Lots of Nope Ropes

I mowed the grass around the big garden yesterday morning so I could re-lay my hose lines. I’ll need to water every day now that it’s getting hot. I spotted four (!) garter snakes while I was out there, including this one:

Some people in our homesteading group refer to snakes as “nope ropes.” Amy Dingmann of the Farmish Kind of Life podcast calls them “dragon noodles,” which is far more poetic.

That section of black plastic appears to be home to a family of snakes. The plastic is over a couple of rotting tree stumps so there aren’t any plants in that spot. These look like western terrestrial garter snakes.

Yes, I have snakes in my garden. What I don’t have are tomato hornworms, potato beetles, cabbage moths, or slugs. I’ll take the snakes. They don’t bother me, although sometimes they surprise me if I forget they are there.

It’s all one big happy ecosystem.

The strawberry bed is about done producing. We are awaiting the raspberry tsunami.

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I think I need to reorganize my sewing space. The workflow is not flowing and my sew-jo is suffering.

I did pull and cut fabric for this pattern yesterday:

I think it will be useful with all of the English paper piecing I do in the evenings. The bonus is that it’s a quick win.

No sewing today, though; I am teaching a serger mastery class this afternoon and I am going to try to run all my errands before class starts.

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I ran my genetic data through Seeking Health’s StrateGene program a few weeks ago. My girls also did theirs. It’s been eight years since the first report and I thought it was time for an update. The MTHFR mutation runs rampant on both sides of my family and has caused all sorts of health problems, including blood clots. I have a folate deficiency and my mother has a B12 deficiency. DD#2 is struggling with food intolerances and other issues and I wanted to see if could narrow down the causes. The reports turned out to contain quite a lot of useful information. DD#2 does have a significant genetic predisposition for histamine intolerance. And it was helpful for me to be able to compare our genetic profiles side-by-side to see what the girls got from me and what they got from their father.

I know that many people are uncomfortable having their genetic data analyzed like that, but for me, the benefits have far outweighed the risks. I’ve been able to address my own health issues without having to shotgun a lot of solutions. And if we can mediate these problems through diet and lifestyle changes, then we’ll go that route first.

Don't Read This Post

Something about yesterday’s blog post triggered Facebook’s censorship bots and it was taken down. Who knows?—perhaps I’m now on some list and this one will get removed, too. The only explanation I received was that my post looked like misleading clickbait. Yes, my intention was to lure you all in by posting a photo of my serger foot and then try to sell you dietary supplements. 🙄

Somehow, this is not where I thought we would be in 2024.

I spent a few hours out in the garden yesterday morning mulching the potatoes. We are trying something new this year by using hemp waste instead of straw. Hemp is grown without pesticides or chemicals, so I feel more comfortable using it. Thus far, I am pleased:

It may take longer than straw to break down, and we were warned not to try to till this ground for a couple of years because the fibers that are left will wrap around the tiller tines. This mulch is mostly made up of the outer bark, but there are some fibers mixed in. Having spun hemp—and knowing that it doesn’t rot quickly—I was aware of that going in. I prefer no-till gardening as much as possible because it really does keep the weeds down.

You don’t know until you try.

After mulching, I cut the grass in the yard. The baby robins left their nest yesterday; I spotted one out in the new herb garden looking a bit dazed and confused. In years past, the mama robins had a habit of coaxing the babies out to the herb garden because they were safe from the dogs there while they got their bearings.

I was planning to cut the grass around the big garden this morning but it’s raining. Rain wasn’t in the forecast. Oh well, less watering I have to do.

Afternoons are for sewing, but I could not get inspired to work on anything. I cleaned and organized my sewing area, instead. I hate when my sew-jo takes a holiday, but I also know it won’t last forever. Part of the problem is that I have too many stalled projects in the queue. When that happens, I lose focus. Starting a new project is not the answer. Figuring out how to move some of these projects along is.

My collection of hexie units is coming along nicely (pardon the mess).

I’ve been working on these in the evening. I found a bag of 250 pre-cut hexies in the clearance bin at Gossypium Quilts, in Issaquah, WA. The fabric is from one of Sherri McConnell and Chelsi Stratton’s lines. I’ve been basting the pre-cut hexies around cardstock forms, then sewing them into hexie flowers. I’ve done glue basting on some of my hexie projects, but I’d just as soon baste with thread.

Fun With Serger Feet

My class proposals for Sew Expo have been submitted. I should know something by the end of August. They will be offering four-hour and all-day classes next year, which is wonderful. The 2-1/2 hour time slots aren’t long enough, especially when half the students in class need individual help. I also need to work on paring down some of my handouts, because I do tend to pack a lot into them.

Sarah and I were the only ones who thought we had sewing yesterday. (Yes, we knew it was a holiday but we like the Thursday get-togethers.) Both of us went to the community center and realized no one else was there. She was already halfway to my house at that point so she delivered some lettuce starts and summer savory plants to me. We walked around the herb garden and the big garden and she showed me some bags she had made for market. Sarah is very clever at repurposing things and some of her bags were made from thrift store finds.

After Sarah left, I finished re-covering my sleeve board with new covers. The cording foot on my serger worked splendidly:

And now the sleeve board has nice new covers:

I spent the rest of the afternoon reprinting patterns and taping them together. I discovered that even though I set the Brother laser printer to print at 106%—in order to get the one-inch calibration box on the pattern to print at the correct size—the printer was not resizing the rest of the pattern proportionally. The measurements for the actual pattern pieces were still off. I printed everything on the Epson inkjet printer on the husband’s computer and the patterns came out perfect at 100%. Note to self.

I’m not sure what I will work on next. I did buy the hardware for the Haralson bags, so I ought to finish them. At least now I know everything should be the correct size.

The garden has reached the point where it doesn’t need a lot of work. I plan to go out early this morning and weed the potatoes. We got a round bale of hemp waste from our farmer friend who is growing hemp now. I’m trying that for mulch instead of straw. I’ve already put some down around the potatoes and it seems to be working well. And after all the rain we’ve had, I’ll have to cut the grass.

