One Coverstitch Stocking

I only finished one Christmas stocking yesterday. I worked on the coverstitch version, which I hadn’t made before, and ran into a few problems along the way. I am working from the pattern version that came out with the online class. I need to get a copy of the printed pattern that was released to stores and compare the two.

In any case, it’s done, and the second version should go more quickly:

I’m going to change the order of operations slightly when I teach this. The pattern starts with the foot section. I’m going to start with that upper panel. The stitch, a two-thread flatlock, is the same in both sections; the stitch settings differ slightly.

I had a lot of issues trying to do the coverstitch section in the middle (the white fabric). My Janome coverstitch did not like the metallic Glamore thread. The pattern says to interface that piece of fabric before stitching. I used Pellon SF101 and I suspect I need to use something lighter. I’ll try a different interfacing on the next one. It’s either that or I’ll have to switch to something like a 12wt rayon thread for that area.

When Ryan was here last week servicing the Q20, we talked about classes. He taught a class last year on basic machine issues and how to fix them. He did a good job and I told him he should teach some additional classes. Like most of us who teach, though, he knows that the class prep takes a lot of time and can be tedious.

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The weather for the next couple of weeks is not looking promising. I am happy about the rain, but we’re spending a small fortune heating the greenhouse. And the plants need the sunshine, not just the heat. I am kicking around the idea of moving the plant sale to a later date next year. (Of course, if I do that, we’ll probably have the warmest April on record here.) There will be inventory for the sale, but it’s going to be on the small side. My experience is that even small plants catch up by the end of the season. Small plants just aren’t as appealing to buyers.

And it’s tough to have baby animals when the temps still get down to freezing at night. The chicks are going to have to move out of the brooder soon. We do have a heat lamp for them in the coop, but I am sure it will be a bit of a shock. We pick up piglets on Saturday. They’ll stay in the piggy palace for a few days. I think the husband can put a heat lamp out there, too, if necessary. With enough straw, they should be able to burrow down and stay warm.

When we were out planting apple trees in the cold and rain on Sunday, I said to the husband that I was reminded of all of the camping and field trips I went on when the girls were in school. (He is not much of a camper; he likes to sleep in his own bed.) Those trips all happened in April and May and the weather was usually crummy. The kids who didn’t dress properly were miserable. I once slept in a tent in Glacier Park when it got down to 32F overnight, but it is that cold rain that really does you in.