another skool day

So I've got the sewing machine up and running and learned that if, the thread is too tight, it snaps and you have to rethread the needle, If the thread is too loose, It builds up under the cloth, the stitching is untidy and will unravel. So it took quite a while for me to make the curtains but, I did and was feeling good with my achievement until just now,
I came to hang them up and realised that the, the curtain hanging strips that the curtain hooks fit in, they work one way and I got one side right and one side wrong,
Its one step forward and 2 back,

all been there Tom.

I used to hate dropping a stitch when I was knitting, and only noticing it when I had knitted a few more rows

I felt like a right knit wit

Thats another. as yet ' never been there' Zone for me Tommy, Its another skill that girls got in skool but not us lads, We did woodwork and metalwork, knitting is a skill thats never took my fancy and, perhaps one day I might get interested enough to try it, I DO remember a trick with a bobbin and you knocked 4 nails in the top and somehow threaded wool around the nails to make a woollen sausage shape but I don't remember how or why

My mother would not teach me how to knit.

Dad also would not teach me how to do gas welding.

He was right, in retrospect I was far too young to be in charge of such dangerous equipment.

When I was very young, I was convinced that I needed to acquire all the survival skills possible and not take for granted that others would always provide. Perhaps it reflected the insecurity prevalent after the close of WW2.

Still do not know how to knit or gas weld.

There's no reason I can think of why girls don't have the option learn metal work, carpentry etc in school, and the boys don't learn sewing, knitting, cookery. That's so stupid, but that's how it was when I was at school.

Tom, I feel for you. I never knew how to use a sewing machine either as mum didn't sew but, when I got married, one of the first things I bought when I lived in Germany was a sewing machine. Hadn’t a clue how to use it, but I met friends of my husband, and the wife was a brilliant seamstress. She taught me how to use the machine and, after a few short lessons, I got it, and managed to make myself some nice things.

I was taught to knit by my grandma when I was around 6 years old. It was my birthday and she gave me a little pair of red plastic knitting needles and some little balls of wool. She taught me how to cast on and I was so pleased when I finally knitted a "scarf" about 3” x 6”. Ten years later I started to knit from patterns and made myself lots of jumpers using plain and a few different stitches. I haven’t knitted anything now for many years as my old fingers can’t work the needles any longer, but you keep at it with your sewing Tom. You’ll get there.

I'm not intending to become a seamstress or anything like, Its just another adventure in my campervan project and although I have managed to make curtains and upholstered the furniture, I know I won't win any awards for the craftsperson results, They are medico at best but, I enjoyed the test and the challenge, Tomorrow is another day with new horizons in sight and I no longer need to get up for work so, I have to find something worthwhile doing,
About this time every night I make a ' To do ' list and tomorrows first job is to service the bike because the gears need adjustment, This will lead to more work as well and, Mrs Plums always has commands and suggestions of what I SHOULD be doing,,

Yes, do keep active, tom: it's the best medicine.

As a certain character in the movie, 'Kill Bill' said, retirement is the biggest killer of old people!

Yes, I believe that too Ena, I don't have the energy I used to but, I don't want to just stay still and i find just planning one job for tomorrow always leads to more things,
For instance, tomorrows job of tuning my bike gears will lead to, not being able to find a certain tool, So that will lead to a shed tidy or a bike ride, one one of my other bikes to buy a new tool or, might lead to a cable snapping and, who knows what ?
Life is like a box of chocolates, as some one once said,,,

Ena quoted:

"As a certain character in the movie, 'Kill Bill' said, retirement is the biggest killer of old people!"

Very true. That's why I'm still working. I could get by on my pension, but that bit extra helps me keep my car on the road and little luxuries every now and again.

Tom:

I didn't mean to suggest you'll become a seamstress, but just be able to give something new a try, which is what you're doing to keep yourself occupied, which is the best thing to do. I could never make anything fancy as I'm not that clever at making things, or do upholstery. I think it's great that you can turn your hand to something else.