these many 24 hours ago, is sew more. Of course I’ve taken Home Ec, but that was 18 years ago now. I made a hoodie and an eyeglasses case, in case you were wondering.

I’ve often thought about sewing my own clothes, but most efforts have ended in tears because everything comes out looking, as I like to call it, stupid. Most recently, I got a shirt pattern that promises to be SUPER SEW EASY or some such. I’ll be sure to let you know how that turns out. But in general, clothes-sewing and I don’t get along too well; probably because my taste in clothes does not match my skill in sewing. And I only need so many handbags, wallets, and clutches.

Then, serendipitously, I stumbled back onto Sew, Mama, Sew! While they do blog about a few clothing patterns, they also had many, many tutorials for household goods. Inspired, I broke out some scrap fabric and made a toaster cozy last night. Altogether, it probably took me 45 minutes or less, and I’m not exactly God’s gift to the world of cutting and pinning. Consider, though, that I haven’t yet applied the binding tape to the bottom. I sort of tried making my own, as suggested, and quickly decided that was a Bad Idea given my patience level at the time and need to have something cute RIGHTNOW.

Cute, isn’t it? I rather like it. I got the fabric in a swap, and it appears to have been salvaged from something that had a hem once. Sadly, that was all of it, so in my newfound enthusiasm for appliance apparel, I won’t be able to make one that matches for my KitchenAid. As you may notice, it’s also a bit on the snug side. Oops. I wouldn’t let my toaster leave the house in something that tight, but it’s fine for lounging around the house.

And of course, now that I’ve finished one very small project, I have renewed faith in my ability to sew things. I’ve started making a list and, God help me, I’m going to buy some REALLY CUTE fabric (in blue, natch) and some other equally cute fabric with the part of my Christmas money that’s not going to Gocco screens and bulbs. The floral will be made into a sink skirt, to conceal the scungy trap and pipes below our wall-mounted bathroom sink. Hopefully there will also be enough left to make… er… something else. A Thing. Yes. The birdies will also be put to good use, perhaps as an appliance cover, perhaps as a small curtain.

But for tonight, I’m going to content myself with finishing some mitts for a swap (I’ve got about 400 pairs on my To-Do list), hemming an old twin sheet into cafe curtains for the kitchen window, transferring an embroidery pattern onto a flour sack towel, and crocheting a few dish scrubbies. Oh, and trying to make a hanging thingy with coat hangers. If it works I’ll take a picture; if not, we’ll forget I ever said anything. We’re also installing the new chest freezer (thanks, MIL and FIL!) in the dining room and trying to figure out how the hell the rest of the furniture is still going to fit.

PS, manic phase much? Yeah, I thought so. But I also want the house to be a lot more homey than it is right now. I don’t think I ever quite felt that our house growing up had much in the way of personality, and I really need a sense of home, especially now.