Literally doing nothing..

I feel I ought to apologise for the paucity and lack of posting lately. The family stuff knocked me for six for a week or two - the continued winter encouraged the "black dog" a little. Luckily I am just too bushed to do anything really silly - the insomnia continues so I can't be bothered to think of ways to top myself. Well, it's nice to have SOMETHING ya can rely upon! :(

The thing about sudden deaths in the family is that, somehow, they bring back previous ones - my father, my aunty, Thomas the beloved cat and surrogate baby. One questions one's own situation and realises that time here is finite. I don't know why that is - when I go to a wedding or christening, I don't hark back to previous ones. I've been keeping busy, helping redistribute / dispose of Nan's belongings and collecting photos digitally to be used in a slideshow after the funeral. Debating on whether there's time tomorrow to bake some cheesy biscuits for the wake. Digging out HDMI cables and trying to figure out how to turn colour slides into digital pictures (luckily I've had some offers for that). Turns out it feels pretty weird going through someone else's stuff - vulture springs to mind. Most of the stuff I took to various charity shops. The clear out seemed pretty quick, but she was renting a lovely little retirement flat. On the positive side, we got her cat Tudor rehomed in about 4 days - because the alternatives for a 17 year old tabby weren't looking good. Bereavement is not an illness! He went to a friend of a friend and is doing very well in his new home, having spent four days mostly hiding behind the tv.

Anyroad, I'm 50% through making a simple Chanel-style jacket from some fabulous pink woven fabric I acquired some time ago for free. It's a beautiful woven check, but a very loose one - the fabric is threatening to dissolve at the edges, despite my zigzagging the edges in an effort to prevent it. Yes, I've given up with using the overlocker, it serges the edges fine but turns everything into ripply seaweed edges, which is disconcerting for a novice sewist. It's been kind of fun using the Brother LS14 - the teacher's machine - though my shoulder seems to have healed well so I am cautiously thinking I'd like to either go back to my own machine or buy a basic lightweight one for class. The LS14 has straight stitch and zigzag and not much else really - but like the very complex tumbledryer we bought (now depositing oil and eating shirts, thankyou Hotpoint for your Friday afternoon machine! Pah...), 14 different settings but you only ever need a few really. Straight and zigzag is actually more than enough. I think on my washing machine I use 5 (synthetics) turned down to 30 degs mostly. The only other setting I ever use is Bed and Bath, for sheets. And it's the same with sewing machines, as it turns out. I'm also using black cotton because (a) it was easier and (b) the fabric is so loosely woven that the stitches are disappearing into it anyway (and the fabric includes lots of colours, one of them is black, so...)

Anyway, that's all for now folks. It's 7.44 and I think I'm ready to wake himself and start some brekko...

Current mood: apathetic