I gave Persia my Poncho

"Bastette" wrote in message
...
jmcquown wrote:

"Christina Websell" wrote in
message

I do so admire anyone that can sew. I am worse than useless at it, and
have been since I was a child. Needlework classes at school were a
nightmare for me. I think it's a talent that I will never have...

Wow, classes sure are different in the UK! We didn't even have sewing
classes in school, much less needlework.

I'm wondering if by "needlework", Tweed just meant sewing. Might just be
a terminology difference. Over here, needlework usually refers to
embroidery,
cross-stich and needlepoint, all of which use thin yarn instead of thread.

That's possible. Although when I embroider(ed) I wasn't using yarn. Silk
thread

There was supposed to be a "home
economics" class in what is now called middle school (used to be junior
high). But the school wasn't finished yet when they started holding
classes. They had no kitchen equipment, no sewing machines, nothing.
It
was a wasted hour out of the school day.

That's a shame. On the other hand, my schools (two junior highs and one
high school) had all the equipment they needed, and we still didn't learn
anything remotely related to economics. At least with sewing, I did
learn the basics, and was able to make a lot of my own clothes.

Cooking was another matter - utterly useless. I didn't learn a single
thing
about how to cook regular food, how to save money buying groceries, basic
nutritional information, how to prevent spoilage - you know, the things
you
*need* to know?

I'm sure it would have been exactly the same had my school been fully
equipped!

My grandmother taught me how to
embroider. I used to find doing embroidery relaxing. These days I
can't
hold the needle without my hand cramping after just a few minutes
It's
hard enough to sew on a button.

Sorry to hear that! Is that from arthritis, or something else?

Yes, it's arthritis. It's not terribly bad but holding a needle for any
length of time is painful.

I taught myself a little needlepoint about 10 years ago and made a couple
of items from kits. I don't think I did it right, though, because
although
the front looked good, the back was a mess and I don't think it's supposed
to be like that.

I never learned needlepoint. The only needlepoint I've ever seen was on
decorative pillow covers or those old schoolgirl "samplers" I see sometimes
on the Antiques Roadshow I have no idea what the back of needlepoint is
supposed to look like. I DO know embroidery looks messy on the reverse side
where you tie off all the knots in the threads.

I enjoyed doing that, but I don't know how to embroider without the canvas
stuff, that has a grid so you know where the next stitch is supposed to
go.
I'd be lost trying to embroider something on an article of clothing, but
would love to be able to do it. What's the secret?

Iron-on patterns It doesn't tell you where the next stitch should go.
It gives you an outline so you know where (e.g.) the flower petals ends and
the leaves begin. You get to pick the shades of thread. I've embroidered
shirts, pillow cases, etc. I even learned candlewicking, which is another
form of embroidery involving lots of french knots. I still have an
unfinished decorative pillow cover in my embroidery box, still on the hoop.

I did teach myself how to sew in my teens using very basic patterns for
things like wrap skirts. I even made a jumper once, and a plush
bathrobe as
a gift for one of my brothers. I used my mom's old sewing machine. I
still
don't know why she had one, she couldn't sew!

Jill

"Bastette" wrote in message
...
jmcquown wrote:

"Christina Websell" wrote in
message

I do so admire anyone that can sew. I am worse than useless at it, and
have been since I was a child. Needlework classes at school were a
nightmare for me. I think it's a talent that I will never have...

Wow, classes sure are different in the UK! We didn't even have sewing
classes in school, much less needlework.

I'm wondering if by "needlework", Tweed just meant sewing.

Yes, sewing, I cannot do it, never could and never will.
I'm not too bad at woodwork, though, and I think I can cook well.
Tweed

On Mar 16, 2:58*am, Jane wrote:


You're right, we can't be good at everything. *Other than sewing and other needlework, I suck bigtime at the other domestic arts.

I suck bigtime at all domestic arts. I never could sew beyond putting
a button on (and that's a bit hit and miss) I loathed the subject at
school probably because the teacher marked me as the class dunce and
belittled me all the time as did the cookery teacher. I can cook basic
stuff I've had to learn and these days well I wouldn't say my
housework is brilliant but thanks to lots of sprays and wipes (I have
a cupboard full of them- my first job on a Sunday is to pull out 3
carrier bags from there and put them in the right room 1 for the
kitchen, 1 for the bathroom and 1 for the living room/bedroom each
containing the right tools for the job it's easier if I have them to
hand) it's not too bad. I can't do woodwork etc and once demonstrated
I couldn't paint a wall (I can paint 25mm minatures but not a wall!)
and Dave would call the police to create a 5-mile exclusion zone if I
attempted anything more complicated electrically than changing a light
bulb

I don't suppose it's worth boasting that I'm not a bad photographer
(Photography is like being pregnant I reckon- it took 9 months for me
to get anything I'd want to keep and show other people) and there's a
queue whenever I annouce my RPG 'cos it's so popular

Oh and most important of all my cats love me!

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs

"Lesley" wrote in message
...
On Mar 16, 2:58 am, Jane wrote:


You're right, we can't be good at everything. Other than sewing and other
needlework, I suck bigtime at the other domestic arts.

