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| Perennials begin to wake up in the drought-tolerant garden |
When
Costco first opened in our community – 25 years ago now – I bought a little fleecy
jacket off one of their clothing tables. I had no idea at the time that it
would become my all-time go-to jacket. It proved to be “just right” for casual
wear in the cold months. It was short and boxy, just like me, and the sleeves
were wide enough to slip over my long-sleeved tops. It zipped up the front and
had a hood, which occasionally came in handy. And it had serviceable pockets. It
endured frequent washings.
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| Nellie and Bess |
I
wore that jacket everywhere. It just worked. I could slip it on for a brief
outdoor errand, for hikes and dog walks, or for casual shopping. But – it was
getting old. In fact, in 2013 I sought to replace it, but the one I bought just
didn’t take its place. My little jacket was as comfortable as the proverbial
old slipper or robe. (I have those, too.) Ultimately, I continued to use the
fuzzy (getting fuzzier) little jacket for another five years, digging it out of
the closet on those first cold days of autumn and using it through the spring
thaw. Why, just two weeks ago I took it to Seattle – and was glad to have it!
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| Good-bye, old friend |
But
the other day it met its demise. Apparently while we were out on Friday, Nellie
was in some sort of desperation. The jacket was on the back of a chair in our eating
area, and she must have grasp at it with her sharp toenails. When I went to put
it on yesterday morning, my arm shot right through the sleeve. Upon
examination, I found it in shreds.
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| Sleeve damage to MW's windbreaker |
And
I’ll tell you something else. Mike's old windbreaker of the same vintage –
another garment with a story – was hanging over his chair on the same day
and met a similar fate. The damage to the sleeve being extensive, I couldn’t
imagine that anything but battery acid would cause those devastating effects. I
didn’t connect it to Nellie until the damage to my own jacket came to light.
Naturally,
I feel badly about it. I finally have to part with my useful old friend, which
really should have been gone years ago, but I have proven to myself that
replacing that little jacket is not a simple issue.
And
I feel badly for our old dog, who needed us when we weren’t here. She’s
spending more time in the kennel these days. In her day, she was a sweet,
intuitive, hardworking dog. The issues of old age have caught up with her, but she
still has some spunk. The other day, while we were out walking, she lost sight
of us and concluded that we must have gone home without her. There she went –
hurrying down the road toward home as fast as she could trot. Worried for her
safety, I hurried after her, but she was home well ahead of me. KW
9 comments:
You didn't tell the "rest of the story". It would have made exciting reading.
Having heard the ending, now knowing the beginning kind of feels like, “the rest of the story.”
I think you should steal the zipper off that jacket, deconstruct it, take some measurements and make yourself a new one. You can do it! And when you succeed, you can make yourself two more!
Using the jacket for a pattern and making one for myself hadn't occurred to me. I'm not sure I can do it. But -- JoAnn has fleece on sale 70% off. It wouldn't cost much to try. I haven't sewn much with fleece. I'm sure tutorials abound. We're living in an era of instruction.
"When I succeed" is key.
Well, Chuck, I try not to offend readers, but the bottom line is that Nellie devoured pieces of an old towel. Bess followed suit to a lesser degree. As I told Mike, I wonder when Nellie is no longer with us if we'll discover that Bess is a bigger player in these shenanigans than we think.
I believe you can do it. You've made far more complicated things. When it comes to sewing, you can borrow my motto, "It's only what's on the outside that matters." :)
Sometimes the outside doesn't turn out the way I'd like, but I'm going to look over the fleece at JoAnn's, and I've watched a tutorial on making a hoodie. What concerns me is installing the zipper.
Thanks for the encouragement.
Zipper: maybe use a fabric glue instead of stitching? Is that a method people use?
You can do it!! Zipper, schmipper!
Actually, that's a great point, Chris! It could be a jacket with snaps, buttons, velcro, or those magnet buttons.
I went to JoAnn's the other day and bought the fleece at 70% off -- $2.99 a yard. Actually, I might not have jumped into this so quickly had it not been for that sale.
I think the zipper really needs to be stitched in place to withstand the stress. And I think for this effort, I will re-use the zipper from the original jacket. IF it works out all right, I can do it again, as Hallie pointed out.
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