Missing That Critical Piece of Information

I played around with patterns on Friday but don’t really have anything to show for it; the process was more about fitting refinements than anything else. After lunch, I made the second of the two waxed canvas zipper pouches for the gift basket project. I’ll hand those off at the next Homestead Foundation board meeting.

Yesterday, I spent a couple of hours at the fire department auction in the morning, made a quick trip to Joann Fabrics, then came home. Unless our Joanns gets a big shipment of merchandise in the next week or so, nothing else remains that I need, and seeing the store prepare to close is like watching a dear friend die of cancer. I can’t imagine the mental fortitude it must take for the employees to get up and come to work every morning.

After lunch, I decided to revisit the byAnnie “A Place for Everything” pattern. That project has been languishing because the zippers were such a hassle. I bought the zipper tape by the yard and could not for the life of me get the zipper pulls attached. I watched the byAnnie videos. I tried the fork method. I cut down one side of the zipper tape. I removed part of the zipper coils on one side. Nothing worked. Yesterday, in desperation, I pulled up one more video on YouTube. The woman in the video said, “Here is the secret to getting the zipper pulls onto the tape,” and then she calmly demonstrated how to insert each side of the zipper tape at a 45-degree angle on each side of the pull until it clicks, grasp the tape, and pull down.

I tried her method and the zipper pull slid down the tape like kids at a playground. HALLELUJAH! It took me 20 minutes to attach all my zipper pulls and clip the zippers to the corresponding pieces of vinyl:

I watched the byAnnie videos and read the instructions and I cannot recall seeing or reading these specific instructions to insert the zipper tape into the pull at a 45-degree angle. Why not? It would make the process so much simpler! Certainly, it would have saved me a couple of hours of frustration.

I am now ready to move forward with this project. So many zippers, though. 😵‍💫

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We have had many requests for a pants class at the quilt store. Now that I’ve had the Kenneth King pants drafting class, I feel a bit more capable of dealing with some of the more common pants fitting issues, although I am by no means an expert. I just know more than the students will know.

The store owner’s daughter suggested the Sew House Seven Free Range Slacks for the class:

I think this is a great choice. You all know how much I love my Toaster Sweaters. And Sew House Seven has some of the best sizing and fit guidelines on their website of any of the indie pattern designers. I think this will be fun.

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I have got to get the peas planted this afternoon. Today is supposed to be sunny and close to 60F, but rain is predicted for most of this week. Today is the day to do it.