"Dave" wrote in message
...


... I have to get a needle and thread to put my neck back together
again :-(


You mean you can SEW???

But that's women's work ...

I can use a sewing machine like an expert. (I was trained as a fitter, so
I know how things have to go together.)

It was tongue in cheek :-) In our house Spouse does all the machine sewing
(I can but don't enjoy it and he does). I do all the hand sewing (he can
etc. )

My point really was that there are some very silly attitudes to what is
men's and women's work. And some even sillier generalisations - which have
been expressed in this thread. I was delighted when we went to a place
which made camping equipment. In the sewing room great hairy bikers with
extravagant hairstyles and baldstyles were sitting at large industrial
machines, surrounded by girlie calendars and pictures of Big Black Bikes.
There were also polite and helpful, I've learned by several similar
incidents that judgements based on appearance and gender say more about the
judge than the judged.

Due to my childhood asthma, (my mother taught me all this) I can knit,
chroche, sew and use a sewing machine.

I think you mean crochet - that's not a criticism - but yes, so can Spouse,
ALL our children and grandchildren. there are more males than females in
that number.

A son who went into the RAF was amazed when he started his first training,
he was the only cadet who could iron his shirts and press his trousers. Even
the girls couldn't. It's a dis-service to our children not to teach them the
basics of Real Life. We made sure that by the time they were eight ours
could do everything to survive - sewing, washing, cooking, breadmaking,
cutting wood, drilling holes etc. We told them it was so that if we died
they'd be able to look after themselves and not have to depend on others. It
stood them in good stead.

So saying, he's just come in and asked if I knew where there's a spare anti
surge gizmo. When I looked blank he commented that it was his department ...
how are the mighty fallen :-)

Not too long ago I made some stretch covers for our modular settee.

Whatever turns you on :-)

We've done all our own upholstery, so that we get what we want and not what
designers think we ought to have (and which thousands of other people have).

This IS a DIY group after all, we should be able to have exactly what we
want by making it ourselves.

One thing I can not do, is to turn up a pair of trousers. I don't have
that light touch to pick up the outer threads of the trousers, so it is
not obvious outside of the leg :-(

You should use a herringbone stitch. Or iron-on Vilene - the cheat's way but
an excellent one. I used it very frequently when our children were at
school.

Mary