Playing with my stick

Jeffrey turned 30 on Thursday. As a life milestone, he thought he was ready to give manual transmission driving another go.

We tried this is my Honda Civic several years ago and the parking lot time went well, but on the road? Well, let's just say it's been a few years since I was willing to try this again. The little red car is a bit easier to drive, though a bit diminutive for a 6'4" human, but I thought, we can at least try.

So this morning, I had him read the CarTalk guys' guide to driving stick shift. Then he watched this video here.

Then we hit the church parking lot.

Two hours later? Cruising the Biltmore area of Phoenix.

The Pursuit of Perfection

I am not a perfectionist. I am kind of bossy and controlling ... but I'm not a perfectionist. These dynamics are what make me so, um, fun to be around?

Today I did Pillow Project No. 2: Make new pillow cover to replace scratchy Ikea pillow cover for couch.

Not only did PPN2 have all-around trim, it had a zipper AND the fabric is reversible -- one side of it has a blue background and the flip (the correct side ... the fact that I can reverse it is just a happy accident) has a cream background.

This is a lot of scheming for my brain. I'm sure this is an easy project for many (most!) people, but for me, trying to figure out which part goes where, how to pin it, and what the engineering should be is nearly impossible. Then add in a machine that likes to jam when asked to do hard labor (like zippers, trim, and upholstery weight fabric), a sewer who is prone to needle breakage (*waves*) and, well, watch out because I'm an effing volcano ready to explode.

So when everything turned out exactly as planned, I knew it was too good to be true.

Thankfully, it was only the zipper I screwed up. It's inside out. A perfectionist would have ripped out the seams and flipped the zipper. I, so afraid to screw up all the goodness I had already accomplished, decided,  "What the shit, we'll get it off if we need to!" And proceeded on.

Because I'm not a perfectionist, but I'm impatient as hell.

Blue and white with yellow trim!

If the poodle likes it 20 seconds after flopping it on the couch, you know it's good stuff.

Enhance on trim!

Cream background side. I'm leaving the picture of the forest green, upside down zipper to your imagination!

Weekend Sewing Projects and a Bump Picture

Jeffrey and I decided to go out for a little Sunday morning bicycle ride through expensive neighborhoods today.  Their speed bumps were handily labeled for witty pregnancy photos.

Also this weekend I did a few sewing projects.

First I recovered the desk chair:

Then I made a pillow cover out of an Anthropologie dish towel and some extra fabric I had:

And finally this morning I got around to making a crib sheet for Ada's crib:

The crib sheet should have been the easiest project. 2 yards of 45" width fabric, two 23" pieces of 1/4" elastic, and then sew according to this tutorial I found. Had a little trouble with the tutorial instructions for the elastic and ended up have to rip out my end seams and start over with my own plan. My way was WAY easier. I can now churn out crib sheets like a spider monkey!