the basin – going dark for Feb 28, 2025

Let me try this – this is a choice and this is a motto of exploration that has resulted in this blog.

On Friday, February 28, I will go dark. I will only purchase local services and goods. I will not post my morning photo but I will have that photo as it is a small peaceful start to my day.

I have all that I need. Much that I buy is local for groceries and supplies. I made this choice long ago when the first big box stores opened up, our little community stores were not able to compete with the big buying power and closed. I lost work to this and I felt that it was better to support our local community first. So, not buying outside of my local is not a change for me but a continuation of my chosen lifestyle.

I have skills and, on this day, I will make use of a few while I stay dark. Sewing is my go to. I have learned much from the WWW (World Wide Web) to enhance my life long sewing, yet on this day, I will not participate in or watch any creators. I can catch up next week. Instead, I will look to my mending and tackle a broken seam stich or fix the wear on a favorite t-shirt. My sewing stash of materials, gadgets and supplies is very full and will keep happily sewing for the rest of my lifetime if this is what I need. I can start a new project too.

I will start a letter as I will move from project to project today, like most days. This letter may be to my government with a praise and a concern, or it may be a card to an old friend. These letters take time and yet each letter must be opened by hand, by a human. This written letter will not be filtered out of existence by a portal following some management protocol. So, take a piece of paper and start writing. The envelope and stamp purchase is only a short walk away, so take the time on this walk to view the changing of the season or day.

I will work on this day as it again local work for community that I support and in it’s own way supports me with not only a living but with a mutual prosperity that is our best safety net.

Changes. They are happening and perhaps, necessary. Only when we have reached the other side of this momentum will the results come in. Just like any other race.

So, what next?

Each day is only a day and for many, will pass like those before.

I will share my photo March 1 to herald a new day. It will be a day where I have a choice. My first choice is not to be afraid. I can only change how I react, and when I choose not to be afraid, I allow myself the breathing space needed to make the choice that is right for me. I chose to listen to my heart; it has always led me to where I need to be. Even when it is only in my heart, these can be harder to choose, yet it is right for me. Your choices are not mine, nor do they need to be. I respect that deeply as I find our diversity refreshing like the winds of change that herald a new spring filled with fragrance of wonders to be cherished.

When I prosper, my community prospers. And when my community prospers, our humanity prospers.

With both respect and kindest regards,

Cathy

My Sewing life: Inside the machine

I have been sewing for thirty years now, so for most a lifetime. When I was younger all of my machines were used. Professional service was a luxury, so I would take the machine apart and do my best. And it worked.

A few years back my Husqvarna Emerald Sewing machine blew a fuse, it wasn’t under warranty, so to replace the 3$ fuse cost me $89& taxes. Not cheap. So, when the fuse went a few months later I took the machine apart, replaced the fuses and repositioned the wires to make then next fuse replacement a snap. The whole machine had to come apart to get access. Well, in doing so, I flipped some wires in replacing the fuses. The consequence was that they light on the machine would only work when the pedal was in use. A nuisance but not broken.

So, I recently listed the machine on crags list and the one offer was incredibly low. So, last night I took it apart to fix the issue.

Now if I had looked at the bottom once the plate was off I should have notice that the fuses were yellow wire to white wire, but I didn’t. I was thinking that I had put the wrong wires to the machines computer board. So, I unscrewed all kinds of screw, coaxed the plastic bits apart and swapped the wires. Then I put it back enough to test, and the machine said no, they were fine the way they were before. I then went looking to see what was amiss and that was the moment that I realized I didn’t need to pull it all apart.

The picture below shows the correct fuse wiring. While I was in the machine, I cleaned and lubricated all the gears and moving parts. Now it should sell for closer to the asking price.

I just want to emphasize that this was only done on machines that were beyond the manufactures warranty. Never touch a machine under warranty – it will void it.

Sewing with Hemp linen. A quick finish to the sleeve.

Hemp Linen (40% Hemp/60% Organic Cotton) is a joy to work with. The more that it is worked, the softer it becomes.

I have worked with this before with great success. The lace is a cotton 1” that I picked up years ago. When folded and sewn over the materials edge the finish is clean and wears really well.

One of the property’s of hemp woven material is that the hemp will have a tendency to bind to itself naturally during wear. So it will not come apart under the lace.

I will be using this technique on the neck for this hemp shirt.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Frame of Mind

I have been knitting with an passion. So – it is truly my frame of mind. Loki’s frame of mind is in her stomach – truly she is not impressed with knitting.