I’m getting a bit weary of the hyperbole about the weather. Every headline here is screaming about the “deadly heat wave” that is coming next week. It will be in the mid-90s for a couple of days. Hello? It’s summer. A few years ago, we had 90+ heat for most of the month of July. We’ve had years where the heat started in June. This June was cool and rainy, which is typical for Montana. If we were getting a 90-degree heat wave in March, I might be concerned.

It's About to Heat Up

This has not been as productive a week as I had hoped. I was working on the Haralson bag on Tuesday afternoon only to discover that my printer—a Brother laser printer—apparently does not understand the command to print at 100%. The Haralson bag units that were cut from the printed pattern pieces were smaller than they should have been. I didn’t bother to check when printing because I assumed that printing at 100% meant the pattern would have printed at 100%. Nope. In order to get the pattern to print at the correct size, I have to tell the printer to print the pages at 106%. 🙄

I am sure it’s a problem with the printer and not the pattern itself. Noodlehead patterns are some of the best out there and other people have made the Haralson bag with no issues. I rarely print patterns on my printer—I’ll either have the patterns printed in town or I’ll cut the units according to measurements given in the pattern—but this bag has some non-rectangular units.

Arrrgghhh. I still want to make this bag, but I am trying to muster up the motivation to go through the whole process of prepping the pattern and cutting the pieces again. I might have to put this project in time out for a few weeks.

Yesterday was even worse. I got a recall notice for the Jeep a few weeks ago (replacement fuel line fitting), so I called and made an appointment at the dealer for 9 am yesterday morning. I was told this was a 90-minute repair. I asked to have the oil changed, too, which added another 30 minutes. I get a couple of free oil changes so I thought I would use one. The dealer is 45 minutes away, in Whitefish. I took my knitting and my iPad and planned to sit and wait while they did the work.

Around 11 am, the service guy who checked in my Jeep came out to the waiting area. I was expecting him to tell me the car was done. Instead, he told me that it was taking a bit longer than expected and did I want to leave and come back? I said that I was 45 minutes from home and my husband was pouring concrete over an hour away. The service guy offered a ride to anywhere in Whitefish or—possibly—Kalispell. I said I would see what I could arrange.

[Kalispell peeps, that was the reason for the cryptic Facebook message.]

In the end, I decided it was too complicated to try to get to Kalispell and then have to get back to Whitefish, so I stayed and waited. I waited for a total of 5-1/2 hours. The service guy who was helping me finally confessed that when it came in, my Jeep was assigned to a tech who was already working on another car with a major problem, so my Jeep sat. When the service guy realized I was still waiting, he went to find out what was going on. He got a manager to reassign my car to another tech to do the work.

I finally got out of there at 2:30. Traffic was nuts, and I still had to stop at the grocery store—also nuts—to get a case of apples for the husband. It was 4 pm by the time I got home. What a complete waste of a day. Both the dealer and Jeep are going to get some pointed feedback from me about that. And the husband said that next time, he’ll just change the oil himself.

Today is a new day. I’m going to write up and submit my teaching proposals for Sew Expo 2025 this morning and then go to sewing.

It rained a bit overnight, but I think that’s the last of it for a while. We’re going to be under a ridge of high pressure with temps in the high 80s and low 90s for the next week. That should make the plants very happy. I’ll have to get my garden chores done early in the morning.

The baby robins are getting bigger and noisier. There are three—I counted open beaks during feeding time—but usually I only see two:

The poor parents spend most of their time getting worms and bugs to feed these hungry babies.

Plants in the Ground

Everything is planted except for a few little seedlings from Sarah that need another week or so in the greenhouse. I managed to get the last few plants into the new raised beds just before the heavens opened and more rain came down. I’m rather enjoying this weather and I’d love it if summer continued with periodic rain showers every few days.

Now we wait for everything to grow:

The six beds on the right side have veggies. The other beds have herbs and flowers. I’ve still got room for some seating and perhaps a few other pieces. I’ll add those when I find some I like.

I am glad this project is done. Puttering in my herb garden is a different type of gardening than growing row crops, and I have missed being able to putter. I’m sure the husband is also happy. This was a lot of work for him, but he gets lettuce out of the deal.

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I made T-shirts for two little boys yesterday afternoon. (It was raining. I sewed.)

One of them has a birthday this week and I have been invited to his train-themed birthday party. The invitation said “gifts not necessary,” but I claimed Auntie Janet privilege and made these for them. I’ve been collecting fun fabrics for little boys and this one was perfect. The pattern is the Oliver + S School Bus T-shirt.

I’ve got the pieces cut for new covers for my sleeve board. I just have to put them together.

I received some fabric in the mail yesterday that is destined for a project down the road. I have a travel tote that I bought over 30 years ago from Lands End or LL Bean. I love that bag. It has been on all my journeys. It’s made from some kind of smooth polyester or nylon and although it has held up beautifully, I know it won’t last forever. I’ve been hunting for a similar fabric. Seattle Fabrics carries a huge selection of bonded nylons, but they aren’t quite the same. I’ve been binging bagmaking videos from Jess of OklaRoots and one of her favorite suppliers is Wonderground Fabrics. They carry a bonded poly/nylon fabric, so I ordered some to see how I liked it:

This is very similar to the fabric in my tote bag. I’ll do a test run with the piece I ordered to see what I think.

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My sister-in-law called yesterday morning to tell me that my father-in-law had passed away. (I have two fathers-in-law; this FIL was the husband’s stepfather.) His passing was not unexpected. He had been in assisted living since my MIL died in March of 2020 and had steadily declined. We knew he missed my MIL very much. I got to catch up with my SIL for a bit during the phone call and I appreciated that.

Date Night in the (Old) Jeep

The ground squirrels have returned.

I happened to glance out my office window yesterday morning and spotted one in the front yard. The husband immediately went out onto the porch with the shotgun and took a shot at it but didn’t kill it. It disappeared down a hole. I am hoping he wounded it and it crawled away to die, because we didn’t see it again. Hopefully that served as a warning to others.

He finished assembling the rest of the raised beds in the garden yesterday and filled them with dirt. He’ll spread the remaining gravel around them today. While he was doing that, I planted the beds that were ready. I may end up moving things around after plants grow a bit and I have a better idea of how the overall layout looks, but for now, the plants are in the beds.

