2022SEW1.HTM 5:12 PM 3/23/2022 Measuring interrupted to prepare supper. 6:20 PM 3/23/2022 6:24 PM 3/23/2022 measured before washing 1:36 PM 4/4/2022 sheet washed, but I forgot to measure it before -wadding- folding it. Will be making bed Real Soon Now; measure it then 10:58 AM 4/29/2022 3 yds, 10" wide 2 yards, thirty inches long 11:01 AM 4/29/2022 30 April 2022 That sheet is too long and too wide --> ------------------------------------------- &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Friday, 5 August 2022 10:58 AM 8/5/2022 The missing scissors were in the pencil mug! I hope that my bicycle keys are also in a spot I'll look into.   My bike might be ready as soon as today. [The bike keys were in the pocket of one of my disintegrating jerseys. The bike was delayed by a misunderstanding.] [I have made a list of the tools on the bike-key ring, so that I'll know what's missing when it happens again. Alas, most of the items are things I lucked into and can't buy replacements for. A one-blade pocket knife, for example, is almost impossible to find.] 6:16 PM 8/5/2022 Repair shop closed for the day and no phone call. Probably Monday. I plan to make my first trip to the new trailhead; I think (the publicity is none too clear on the exact location) that I can get there entirely on walkways, so I might do it on Sunday with the flatfoot. Finally got the gap-seam on bra A finished, and pinned the right-side seam. First pass was a tad too wide. I left it in as basting and tried again. This time I was sewing wa-hay too narrow, but I noticed while it wasn't much to remove. So I resorted to using a six-inch stainless-steel pocket ruler to dot-dot-dot where the stitching goes. Four minutes before time to resume cooking supper: plenty of time to finish, but I blew it by unthreading the needle. My fading battery lamp is still bright enough to sew by, but threading a needle is quite impossible. Tuesday, 9 August 2022 1:50 PM 8/9/2022 Got up late, fed the cat, got dressed, ate seasoned-up corned beef hash (which included pulling two onions and re-filling the smoked-paprika bottle), threw cat turds out the door etc., threaded the sewing-machine needle, changed the batteries on the sewing machine -- yes, in that order; I couldn't figure out how to open the battery compartment at first, and just held the fading light close to the needle. And then it was time for lunch. I had corn checks, sliced almonds, and half a banana in milk. After lunch, I remembered that I sew a half-inch seam by setting the needle on the left and guiding on the edge of the needle plate. Went straight down the row of dots. The edge was a bit wavy, so I stretched the seam slightly, a thread broke and left a genrous inch of draft. I basted the gap with very short running stitches, leaving both end unsecured -- these stitches bear no stress in the final seam. Went to the porch to pick out the too-wide seam -- went quickly: pull the thread until the other thread stops popping through, cut a stitch half an inch from the hang-up, pull the thread out, repeat with the other thread. I tossed the bits of thread to the wind. Went back out to baste the little hem on bra C, but I have found it a bad idea to operate a sewing machine at nap time, so I'm calling it a morning. 6:48 PM 8/9/2022 After supper, I stitched the little hem on bra A, picked it out, put the needle on middle position and re-sewed it without wandering off the fold, and pinned and basted the lap seam that will replace the flat fells that I picked out. Both bras need to have the iron heated and I want to read the funnies and some Usenet before nine o'clock, when I start getting ready for bed, so that's a disappointing it for today. Thursday, 11 August 2022 10:03 AM 8/11/2022 Spent yesterday morning washing clothes. After supper I pressed the seams, then ironed a villa-olive shirt that I plan to make into a house shirt, and my villa-olive dress. I'd thought there was more ironing on the hook than that. Later noticed my white linen do-rag, which could do with a pressing before I patch it. 12:33 PM 8/11/2022 Sewed the first topstitching of the flat-fell seam on bra C, wobbled all over the place, went to the porch to pick it out. I was interrupted three times: once to bring in a package I found on my sitting-and-picking chair, twice to check on the peanut-flour-and-blueberry pancake I was making for lunch. Then I set up to sew again, this time remembering to put the end of the seam under the foot and pull back to the beginning, so that I won't find myself inside a ring when I've finished. (That is, instead of starting outside the ring and ending up inside, I start on the inside and stitch to the outside.) And then it was time to eat the pancake. 