2015–the backside of another year– Time to look forward too

It was a good year overall. Not enough sewing projects were completed but I still have not given up on them. I guess it is to be expected having a full time job and an almost full time self employed business and family to help keep it all together.

Not enough posts either. Perhaps I will get to more of these in the new year.

There is the Mona Lisa – my red. So named because I have been working on it for over a year. It will look good and fit like a glove but as of yet I have no where to ware it. So I will be patient.

There is the almost finished kimono that I have started for my partner – mostly finished so perhaps this weekend. Both the Kimono and the Mona Lisa red dress are currently residing on my dress mannequin dummy– (Daisy is the dummy’s name – just in case you ask.) Daisy is residing in my office at the moment and doing an additional duty of holding the felted wool coat – just because it is very cold outside and it is a good fit.

And for some reason as if I had nothing to do I started knitting again. It is fun and sometimes I can actually do two things at once.

The photographs are a nice distraction from the everyday pressures so they continue to pop out of my camera. I enjoy sharing them here on the blog – keeping it simple while I do.

I am looking forward to sharing a stellar 2016 here when I can. Life sometimes just gets busy!

Have great New Year Folks.

Cathy

Another Tax season near completion.

Done. Well almost. Tax returns for the year 2013 and of course, a few stragglers. My count is 190. For the three of us it is a lot of work – me, myself and I. If you break it down that way it is easier to manage. Really!

It is not that doing taxes is hard – there can be a lot to remember especially in the year of change. That is when you should see a professional.

Needless to say that my sewing projects were put on hold and the mending is piling up.

’I’ was able to source some cheap material from value village, one is a light mauve duck – 7.5 meters for 4$. Can’t go wrong at that price. I have a few ideas for it but first I need a skirt. My old favorites are just that –old. They will work as lining and interlinings but not much else.

More to come – the sewing is calling!

The Blue Hemp Dress: a follow up on not finishing the seams.

Yes, it works like a charm! The fraying that you see here will not increase. Hemp linin is self finishing! 5 washes and the edges bind together like soft Velcro.

To boot, the first three washes, iron while still fresh from the washing machine and the seams learns to stay open! I only need to iron if I need it to look crisp from here on. The shots of the seams above are fresh from the dryer with no ironing. The caveat is to pull the dress (hemp linen garment) from the dryer (not an overly full one to crush the garment) as soon as it stops and hang it up. Put on a hanger and Done.

Here are some shots of the zipper after

One wash after the ironing.

three washes (still damp but drying) and after the ironing.

Love it!

Felted Wool coat is finished and warm for winter

Just in time for Winter I finished the coat!

I removed the excess cotton lining from the sleeves and finished by folding the silk up and over the cotton and slip stitched to the wool. This stoke of laziness gave me a warm inner sleeve as the silk falls gently around my wrist.

I created hoops of hemp thread for the hooks at the top and waist. They work really well.

This was an overly long project but worth every bit. The coat will keep me warm for our west coast winters!

The Washed wool coat–an update.

The coat is coming along albeit slowly! I have lined the coat with cotton quilt batting and again hand stitched it into place.

The collar is attached – the neat thing about washed wool is that the felt can be left unfinished at the edges. At least I will try. Today I will add pockets to the front though all layers then will begin on the silk lining. I hope to have it finished by the onset of the cold and I know that I am cutting it very close.

Washed Wool

Funny that http://didyoumakethat.wordpress.com/2013/10/20/fabric-focus-wool/ has wool as the Fabric Focus. This is wool that I have washed – sanitized in the washing machine for about 2 hours with my hemp slippers to felt the wool. I would do this three or four times when doing some deep cleaning on rugs and slippers to get a felted wool. These materials are part of my stash of thrift store material purchases. So no great loss if I bung it up.

As the main body is plaid each peace was individually cut to match the plaid. As this is a curvaceous pattern the end matching should be close but it is too soon to tell. The wool cuts like butter and no fraying involved!

Here is my posting of this pattern last year https://austerity101.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/now-for-my-jacket

For this coat I have lengthened the pattern to knee length. The beige will be the front facing and the under front panel. It will also be used for a collar which I have to create and the under sleeves. I haven’t ironed the wool as it will undo some of the felting and I am hoping that this process will keep me dry and warm this winter.

This bright blue will be the lining. It is sand washed silk and very thick. It also is a thrift shop find of 20$ for 4 meters – plenty to line a long coat.

In between the wool and silk I will put in a cotton quilting felt to add to the warmth. Each piece will be cut to the felt – so it will take a bit before I can post the finalized garment.