Weekend

This weekend consisted of lots of random stuff, but I got a surprisingly amount accomplished.

On Friday night I started altering and 18^th century jacket and petticoat that had started out life as a maternity outfit, based on this at Colonial Williamsburg, but in navy linen. The idea was that a stomacher could fill in the expanding front, and it would lace shut again after pregnancy.

Image courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg, found here.

 

I was overly optimistic 9 years ago when I started this. I underestimated how much things widen, and I don’t just mean the waistline. So Friday night saw me letting out the vertical seams and telling myself that the sleeves were now just fashionably snug. On Saturday, I got the petticoat hemmed and the front panel shortened (now that there wasn’t a pregnant belly to cover) and on Sunday I put the hook and eye closures in. Pictures will follow once I get the sleeve ruffles made and attached.

Saturday also saw a whole lot of yard work going on. Clearly, I need a case in remedial weed whacking as I’m not very good at it. I’m blaming the fact that I’m too tall to hold the base parallel to the ground. That’s my story, anyway.

On Sunday, I got up and ran to the local hardware store (well, "ran" after breakfast and coffee) where I purchased 2” x 4”s so I could build some shelves for my sewing room. Holy crap, when did dimensional lumber get so darned expensive? Granted, these are excellent quality with unusually few knots, but pricier than I was expecting. Even with having to trim every single piece, it was still a quick build which left me time for laundry. All the winter bedding got washed and just needs a clean tote so I can put it all away on the new shelves.

As a dear friend would say "Good enough for who it's for."

The strangest part of the weekend? I used the push mower, the riding mower, the string trimmer, a hedge trimmer, various hot and/or pointy kitchen implements, a battery charger, a trim saw, a drill and made countless trips up and down a ladder, and the thing that beat me up the most was that string trimmer.

 

I see shin guards in my future.