Delusional Moments and Other Adventures

The other day I succumbed to a moment of delusion and visited the fabric section of Wal-Mart. I had dropped off my thyroid prescription for a refill and was told it would be 30 minutes, so I started wandering the store.

The carousel of cheap patterns called my name, and I kept going back to this one:


I like the one the girl is wearing, but not in those fabrics. With 15 more minutes to kill, I started looking through the cottons and found this:


The problem was, we (the lady working in the fabric section and I) couldn't find a matching trim color. All they had was black, but the dark color I needed (the fabric is darker in real life than the picture) was midnight blue.

So I bought the fabric and the pattern (and my prescription), and I went to the fabric store, which I haven't set foot in in I don't know how long, to get some midnight blue for the trim. They had it (no need for pictures), and I bought it, content in the knowledge that I was ready to make something when I don't really have the time.

Yes, I know I'm unemployed, but unemployment is a grueling time of hunting down jobs and on rare occasions going on an interview for a job that somebody else is just a little better qualified for, and then back to the computer to fill in online applications that want you to upload your resume and then re-type in all the information you just gave them on your resume. Once in a while, you get to go to the grocery store and buy some more bananas and creamer.

Besides, my sewing table (AKA, the kitchen table) is covered by boxes and bins of my daughter's stuff that hasn't quite made it into her room yet. So I don't know what possessed me to think I should start sewing again.

Anyway, as I was leaving the fabric store with my trim, I spotted some absolutely gorgeous brocades near the door. On sale! I talked to the guy at the checkout stand and asked if chinese jackets are back in style (I had seen a few on the pattern carousel at Wal-Mart), and he said he thought they always stayed in style (silly man!). I didn't buy any of the brocade, but I asked when the sale would be over (the 16th).

I went back the next day (Delusional Moment Number 2) to examine the brocades more closely. One of them demanded to be a jacket:


I realize that would make a second blue garment, but the red brocades were too orangey. There was one red that was closer to the burgundy side of the world, except it had stupid-looking pastel flowers on it that gave it a tacky feel. So I grabbed the bolt of blue-dragon fabric and carried it around while I looked for a good pattern. I finally came down to two choices and decided on this one because of the raglan sleeves:


I picked the shorter length, with black trim and black frog closures so I can wear the jacket with black slacks, and made the purchase. I have no idea how to sew with brocade. Maybe the pattern instructions will help.

Last night I started looking at the cotton top pattern, which I'm probably going to have to alter to be sure it goes over my hips. Tracing paper would be a good thing to have so I don't cut up the pattern, and I can erase and re-draw with a pencil until it looks like it's ready for use. I called Office Depot, but they only sell tracing paper in 8-1/2 x 11" sheets. The fabric store only sells the sheets too (don't they understand?). Aaron Brothers said they have rolls of tracing paper, so I drove down there, only to learn that they close at 8:00pm, and I got there at 8:10.

Back at home, the assistant manager of the association knocked on my door to inform me I'd have no water all night. A neighbor's water meter broke, so they had to shut off the water for the nearby houses until the plumber could come in the morning. Apparently plumbers don't have enough lights to see what they're doing at night and have to work during daylight hours.

I checked and found a large cup with water left in it from my workout, and my daughter had a couple bottles of water that were still half-full, so we had what we needed for brushing our teeth.

The lack of water without time to prepare reminded me of the water shortage days of the 1970s, when people had to conserve water. There were sayings from that era that I was happier having forgotten, but they came back to me unbidden.

"If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down."

At some houses I visited at the time--either friends or my grandparents--there were cute little signs in the guest bathrooms that said, "Pee Don't. Poo Do." We knew what it meant.

When my daughter got home from hanging out with friends, I had to break the bad news to her and advise her not flush until morning. As it was, the water didn't come back on until 11:00am, when I left for Aaron Brothers to get the tracing paper.

My day is filled with great joy now as I drink all the water I want and flush the toilet whenever I feel like it, and as I contemplate the idea of two new outfits during that magical time before the frustration of sewing and fitting begins.

Sometimes delusion is a good thing...