I was able to re-create some of my original herb garden because many of those plants had escaped into the yard and woods. I dug up yarrow, violets, sweet woodruff, lemon balm, columbines, and echinacea and moved them to the beds. I have horehound, catmint, salvia, and poppies over in the big garden and those will get moved as well.

Some of the beds he built yesterday will get lettuce and some will get the overflow of stock that never made it into the big garden because I ran out of room.

Guess who kept me company while I planted?

I think this is Chicken Coop Snake. It gets around. It hung out at the edge of the garden for a while. I left to get more plants from the nursery down the road, and the husband reported that while I was gone, he watched it move from this spot over to the compost bins.

I spotted Strawberry Bed Snake again and also a snake out in the woods. This seems to be a good year for snakes. I am not unhappy about this. I just wish they ate ground squirrels. We need some gopher snakes. They are native to Montana, although I have never seen one here.

Someone posted footage on social media of a smallish grizzly bear in our neighborhood. Too bad they don’t eat ground squirrels, either.

We decided at the last minute to go out for dinner, and by some amazing stroke of luck, we were able to get reservations for two at Mercantile Steak, which is our favorite place to eat in Kalispell. We are not the only people who like to eat there. Getting a reservation is sometimes difficult.

The husband drove us to town in his Jeep.

He brought it back on a trailer from his dad’s place in Colorado. It is the same age as DD#1 (she’s 31). The husband did some work on it and it’s running fine.

Dinner was awesome. Mercantile Steak always starts the meal with popovers with herb butter, which are not on my diet but I make an exception when we eat there. We like to get mushroom toast as an appetizer. The husband ordered smoked prime rib for his entree and I had the scallops with roasted vegetables. (I prefer seafood to steak.) We topped it off with huckleberry cheesecake for dessert.

Rain is in the forecast again for the next couple of days, and then things dry out and warm up toward the end of next week.

Stuck on Sleeves

I am in search of the perfect sleeve for these woven tees I’ve been making. I like the armscye from the New Look 6543 but I need to tweak the cap shaping a bit. I think it’s too high, for one thing, and tends to pouf out at the top. I read somewhere—but can’t find the link to save my life—that too much sleeve cap ease is often drafted into commercial patterns. Conventional wisdom is that for woven fabrics, 1" to 1.5" of ease is sufficient, meaning that the length of the sleeve cap should only be that much longer than the circumference of the armscye. Most patterns direct the sewist to sew a line of easing stitches along the cap, which are drawn up to ease the excess fabric of the cap into the armscye. Some of these commercial patterns have more ease than that, and it takes a lot of wrestling to set in the sleeve without wrinkles or pleats. This article on the Ikatbag website does a superb job of explaining the shape of the armscye and its relationship to the sleeve cap, and the author goes so far as to say that the length of the sleeve cap should be equal to the distance around the armscye. I am working on wrapping my head around that.

Getting flat fabric to fit around squishy, unique bodies is both art and science.

In the meantime, I’ve added another project to the queue. I decided that my sleeve board needs a new cover. The metallized fabric is dried out and cracking, and the padding underneath is in sad shape. (I bought the sleeve board at a thrift store.)

I need to get out my bin of utility fabrics and find a remnant of metallized ironing board fabric. I don’t use that fabric on my actual ironing board—I prefer a cotton twill cover—but I know I picked up a remnant or two of metallized fabric at Joanns just in case I needed it.

[I also see that it’s probably time to take off my ironing board cover and wash it . . . ]

In the process, I will get to use the cording foot on my serger to attach the drawstring in the same way it is on the existing cover:

We are supposed to get rain again at the beginning of the week, so I might tackle this project then.

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I think I will be getting a Bernina sewing machine. I am not getting the 990. I was talking to the quilt store owner on Wednesday and she mentioned that a lot of the 880s are coming in on trade from people buying the 990s. She’s selling the used 880s for even less than a new 5-series machine would cost, and I’ve been considering buying a 5-series for a while. (I am not an impulse buyer.) I’ve had my Janome 6600P for 12 years now and while it’s been a great machine, I am running up against some of its limitations.

The 880 was not a popular machine. When the Bernina tech was here in April to service my Q20, he and I talked about that model. He had a lot of positive things to say about the design and mechanics of the 880, and all of his comments were wholly unsolicited because he had no idea I was thinking about getting a new machine. After hearing his opinion of that model—and knowing that he’ll be available should I have any issues—I am comfortable with purchasing a used one. He thoroughly goes over any trade-in models before they are released for sale.

The 880 is more machine than I ever anticipated having, and it comes with an embroidery module, too. I don’t need another hobby, but there are occasions when having embroidery capabilities will come in handy.

Another Déclic Top

We had a glorious day of rain yesterday. I am glad I was able to get the grass cut when I did. And because it was raining, I was able to stay inside and sew. I took one of my Déclic tops to the quilt store on Wednesday to show the owner, because the fabric came from her store. I try to do what I can to encourage her to keep ordering a few garment fabrics in addition to quilting cottons. She thought the Déclic would make a good class and sent me home with another rayon challis for a store sample. I sewed that up yesterday and will drop it off this afternoon:

I like it. I made it a size larger than the one I made for myself so she could wear it.

After I finished the top, I tried to work on some stalled projects, but they are stalled for a reason and I couldn’t get them restarted. I am missing my Necchi industrial and need to get the tension assembly fixed so I can use it again. My Janome 6600P isn’t quite up to sewing heavier fabrics. I need a machine of a size between it and the Juki 1541 and that was the niche the Necchi filled, quite nicely. I could pop one of my Singer 31 machines into the treadle table in its place—the Necchi BV and Singer 31 are almost identical in design—but I prefer the Necchi.

Instead, I cut out another New Look 6543. This one has a V-neck instead of a round neck. I did all the prep work of sewing bust darts, making the facing, and finishing the edges on the serger. All that is left is to assemble it and that won’t take long. The rain is still coming down, so I’ll do that this morning.

