Grrrrr: Fleece

As you know, I do not know how to sew. Since that one horrible home ec. class in 7th grade, I haven't had lessons or instruction or workshops. I learned everything I know from watching my mother sew, but she didn't try to teach me anything--she didn't teach me any domestice stuff, believing that cultivating my brain and getting good grades in school was my only job.

So that's my excuse for sitting here this morning cussing at my fleece hoody. Or hoodie. Or whatever. I wanted to fix it up, like I said yesterday. And I had this great transfer of a page from a Kabuki
comic book by David Mack. I'd made it years ago, loving the page but knowing I couldn't use it on anything I made, as I usually end up selling stuff, even when I don't plan to. I try to use my own stuff on all that--stamps I carve, photos I take, etc. Or at least very old found photos.

So I got the transfer and was appalled to find how stiff and crackly it was--I don't remember ever using any transfer sheets that turned out that nasty, but I must have, at one time. I tried to work with it, but it made me itch--it was that horrid. So I found the comic and printed the page to fabric--ahhhhh! So much nicer! Even though I did lose a little color--wonder what's up with that? I can't even remember if I used this same printer or if that old transfer sheet was made with another one. Anyway--

So I tried to attach it with spray adhesive and then free-motion embroider on the machine, and what a huge disaster THAT was--it shifted as I was sewing, and it got wrinkled and I had to rip out all the stitching--what a crappy way to start the day! Ripping out free-motion stitching is a HUGE pain in the butt.

So I re-attached it, pinned it, used the other machine and a straight stitch to hold it in place, and THEN I free-stitched it. We're getting WAY more anal here than is good for me--when I have to be all precise and count things or measure and pin or whatever, I can feel myself backsliding into that horrid anal-retentive, OCD Organizational Hell from which I so narrowly escaped. Eeeeek.

So now it's sewn on, as you can see. And now what? I don't want to spend a lot of time on this thing, as this fleece stuff is not making me happy--the static in it is so intense that all the cat fur in the house leaps onto it when I walk through the room. I actually got on-line this morning to look at cotton sweatshirts--this is, apparently, the time to shop, as many are on clearance. That necessitates a trip to the mall--another version of hell (as you can see, I, who do not believe in hell, have many, many versions of my own). What I want (I think--I may be wrong) is a big, cotton, lined (or double-thick) old sweatshirt that I can stamp and paint and applique and bead and that will be long enough to cover my butt and at least part of my legs so I won't freeze when I wear it to the gym over my leggings.

I think I've seen these in those stores like Abercrombie and Fitch that are so hip and sexy and odorific from the sprayed cologn that my head spins when I go in them to check out the clothes--The EGE, who teaches 9th graders, is appalled by the brevity of the skirts and shorts and grumbles the whole time. I, on the other hand, can actually remember (what a concept! "remembering") my years of tiny little skirts and shorts that were so microscopic that they had no legs but were cut straight across, level with the crotch. The EGE found a pair of these in a box in the shed and held them up and looked at them and then at me and back at them and just shook his head. I offered to model them for him but thought better of it. These things make him rant about women's roles in society and self-respect and careers and hiring practices--fashion is difficult for a feminist.

So ANYWAY--any ideas out there? Something cool and simple to do with fleece? I'm thinking some beads on the edges of the kangaroo pocket in front--just something to cheer it up some. And I think I may make that trip to the (shudder) m-a-l-l. I mean, some of the XXX large ones are on sale at Old Navy for less than $10. Yowza!

In my own defense (as a person who tries not to consume so much), I did go to Goodwill yesterday. It must have been a bad day--on good days, it doesn't bother me that the clothes have been worn a lot. On bad days, I notice that the inside of the sweatshirts are all pilled up with fuzz and lint and possible Other People's Hair, which gives me the big chills. There were very few sweatshirts, anyway, and nothing I wanted. And I excused myself by thinking that people are probably coming there to find warm clothes they need to wear, rather than need to experiment with.

That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it.