Hide and Seek

When we were packing to move, I remember trying to pack sensibly.. all the stuff from one room in properly labelled boxes or packing like items with like, such as whole bins of fibre or sewing supplies. There are only a couple of items that I willed myself to remember packing. One of the items was the cable which connects the sewing machine to the computer so that I can download embroidery designs and stitch patterns. Yes it's a cool machine, but it's ancient; one of the first out there and no longer supported by the manufacturer. My software package is a manual stitch placement pattern digitizing program designed for Windows 3.1 originally, although they may have updated it for Windows 95 :) It's on a 3.5 floppy which took a bit of time to figure out how to put the software back on my computer since I no longer have a 3.5 floppy drive!

At anyrate, I digress... I was finally able to digitize some new designs for blackwork and a household badge. I went to hook up the machine to do some test stitching and couldn't find the cable. I KNEW.. absolutely positively remembered that I'd packed it in a pocket in the sewing notions wall caddy. It wasn't there. I checked the sewing table drawer.. nope.. the sewing basket, the bins with fibre tools, the sewing machine cases... I checked everything twice or three times over and distinctly remembered thinking to myself to pack this cable where I'd find it and thinking about my sewing room.
After a time I even tried pricing a new one. Hmmmm, they don't make new ones... there are probably 2 replacment cables, after market at that, for this model machine left in the world and they are $120 u.s. Yikes!

So I sat down with a cup of tea.. stopped panicking .. and had a revelation.. no, it was packed with the computer items not yet unpacked 'cause that was where I normally kept the cable. There are a few boxes with misc. computer and office items still unpacked. It was in the second one, sitting happily waiting for me.

Insert here..............HUGE SIGH of RELIEF ..........


Several weeks before Christmas I bought 2 balls of fine weight sock yarn to make a new pair of socks. I'd not had a chance to start before so on Boxing Day I decided to start them. The wool was gone. I'd hunted high and low and still no sock yarn. It was like the two balls had just disappeared. On and off since then, I've hunted for those 2 balls of wool. Even my son helped one one day. After a bit of a rant about my mushy brain, my sweet hubby, being the thoughtful sort, dug out a bag that was in the bedroom and proudly presented it to me as the missing wool. It was the wool I'd bought at the K-W knitting fair to make a blanket with - 10 skeins of sport weight wool singles - Realizing that this was a good time to start this project as the loom was empty and it is winter after all.. good lap blanket weather... I started once again to look for the yarn swift. I hadn't unpacked it yet from the move, not for lack of trying.

My yarn swift was a gift from a dear friend and I love it dearly. It's a plain jane utilitarian sort of swift, but it has never failed to do exactly what I need it to do and also reminds me of friendship when I use it. I've been looking for the swift since we first unpacked! It was always kept on a shelf with other fibre tools in the livingroom. I'd checked all the livingroom boxes and there are none left to unpack. I found all the other tools but not the swift - nor one of my quilting rulers, the long, fat one - but at any rate, the swift was MIA. Without the swift, my middle son, has been having to do the two hands holding the wool while I wind it thing for me. Finally in an exhausted heap from moving boxes and digging though them, I sat down with a cup of tea, and I asked myself, where would I pack something like that.
My mushy brain said.. pack like with like and special items where you'll find them.. and I glanced over and there was the cardboard box with the drum carder in it. It travelled with me in the car.. I personally unloaded it into the house, leaving it beside the loom where I'd never misplace the box. The drum carder just couldn't go missing! It's been there from the day we moved here..... I opened the box. There sitting beside the drumcarder was the yarn swift.. and the missing quilting ruler to boot!

Insert here.......... another HUGE SIGH of RELIEF............

Those 10 skeins have no been wound into centre pull balls so that I can now easily dress the loom with a new project.

On a roll now, I made another cup of tea, went into my sewing room and looked about the mess. There was a basket which was in the diningroom before the holidays. On it was an Elizabethan flat cap and under the cap... was the missing yarn........

Moral of the story........ Drink More Tea!............. It obviously solves many, many problems.............