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After leaving the quilt store on Wednesday, I had a niggling feeling that I should stop at the Salvation Army thrift store. I don’t ignore those niggling feelings when I get them, because they almost always lead to something interesting. I wandered around the store until I got to the furniture department, where I spotted a card table—but not just any card table. It was a card table with a sewing machine cutout. I let out a small gasp of surprise and went over to check it out. Singer made card tables for the 300-, 400-, and 500-series machines. Based on the size of the cutout (although I haven’t measured it yet), I suspect this is a table for the longbed 301. The price was $14.99 so I folded up the table and hightailed it to the register. These tables sell for a pretty penny on eBay. I have another one in the basement that I got for $30. I probably should list them.

This particular thrift store used to have a really nice craft section, but they’ve stopped stocking it. They got rid of sewing patterns a few years ago and won’t take them now. I overheard one of the store managers talking to someone as I came in, and she said that they’re getting too many donations. The last time I took donations to them, I was told that they aren’t taking any “flat pieces of fabric,” including bedding or comforters. I can’t quite square “too many donations” with a store that doesn’t have as much inventory as it used to, so I’m not sure what is going on.

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I spotted another snake in the garden. It was in the strawberry patch. I know it is not the same one I saw by the cucumbers, because the cucumber snake was smaller and a darker gray. At least the snake is eating bugs and not strawberries. A squirrel got into the greenhouse and just about sent me into cardiac arrest because I didn’t see it until it ran past me and up one of the posts. We had a short conversation about what is and is not appropriate squirrel habitat and eventually it left.

I have to remind myself that I am just the groundskeeper. 😐

A Tiny Nest on the Ground

I headed out to the garden early yesterday morning so I could work before it got hot. I have very little heat tolerance, so anything above 70F is “hot” to me. I planted three rows of beans, mulched some potatoes, picked three gallons of strawberries (after kicking several robins out of the strawberry patch), and cut back the grapes. The trunks were dead almost all the way to the ground. I am not sure what happened—my friend the vineyard manager said that if there is a cold snap after the sap starts running, that can cause the trunks to burst. I did see a few places where it looked like that had happened. There is new growth coming up at the bases so the roots should be okay. In any case, we’re basically starting over with the grapes.

Some parts of gardening are a long game.

I came in and had some lunch, then went back outside and mowed the yard. I found this little nest on the ground:

So fun to see what materials went into it. I see chicken feathers and pine needles.

I did laundry when I got back from Bend and all my woven tops needed to be pressed, so I did that. Ironing clothing I have made is very satisfying.

I cleaned and hulled the strawberries and put them on a tray in the freezer. The chickens got the hulls, which they think are a special treat. Dave gets very excited when he sees them.

I am not going to work as hard today. I have a podcast interview this morning, and by the time it’s done, I probably won’t want to be out in the garden, although I might water the fruit trees. Temps cool off tomorrow. If it rains, I am going to sew.

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I bought this apron pattern in Bend:

It is the Six Corners Apron by Vanilla House Designs. This is a unique apron. I have a some remnants with large, bold prints that would showcase well in this style. Aprons are on the list of things to make, but they aren’t at the top of the list. I want a few more rayon tops and I’d like to get those Haralson bags made.

Plant Shopping

One of the nurseries in town is having a sale on plants—buy sixteen 4" pots of perennials and get 20% off. I stopped there yesterday to do some shopping:

This haul included both herbs and flowers. I am moving some plants to the herb garden from elsewhere on the property and getting donations from friends, but I had to buy a few, too. I do love primroses. We are supposed to have cooler, rainier weather this weekend, so getting these into the herb garden is on the schedule for Saturday.

I also got a container of praying mantis babies and let them loose in the big garden. The husband commented that it’s like an episode of “Wild Kingdom” out there. I’m glad, because it means that I have cultivated a healthy ecosystem.

Guess who is hanging out by the chicken coop again?

I am pretty sure this is the same one I relocated last week. It has returned to the all-you-can-eat mouse buffet. I just hope it doesn’t go into the chicken yard or coop and get attacked by chickens.

The mama robin has two new babies in the nest in the porch rafters.

While I was at the nursery, I looked at their selection of birdbaths. They cost more than I want to spend. I thought I might get one with a pump so I could have moving water, but I am not spending $500 on a spa for the robins. I have a few other ideas.

Today’s #1 task is getting the corn and beans in. Yes, it’s late, but I am hoping that having given them a head start in the greenhouse will make a difference. The rows of lettuce and arugula are up in the big garden.

The grapes still have not leafed out, although there is some new growth at the bases. I checked with a friend of mine who is a vineyard manager in North Carolina and she said I can cut everything back to the new growth and re-train new trunks, so I plan to do that. I also lost a few cucumber and melon plants to that cold snap. They looked okay initially, but it’s clear now that they didn’t make it.

We are still eating strawberries. I am going to start freezing what is coming in because the raspberry tsunami is on the horizon.

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I want to sew, but the garden requires my attention. I’m trying not to be too impatient about this. Gardening season won’t last forever and we’ll have snow again before we know it. And if we get a few days of rain this week, I’ll have a reason to stay inside. In the meantime, I have been sneaking into my sewing room occasionally and doing some prep work so the projects are ready when I get a chunk of time to work on them.

Back From Bend

A group of us went to our conference meeting in Bend, Oregon, this past weekend. Elaine and I, along with one of our members named Rob, left Thursday morning. Eleven hours later, we pulled into the hotel parking lot. I love road trips, but that was a long one. I was grateful to have had some company with me.

I had been to—or rather, through—Bend once before, on my way to teach at Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, but that was over 20 years ago. Bend has changed quite a bit since then. It has become quite the popular place and its population has exploded. As the person doing the driving, I had a lot of trouble there, and it wasn’t until we left that I figured out why.

Bend is full of roundabouts. Almost every intersection is a roundabout. I understand that roundabouts do a better job of routing traffic than four-way stops. I get that. The five-mile trip from our hotel to the meeting site included close to a dozen roundabouts, however, and it was agonizing. As we were leaving Bend yesterday and back out on the open road, it dawned on me that I was getting motion sickness driving around all those roundabouts. Temporary and mild motion sickness, yes, but enough to be noticeable. I could never live in a place like that.

