Mis-ter Fixit, can he fix it?

It's all got a bit domestic round my place at the moment, with the knitting and the cooking and even a bit of housework (you know, where it shows...) so maybe that's why I suddenly got the urge to haul out my ancient sewing machine on Sunday. Climber needed a replacement bag for his Home Readers. It was easy enough to make. I even wrote his name in glittery purple fabric paint - possibly in an attempt to disguise the fact that my sewing skills are small and underdeveloped, possibly to give Climber the shiniest bag of them all, probably just because I can't resist decorating stuff!

While I had the machine out, I also made a little bag for my camera. I bought the quilted fabric years ago to try and make Climber's hand-me-down wooden high chair more comfortable, and then of course never got around to it. (The poor kid ended up just perching on our knees eventually; I always suspected his reluctance to eat solids well was linked to the uncomfortable high chair, and spent some of Cherub's baby bonus money on getting a proper one for him.) When the fabric fell out of the junk cupboard the other day, it occurred to me there could be more than one use for its plush purple padded-ness.

I went to visit Astrid on Monday morning and casually dropped into the conversation that I'd been doing some sewing on the weekend. After recoiling in shock she narrowed her eyes at me and demanded Who are you and what have you done with Stomper?? Well, after all, she had really only just got over the fact that I now have knitting projects in my handbag.

Anyway, so there's me, proudly wearing my new mantle of domestic goddess, when along came my stitchy nemesis. You know how, in sewing, you make a strap by folding over a long thin piece of material, stitching it up the long side and one of the ends and then you turn it inside out? Well that's what I was doing, but I was finding it ridiculously hard to do the turning-inside-out part. I had my knitting needles jammed up it and was trying all sorts of pinching, and pulling it, but the turning-inside-out rate was approximately one millimetre per half hour. I was getting pretty fed up with it and muttering to myself There must be a better way!! and wondering if I should go and bug someone who knows about sewing, before just putting it down in complete boredom and wandering off. As you do. Well. As I do.

When I was leaving for tap-dance on Monday night, I happened to mention to Fixit that I was having trouble with it. And because he is Mister Fixit and he can't help himself, he said Bring it here. So I did, and I showed him and explained how hard it was. And he frowned at my poor technique and started pulling out all the hours of hard work I'd done (all 4cms of it) at which I protested weakly as I was walking out the door.

I was less than 4 minutes in the car when his text message came through. Done it.

Humph.