Boring sewing ...

Yesterday kbenco wrote a wonderful post entitled Boring Sewing and Why I Do It. It's a great post, so go and have a look. The ironic thing for me was that I read it at a time when I was having a cup of tea, reading blogs and avoiding going to my sewing room to do some boring sewing of my own.

Sitting on my table, next to the machines threaded with the appropriate colours, was a pair of jeans for Grant's SWAP that I have been avoiding all week. The colour is boring and I have made this same pattern 5 times in recent weeks. Just like the shirt I made him last weekend. I have made that same pattern 8 times in the past two months. I can do both of them in my sleep. As kbenco said so eloquently, these are things you do for your loved ones and it's part and parcel of a successful relationship. I believe that when we use our skills to make things for others, we are expressing our love for them. I was sick this week and because my bloke is someone who doesn't know how to handle illness, he cared for me the way he knew best. He cooked me a spicy mussel soup.

So, in return I went down to my sewing room and finished his jeans.

This is a Kwik Sew jeans patterns, altered slightly. I've narrowed the legs and shortened the rise at the front by about 3cm. The fabric came from deep, deep within my stash and it's been there so long, I don't remember where I got it or why I bought it. I suspect it came from Fine Wools Direct, when they were still in operation, so it's pretty old. It's a twill weave, like a drill, I think it is wool. It's very thick and the inside is fluffy like thin fleece. It has some stretch, too, so it remains to be seen how well they wear. Grant says they will be perfect for riding his motorcycle in winter.To make them a little less boring, I used a scrap of quilting cotton for the pockets. I bought this at the op shop for 20c and it was just the perfect size to get two pockets out of. I bound the inside of the waistband with leftover bias tape I made from a 70's print cotton that I used for a dress and a top.

I only have a pair of shorts, a shirt and a jacket left to make for Grant's SWAP.

The highlight of my week so far has been this little purchase. I have wanted a press for a long time, but not enough to pay $400 or so for one. I wandered into a local second hand furniture place the other day (where nearly all my furniture has come from) and saw this. From the other items in the store that day, I suspect they has bought a deceased estate. I warily asked how much they wanted for this little baby, desperately hoping it would around $100. When the reply was $39, I had my money out in light speed. Now this is an old model, but it works. No longer will have spend hours fusing interfacing to entire jacket front with an iron. I used it yesterday for the jeans waistband and it work a treat. Don't know if I'll ever actually iron garments with it, but for sewing it is perfect!