If there is no mountain too high then there is certainly not a cut off for the bare minimum in resolutions standards. Sometimes you have to create these challenge accountabilities just because otherwise, there is truly no (0/nada/zilch) motivation for the task to ever get done at all.
So today, being the day when my internet stopped working, I got an extra push to do serious housework that otherwise can easily be continuously procrastinated for say... another 5 years! (Reflecting to yesterday entry in case you missed it: http://thirteensquared13.blogspot.ca/2013/05/burning-up.html)
CHALLENGE ACCOMPLISHMENT # 2, 3 & 4
THE RESOLUTION: Fixer Uppers
I dusted off the ol’ sewing machine and tapped into recently acquired knowledge from the sewing courses I completed at Mohawk College this winter. (Remember: http://thirteensquared13.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cover-story.html) This time the goal was to tackle the growing pile of “broken” clothes that reside in a box under my living room couch. More often than not, the items that end up in that black hole are long-time favourites of mine which have suffered minor but reparable disasters such as lost buttons, tears or happen to be coming apart at the seams. Too many of these occasions reflect my desperate attempt to delay parting with something I love despite the recognition that our time together has come to an end. For example, the way I burn holes into every pair of cheap jeans, right between my legs! (Curse these Latin thighs.) Normally I continue to wear them to the point of appearing ‘trashy,’ but it is only because I love them so much. We got to know each other so well and have finally reached that comfortable stage where they know exactly where to hug my body. Admitting defeat just leads to having to shuffle into a new pair of crusty jeans that don’t understand what it is like to have strong muscular legs two sizes bigger than my waist. Oh and don’t even mention having to go shopping... I truly despise shopping with every fiber of my being. Back to my point though, I placed the jeans into the box with every intention of finding a way to repair these naughty peek-a-boos, so that we may be reunited once more.
There are now 7 pairs of jeans, all with the same ‘injuries’ in the box, dating back up to 6 years!
The other popular reason items end up in the box is that they required alterations before being worn. Standing tall at a mere 5’1, it is nearly impossible to find a pair of pants that doesn’t need to be folded over 3 or 4 times so that they don’t drag on the floor. My general method for dealing with the issue resorts to dragging and destroying the excess length with the bottom of my shoes. Eventually I just cut off the string cheese look-alike and I move on with my life. Sometimes I just staple them (although this leads to painful incidents where I happen to step on the open end of a staple).
Today is the day that will change. Two very lucky items were the recipients of ThirteenSquared’s “Fix it” challenge and now they have the rare chance of returning to normal, wearable circulation.
The first item: A pair of jeans purchased sometime in the last decade, never worn and about six inches too long for my legs. After trying them on, measuring, marking, measuring again and trying them on again, I selected brand new jeans-strength thread to match. I then used my newly acquired machine skills to sew a somewhat straight line around the base of each pant leg. The results are not perfect by any means but I am delighted to actually have a single pair of jeans that are not shredded in some way... until I burn those thigh marks on them, that is.
The second item, a stylish and cozy vest that converts into a sweater through the removable sleeves, until I popped several buttons at the shoulder. Just in time to see the end of winter I sat in painstaking boredom threading needles and making up some workable way to attach the buttons back on.
In conclusion, these little repair projects are definitely not my favourite but thanks to ThirteenSquared they have finally been initiated. That is accountability working for you folks.
One woman. One year. 47 down. 122 to go.
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