…what a cover up…

Conspiracy theories abound around the internet, even in good times. At the minute? They are everywhere. I can barely open up my facebook or twitter without seeing an article or a link or a meme of any one of the multiple Covid conspiracy theories doing the rounds at the minute. Personally, I tend to subscribe to the theory of Occam’s Razor – that the simplest explanation is often the most accurate. This week, however, I have found myself neck-deep in a cover-up…one of my own making. No covid involved, thankfully.

When I first opened my sewing machine box, I was surprised to discover it didn’t come with a case – not even a soft dust cover. My original cheapy had come with a hard case, so I just presumed when I was spending five times the budget of the original one, a case or cover would come standard. Since then, I’ve had big plans to sew one. I even took fabric to quilt camp one year to make one – fabric I pulled out, spent 10 minutes playing with a layout for, and promptly shoved back in my bag when it didn’t fall into place immediately – the usual actions of a well-adjusted crafter, you know?

A month or so back, on a whim, I joined in with the #improvtrianglesewalong on instagram, hosted by Quilts From The Attic, and I knew that a full quilt was out of the question, both from a “what I have in stash” perspective, a “current reduced crafting space” perspective, and a “not able to leave crap strewn around anymore” perspective. Instead, I decided this was the perfect chance to dive into my sewing machine cover.

I pulled out my beloved Kate Spain charm squares, from a swap way back in 2014, and started pulling squares to create a rainbow. After a bit of back and forth with the board, and adding in some additional gradients, I had a lovely range to work with, and had a blast creating improv triangles with them on a denim background. Because of the limited amount of denim I had left, I had to tweak the suggested method a bit to make it stretch further and reduce wastage. With the main slab completed, I then stashed it away, and contemplated further exactly how to turn it into a cover.

Last weekend, I decided the time had come. My sewing machine had been sitting out, waiting to start some project bags with the children, and was getting ridiculously dusty, so on Saturday, I cleaned it right down, set it up, and got to work. I used my favourite, highly technical method of winging it, and for the most part it worked, aside from a couple of mis-measurements, which I corrected with an inset improv section in the back.

The top has a velcro flap to allow easy access to the handle for carrying, and overall, I’m happy with the end result. There are definitely a few imperfection that bug me, as a result of trying to fit it as I went, instead of measuring and drawing it out properly. It’s a good reminder that while there are times that winging it is appropriate and works, there are times that a little more care in the beginning is a better option. Possibly trying to create something shaped from an improv piece also may not have been the best option – maybe if I’d have left it in front/side peices to help with shaping? Nevertheless, despite the flaws, it fits, it does the job, and it looks cute. I’ll call that a win.

Of course, now I have a cover for the machine, it hasn’t been away long enough to need covering! We spent yesterday afternoon whipping up some little project bags for the kids. On the cutting board this afternoon I have some baskets for the raskog trolley I use to keep our school supplies to hand – the shelf dedicated to my school table handwork and supplies is getting a wee bit messy, so I want to make some baskets to organise it a bit, and I have some pattern testing I need to get done. While I sew, the children have been learning how to punch needle, and the two big boys are building a Hobbit village in minecraft – it is very tenuously connected to Mr11’s current study of The Hobbit, but I’m pretty sure they are scamming me when they ask if they can do it “for school”. Not that I have much in the way of moral high ground, there’s a lot of craft supplies that come into this house under the guise of “for school” as well! With the cooler weather settling in, I can see plenty of knitting in my future, so I’m rolling with the sewjo while it’s flowing. Soon enough I’ll be onto the next grand thing, and then that pretty new dust cover will get plenty of use.