1:22 PM 8/11/2022 Top stitching sewn, decided that I want to press before topstitching the other side, sewed the short end of the lap seam repairing bra A, basted and marked the end of the longer end, time for a nap. Didn't eat all of the pancake. 6:03 PM 8/11/2022 After my nap, I completed the lap seam repairing bra A, then walked downtown to check on my bike and buy a buffalo chicken melt for supper. After supper, I sewed the flat-fell seam on the other side, so now C is only slightly ahead of A, but both need to be pressed as they lie before further stitching. The seam was puckered again, but this time I stretched it more cautiously and did not break the thread. Friday, 12 August 2022 12:26 PM 8/12/2022 This morning I pressed the seams, and ironed the white do-rag to make it easier to patch (Do I *have* any sheer linen? Heavy linen would tear it.) Then I sewed the first row of topstitching on bra C and the second on bra A. *And*, at last, got down the yellow-lined scraps and started sorting out bias tape. But I intend to finish the elastic casing before sewing the shoulder seams. Wondered how I'd fold on lines that are on the inside of the bra. Duh! I have a tracing wheel and some dustpaper. Monday, 15 August 2022 12:43 PM 8/15/2022 Duh, I *didn't* have dustpaper. I took evrerything out of the tray, put the carbon paper into a flat clear-plastic bag that happened to be in there, neatly stacked the triangle, french curve, etc. -- no dustpaper. Eventually I noticed that there was a stack of stuff that belonged in the tray of the pattern trunk on the toolbox of the Necchi. I must have put it on the nearest convenient flat surface while looking for something, then forgot to put it back. I lifted the lid of the trunk a crack and shoved the other things into the tray willy-nilly. So I put my smaller cutting mat and its plywood on the ironing board and traced the folding lines, then ironed creases on the folding lines. Took me a while to remember that I guide on the foot with the needle in left position, to make a ruffle a little less than a quarter-inch wide. Then I pressed the casing and edge-stitched along the other crease. Now to divide the casing into three channels. My favorite marking ruler is my shaku stick, but sun are too big and the number of bu isn't a multiple of three. Millimeters gave me a prime number. None of the inch rulers worked. Finally I noticed an old word-processing ruler, and the casing measured precisely nine pica. Which is an inch and a half, so why didn't any of my inch rulers work? Whatever, I dotted around, connected the dots using the same ruler, stitched on the lines, and the casing of bra C is complete. And I poked the handle of my tweezers into the gaps to make sure the elastic would go in. When lining dots, it's a good idea to line up three dots, but mark between only two. Or four dots and mark three. Somewhere in there the flat-fell seam of bra A got completed. I think that I'll mark and press the creases on bra A one at a time. I think I'll fold and baste the first stage of a pre-graded flat-fell seam on the back straps of both bras before lying down. If it falls prey to "one more seam" syndrome, it will be trivial to take out. 1:46 PM 8/15/2022 While basting the folds, I discovered that back C had been sewn to front A, and back A had been sewn to front C. This doesn't matter (though it explains some confused moments in the past few weeks), but it concerns me a *lot* that it took this long to notice. I always looked at the front when wanting to know which bra I was working on, which supplies some slight excuse -- and a massive condemnation of my situational awareness. Tuesday, 16 August 2022 1:35 PM 8/16/2022 Yep, one-more-seam syndrome. I want the turn-to-the-right-side to be on the *front* strap, so that the fold of the back will be on top, and point down. It doesn't really matter, but I'm going to pick it out and start over. (Slept late, just finished breakfast and morning clean-up.) 6:48 PM 8/16/2022 Houston, we have a bra! Well, I have to bind the neck and face the armholes, but it's bra. After supper, I completed the seams on the shoulder strap of bra C-in-the-front. Since the seams are very short, I did it entirely with finger pressing. Now to take the scraps out to the freezer -- the only flat horizontal surface that doesn't collect clutter -- and sort out some one-inch tape and inch-and-a-quarter tape. I wonder whether one of the pattern pieces records how much I need of each? 7:02 PM 8/16/2022 I wild-guess less than twenty-four inches per armhole and the general neighborhood of twenty-eight for the neck. One of the pattern pieces says less than 22" per armhole. 