So yesterday when I had to do a tiny bit of sewing, I decided to take advantage of the machine being open and got out the scissors:
and a quilty tea cosy for a template and got this:
Which is photographed flat because it falls over like a much limper sweater than it actually felted to, when you put it over a teapot. I think it needs a liner, which it will get in the next 45 minutes of 'free' time that occurs post-solution-idea.Meanwhile, taking advantage of the bonus hour we got from Daylight Savings Time or whatever it's called at this time of year, I decided that since the sewing cupboard was open I should cut a bunch of sleeves for fingerless gloves.
Not every sleeve felts suitably for such a project, but it turns out that sometimes you can get two pairs of handwarmers from a single pair of arms, so I ended up with I think 7 pairs. I spent a happy hour or so positioning the thumb openings and adjusting lengths and steaming the wool, and now I have 7 pairs of canvas for blanket stitching and other embellishments.
You know, next time I have 45 minutes of 'free' time.
A thought occurred to me as I did all this. Well, two thoughts.
1/ Is it a gift if all I do is cut off a sleeve with a pair of scissors and then cut a hole for the thumb?
2/ Yes. Because it took time, effort, and money to find the right sweaters to felt, and then more time to fit perfectly, and it will take time - no matter how much I enjoy it - to embellish them however sparingly I do so, and moreover, I have so little time, and people know that, that they will know how much love got poured into these little tokens.
Then I had a third thought:
Just because it's super easy for me to do these things doesn't mean it's easy for everybody else I know. It's okay not to undervalue my skills.
And it's okay for you, too!
1 comment:
Do not undervalue your own skills! I love the idea of your former-sleeve fingerless mittens! And I'll bet they take more time (and expertise) than you realize to complete.
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