I have a friend who ended up in rehab due to back issues. She wears skirts and so many of her skirts had holes from catching on things. When gathering her clothes to take to rehab, I took the opportunity to mend her skirts. I had been trying to get her to let me do that for years. So HA! she got some mended skirts. And since she couldn’t get up to catch me today, I ran off with one of her shirts that has missing buttons.
Sometimes you just have to get pushy with friends or just wait until they are down and then take advantage of the situation. But really, she’s been in pain for a good month and the fact that she agreed to go to rehab is a big step in the right direction.
P.S.: I also mended her broken glasses with some super glue and electrical tape. Productive visit today.
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AIMR
(Linda -2026 time to regroup and renew :us:)
431
That was so kind of you!
All of my friends know I sew and love it, yet they are very hesitant to ask me for the simplest of tasks like sew hems, repair a zipper, etc.
I need to come up with some sort of idea to get it done for them. I thought about something like a rewards card where they can list ten things they need fixed. I can repair them and when the card is done, they can take me out for coffee or lunch.
Why, you sneaky little angel! What a kind and treacherous thing to do for your friend. In the best way.
@AIMR I hope some of your friends take you up on it. I think the rewards card idea is so clever!
Last weekend, I settled down on the sofa with a few dog stuffies that had come open at the seams and some extra strength thread. I don’t repair all of Vivienne’s toys, but two of these were favorites for both playing tug and snuggling. The 3rd was one I bought for her before we even picked her up, so she would have something to snuggle with while getting used to living with her new family - she had been used to sleeping with her littermate and was so small for her big-girl kennel. TheMisterT and I are very sentimental about it, so we want it to last.
Anyway, almost immediately one of the tuggy ones was decapitated entirely and has joined the ranks of the sad, floppy, de-stuffed fabric chunks that she also loves to terrorize! I think when autumn is solidly here, we’ll perform a culling. There are some new toys in stash anyway.
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AIMR
(Linda -2026 time to regroup and renew :us:)
433
I know what you mean about pet toys. My little cat latched on to this cow print snake-like toy and carries it around all the time. It has been sewn up so many times but he doesn’t seem to care. I actually thought about encasing the raggedy pieces in another casing to see if he would still take to it. I guess it contains scents that comfort him since he was a baby.
All of the other toys are basically blobs now or flat pieces with all the stuffing pulled out and long gone. I keep buying new toys and putting them all in a basket, but somehow, he digs around to find his old favorites.
@AIMR@TheMistressT Here too in the Squared household, our dog toys are a mix of newish looking ones (rarely played with) and the unrecognizable ones that have been repaired so many times that I’ve lost count. I agree it’s time to do a cull. Maybe I’ll save any decent stuffing and working squeakers for future repairs.
Today, I repaired this grocery bag holder that my husband bought his mom back when paper sacks were the only option. It is now ours and is mostly for decoration in the kitchen. The burlap was disintegrating, so I bought some new burlap and adhered it to the inside with heat bond. Halfway through, I realized it would have just been easier to cut the chicken appliqué off the old sling and attach to a new one. I got heat bond all over my iron.
Does everyone know about this little tool? It looks like a needle with texture on the end of it. All you do is stick it through your garment where the snag is and it grabs the snag and moves it to the back. I just tried it and it worked perfectly!
I usually just use a sewing needle and threader, since those are always within reach and I don’t have to go searching for a special tool. Just push the eye end through the fabric and use a threader to snag the loose bit, pull back through and tada, fixed!
I do like having all the specialty tools though, collecting them is a hobby in itself
Most of my clothes are knits/stretch so it works well for me. For wovens I find it’s easiest to pull it back and forth on the bias to get the threads to pull back or gently ease them back in with a needle.
What a kind and treacherous thing to do for your friend. In the best way.