Elaine and I met up with our friend Beth, from Boise, on Friday morning. The three of us prepared four comforters for tying:

These were set up in the back of the meeting space so that people could work on them during the worship or seminar times. Beth brought the tops and thread, I brought the batting and pins, and Elaine made up instruction cards to put on the tables. By the end of the conference, all four comforters had been tied. They will be bound by a quilter from one of the Oregon churches and sent to Mennonite Central Committee to be distributed.

I was walking into the meeting area when I spotted someone doing some hand sewing, so I went over for a closer look. Emily, who is half of the husband-wife pastoral team at Menno Mennonite in Ritzville, Washington—where we have the relief sale every fall—was making hexies. (There may have been some excited squealing when we discovered that both of us brought EPP projects with us to work on during meetings.) I asked Emily if I could take a few photos:

Emily inherited a stack of aprons from her mom and aunt, so she decided to turn them into a quilt. She also had fabrics from some of the dresses she wore as a child.

I did not get to the big quilt shop in Sisters, which was only 20 minutes away, although Beth and I joked about ditching a seminar to go there. I did run out to the Joann Fabrics in Bend to get a few supplies and discovered a quilt store next door, so I stopped in for a look around.

Rob and I left Bend early yesterday morning for the trip home. Elaine went on to visit her sister in Seattle for a few days.

I am glad we got to go, but that was a long trip for a short meeting and I am tired. I don’t have a lot on the schedule this week, thankfully. The gardens are going to need my attention. The rest of the raised beds arrived. I should probably start shopping for a birdbath and a bench or some chairs for the herb garden. And plants, of course. I’ll need more plants.

Planning Future Projects and Finishing Old Ones

Sarah donated a whole collection of plants for my herb garden, including some thyme, dill, zinnias, and other flowers. I am excited to see those beds fill up.

My friend Janet (yes, there are two of us) came over on Tuesday with a waxed canvas bag project that had exceeded the capabilities of her sewing machine. The 1541 made short work of attaching the leather handles, sewing in the lining, and topstitching the top edge. I wish I had remembered to take a photo of it because it was lovely. She also brought a pair of jeans with her and I used the rivet press to put a new front button on them.

I took the row covers off all the plants yesterday. Some of the cukes and squash look a bit peaked, but everything seems to have survived. We are in for a stretch of warm weather now. The garden should bounce back. We looked at the raspberry patch last night—buzzing with bees and other pollinators—and I told the husband to be prepared for an absolute tsunami of berries in another couple of weeks.

I spent yesterday afternoon prepping the Haralson bag pattern and trying to move an old project along to completion. I had a leftover chunk of blue waxed canvas from Klum House, so I cut enough pieces for two Haralson bags:

One of the women in our sewing group makes the most beautiful Poppins bags, and she always does hers two at a time. It makes sense. I’ll either gift one of these or put it in the sale in September.

The other project is an English paper piecing kit that came with a class Tera and I took at Garden of Quilts three (!) years ago. Tera finished hers—she is much better about that than I am.

The class focused on glue basting EPP. I generally baste my pieces with thread, but glue basting works, too. Of course, after three years, the little glue stick that came with the kit had dried out, but I found another one and carried on. I need to make 20 of those hexagon units. They get sewn into five columns of four units, then trimmed to make either a pillow or a wall hanging. Above them, you can see a couple of hexie flowers. They will be appliquéd to some linen and quilted to make a couple of quilted zip pouches.

I’ve been trying to work on embroidery or EPP in the evenings. Sometimes I want to sit and read, but that’s hard to do when the husband is watching videos because I get distracted by the process of replacing a wheel bearing on a Toyota. If I do handwork instead, I can watch and sew at the same time.

This is like handspinning. As the old saying goes, spinning on a drop spindle is slower by the minute but faster by the month. It’s why I have to do something with those hexie flowers, because I’ve managed to accumulate over two dozen of them.

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The Bernina 990 was unveiled at Bernina University this week. It looks like a phenomenal machine but I am having trouble getting past the $23,000 price tag. I’m not judging anyone who buys one—how other people spend their money is none of my business. I just wonder how sustainable that is as a business model. After the initial rush of buyers, will they be able to continue to produce and sell a model at that price?

My Janome 6600P does everything I need it to, so I have no plans to upgrade.

Podcasts and Pouches

I spent yesterday morning editing two podcast episodes. One was today’s episode, which is an interview with Anne Graham. She repairs products for Patagonia. I learned a lot listening to her talk about her job. I also edited next week’s podcast because I needed to have the information available ahead of time to send to C&T Publishing for a blog tour. The guest is Kathleen McVeigh, who has a book coming out next Tuesday entitled Reclaimed Quilts: Sew Modern Clothing and Accessories From Vintage Textiles. That was another fun interview. We discovered, during out post-interview chat, that she knows a young man from our church because they attended college together.

[Cue “It’s a Small World, After All” music. You may thank me later if that gets stuck in your head.]

I have so much fun with these interviews. The world is filled with fascinating people. I just wish more of them would say yes to being podcast guests. A lot of the older people I want to interview don’t feel comfortable with the technology.

I didn’t do any sewing yesterday, but I did prep a couple of patterns. I cut pattern pieces for the Haralson Bag and I also printed and taped patterns for a collection of quilted pouches from Rosie Caldwell.

You might be saying to yourself, “Why on earth would Janet need a pattern for something so basic?” I’ll tell you why. Sometimes Janet gets tired of doing everything from scratch. It was absolutely worth the $5 I spent on this pattern to have the math already done for seven different zip pouch sizes. Also, the designer did a superb YouTube video detailing her methods. And I never balk at supporting an indie designer.

I plan to start by making the largest size pouch because I want to experiment with appliquéing some hexie flowers onto the base fabric before quilting it. I have a ton of hexie flowers. They need to be used and I don’t have the patience to sew them into a Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt.

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I woke up this morning fully expecting to mourn the loss of my cucumber and squash plants. Missoula was under a winter storm warning yesterday (!) and I wasn’t sure how cold we would get overnight. It’s 40F as I write this, though, so I think the plants are okay for another day. They were covered. The husband and I checked on everything last evening. If they can survive one more night, we might be out of the woods. (This is Montana, though. Who knows?)