I suck bigtime at all domestic arts. I never could sew beyond putting
a button on (and that's a bit hit and miss) I loathed the subject at
school probably because the teacher marked me as the class dunce and
belittled me all the time as did the cookery teacher. I can cook basic
stuff I've had to learn and these days well I wouldn't say my
housework is brilliant but thanks to lots of sprays and wipes (I have
a cupboard full of them- my first job on a Sunday is to pull out 3
carrier bags from there and put them in the right room 1 for the
kitchen, 1 for the bathroom and 1 for the living room/bedroom each
containing the right tools for the job it's easier if I have them to
hand) it's not too bad. I can't do woodwork etc and once demonstrated
I couldn't paint a wall (I can paint 25mm minatures but not a wall!)
and Dave would call the police to create a 5-mile exclusion zone if I
attempted anything more complicated electrically than changing a light
bulb

I don't suppose it's worth boasting that I'm not a bad photographer
(Photography is like being pregnant I reckon- it took 9 months for me
to get anything I'd want to keep and show other people) and there's a
queue whenever I annouce my RPG 'cos it's so popular

Oh and most important of all my cats love me!

-----------
I am only good for 2 things, I can do woodwork and save Boyfriend when he
was lost.
Sewing, no. I just could not do it at school. I was worst than useless at
it and then the needlework teacher does not like you. The biology teacher
loved me because that is is my talent.

Christina Websell wrote:

I am only good for 2 things, I can do woodwork and save Boyfriend when he
was lost.
Sewing, no. I just could not do it at school. I was worst than useless at
it and then the needlework teacher does not like you. The biology teacher
loved me because that is is my talent.

Really? I'm not sure you've mentioned this before, or if you have, I guess
I missed it. What do you mean by "biology"? Do you mean it in the academic
sense, that you have an interest in certain areas of biology (if so, which
ones)? Or are you referring to your experience in raising animals?

I'm just curious. I like to read about various areas of biology, such as
microbiology, genetics, evolution, ecology, and lots more. It has to be
written for the lay reader, though, because I don't have much formal
education in it.


--
Joyce

A conservative is one who admires radicals centuries after they're dead.
-- Leo Rosten

"Bastette" wrote in message
...
Christina Websell wrote:

I am only good for 2 things, I can do woodwork and save Boyfriend when
he
was lost.
Sewing, no. I just could not do it at school. I was worst than useless
at
it and then the needlework teacher does not like you. The biology
teacher
loved me because that is is my talent.

Really? I'm not sure you've mentioned this before, or if you have, I guess
I missed it. What do you mean by "biology"? Do you mean it in the academic
sense,

Yes

I was going through closets looking for items to donate to the Salvation
Army or AmVets. I came across a plaid wool (probably not) poncho with
fringe on the edges. (Can you say 1970's? It was mine, but I can't
believe my mom kept it all those years.)

*I* had one of those in the 1970s - my mum knitted it. The wool came
from experimental sheep in New Zealand - my father was an architect for
the government, and got wool from an agricultural research lab whose
building he designed - he used to hand-spin or weave rugs in the evening
to zone out while smoking his overpoweringly pongy pipe.

It was cutting-edge enough that I got snapped in it by the fashion
editor of the New Zealand Herald (or was it the Auckland Star?)
while walking across the Auckland University campus with my briefcase.
They gave me a half-page spread. Anyone else here ever been a fashion
model, huh?

Pity they only used black and white or I'd have been on a Loose Knits
postcard.


Persia likes to hang out on the bed in the guest room. So I took
the poncho in there and set it next to her on the bed. The first
thing she did was grab at the fringe! Oooh, look! Yes, Persia.
It's a soft snuggly blanket-like thing with built-in toys

Mine ended up with a friend in Pittsburgh who took a fancy to it.
It probably still smelt too much of my dad's pipe tobacco for any
cat to tolerate.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k
Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
mobile 07800 739 557 http://www.campin.me.uk Twitter: JackCampin

Jack Campin wrote:

*I* had one of those in the 1970s - my mum knitted it. The wool came
from experimental sheep in New Zealand

OK, that makes me curious. What are experimental sheep? This was before
Dolly's time.

--
Joyce

audiophile, n:
Someone who listens to the equipment instead of the music.

*I* had one of those in the 1970s - my mum knitted it. The wool came
from experimental sheep in New Zealand
OK, that makes me curious. What are experimental sheep? This was before
Dolly's time.

They tried different breeds and hybrids to find which were the most
productive and profitable in New Zealand conditions. The breed my
poncho came from was the one they were trying out at the time, with
50% of the sheep black and with wool as wiry as a pot scourer.

It was fine for carpets like the rugs my father wove, but I doubt
many people besides me ever wore it as clothing. I still have a
couple of sweaters my mum made from it. Like wearing doormats.

We had a visit from the scientists there at my school. They had just
developed one of the world's first electro-ejaculators and we got to
see it. And as part of their research in the physiology of milk
production they developed a milking machine for mice. My dad's
spec for the plumbing said it had to withstand hot concentrated acids
being flushed down the drains - they were made of Pyrex glass. It
was all rather cartoon-mad-scientist even before Dolly.

We also got experimental wine cheap from the government's wine
research lab. This was long before NZ had any sort of reputation
as a wine producer. We often tried it on Sundays with dinner.
Think of the experimental-chickens scene from "Eraserhead" only
in bottles. If anybody cellared any of it then, I kinda doubt
they would have got their investment back.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k
Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
mobile 07800 739 557 http://www.campin.me.uk Twitter: JackCampin