Sew What? More Imperfection

There are many things that I can do well. I can draw. I make a mean chocolate loaf cake. I can find my way around foreign cities. However, sewing is not really on the list. Unlike my mother, my sewing is, at best, serviceable. Passable (almost). Utilitarian.

Or, looked at another way, it's freeform and creative. Which, as you know if you've ever tried to follow a pattern, doesn't exactly make for neat and tidy results. To sew well, you need to follow directions, pay attention to details, and take care with your prep work. I don't have the patience for this.

But, when called upon, I can generally produce something that "works." Like a bathroom curtain. Here's my method:

1. Buy some fabric. Guess at the amount needed.
2. Assume that it's in a general rectangle shape. Vaguely measure.
3. Attempt to pin a hem; give up quickly since sheer fabric is difficult to fold and pin. Completely ignore that foreign thing called an iron.
4. Start sewing and hope for the best.
(note: if I want something sewn well, my method is this: wait for my mom to come visit)

It worked pretty well. It's serviceable. Just don't look too closely at the hem. Mostly, it's done and it's hanging up and it works.

Tonight we carved pumpkins.

Terri and I figured out the kind of face we wanted (vaguely 'ghost-y'). We set up papers and knives. While I started carving, Terri made dinner.

Pumpkin carving is good for when you've got some stress to get out. Either you can madly stab (if you need) or you can get really detailed and careful. Funny how I can get really detailed and careful when doing something like drawing or carving, but I can't summon any patience for this when I'm doing something like sewing.

I always get way too into pumpkin carving. I like the idea of carving pumpkins 'in the round' -- all the way around. I love fancy or elaborate pumpkins. I like groups of pumpkins.

But carving was never my strong point.

So this year, I kept it simple. A simple face. Just one pumpkin. I didn't even Virgo out like I usually do about having a perfectly scraped-out interior.

Tiger Lily helped by tasting dinner. She's a very good taster. It's her secret talent.

In the end, we had a very sweet, sad/scared pumpkin.

Well, maybe we need just one more pumpkin this year. There's still one more night before Halloween.

I've been sadly disappointed in this year's TV Halloween offerings. Usually I look forward to marathon Ghost Hunter episodes and endless documentaries on Dracula, ghosts, haunted houses, etc.

Not so much this year. What's up with that, cable company?


I had more to say, but I've forgotten. Now we are snuggled in bed, watching a Dracula special (I managed to find one on the History Channel). I wish I hadn't already read The Historian -- that would be the perfect book to be reading right now. Anyone know any good creepy books?