Impulsivity and Good Works

I am beginning this with this photo because it is symbolic of how our hearts and mouths can get us into predicaments that are challenging. I am in an on-going discussion with Ellen about finishing projects. She admires me because I seem to be able to finish things and she finds that difficult for herself. I believe that I am an unreliable person that cannot be counted on to do what I say I will do. Because of that I hesitate to "sign up". At least that is what I think. I have a penchant for offering help and then becoming bogged-down in the execution.

My most recent example is offering to make covers for kneelers for the Chapel at the R-Ranch. The R-Ranch is a form of intentional community we have chosen for recreation and relaxation. The problem is that it offers me precious little relaxation. I have some skills and talents and even vision that others often lack. I think that is due to my environment, my experiences and the fact that I was reared with the rule "Can't never could do anything." So, in addition to making the rather rustic looking cushions for the Chapel I offered to also make a cover to be used at weddings. It is a lovely place for a smallish ceremony, seating only about 60-75 people. I could not imagine having a ceremony there with a kneeler at the altar rail that was covered with neutral and brown, woodsy colored fabric.

I shopped for fabric last weekend and found a nice white satin to cover a 66" X 10.5" foam cushion. I found that the piece I bought was not quite long enough and needed some "fiddling with." It has to be removable so it can be stored. That meant that at least one of the other covers has to be removable as well. And, to make them match, they all have to be removable. So that meant zippers. Zippers come in various lengths, and the nearest length I found was 72". See the problem? This is "growing like Topsy" as I used to hear my mother say. It is like taking one of those tiny little dried, compressed sponges that you drop in the tub with your kids and they swell into a 5 foot long fish that throws the kids out of the tub.

Last night I decided that I could sew a few more inches on the machine instead of doing the finishing touches by hand. I was going to be able to make the satin cover removable after all (that had been in doubt because of the length of the zipper). I put it aside until this morning. I felt good - like I was not in over my head. I went to bed, slept well and got up ready to do it right after cereal and coffee. It began to go well, but I kept going back over work I had done by hand, extending the amount of work I had intended to do. It is called perfectionism and not knowing when to stop, another thing of which I have been accused. Just go over this last little part to fasten it down - and BAM - the result in the picture! My machine is a slant needle model, not a curved needle model. I hit the damn zipper. I want to quit.

My discussion with Ellen has included her desire to write and not being able to finish, and my approach to writing. I have a topic. I start. I review. I try to limit it to the topic at hand and not digress. I check my spelling. This is a perfect example. This bent needle is characteristic of the things I run into that could make me quit-the topic. I have made a commitment to others, however, so am going to have to stick with it. Rather, I have made a commitment to myself-the real issue and body of the story. That is something else she has taught me. I don't do it for others. I do it for myself. To feel satisfaction about finishing what I have started. I have to go upstairs and get another needle. I have to get out of this chair and go upstairs and get another needle. I have to. I want to.

The coat of many origins

A number of years ago I lived in Germany with my sister. We had very little furniture as most of my furniture had gone to Italy with my husband for his house there. I got a job in Germany, instead of Italy, so the reason for no furnishings. So we set out to find things by going "junking". We were the recipients of living room furnishings that were to go to the street for junking but took a detour to our house instead. The coverings were fuzzy, old, cut velvet type stuff that was just UGH! And an awful yellow green color. While attending a flea market I happened upon a man who had bolts of flax and hemp fabric that had been hand-woven in homes in East Germany until the 50's when hemp was outlawed - I guess they thought it was marijuana. After the wall came down this man went around buying up the stockpile of this now very desirable fabric to sell to folks like me. I bought as much as I could afford. It was not very wide - about 40 inches - because of the size of the looms that could be kept in a house. These bolts were sold to the factories that manufactured the shirts, sheets, tablecloths and duvet covers for the masses. The weave differed, as did the weight of each. I was fascinated, of course, since this was such a treasure trove into the lives of people - just up my little anthropological alley.

My sister liked the stuff as well and we set out to make vests lined with wonderful fabrics from another treasure trove of fabric that I brought to Germany. I still have those upstairs in my closet and hope to finish them some day. However, as we visited other flea markets and fests and places we began to pick up other pieces of linen and coverings that Ellen decided to turn into a cover for the living room furniture. She worked like a Trojan, cutting and pressing and piecing and sewing. A few articles of clothing went into the work as well. In the end she covered a three cushion sofa, a chair and an ottoman.





But, alas, I had to return to the States, so I left all of that furniture behind with Ellen. She moved into an apartment and took the furniture with her. After a couple of years she had an opportunity to buy some really nice leather living room furniture, so she removed all of the covers from the furniture, packed them up and mailed them to me. I was overjoyed at her thoughtfulness but really didn't know quite how I was going to use the fabric. Last year we visited Spain together and in a shop I found a coat I really liked. It was quilted and warm and comforting. I was determined to duplicate it and to use some of the natural fabric that remained from the original stash. However, at some point it occurred to me that I should use the wonderful patchwork for it. I spent a very long time taking the piping off of the pieces and eventually had yards of it rolled up in balls, along with pieces of sofa and chair cover in bags and boxes. In the middle of this I moved - to a much colder climate. I thought I should hurry to get this coat made, so in January I visited Ellen with the bags and boxes and pattern so that she could help me put together the fabric to be cut into a coat. We again pieced and sewed and cut.

One of our cousins many times removed, Fran, visited while this was in progress. She is an accomplished quilter. Boy was that a blessing. She gave us many tips on how to move forward with the project. After I came back home I left the stuff to rest for awhile, but winter was still needing a warm coat. I drew all of the lines on the coat with disappearing ink and spent many hours quilting all of the pieces. I learned so much - mostly that I could do it. In the process I decided that I would sew the piping back into the seams. That was a great idea, until I started doing it. However, I had started it and had to finish. So, if you examine the pictures you will see the piping clearly. Sewing over those lumps took a thing called a "jean-a-ma-jig", a thingy Fran told me about.

One problem was preserving some of the characteristics of the original pieces. In the picture of the ottoman you will see a ribbon tied into a bow. That was originally a tie on a duvet cover. When we cut out the coat it was at the lower edge of one of the sleeves. When it came time to finish the coat the sleeve was about 6 inches too long and I, sadly, had to cut it off.

I loved that feature and am still trying to figure out what to do with it. There was some lace from a tablecloth that I have not been able to use yet. Perhaps they will be framed. If you have any suggestions let me know. One of the features of using old garments is that there are often flaws. The pocket on the left side of the coat has a very worn spot patched with another piece of fabric behind it. That pocket came from one of Ellen's old, comfortable dresses. In the back, where three pieces of fabric were pieced, there was a very big boo-boo, made by me. Ellen came up with the perfect solution when she found this big red button at a yarn shop in Roswell, GA (The Cast-on Cottage). I used cording and sewed it on. I'm just glad I won't have to sleep on that big lump.

So, the coat is finished. It is warm, but it is May. When Fall comes I will happily begin wearing it. I wish it fit better, as it is rather large in the lapels, but overall I think it is going to be great with jeans or other pants and my snow boots as I slog through the Pennsylvania weather to the Library and coffee shop in greater metropolitan Picklesburg.