Just keep sewing, just keep sewing, sewing sewing....just keep sewing....

Current Mood : Moving along...

Beloved Hubby and I had the much-delayed talk with MIL, which went about as well as can be expected when you tell someone that they’re a financial shipwreck and the storm just started. FIL, of course, told her about what he told us about bills and their Checking account – next to nothing, with no indication that all this was on the immediate horizon. ‘Stunned’ is perhaps the best description of her reaction. The electric bill came in, and it’s about what we thought…  very high and already in cutoff, since it hasn’t been paid since we took care of it in February. We can cover it and the water bill, to keep the utilities on for now, but after that, they’re pretty much on their own. We’re barely gonna make our own rent and bills. At her request, we left messages for BIL to please call, but haven’t heard back from him yet. Not sure what good telling him is gonna do, though…

Both Beloved Hubby and I repeatedly urged her to move in with us next month, at least temporarily until FIL can dig their way out of the mess he created (at least, we hope). I think now she will. I also think he’ll need a very skillful proctologist when she’s done with him. I finally saw some fire in her eyes, even if it was just a flash of anger, but it gives me so much hope for her !

As for today, we were going to the Library while Beloved was at work, but Dearest Son misbehaved and then lied about it, and there was no way I was rewarding *that*. Can always post this tomorrow. We had a long talk, especially about lying and current events, and I think he understands the importance of trust a little better than he did. Everyone felt better after showers, and Beloved was home fairly early – exhausted, though. We put him right to bed after a very late lunch.

That left me some time to sew, so I gave the vest project the ole college try – now it’s partially lined. Maybe the best description is to say the front, from side seam around the neckline and down to the other side seam, has a facing, instead of a full lining. So, really, it‘s ‘faced’, not ‘lined’ this time. The armholes and back are simply folded and hemmed. This version looks a lot smoother and fits nicely, so I’m happy. Still have to work on getting it more parallel on both sides, though. Truth be told, I about had it right on the second try, but that bright striped fabric doesn’t have a matching thread to help hide the stitching. But with all this practice, my ‘sewing about 1/8^th inch from the edge’ stitching is getting much better ! And it only takes about a half-hour to make one now.

Oh, and ya wanna know a secret ? I was sewing this when the fuss with Dearest went down, so I wasn’t giving it my full attention and messed up – the green polka dots are actually the wrong side of the fabric ! The inside is much more vivid, but you wouldn’t know to see it as-is.

The #3 try went back into the trash after I did the photo – it’s just not worth saving. The others…well…I’ll probably never use them, and if I do, I’ll hafta spend hours erasing bad stitches in PaintShopPro, but they’re a lot harder to throw out ! Ever have that problem ? You know it’s not your best effort, and it may not even fit right, but you just can’t toss it out, so you figure, I’ll probably dump it later, and put it in with the rest of the doll clothes. Heck, I only really toss bad efforts out when we move ! Uh, oh…

Got the final version scanned, with directions. You’d think, after making something several times to get it right, I’d remember, but not always. It’s always best to spend a few minutes writing down what I did so that next time, this step or that part isn’t a frustrating blank.