Bewail, bewail, bemoan

Bewail, bewail, bemoan
The fate of Erin's phone!
It chipped a bit-
She cared not a whit.
The case was scarred-
Her love was unmarred.
The plan had no data-
Hakuna Matata.
But then the screen went dark, dark, dark
And Erin cried out, "smartphone, hark!"

What's this?

It's my new (old) best friend: a zigzag attachment for my antique Singer sewing machine! My mom found it in this little box among her sewing supplies.

The machine once belonged to my great-grandmother and while it is wonderful, sturdy, and powerful, it only sews in straight lines. Fortunately, some clever person figured out a way to use the kinetic power of needle clamp's up-and-down motion to power a gadget (above) that pulls the fabric from side to side as you sew. This is different from modern machines, which hold your fabric steady while the needle moves back and forth with each stitch.

The box also held these nifty little pieces:

By lifting the top of the zigzagger and switching the little wheel, I can control whether I get a zigzag, a scallop, or something that looks like the screen on a heart monitor.

The box also had some bonus pieces my great-grandmother probably slipped inside:

I think this little torture-device-looking bit (above) is for making bias tape.

And I think this is for getting nice and close when you sew a zipper.

The only thing the box didn't contain was the correct instruction manual.

Buttonholer. Not Zigzagger.

Fortunately, the Internet is full of generous souls who do things like scan old instruction manuals and post them online. I Googled "Singer zigzagger manual" and found what I needed here.

So why is all this so exciting? It means I can now sew anything I want! I can zigzag stitch a piece of elastic onto knit fabric and the stitches won't break with stretching. I can do a decorative top stitch. I can add trim. Essentially, I can do finishing work on clothes made from stretchy fabric, which I couldn't before. Yay!

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Baby Games

I have the best muse EVER for nursery rhymes now.

Flopsy Baby
Flopsy baby, squish and squirm—
What a squiggle-wiggle worm!
Can I catch a grippy finger?
Can I catch some bunchy toes?
Can I catch a flopsy baby
On a scrunchy nose?

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"My Friends" and "The Present"
At Home the Wind Lives Up a Tree
Buttons

Little Things

Remember when I mentioned that space is getting scarce in my sister and her husband's bedroom? Well, they've got a new house guest who is very little, but who brought a lot of stuff.

I have a feeling a lot of my craft projects are going to get...

A little smaller.

Craft project round-up

I finally got my camera out today. I'm always reluctant because I take my own pictures and the light in my apartment is poor, so it's a lot of fussing with the tripod and the timer and the aperture and the shutter speed. All of that sounds quite advanced and sophisticated, but really I just move the dials up and down until the pictures look okay.

Any-who, here's a photo roundup of what I've been up to since I last set up the tripod:

I started crocheting a basket from strips of the scrap fabric that has been overrunning my closet. I might use it to store hats and scarves and mitts.

Or maybe to store more fabric.

I made a hanging caddy where my brother-in-law can store his bible and cellphone, since he's losing his bedside storage space. If you don't already know why space is at a premium in that room these days, you'll find out soon!

I made a pillowcase-style dress out of a light gauze fabric for the scorching hot weather that disappeared as soon as I finished.

And I love to wear it with these fair trade rope sandals I found in Kensington Market. They're so light!

I don't have a picture of this, but I also made my own yogurt! In a crock pot! I had no idea that was possible. Pinterest is a magical place ;)

Have YOU been crafty lately?

Grammar Purist Poetry

I promise the craft posts will resume soon. I have been creating... just not taking pictures. I'll work on that.

I wrote today's poem for my own sake because I know the difference between "lay" and "lie" (Mom told me when I was little that of course the dog wouldn't "lay down" for me—I was saying it wrong and he was trained the right way), but like just about everyone else, I make mistakes in my everyday speech.

Lay and Lie

I lie awake in bed at night
And think, 'Why can't you get it right?'
I lie in bed, you lie around,
My dog is lying on the ground—
But lay a fire when it snows,
Lay an egg and lay out clothes.
Lay a baby on its cot,
Lay down any thing you've got.
Lie and Lay and Lay and Lie.
Don't make grammar purists cry.

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Harry Potter meets Hotel California
Gratuitous: Redundant and the English language
The Story Man

Writing Happiness

I'm trying to write down happiness.
Sometimes it's like a bumblebee
Inside my throat and it can't get out
Unless I throw my head way back
And laugh.
Sometimes it's a flower in my chest
That pushes—hard—against my ribs to bloom
And crowds its petals up against my heart.
Sometimes it's a running in my legs
And all I can do is try to keep up,
Out of breath and shining.
And every time always
It's a feeling of up
And heat
And gasping
And grasping
For something I already have
But want to hold
So I can write down
Happiness.

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