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I am being a thorn in the side of our denominational conference. Part of me thinks I should just shut up and be gracious, but the other part of me says, “No, they need to know your thoughts about this.” Mennonite Church USA is divided into regional conferences—broken up roughly along geographic lines—and our church belongs to the Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference. One of the challenges our congregation faces is the fact that we are so far from the rest of the churches in the conference. The majority of churches are located in Oregon, but there are some in Washington and Idaho, one in Alaska, and ours.

We have an annual meeting every summer. Until the pandemic, tradition dictated that a different church would host annual meeting each year, and they would alternate—one in Oregon, the next in a different state, then back to Oregon, etc. Our congregation hosted it twice and I was chairman of the planning committee both times. I also served for four years on the board and did a lot of traveling to and from Portland (where the office is located) for board meetings. Even in February.

The pandemic meant we didn’t have an in-person annual meeting for two years. Last year, it was held in Portland as a one-day meeting. Elaine and I went (and then went to Seattle for a few days afterward), but I expressed my disappointment that it was only a one-day meeting. Getting to Portland is a 10-hour drive.

This year, it is in Bend, OR, which is in the middle of the state. The schedule of events obviously was created with the expectation that people would be traveling on Friday morning and Sunday afternoon, as most of the attendees have a half-day drive or less. We have an 11-hour drive. What bothers me most is that the second delegate session is scheduled for Sunday morning before the worship service. Did I mention that we have an 11-hour drive and we lose an hour going back? The other delegate and I will miss that session. If we stay for it, I’ll be pulling into my driveway at midnight. Yesterday, we received information for the second delegate session, which is table discussions, and the question that caught my eye was “Are there ways in which your congregation yearns for greater connectedness [to PNMC]?”

Oh, the irony.

Yes, we yearn for greater connectedness and annual meeting is one of the ways we get it, but not if the schedule is set up such that we miss key events. I realize that we are a minority and the event has to be planned with all the churches in mind, but in the past, delegate sessions rarely were scheduled for Sunday morning.

I sent off an e-mail with my concerns. I expect there will be additional discussion about this at the actual meeting. In the meantime, I am working on my attitude.

Bring on the Herbs

Part of the herb garden is ready to be planted. I love the way it looks. I went with the white metal raised beds because they were the only color in stock and I didn’t want to wait until the middle of the summer for a different color. I think these look especially nice with the gravel.

Now I need to think a bit on what plants I want to put and where. Some I already have in other areas—like the patch of oregano that escaped into the lawn—and some I can get from friends. (Every time I mow the grass I crave pizza.)

We ordered additional beds for the other half of the garden. They should be here within a week. We’re calling them the “lettuce beds” because we never seem to have enough lettuce and that’s what will get planted there.

The tomatoes and squash appear to have survived yesterday morning’s brief freeze, but I made sure everything was covered well yesterday afternoon just in case. It’s down to 35F again this morning. I’ll leave things covered until Wednesday, when it is supposed to warm up again.

I harvested three quarts of strawberries yesterday—much to the annoyance of the birds looking for free snacks—and made more shortcake for the husband. The peas are up and the cabbages and broccoli have, thus far, remained unmolested by ground squirrels. I think they got tired of waiting and went elsewhere.

I worry that the grapes may be done for. It’s the middle of June and they haven’t even begun to start leafing out yet. I wonder if the ground squirrels destroyed the root systems with their underground tunnels. I’m not optimistic, but we’ll see if the vines leaf out in the next few weeks. If not, replacing grapevines will be on the list for next year.

I still think that the extended weather forecasts are way off. They predicted a warm April and May—nope. They said it was going to get hot in the middle of June—I do not consider 31F to be hot. We’ll find out eventually, but I don’t think we’re in for the blisteringly hot summer that is being predicted.

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It’s supposed to rain today and tomorrow, so I get to stay inside and sew. I’ll probably knock out another New Look 6543 top, but I’m itching to start a bag project. The Noodlehead Haralson Belt Bag looks like a fun one, and I have the pattern:

Sometimes I get tired of hauling Hermione’s Magic Bag around with me. I think it would be nice to have a small bag like this for the essentials when I am out and about.

Winning Streak

I finished the New Look 6543 top and tried it on. I think I have cracked the code. It fits perfectly. Lengthening it and repositioning the bust darts before tracing the pattern made a world of difference. I can’t think of anything I would change about the fit:

I’m a bit disappointed in the fabric, which is why I used it for a muslin. I bought this rayon challis at Pacific Fabrics. It’s hard to tell from the photo, but when I washed it—in cold water with several Color Catchers, as is my habit with new fabric—the blue ran all over the white background and turned it a sickly gray color. I’ll still wear it, but the print is not as fresh and bright as it was off the bolt.

This is a dead simple pattern. It allows the fabric to shine, though, and will be perfect for some of the bright printed rayons I’ve acquired. I’m going to make the V-neck version next.

I’ve reached a point where I doubt I will buy ready-to-wear clothing again unless it’s an item I just can’t make or I find something I like in the Liz Claiborne tall department. Most RTW will always be too short and only offered in muddy earth tones.

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This is making me a bit nervous:

That’s the temperature right now, at 4:23 am. The forecast was for a low of 42F, so I didn’t think about protecting anything. I may have to wake up the husband and have him help me go throw some tarps and covers on the tomatoes and squash and hope for the best.

Gardening in Montana is not for the faint of heart. This has been a challenging spring and early summer.

We got some small hail and thunderstorms yesterday, which called a halt to work in the herb garden. The husband decided not to move the fence line after all. We have room for a few more raised beds now. (He wants to plant lettuce.) I’ve also planned for a seating area and a birdbath, so I’ll have to start shopping for those soon.

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Based on the number of e-mails I’ve gotten lately about their clearance sales, it appears that Joanns is attempting to clear out as much deadwood as possible. I’m still cautiously optimistic that they can save the sinking ship. What a case study in bad management that turned out to be.

Herb Garden Reno

The husband and crew had some time to kill before a concrete pour yesterday, so they worked on the herb garden. I wanted to see what was living under the billboard tarp, and sure enough, when they pulled it back, a two-foot long garter snake came scooting out. (All of the garter snakes around the chicken coop are big, no doubt due to their high-protein mouse diet.) I did not want the poor snake to get stepped on, so I picked it up and relocated it underneath the front porch.

