Tuesday 30 June 2020

June in Review...


As things start to re-open in this part of the country, there is certainly a shift in how I view things that I took for granted pre-pandemic.  I count my blessings that I have the equipment, supplies and skills needed to create my own wardrobe and mend clothes.  Shopping for clothes is the last thing I could imagine wanting to do at this time.  I get the sense that it is something felt by others as there has been a noticeable increase of people asking me to sew for them. 

The thought of sewing for others at this time makes me feel very uncomfortable. The idea of standing close to someone during a fitting is not in my comfort zone at all.  But yet, I am working on a bridal project that I never imagined that I would be partaking in during a pandemic.  Strange times.   

Sadly, the project has very large pattern pieces that won't fit on my cutting table. And this ol' aching body is not ready to head back to the chiropractor and lay face down on a table for 20 to 30 minutes. I'm going to have to figure out a safe way to lay out the fabric and get it cut without kneeling on the floor and twisting my body. My back and knees are not looking forward to the cutting stage of this project. I spent a couple of days this weekend with pain meds and laying in bed after altering the pattern pieces and marking the test fabric. It was not a fun weekend. There has to be a solution I haven't figured out yet. Suggestions are most welcome.   


Sewing wise, I continued to sew small items that fit on my cutting table from fabrics found in my stash.  Although, I did add to the stash this month, 6 metres of a test fabric for the bridal cape and it's not enough. I'll have to head back to the store for more. ~sigh~  Shopping for fabric at this time is also not in my comfort zone.  I think this is the first time I can say that sewing and fabric shopping are not relaxing activities.  

This month I managed to cut 20 scrub caps (seven of the twenty are sewn), made 2 face masks, 1 top, 1 coat, 2 slips, 2 baby onesies, 1 eye glass case and 1 pair of pants.  
  • 28.9 metres
  • 1 metre of interfacing
  • 1.9metres of elastic
  • 3.8 metres of bias tape
  • 2 metres of twill tape
  • 1 new, previously-owned pattern
  • 4 previously used patterns 
  • 2 free PDF patterns
  • 3 snaps
  • 3 buttons
  • 2 labels
Stay Safe, Be Kind and Happy Sewing!

4 comments:

  1. My first though is if you have access to (and room for) a sheet of plywood to lay on top of your cutting table, then clip a sheet on that to prevent snags in the fabric. I know I'd not be able to handle a full sheet, so recommend cutting it in half and use 2 4x4 foot sheets. Or is there any way to fit your cutting table next to your dining table (raise it up on books or something to match the cutting table? Schedule a meeting room (library? community center?) and move the tables together (though they'd be too low probably)? The only other thing I can think of is to pin the pattern to fabric as much as you can, then shift the fabric on the table and finish pinning the pattern. Similar to what quilters need to do to baste quilts larger than the table they have to work on. Add seam details to the pattern so the pieces can be smaller (probably not doable if the bride picked out this pattern though). Can you measure the large pattern pieces and cut the fabric into rough chunks to fit? You'd still need to shuffle to get all pinned on, but at least you'd have less to shuffle or pull out of line or off the table. This would probably take a bit more fabric though.

    You are not alone in thinking this whole virus mess has drained much happy from sewing. Hope your aches and pains get better soon!

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  2. Love your blog. Please try contacting your chiropractor to see what safety measures they are using. I was having unbearable pain and just had to go. They had doorways propped open so I didn’t have to touch a door. The receptionist checks my temperature around a plexiglass barrier. Every staff member and patient has to wear a mask and they stagger patients so there aren’t more than 2 at a time. They don’t have me wait in the waiting room but take me right back. I don’t even sit down in the lobby. The only time I touch anything is when I lay on the table and there’s paper there and they clean between patients.

    It’s much cleaner than any visit to the grocery store. Contact them and see if you can get some relief. Btw, I’m in a hot spot and we’re still in yellow stage lockdown.

    Hope you find some relief.

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  3. For cutting out - you could try to find a church or community center with tables that you could put together.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you Linda, Ginger and JustGail for the suggestions! All of the suggestions are much appreciated. I was able to get in for acupuncture this afternoon and resting instead of sewing. I did manage to secure some folding tables moved together at the church for cutting the next project, hopefully this weekend. Thank you for all the suggestions!

    ReplyDelete

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