The boycott ends

As I got more and more frustrated with the extreme number of things in our smaller dining area space and how un-pretty it looked, I announced that I would do no more sewing until we had cleaned out our basement and had some semblance of a plan for that much dreamed about studio.  Then, all the sewing, knitting, and crafting things could make their way downstairs and we could have an uncluttered dining room.  The picture in my imagination was delightful.

Then, the birthday owl needed to be made.  But did 30 minutes of sewing really count?  And besides, it was a gift for a dear little one.  No, that sewing didn't count.

Then, my husband needed a solution for the story staffs he was making for the Cub pack he helps lead.  How would we attach a wrist band that would work for every wrist?  How could we attach it so that it didn't need to be hand sewn on 25 different staffs?  The solution - one-inch elastic - the same kind that we use for waistbands.  We calculated we needed about 10 meters worth.  That led to a trip to the fabric store with my son.  We picked up one-inch wide elastic for the story staffs, and he found a pattern for a Halloween costume.  And then he found the fabric for the costume.  And then he found fabric for some bedsheets he'd like me to take a go at.  And then I found some sale-priced fleece material that would be great for a hoodie project that is part of a Craftsy class I enrolled in.  But I vowed that nothing - not the costume, not the bedding, not the hoodie - nothing would get done until the basement was cleaner.  I warned Nicholas that I would have trouble finishing the costume before Halloween.

The sewing machine came out again that week to prepare the wrist bands for the story staffs.  But that was helping out the Cubs, so it didn't count either.

My mind was troubled though.  That costume...how would it get done if I was officially boycotting sewing?  My son observed that I hadn't started anything yet - basement or costume, so he casually handed me the pattern envelope one afternoon and said, "If you started cutting out the pattern now, maybe you could have it done by Halloween."  Fair enough.  Cutting out a pattern wasn't sewing, right?  And we had donated things that were in the basement to the women's shelter.  So it was getting cleaner down there too, right?

After I cut out the pieces, I felt a little daunted about having a realistic chance of finishing it on time, regardless of when I started.  It's a more intricate pattern for a fairly rookie sewer like me.  And I like making things for my little ones.  So, I'm happy to announce that the boycott has ended.  The sewing machine came out yesterday to zigzag the cut ends of the fabric, which was then dumped in the washing machine.  It was ironed today and the costume bottoms are about half done.  It seems that the boycott did nothing but restrict me from doing something I love.  Yes, that basement still needs to be tackled, and we will get to it.  But this Mama still needs to sew in the meantime.