Repairing sheets

Nicola & Pete plus daughters Lola, now 9 and Nell, now 7, spent last year exploring Britain in a carbon-light manner. Our spring 2008 challenge is to give up waste from 24 March to 24 April. Most posts are by Nicola (as it was her silly idea). This is how it’s going:

This is the third set of sheets I’ve had to patch. (does anyone else do this???) I expect the colourful repair will last better than the bits of sheet I haven’t yet patched, but it’ll probably be another six months before it needs to be retired (aka cut into hankies and cleaning cloths).

The real pleasure isn’t mending the sheets, but using my Singer sewing machine. It was given to my mum by her grandmother (known as Lola) on mum’s 21st birthday. I think it was secondhand then which makes it close to half a century old. My mum passed the sewing machine on to me when she bought an electric model. I love this hand powered machine, and because I’m not a very ambitious seamstress find it’s perfect for my skill level.

Verdict: the only comparable tool in the house is my PC. When I switch it on I do not feel any pride, in fact I often fear the day when the built in obselesence kicks in. In contrast when I get out my mum and great grandmother’s sewing machine I delight in the wooden body and case, the old-fashioned key on a bit of string and the lovely handle that joints into a fold so it can be fitted back into the box.