Fleece - Don't Like It

Summer before last, Nora decided she didn't like monkeys. On trips to the zoo, she'd say, "Monkeys. Don't like them." Well, Nora, I feel the same way about fleece. I don't like it. It just doesn't behave well at all.

I saw a pattern for fleece puppets, though, and they were just so cute that I decided fleece couldn't be so bad and I loaded up on several colors. Maybe I was swayed by the shoppers at Hancock's, who seem to come to the cutting table with shopping carts filled with fleece. What do they do with it all? Besides, I thought the puppets would make such a nice but inexpensive gift with no worries of lead paint.

Fleece is as bad as I remembered, though, and the little sewing machine I'm using doesn't like it either. It will tolerate two thicknesses, but no more. I ended up doing a lot of hand sewing on the puppets, and I'm stopping at two.

The winter issue of Quilts and More has a sweet little pattern for a little girl's apron made with a tea towel. How hard can that be? Well, the machine doesn't like more than two layers of that, either, so I'm skipping the pocket. And I think I'll use a red ribbon for the piece that goes around the neck and ties in the back instead of making a tie.

If you're picking up on some frustration here, you bet. 'Tis the season and I have lots of things I want to make. My sewing machine has been in the shop for six days - you'd better believe I'm counting - but there's no guarantee that it will be finished in ten.

It's becoming clear that I need better back-up. Do I get my twenty-year-old machine fixed? It's solid, but it has some shortcomings, not the least of which is a wind-in-place bobbin that misbehaves sooner or later, plus difficulty in sewing a good 1/4" seam. Advice, anyone?