Polly's 15 Minutes Late With Her Sewlutions!

It's funny how life works out, isn't it? I had spotted Karen's Sewlutions Jar back in January but didn't have the guts to commit myself IRL! (In Real Life!) Be my fingers still, I quietly kept my mouth shut too and hoped for the best. That has come in the form of a major fibro-flare resulting in my having lots of spare time and medication since the end of January.

This said, due to the tenderness of my hands I can't really do much in the way of rubber stamping and card making at the moment. It hurts too much to apply even pressure and get a good impression. It sucks, but hey, it'll pass. Meanwhile, I've taken up sewing. Obviously not on a large interior design scale, but that will come sooner than anyone in my family can imagine. (Says she...!)

To date I've finished one 70's shift dress with a self belt in a lovely sage green cotton with tiny white flowers printed randomly throughout. I've also made a skirt with an amazing, colourful cotton lawn skirt using an 80's Burda pattern - my Mom hates it. One thick cotton apron, details of which are classified. My first foray into sewing with jersey turned into a gorgeous slightly lighter than sage green with chocolate swirls false wraparound dress. A cover for my u-shaped cushion. I've also repaired numerous items of clothing for pretty much everyone in the family.

Last Autumn I made a crepe du chine dirndl skirt which I'll probably never wear & a wearable muslin of a blouse that I will definitely not wear - EVER! Like EVER. My Alma is that horrid...

The beautiful Alma Blouse looking fab on Tasia at Sewaholic, who designed it!

  This however hasn't put me off as I've plans to go again with a few minor adjustments that will make my finished article look as stunning as the one in the picture. God knows where I went wrong... ;-(

What I've made so far:

1 x 70's cotton sun dress with belt
1 x 80's cotton lawn skirt
1 x 2012 cotton lawn false wrap dress
1 x cover for u-shaped cushion
1 x great big apron
1 x crepe du chine dirndl skirt
1 x ghastly synthetic georgette Alma blouse,Sewholic Patterns!
1 x tester for a pair of Vogue trousers - I've put on a little bit tonne of weight so they don't fit anymore - next but one size please!

The main problem with me is that when I start something the house becomes littered with the evidence. I'm honest about it these days (which is a triumph in its own right) and I am working on it. Say no more...

Polly's Gone Automatic...

Looking around the house today I feel as though I've managed to get so much done over the past few weeks. The truth is that being organised is the biggest part of the job, the next part is chipping away at things slowly for a few minutes at a time. Fifteen minutes at a time actually...

On a good day I can move mountains, on a bad day I can move molehills. Whichever day it is, whether with the assistance of pain relief or not I find that putting a load of washing in when I first get up has to take priority over everything else bar letting the dog out. Once that's done, I'm on the right track and can move onto completing the other niceties like heading down to the bathroom, cleaning my teeth (during which time I swish & swipe with my homemade vinegar cleaner), brushing my hair, taking my tablets, getting dressed and of course making my first cup of tea for the day.

I don't recal just how long it's been since fate intervened and decided that Polly should buy a new washing machine but it's been a while now. I distinctly remember that DG & I went looking for one in the nearby town of Newbridge on afternoon. Heaven only knows quite why we decided to travel 27miles to select a washing machine, when we could have visited the local branch of the same store just 9miles away!

The 'new' washer is just that. It's a washer! This said, there are only three programmes I've yet to use; these are both of the economy settings because they take forever when a non-economy setting at the same temperature takes half an hour less (yes, I know!) and the sportshoe wash programme. I am one of those rare beasts that uses my washer to the absolute best of my ability...

DG's work jeans usually get boiled alive at 95C - it gets stubborn agricultural dirt out and makes them last longer. His shirts are allowed to cook at around 40C. His & the boys socks go in on a 60C programme and are pretty much the only items persistently tumble dried, life's too short to be hanging them out on the line! Most of my pretties (I can no longer refer to them as smalls) are delicate and are treated as such. I use the silk and the wool cycles interchangably depending on which I've got the most of, fabrics and synthetics I'm not sure of get the 30C treatment, despite the fact that I've got a synthetic cycle at 40C & one at 50C and by far my favourite setting is the 30' mini-cycle for lightly soiled things.

By far the best thing about this machine is the fact that it is indeed automatic. It's an energy saving appliance which fills from the top and is also water saving in nature. One thing I'm not crazy about is that I need a man to help me undo the cover when something like a plectrum or a penny get caught in the filter, I'm just not strong enough to open it. DG has suggested using a mole/vice grips but the opportunity has yet to arise!

By far the best feature of my all singing, all dancing machine is the fact that I've recently discovered that there is indeed a need for pre-setting a delayed start. Yep, this is what I've been doing over the past couple of days before going to bed at night. Why? Because I don't want to be the victim of my appliances bursting into flames while unattended. Drama queen? Perhaps, but I did once witness my friends dishwasher doing just that, luckily it was during the day while we were around and able to deal with it.

So why have I all of a sudden become paranoid about this? It's largely thanks to another friend nagging her Mum about the same thing, Flylady's essays on the subject and a new acquaintance of mine who just happens to be an insurance claims assessor/adjuster. As a result of all of the above my washing had been growing - again - to Mt Washmore proportions and my frustration with it. I read something about using the delay start on Flylady.net and obviously it struck a chord as now I'm ahead of myself at last.

And hey! Guess what? If it happens that it's going to be a pain filled bad day I don't end up feeling bad about not keeping up with the washing! I can go back to bed and wait for my pain relief to kick in in the secure knowledge that the house is in the process of looking after itself.

And that ladies & gentlemen is just perfect...