03.31.08
Hello, random!
One of my issues with sewing is that there’s no knit-purl.
There’s no basic cast on then some simple repetitive motion that is all you need to do to get an FO. (Okay, yeah, you need to know a bind off, so knit two stitches then slip that first stitch over and repeat, simple as that.)
There is way more washing and ironing and measuring and drafting and testing and pinning and cutting–and then, The Machine.
D@mn! Who the hell said sewing was the easy simple housewife scrimpin’ way to do sh!t?
‘Cuz that’s what I thought.
I was definitely wrong.
Sewing is to knitting like chess is to checkers, you’ve always got to be thinking of the shape you are making and how that’s changing the next shape you’ll be sewing and finishing edges and –it seems you’ve always got to think about the finished product and the steps inbetween.
Of course knitting is so slow; if you find out you messed up and it looks ugly, you rip it out. But you weigh that against the time it took you to get there, and the material takes the damage too. And you figure out where you went wrong and you fix it. So I guess there it’s a bit the same.
The flexibility of knits is multitude. Sewing is a nitpicky taskmaster.
And then there are just plain dumb, stupid mistakes.
See, I was so proud of myself.
I was making a big pot of tea and I thought, “hey, I’ve got cheesecloth, I’ll make a big ol’ reusable teabag!”
So I cut a long rectangle of cheesecloth, I cut a length of hemp cord and even scoured it of any processing cr@p, then laid it in the middle of the rectangle of cheesecloth and folded the cloth over the cord.
So, writing this, I find the next logical step after just folding it over once would be to sew a line underneath that hemp cord to hold it in place, THEN fold the cloth and sew it like I did.
It is so totally completely boneheadedly obvious in retrospect.
But instead I folded the long rectangle of cheesecloth over the hemp cord, then folded it sideways, and then sewed down the side, across the bottom, up the side.
And then because I’m a dumbass, thought, hey, I’ll sew along underneath the cord so it will be all nice and secure. So I did, and sewed the freaking tea bag shut.
D’oh!
Michelle said,
April 1, 2008 at 6:16 am
You could sell them to health enthusiasts. Call it O2 tea, calorie free, and has the components to fight free radicals. Make sure you make it some outrageous price so the health enthusiasts will buy it. I’m thinking 59.99.
kristi said,
April 1, 2008 at 6:50 am
I hear you on the sewing! I liken it to Marshal McLuhan’s hot and cold media — knitting is cool and sewing is hot. Knitting lets your mind wander, knit, un-knit, go forward, rip out… pick it up, put it down. let your mind wander… With sewing — that mistake is hell to fix or you’ve juts bolloxed up your whole day of work and ruined your fabric. Of course, you can actually FINISH a sewing project in a day or two. Dream it up, whip it out. I love that part. And when things go well it’s very absorbing and satisfying.
But as I explained to my daughter who wants to sew: “They call it sewing, but really it’s a lot of ironing. A fair amount of careful cutting with scissors that never seem sharp enough. And a little sewing.
Terri said,
April 1, 2008 at 8:19 am
sewing is HARD! But that tea bag looks very sturdily and securely made! Hey, guess what - you’re the first to know the “official” news - we’re moving! woot!!
Mary-Kay said,
April 1, 2008 at 10:36 am
That is soooo dang true. You made me totally spit out my Life Cereal. luckily it landed back in the bowl.
I was a quilter, before knitting, and it is dang hard. I can’t sew in a straight line either, so I was an “art quilter.”
Keep up the knitting though. I love to see what you’ve done. Oooo hey, I just ordered a Victoria, I hope I like it. I’ll be referencing your You Tube videos on how to set it up.
Thanks for all the comments on my blog lately. My foot is better and I’m off the majority of the drugs. I’ll have to write you a missive later to get you up to date and all the happenings here.
Miss you!
June said,
April 1, 2008 at 11:03 am
Yep, we all have some kind of crappy novice sewing experience. Hey, at least it was just cheesecloth and not silk brocade!
Cathy said,
April 1, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Hey, you only sewed a tea bag closed; you’re not the first to do that.
This is where creativity really comes in, you need to find a use for your closed square, say as a small coaster or barbie dish towel. Problem solved.
Good to hear from you.
Hilari said,
April 1, 2008 at 9:54 pm
well i guess that effectively puts an end to your tea bagging…..
LoriO said,
April 2, 2008 at 9:16 pm
I hate sewing, but I really really want to like it. I’m terrible at following a pattern and tend to just wing it, with less than stellar results.
As for your tea bag…That’s exactly the type of thing I woul do for sure. The seam ripper is my friend!