The guys put the weed barrier down and placed the raised beds. A load of gravel and a load of topsoil were delivered yesterday morning, and the husband will move that over today.

I got the heaviest-duty commercial-grade weed barrier I could find. It’s what is used in playground installations. If you look closely at the photo, you’ll see that it only comes as far as the gate. We decided to make the herb garden slightly smaller. The husband will run a line of fencing to close off that end, which will give us considerably more room to get to the chicken coop. Right now, there is a 3' wide walkway between the garden and the chicken coop, and moving that fence line will open it up to about 12'—big enough to mow around the coop and get equipment in there if needed.

The garden will have space for some chairs and a table or at least a birdbath.

It’s coming together. I will be happy to have some kitchen herbs closer to the house when I need them.

While they were working, I planted some rows of lettuce, arugula, collards, and Swiss chard out in the big garden. We are supposed to get rain for the next few days. This is Monday’s forecast:

I’m not sure how one has a winter storm watch during meteorological summer, but there it is. This is typical of the kind of June weather we had when we first moved to Montana.

I had enough strawberries yesterday to make shortcake for the husband for dessert.

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I’m making a muslin of New Look 6543:

This was in my pattern stash, so I decided to try it. I lowered the bust darts and lengthened the top by 2" before I cut the pattern out. All that is left to do is to set in the sleeves and hem it. I’m finding that I really like woven tops for summer. The only drawback is that they have to be ironed after washing. My ironing board is always set up, though, so that’s minor.

Happy Sewing Machine Day!

Today is National Sewing Machine Day, so if you have a favorite machine, give it an extra pat of appreciation. I did an interview with someone yesterday who referred to her collection as a “sewing machine orphanage,” so that is what I am calling mine from now on.

In today’s episode of Adventures of a Spatially-Challenged Sewist, I’m going to tell you about making this bag:

This is the Portsmith Tote from Klum House. It’s a very simple, minimalist tote. I’ve made far more complicated patterns; their Slabtown Backpack was a fun project I made two summers ago. This one, however, gave me fits, and it was a prime example of how pattern instructions—or the lack of them—can be critical to a successful project.

The original pattern is for a basic waxed canvas tote without a lining. An expansion pack is available which offers options for a lining and a zipper top. I, of course, went whole hog and decided to make the bag with both a lining and a zipper.

All was going well until it came time to insert the lining. The zipper extensions were attached by then and were flipped up over the top of the bag. The instructions said to pretend as though the extensions weren’t there throughout the rest of the construction. I knew that something wasn’t quite right, but I couldn’t figure out what, so I charged ahead. My experience with Klum House patterns has been that even if I don’t understand a construction technique, I should trust that it will work out.

Yeah, not this time. I turned the bag inside out and the zipper extensions were between the bag and the lining. Clearly, that was wrong. I turned the bag inside out again, ripped out the seam, and then it hit me. The instructions were missing one critical sentence that would have made everything make sense:

Tuck the zipper extensions down into the bag and ignore them for the remainder of the construction.

I did that, re-sewed the seam, and when I turned the bag inside out, everything was where it was supposed to be.

I should be a professional pattern tester, because if there is a way to screw up something, I will find it. Go ahead and laugh at me—I find myself very entertaining.

I used my rivet press for attaching the handles and that worked well. I also sewed all of this on the Juki 1541 and have become more comfortable with that machine. I am glad I was able to figure out how to slow down the servo motor, because I needed the control for some small areas. (Speed is fine for long seams, but not for topstitching a 1" section of zipper flap.) I also mended the husband’s work pants while I was at it.

Will I make this bag again? Eh, maybe not. If I do, I’ll use the waxed canvas from AL Frances. This was waxed canvas from Klum House. The canvas has a finer weave, which I like, but the “wax” is a vegan formulation and it’s oily rather than waxy. The bag has no structure; in the first photo, it’s stuffed with towels to give it some shape.

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The robins have been unbelievably obnoxious this year. I’m used to them scolding me when I get too close to a nest, but there are half a dozen hanging around the porch and all they do is spend their days squabbling with each other. A couple of robins sat on the garden fence and yelled at me yesterday while I was in the strawberry patch, because apparently, that is their strawberry patch.

[The husband says that the property belongs to the animals and I am just the groundskeeper.]

I have not seen the snake again, but I check every time I go out to the garden.

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I stopped at Joann Fabrics yesterday while I was in town. I wonder if they’ve hired a new manager? The store was clean and tidy and some of the shelves were restocked. Perhaps they’ve turned a corner.

Snake and Strawberry Season

Just after I wrote Sunday’s blog post, I went out to the garden and spotted a snake! Unfortunately, I may have shrieked with joy and startled it, and it slithered away before I could get my phone out for a picture. I was happy to see it. I hope it has relatives.

The strawberries are coming on:

Yum.

I took the BMW to town bright and early yesterday morning to get the summer tires put on. Technically, the studded tires needed to be off by May 31, but I hadn’t yet had a chance to do it. The benefit of waiting was that the tire place was empty and they had my car in and out within 45 minutes. I drove home, dropped off the winter tires, then went back into town to make a Costco run. Apparently, we are getting a new Costco—the third one in 25 years. The new location will be a bit further north of the current one, in a newly-developed area. I heard a rumor that there is supposed to be a Safeway going in at the same location as well.

I had to stop using Costco’s Kirkland dishwasher tabs. They seem to have reformulated them recently because I have been using them for years with no problem. This last batch, however, imparted some kind of weird smell to my stainless steel pans that became apparent as soon as I heated the pan. It was a strange chemical-y floral/lemon scent. All I know is that I can’t stand the smell—and I don’t want whatever is causing it in my food—so I threw out the rest of the tabs and sent Costco an e-mail.

More first-world problems. 🫤

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Joanns announced on Friday afternoon—which was a strange time to let the world know what is supposed to be good news—that they have appointed a new interim CEO and board of directors. After reading the bios, I am cautiously optimistic that Joanns is making an effort to elevate itself above the glorified Dollar Store it became over the past decade. At least one of the new board members appears to have some retail clothing/fashion experience (Macy’s and Bloomingdales). Perhaps she will help steer them back toward building a sustainable customer base of people who want to sew their own clothes.

