Most of my sewing this week involved racing to have handsewing to do while camping over the weekend. Spoiler alert: I did very little of that sewing while away. But I got a lot of knitting done?

Date: Monday, July 24

Time sewing: 1 hour 5 minutes; 30 minutes; 10 minutes

What I did: Remember the button hole I had to move last week. Well, it turns out the bleeping thing was in the right place after all! This was especially bothersome as we are out of caffeinated coffee and the pot of black tea I chugged is sooooo not cuttinf it. So, today, I re-did those fricken holes one last time and decided I would sew some fricken seams if it would kill me. I think the Baby sensed my desperation and mercifully conked out for a good, long nap which allowed me to get all the vertical seams (except sides) and the shoulders sewn and pressed. Later, I managed to get the pockets sewn to the sides and understitch them. After supper I found ten minutes to pin the side seams so I could get straight to sewing the next day.

Date: Tuesday, July 25

Time sewing: 10 minutes; 30 mins

What I did: I sewed the side seams up. I feel it important to note that I did not press them right away. I resisted that urge as I knew that it was a lot of work to get the iron out and there is no way I would have been able to stop after just pressing those seams. Later (once I got all my chores done), I pressed the side seams then prepared and pinned the drawstring casing. It’s a good thing I didn’t sew it right away because, after staring at it on my dressform while feeding the baby, I decided it was too high at the back and I would need to lower it.

Date: Wednesday, July 26

Time sewing: 2 hours

What I did: I went on a bit if a tear today as I’m trying to get to a point where I have hand sewing I can do while camping this weekend. I sewed the drawstring casing, did the hem (bias-bound) and got the drawstring started. I sewed it, but didn’t turn it right side out since I figured I could bring that camping, too.

Date: Thursday, July 27

Time sewing: 5 minutes; 30 minutes

What I did: I sewed a tag into the back of the dress and set to pinning the button band. I discovered that I somehow made it too short (and uneven?). No idea how that happened. Later in the day, I sewed little extenders on, trying to match the seam to the hem. I don’t think it looks terrible. I sewed the button band on, but purposefully stopped there so I would have something to do the next day.

Date: Friday, July 28

Time sewing: 30 minutes

What I did: I made sure I got all of the sewing I needed to out of the way as my sewing table is being used (once again) as command central for our camping trip this weekend. I pressed, trimmed and pinned the button band so it would be ready for hand sewing this weekend.

Date: Saturday, July 29

Time sewing: ca. 30 mins

What I did: We went to the campground beach, so I decided to bring along my sewing bag instead of a book. I very casually worked on turning my drawstring right side out, but decided to put it away when the eraser from the pencil I was using to shove fabric came off inside.

Date: Sunday, July 30

Time sewing: none

What I did: I could say I was on a real roll with my knitting and opted not to sew, but really I was still mad about the eraser.

Total time sewing this week: 7 hours

What I learned:

• Never use the eraser end of a pencil to turn a drawstring right side out
• Measure twice, cut once has never held more meaning for me
• Coffee is essential and trying to sew without it is like trying to swim through mud. Blind. Without your arms.
• It’s beneficial to plan far ahead in advance to maximize time. I was only able to get some sewing in while camping because I hustled during the week to get to a point where I had stuff I could do without an iron or sewing machine.
• It’s okay to sew out of order! I’m realizing now that there are many routes you can take to finish a garment. I used to get stuck on projects when I ran into any kind of setback, but I’m coming to understand that I can work in sections totally unrelated to each other.
• A couple minutes here or there really add up! I was shocked when my weekly tally totalled 7 hours!