Today’s entry is about sewing…
On Sunday, after lunch Kevin went down to do some work on Autumn Dream, before it got windy, snowy and cold (yesterday we woke up to about 8F). I got busy making pumpkin scones. He surprised me by being back home before they were even out of the oven… and was not happy.
Seems that one of the seams on Autumn Dream’s cover was open and getting worse by the minute. Her cover is a heavy canvas material – and is at least 10 years old – it was purchased by the previous owners. We already had to replace the isinglass (clear plastic) that allowed the sunlight to reach the solar panels with the cover on, and this summer I repaired another area where the seams had started to separate.
The problem is the thread – after all this exposure to weather and sun, it is disintegrating – and anywhere the cover rubs against the frame is at risk. Here’s a link to last winter’s blog with a photo of the cover https://mvautumndream.wordpress.com/2015/02/19/some-photos/
So… the thread gave up the ghost on the starboard side, about 2 feet forward of the zipper, where the cover was rubbing against one of the upright portions of the frame. We waited for the scones to finish baking, then grabbed the Speedy Stitcher and went back to attempt a repair.
Speedy Stitcher to the Rescue
With Kevin working the “bobbin” thread on the outside, and me “sewing” with the awl on the inside, we sewed the seam back together with 2 rows of stitching in about 15-20 minutes. Of course then we saw where the cover is starting to pull apart at the zipper – but that is the canvas itself so we couldn’t fix it the same way – we just hope it holds for the winter. Maybe it is time to give up and get a new cover.
When we got home, it was time for a Victory Coffee with fresh pumpkin scones!
My other sewing news, for those who are mildly interested, is my “new” sewing machine. This belonged to my mother-in-law, who unfortunately is not able to use it any longer. I need to do some research with Dr. Google and YouTube to learn how to do a full D&C – cleaning and servicing- and then I think this Kenmore Ultra-Stitch will work better with heavy canvas than my old New Home (which is probably 20 years younger than the Kenmore). Note the owner’s manual – brings back some memories!
Lastly, something that has NOTHING to do with sewing… Back when Kevin and I both were working in Marlborough Shipley/Rohm& Haas, there was a time when we realized we had become the “old grizzled engineers” and were surrounded by much younger engineers. We really enjoyed the company of some of these people, and thought they had great potential. We wished them luck and hoped they did ‘better’ than being stuck in EM.
Most of these folks have now moved on to other companies or completely turned their lives around. Nate has joined the Air force (or is it the Navy?) and graduated from EOD training. Crystal is in Hawaii working on her Master in Marine Science. Alex decided to take time off and travel! Wow – here is a link to the blog that he and his girlfriend are using to document their adventure: http://buckmastaflexx.tumblr.com/
As I write this, Kevin and his friend Dave are braving the cold to re-install the transmission – Hopefully it will go back IN almost as easily as it went OUT… Kevin will be providing an update on that project.
MV Autumn Dream 