Needles and Pins

I had a quiet day today- reading and cleaning mostly, in anticipation of the start of a new semester of school tomorrow, though I did watch a little TV and do some mending.

I've been a great one for mending since I was a restless 15 or 16 and used to collect my stepfather's work clothes and socks and my younger brothers' jumpers and t-shirts to very crudely patch and darn on cold weekends. It has always seemed to me to be a skill everyone, whether male or female, should have and I have enjoyed watching my stitches become more even and invisible over the years as well as my instictive abiltiy to size up a garment's flaws and fix them improve. Recently, I have started filling in a rather sizeable hole in a pair of my boyfriend's jeans with black velvet.

I picked up my l33t mending abilities during a crafty phase- I had the obligatory knitting week (that never produced much other than a small, roughly triangular thing that was the result of letting others have a go and forgetting to count loops), I made piles of beaded bracelets, customized clothes by ripping or hacking off bits I didn't like and cross-stitched when I had the patience. I think the crafting was born more out of frustration with my situation and impatience to get on with my adult life (those old teenage chestnuts!) than real desire to create, but being able to sew a decent anchoring stitch has stood me in good stead; especially as my collection of vintage clothing and lingerie grew and needed loving maintenance.


I had to replace one internal button and tighten another on this coat (my current favourite; a lovely, warm 80s gem I got for $8 from an op shop) and I plan to accumulate some large, decorative silver ones with coats of arms etc for the front.

I've also been making and burning playlists in the past few hours- another thing I spent considerable time doing as a teenager. A hangover from my OCD and obsessive listing and organising, I've probably made a playlist for every occasion that typically included most of the same songs.

Today's playlist:

Cry For Love- Iggy Pop
Cracked Actor- David Bowie
Moving In Stereo- The Cars
Telephone Lines- ELO
I Want You- KISS
I'm Affected- Ramones
Same Old Scene- Roxy Music
Don't You Give Me No Lip, Child- Sex Pistols
No Feeling (Bootleg)- Sex Pistols
Token of My Love- T.Rex
Psycho Killer ('Stop Making Sense' Version)- Talking Heads
Alternative Ulster- Stiff Little Fingers