Unraveled Wednesday – Week 33 of 2020

On Wednesdays I link up with Kat at As Kat Knits to share my reading and stitching projects for the week. This week I’m sharing a new binge-worthy series, two knitted sleeves and a hem, and a sewn skirt!

Finished Reading This Week:

Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to try the Maisie Dobbs series! I read the first one on audio this week and am in love. Set between the two world wars, Maisie has set up shop as a private detective and her first case hits close to home for her. She investigates The Retreat – a sanctuary for men badly disfigured while fighting in WWI. This is the perfect set up for the author to give us Maisie’s backstory. She’s one incredible person and I cannot wait to read more. I was able to check off one more summer bingo square with this one – Title that’s a character’s name – which gave me two more bingos. Only two squares left to clear my card and I’ve already started both of those books! I hope I’ll be able to share one or both with you next week.

And please don’t forget that my reading spreadsheet is linked to my blog and can be found on my 2020 Reading Page. I’m tracking all sorts of variables because tracking is my life!

Stitching:

I have two sleeves and a hem finished on my Spark Cardigan! That hem took much longer than I expected and I’m beginning to think that I should have made one size smaller? Oh well – it’s a cardigan and if it’s too big then it will just be that much cozier. We’ll see how much further I get this week!

After reading everyone’s blogs this week, it seems like many of us have been turning to our sewing machines. Several weeks ago (probably over a month) I cut out the pieces for the Rae Skirt from Sewaholic. It’s a “true beginner” pattern, yet I’ve made about 5 of these over the last few years and am still not confident with it. I finally got all the pieces sewn together over the last several days – seriously, sometimes it’s been just one seam a day. I inserted pockets into the pattern thanks to Mrs. Google’s help and they turned out better than I hoped! This is definitely my best effort because all of my other Rae skirts have ended up in the trash. This one is comfy and the perfect length for me. Plus – the pockets give me a place for my phone, which makes the skirt even more enjoyable! I’m very pleased with how this one turned out!

My daily summer uniform has been leggings and sleeveless tunics. I’d love to sew a tunic for myself but I’m terrified. Thanks to Kat’s posts last year, I bought Lotta Jansdotter’s Everyday Style back in December but still haven’t sewn anything from it. I’m so overwhelmed! I really want to try the Esme Tunic but am scared. Yesterday I took out the pattern pages and became even more overwhelmed. Oof. I’m giving myself just one goal for the week: identify and trace the pattern pieces for the Esme tunic.

That’s all. Totally doable right? I get discouraged because the simplest garment sewing takes me a very long time and is hardly ever wearable, so it feels like wasted time and money. I get agitated because I use my sewing space so irregularly and can never remember where anything is, so things taken even longer because I’m always hunting for what I need — that drives me crazy! And then I think about what I could be accomplishing in that time period by reading or knitting instead… so it never feels like a worthwhile choice for me. But I also know that I really want to be able to sew my own clothes and it only takes practice. So I’m going to do my best to practice without getting mad!! And of course, all of you posting about your own sewing adventures is encouraging for me, so thank you!

---

How has your week been? I can’t wait to see what projects and books you’ve been tackling this week. I’m planning to be back on Friday to wrap up my week with some cozy pictures. We haven’t spent much time outside lately because it’s so hot and muggy, but know that I’m dreaming about coffee on the front steps, tea parties under the maple tree, and being wrapped in wool. Stay cool and safe, everyone!