Or I could be completely delusional and none of that is going to happen.

I’ve got a podcast interview at 9 am and then I am hoping to get out to plant a few more things in the garden. The husband is pouring concrete at 6 am, so both of us were up at 3:30 this morning. That’s easier for me than it is for him.

And if I get all of that done, I’m going to sew after lunch. I need to mend a couple of pairs of the husband’s work pants and I’d like to finish some bag projects, so it would be a good day to spend some quality time with the Juki 1541.

One-Yard Wonder

I have another reason to love the Déclic pattern—I can get a top out of one yard of a 54" wide fabric. As soon as I realized that, I went stash diving for a remnant that I bought at The Confident Stitch in Missoula on one of my trips with Robin. I fell in love with it even though it was only a yard and I had no idea how I would use it. Ta-da! 🎉

This is also a rayon challis, although slightly heavier than the FIGO challis. I am pretty sure it is deadstock. I have this same print in three yards of the turquoise and blue colorway, which has been earmarked for a dress. Now I am thinking I could just lengthen the Déclic into a shift . . .

This print also pairs nicely with several pants and skirts in my closet. My closet is a mess right now as I try to make sense of what I’ve got and what I need. I have three different wardrobes. The first consists of pants and tops for working around here and is clothing I don’t mind getting dirty. The second is nicer clothing for running errands in town, teaching, going to meetings, etc. The third is dressy clothing for church and also special occasions such as weddings, funerals, or events where I am playing the piano. And within each of those wardrobes, I need options for differing times of year and weather conditions. I’ve got pieces I might pull out only once or twice a year, but when I need them, I need them.

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The watering system in the garden is working well, although I will need to get more soaker hose in town this week. I don’t need a garden of the size that I plant, really, but I enjoy gardening and the excess produce always finds a home. Yesterday, while I was out there, my poppy bloomed. I saw that the first flower was about to burst, and when I looked at it again, it was open. By the time I finished working and went inside, all three of these flowers were open:

This poppy came from my friend, Marcie, and it makes me smile every time I look at it.

We ate the first strawberries yesterday.

The pigs made me laugh. The grass in the pasture is very tall. Whenever the pigs hear me in the garden, they come over to the fence to visit. I heard them oinking as they headed my way, but all I could see was the top of the grass waving back and forth. Eventually, five pigs burst forth. They’ve already more than doubled in size in a month.

I am a bit concerned that I haven’t seen any snakes yet. They like to hang out on the black plastic at the far edges of the garden, so when I go out in the morning, I always check those spots. I am not afraid of snakes, and indeed, I think they are a good barometer of the health of the garden. My garden is as organic as I can make it. I don’t use any chemicals. While we were planting last week, we were digging up earthworms 6" long and as big around as my little finger.

Miles of Hoses

I headed out to the garden after the husband left for work yesterday. Before I could lay hoses, I had to cut the grass and do some trimming, so I got that out of the way. I also did some weeding along the way. The strawberries are starting to ripen. I’m going to put row cover on them today to (hopefully) deter the turkeys.

I knew that laying out the hoses would be a big job. We have a lot of hose, mostly because the husband bought a bunch of 3/4" contractor-grade hose that turned out to be more trouble than it is worth. It is made of some polymer material that is plenty flexible when it is warm outside, but the manufacturer neglected to field test it in locations where the temperature drops below 60F. (Hello? We live in Montana.) Below 60F, this hose is as flexible as a steel rod. The husband got tired of dealing with it, so he bequeathed a bunch of it to me to use in the garden. I hate it, too. It is the hose of last resort.

The soaker hose is another problem entirely. I need 5/8" soaker hose because our water pressure is sufficiently high—even with a pressure reducer fitting—that it blows out the 3/8" soaker hose. I can’t use quick-connect fittings, either, because they won’t stay connected under pressure. I like the flat fabric soaker hoses, but I look at the sewing on them and the plastic fittings and I know that they probably won’t last more than a couple of seasons.

[The husband says no one wants to pay for quality hose; I said I don’t think anyone makes quality hose anymore. I am aware this is a first-world problem. I’m not hauling water in buckets from a mile away to water my plants, and for that I am grateful, but I am tired of paying for lousy quality merchandise.]

As a result, I have limped along the soaker hoses we’ve had for 20+ years. I really should have replaced them last year and didn’t. They’ve been spliced and repaired, but the longest length of 5/8" soaker hose is in such bad shape that it would have to be spliced about every six feet to make it usable.

I sorted out the larger soaker hoses that were still in reasonably good shape and ran one length around the squash and cucumbers. Another length went down the row of peas and over to the rhubarb and a couple of apple trees.

The tomatoes and potatoes still needed soaker hose. After lunch, I made a quick trip back into town to Walmart. I noticed, when I was there the other day, that they had some 5/8" soaker hose that looked to be of reasonable quality, so I bought five 50-foot lengths. It has metal fittings and it’s very flexible.

I may still need more after I get everything else planted, but at least I can water what is already there.

The husband and one of our employees put the shade cloth back on the greenhouse for me. Now that I don’t have hundreds of plants growing in there, it’s better to have less intense light coming in.

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Karina, at Lifting Pins and Needles on YouTube, posted an interesting video yesterday. In it, she talked about how she has come to dislike rayon spandex fabric and likely won’t use it anymore. Even with gentle treatment—my tops are washed on the delicate setting and hung to dry—the fabric eventually develops a white fuzz; it’s not pilling, per se, but just an allover white fuzz. It’s especially noticeable on darker or saturated colors.

Until Karina mentioned this, I thought it was because most of my rayon spandex has come from Joanns and Walmart (see previous comment about quality merchandise), but she lives in South America.

It’s a shame, because rayon spandex is one of my favorite fabrics. It’s cool to wear in summer and I like it much better than double-brushed polyester, which doesn’t breathe. I might buy some rayon spandex from Minerva or another reputable fabric supplier to see if it has the same issue.