8:09 PM 8/16/2022 Marked some cutting lines on small scraps and cut along one while I remembered which line was the cutting line -- that scrap had a lot of wash-out lines from cutting out the bras. The facing tapes are cut an inch and an eighth to allow for irregularities. The neck binding needs to be an inch and three quarters. Then I folded up the bigger scraps and put them back into the box, because I was getting stupid. Probably won't get any work done tomorrow because I want to go shopping, and the next day I have to go to Fort Wayne so a PA can look at my scar and tell me what I already know. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Friday, 19 August 2022 5:07 PM 8/19/2022 Found time between taking down the clothes and supper to select a scrap and mark it into tape. Saturday, 20 August 2022 7:16 PM 8/20/2022 Some rotten potatoes that fouled a crisper tray and the refrigerator below it absconded with quite a bit more time than I'd meant to spend cutting the strips and piecing them together. But I do find time to do some arithmetic: there are four neck strips, the longest cutting line is 24", and the shortest is 15". Twice thirty-nine is more than sixty-six, and there is also a partial strip about fifteen inches long, and the scrap left from the first bra, so I have ample for necks. The rest of the scrap was much less regular than the corner I marked into neck strips, and I was rather surprised that I was able to mark all of it into armhole strips, continuing from where I'd left off the neck strips. There are twelve armhole strips, and the longest is sixteen inches. A little offshoot has four ten-inch strips and one of five or six. The shortest of the remaining seven is about a foot. So it's twelve feet or more. Four yards should be ample; I *think* that an armhole takes less than a yard. Monday, 22 August 2022 11:52 PM 8/22/2022 Cut the neck strips apart, and cut along a thread on one to make it fit with the other end. I think I shall alternate right side and wrong side, to turn every other trapezoid upside down. Spent most of day washing clothes. Tuesday, 23 August 2022 6:39 PM 8/23/2022 No nap today. I don't think I'll piece the bias strips together this evening. Wednesday, 24 August 2022 11:13 AM 8/24/2022 I don't need to flop the strips, I can rotate them 180°. This will alternate the nap instead of right and wrong, which is less confusing -- and I'm pretty sure this fabric doesn't have a nap. 11:33 AM 8/24/2022 Pinned end to end, the strips measure two yards and thirty-two inches. 12:26 PM 8/24/2022 Sewed the strips together. To save re-threading the Necchi with gathering thread -- which would divert me into putting on SubSilk thread and cutting up an old towel and a washrag -- I dug out the not-a-toy sewing machine. I do believe that if they replaced the motor with a crank, they'd have something! Human-powered gadgets usually cost a lot more than electric gadgets, but I think that adding a folding or plug-in crank wouldn't cost much more than they would save on the motor, wall-wart, and foot pedal. The only part that needs replacing is the totally-inadequate hand wheel. (It's more of a button than a wheel, which makes cranking the needle down like twisting off the lid of a jar.) I wonder whether the motor is so located that one could make its space into a storage compartment? Putting a door in would require re-engineering, and I rather suspect that the motor is as tiny as the motors in solar garden toys. Next step: dustpaper the fold lines on the other bra to the right side. Then I can put away the smaller cutting mat -- until time to cut the armhole bias strips. Thursday, 25 August 2022 1:01 PM 8/25/2022 Dustpapered the lines, folded on them, and pressed the creases. Then I pressed the seams in the neck-binding strips and triple-pressed the turn-under. /sewing   http://wlweather.net/Pcw/blogsew.txt http://wlweather.net/Pcw/WEBLOG2.HTM http://wlweather.net/Pcw/2022SEW1.HTM &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&   BANNER Banner: ------------------------------------------------------ Friday, 5 August 2022 9:08 AM 8/5/2022 First Friday. I recall seeing an event advertised that I wanted to attend, but can't remember what it was. I learned last night that if one covers the aggressive surgical tape with A&D half an hour before bedtime, it peels right off with very little stress on my skin. 10:08 AM 8/11/2022 I took my first full-body shower since the surgery. I thought it had healed enough to withstand