OK, so I’m mowing my lawn tonight. The mower is sputtering off and on, threatening to die. I stop and rinse the air filter out in gasoline, and while I’m letting it dry I come in and check my e-mail. There’s a message from a Viking friend, the guy I drove out to Annandale with on Saturday (more on that below). The subject line says, “What Wrong With Your Lawnmower?”
I swear we didn’t discuss lawnmowers during our drive on Saturday. We did talk about Sea Foam gas treatment, which I had just put in the mower, but we hadn’t discussed mowers. I’m sure.
Pretty sure.
Anyway, it’s weird.
Our Viking group was asked to set up a display for a big Boy Scout event at a Scout camp in Annandale, Minnesota on Saturday. It’s about an hour away, so we got up early and drove out. The weather forecast called for a bright, hot day.
And it was. After the thunderstorm.
The pounding rain drove us under cover for most of the morning. When the skies finally cleared, we got heavy winds for a while. This is a perfect scenario for loosening the pegs that secure my sun shade, which you can see in the picture above. I kept pounding them back in with the poll of my Viking axe. I also had to do my second field repair on the canvas, with artificial sinew and a needle. Finally the winds died down, and I was able to sell a few books and try to ride herd on all the little boys who wanted to handle my swords. Also to have a different friend take the picture above, which I wanted so I could record my new Viking outfit. I made both the tunic and the trousers all by myself, and I’m relatively proud of them. The pants were the second pair I made. The first pair taught me what not to do on the second pair.
The tunic is about 50% better than the one I made last year, from the same light blue cloth. My only big complaint with it is that the facing is crooked. You’ll notice how it (the dark blue around the neck) is hanging crooked? That’s not a bug, it’s a feature. I don’t mean it’s how I intended it. I mean it’s how I sewed it. It’s not just hanging crooked. It’s always like that. (Last year’s shirt has the same problem.)
Still, I’m learning. And that’s about all you can ask for in these things.
Or so I’ve learned.
I love the design on the sun shade.
Minnesota has my favorite Senator, Al Franken.
I hope your many beautiful lakes don’t eventually suffer from this oil spill. That tragedy is about all I can think about today….
Phil, it’s based on a cross from a rune stone in (I think) Sweden.
Shelley, why is Franken your favorite senator? I doubt I agree with him on anything, and I don’t remember admiring his argument style, but what about you? What do you like about him?
Lars, re: the neck-line of your tunic… I just thought that was the way you were standing…looks like a natural droop.
Phil, please say something nice re: Al Franken…
I should keep my sarcastic mouth shut!
D’you hear that Al Frankin walked into a bar crowded with taxpayers and ordered a round of drinks. He started to pay for them, but stopped, saying, “I’ve got their money anyway. Let them pay for it.”
Thank you. You’re a great crowd.
This home sewer says: don’t try to sew a neckline from left to right in one fell swoop.
Start at the bottom, sew up one side, then stop, start at the bottom again and sew up the other side. Also, a line of “stay-stitching” can prevent the fabric stretching on the curves, (which is where your droop comes from), so sew a firm straight line of stitching exactly on the seam allowance, all around, before you start to attach the facing.
You’re welcome!
Er, I am a person who sews. At home.
I am not a foul-water system.
Cheers
You are a seamstress. That makes me, I guess, a seamster.
And thank you.
I don’t understand what she said.
You don’t need to. You have a wife.
It’s a miracle!! *I* understood what Otepoti said, and I bleed reflexively within six inches of needles. Thanks!! Will help me the next time I have to work on something of my own!!