I Maaade It.

I love the SNL skit with Paul Simon when he's stranded on a desert island with Victoria Jackson at Christmas time.  Paul pulls out his handmade gifts:  potholders made from palm fronds and a few seashells.  Victoria, on the other hand, astonishes us all with her copper watch and hand-carved telescope.  She bashfully tells him about smelting the ore she found in the mountains and the pig she hunted for three days in order to tan its hide for the strap.  Each time Paul asks, "Where did you get this?" And she answers, "I maaade it!"  Click on the link for the transcript ... always good for a chuckle!

I recently maaaade something for my neighbor and it (thankfully) turned out just fine and dandy!

Never mind the windblown look ... 

The canopy for her glider swing came together just as I'd intended ... in spite of my derelict sewing machine that did NOT make me chuckle!  I never remember how frustrating sewing can be until I sit down with my project pinned and ready to go ... and my machine gives me a chugga-chugga-churrrrg. (Which I counter-attack with a "blurgedy-blurgedy-blurg!")  Then I spend the next 20 minutes re-threading, re-aligning and re-thinking my project!  Nothing brings out my almost-curses like a sewing machine on the fritz!  Gratefully, with a lot of super-natural patience, several new needles, a glass of iced, lavender tea and all my kids occupied elsewhere, I successfully sewed the canopy and delivered it to my neighbor all in one afternoon.  Whew!

It was not my finest stitching ever.  In fact there is most certainly a front side and a back side to this canopy.  But ... it is now providing much desired shade over her swing, is washable due to the hand-sewn velcro tabs holding it in place and the Sun-N-Shade outdoor fabric matched her balcony set perfectly.

Ta-dah!

As for the sewing machine?  Well, let's just say that she will need some serious TLC before my next project ("oops ... I don't think that part is supposed to come off") and hopefully I'll remember that before Halloween rolls around and I have four costumes to make ("why are you in so many pieces?!?").
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#4 - When was the last time you made something with your hands and what was it?