shampoo and peroxide if I got some in the face, then realized that if I left the dressing on and completely covered it with A&D, it wouldn't get wet. I could have washed my hair weeks ago! Shower over, awk I washed the tape off! At least the dressing is still in place, glued on with Vaseline Pure Ultra White Petroleum Jelly. Searched and searched the shower: The tape *couldn't* have gone down the drain. I gave up searching for tape that matched the floor and tried to pick the dressing off so I could wash with the special soap and put on a new dressing. I had picked several times before realizing that the greasy ointment and the heat of the shower had rendered the tape invisible. Monday, 8 August 2022 11:18 AM 8/8/2022 Awk Scrickle! I don't see mustard seed in any of those jars. I got it out of the freezer together with the celery seed. I must have put the celery seed in, then put both cans back into the freezer. Thursday, 11 August 2022 10:20 AM 8/11/2022 On Sunday, I was given three English cucumbers after church, and on Monday I made them into PBL pickles. I was regretting that I hadn't bought any small onions, then remembered that August is when winter onions have bulbs. I pulled up one from each of three main-row clumps, and found bulbs that were just right for pickling. I put up three pints, plus a quarter-pint to give to the man who gave me the cucumbers. The quarter pint was the only one that sealed. It would appear that I didn't forget the mustard seed after all; I find sporadic seeds in the left-over syrup containing a couple of slices of onion and cucumber that I'd "put into ref & use". I measured the celery seed and the mustard seed with the same spoon; I don't know why the cerery seed is conspicuous and the mustard seed invisible. Yesterday or the day before, I pulled up nine onions from the end of a place where I'd planted bulbils in a gap, and never got to them during scallion season. These are much smaller than those from the extablished row, but quite convenient to have in a sandwich bag in the fridge. I chopped up two of them for our hot dogs yesterday. ⁂ After Dave had rested up from his rehab on Monday, we went to the Wong place to celebrate our anniversary. What a change from last time! We'd taken Nancy and Jim, so that was a long time ago, and we had much amusement over being served dinner rolls with chinese food. Later, I went there for a refueling stop on a bike ride and found it a good old Hoosier family restaurant with some chinese food on the side. This must have been before I started carrying ice everywhere, because I ate all of my chicken livers. Riding on a stuffed stomach is a bad idea. Riding with a stomach stuffed with fried chicken liver is a *really* bad idea. The interior was quite elegant, and the buffet almost as good as the China Palace (food much the same, not as many different dishes) and quite a lot cheaper. The staff appeared to consist of the Maitre d' and one female busboy, but both were quite attentive. We must go back when they have full service. Thursday, 11 August 2022 6:28 PM 8/11/2022 I expected the bike to be done on Friday or Monday. Tuesday, "I think they are closed on Tuesdays." Wednesday: "Where's my bike?" This afternoon, I walked to the Trailhouse and found that the mechanic had somehow got the idea that I wanted it held until the middle of August. He said he'd bring it down from the storage area and I'd have it next week. Which is the middle of August. I'm strongly tempted to walk to Zales tomorrow, using my pedestrian accellerator as a cane, and riding it when conditions are suitable. But I think I'll go by car, and pick up a case of water bottles at Aldi on the way back. There are also some Aldi finds that I want to look at. Friday, 12 August 2022 1:57 PM 8/12/2022 Just as I was about to undress for my nap, the Trailhouse called. I've got my bike back! Tuesday, 16 August 2022 10:27 PM 8/16/2022 Hot dogs tonight. We had no relish, so I chopped some 2019 PBL pickles marked "peppers, garlic cloves" with my big Japanese vegetable knife. It made a quite respectable relish. Since the left-over syrup from my latest batch of PBL was nearly gone, I put the relish in its jar. Friday, 19 August 2022 11:36 AM 8/19/2022 While reading a recipe in a magazine this morning, I came across the words "makes it easy to incorporate vegetables without sacrificing taste." Whatever this guy has been smoking, I DON'T WANT ANY. How many of you watched Rowan and Martin? Lunch is simmering on the stove. It's half a slice of bacon, bacon grease, and a small potato that I sliced to fit the bottom of the skillet. To add flavor, I topped this