The past several years, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) has been slamming me to the mat pretty hard.
Why mention that when we are closing in on the longest day of the year? Maybe it’s that the days’ scandalous length are a constant reminder of the contrast come winter. Having a doomsday attitude about life helps me prepare for the rougher bits, and part of that is Summer Laura making gifts for Winter Laura.
I don’t have a lot of memories with my grandpas because both of them passed away when I was small, but I think the photos I have of them are why I didn’t need a lot of convincing to add a chore jacket to my sewing projects list. A chore jacket just seems like a grandpa uniform.
I don’t remember what exactly made the Julien Chore Jacket stand out over the many other chore jacket patterns – the Ilford jacket and a Japanese mens’ jacket were also in the running.
I picked a luminous chartreuse linen for the outer fabric (warp and weft are an electric yellow-green and a rich gold), and picked a batik cotton from my stash for a lining. I wanted a lining so it could be a three-season jacket.
Back at the beginning of April, I was starting to feel hopeful about sewing again and I mentioned that I had a couple of patterns I wanted to make.
At that point, I hadn’t started sewing yet. The three items I was planning to make were an Elizabethan Sea Dogs jerkin, a pair of Luna pants, and a Remy raglan. The original plan was a sort of monochromatic history bounding look that would mix and match with the rest of my wardrobe.
I did make three items. It didn’t go exactly how I planned, but I’m happy with the results. I’m not sure if I’m capable of making three black items in a row per the original plan, but I set a record for making three neutral items in a row, so that’s something.
Last summer, one of my long term grown-up dreams came true. We installed a whole house fan.
For years, I had the fan on my wishlist, but it was expensive. So summer after summer, we used window AC units and fans. They cooled part of the house, but never the whole thing.
Our upstairs wiring could only tolerate one AC unit, which left the master bedroom an icebox, but the other bedrooms too hot. The hot air would move around as the fans blew, but it wouldn’t leave. There were nights when you could stick your arm out the window and feel the cool air, but it refused to come in the house, probably because of science.
At night it was musical beds and floors trying to get everyone to a spot cool enough for sleep. (Strangely, my kids have been unimpressed with the technique I used to keep cool on hot summer nights as a child – sleeping with a cold, wet washcloth draped over me).
In the air conditioned master bedroom, I would wake up freezing and congested in the middle of an August night. I freeze all winter, because I’m a frugal lady who keeps the thermostat on the lowest temperature I can tolerate. But freezing in the summer didn’t feel right.
Health Care Workers, use this cap to: Cushion your head and ears from the multiple insults of masks, face shields, and/or googles layered on top of each other. Tuck your unwashed, freshly washed, or uncooperative hair away.
The cap is fully lined and can be hand or machine sewn. You need less than a half yard of fabric, two buttons (I used 5/8 in. buttons) and matching thread. I used a quarter inch seam allowance since all the edges are enclosed.