with celery, chopped sweet pepper, a sprinkle of smoked paprika, a nosegay of garlic-chive flower buds, and several winter-onion bulbils. I also put a couple of purple cauliflower florets on top. Purple cauliflower is almost too tough to eat raw, but very good if you cook it just long enough to get hot through. For cauliflower, I snitched the garnish from the relish tray. Yesterday I spent half an hour creating a beautiful relish tray -- and then forgot to serve it. Supper was half an ear of corn each, with half a serving of left-over taco meat. Dave had half a tostado, and took only a third of the meat. I had a whole tostada with the rest of the meat. I chopped a few winter-onion bulbs, then a bit of the fresh tomato. 12:45 PM 8/19/2022 When I listed the ingredients in my lunch, did you see "salt" anywhere? Salting potatoes on the outside isn't nearly as good. The cauliflower was a bit too soft. must leave it until later next time. There *will* be a next time. We have three more half-strips of bacon, and lots of potatoes. Dave came back from rehab and said that the new walker is the cat's meow for maneuvering between the machines. But he absent-mindedly left the basket in the car, and had to put his water bottle in the bag. The plumber came back and fixed the faucet. I literally mean "fixed" — when he installed it, he left it loose. When he came back, he was accompanied by a mentor. Yesterday's trip to Fort Wayne was uneventful; we got back about the time we normally get up. Only bit of news: when I asked whether I should cover the wound when out in the sun all day, she said that "we" prefer sunscreen. Yay! I'll have to remember to take a pocket mirror on bike rides so I can re-dab the scar along the way. I think that the mirror that came with my dressing-changing supplies will fit into my wallet. 1:05 PM 8/19/2022 The middle pocket fits perfectly, but that's where I keep my deck. The right pocket is a tad too narrow, and the left pocket (where I carry folding scissors and folding pliers) is a *lot* too narrow. So I dropped the mirror into the checkbook pocket. Since I *never* write a check, I'm at risk of forgetting that it's in there. Forgot I was washing clothes, and didn't think there was daylight enough left to also wash towels and cleaning rags. (Not to mention that it's now nap time.) Washng hot whites would take a while, because there is a bucket of rags that need to be pre-washed before they mingle with the towels and the other rags. 8:24 AM 8/22/2022 24' long 8" wide at base 23" in circumference above the side branch it broke off at. Thursday, 24 August 2022 12:02 PM 8/25/2022 Dave learned something today. We cleaned out the garden closet and had a boxful of pesticides to get rid of. Today he took them to the recycling center and was told "We will charge twenty-five dollars to take them and lose money -- but if you take them to Open Air Nursery, they will use them.". So he went to Open Air and the guy said "Look at all that Sevin!" 1:08 PM 8/25/2022 We're running out of August. I hope I soon find time to write, as opposed to jotting down notes to be developed later.   -- Joy Beeson http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ west of Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.A. http://wlweather.net/LETTERS/2022BANN/PBLfront_20220427_0001.jpg http://wlweather.net/LETTERS/2022BANN/PBLback_20220427_0001.jpg http://wlweather.net/LETTERS/2022BANN/PORTRAIT.JPG /Banner L---P----1----+----2----+----3----+@10-4----T----5----+----r----r----7--R-+--r COOKBOOK

16 April 2022 18 eggs

1/2 package cream cheese

1 tablespoon dry mustard (whole package)

1 tablespoon vineagar

dash of turmeric

lotsa cranks pepper

1 teaspoon salt

a glop of olive oil

squirt of ranch dressing

knife instead of fork for for mashing, stirring, and putting into the shells. 2:04 PM 4/21/2022 utter confusion of crippled computer 2:04 PM 4/21/2022

 

16 April 2022

11:46 AM 4/21/2022 six eggs 1/4 package cream cheese 1 teaspoon mustard seed ground with 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon turmeric teaspoon cider vinegar sufficient sour cream crank of pepper 1:58 PM 4/21/2022 1:59 PM 4/21/2022 I had a lot of filling left over from the previous batch, and this one had one third as many eggs but half as much cream cheese -- and there wasn't quite enough left over to fill another egg. I used a small round container for the gift eggs and packed them in so they wouldn't shift around, but the left-over eggs are neatly arranged in a rectangular container and look much better. 2:04 PM 4/21/2022 2:05 PM 4/21/2022 /COOKBOOK  

21 April 2022

11:44 AM 4/21/2022