WooHoo!  I did my walking for the day! I walked around the block, but it’s more like two blocks, walking like a penguin.

What? Walking like a penguin?  Yep. It’s the winter walking that you take a few days to adapt to when walking on the snow and ice, snowy ice and icy snow. You know, when your weight is directly over your leg and you waddle back and forth. It’s a change from the summer, sky’s blue, temps are in the low 70’s and the humidity hasn’t hit yet longer stride.  That’s the stride that’ll get you into trouble and a lot closer to the ground a lot faster than you intended in winter.

So, walk like a penguin, my friends!

Well, yesterday I said that I’d tell you about the cadillac of sewing machines that I used for two classes at the Sewing Expo and why I kept on reaching for the presser foot lever.

It’s all done with buttons, a computer and magic .

There’s a button to put the presser foot down and another one to lift it up. If you hit the former twice, it’ll put the foot down and then raise it halfway.  There’s a button to do the backstitching at the beginning and end of a seam as well as a button to cut your thread. There’s a button to repeat the pattern you just stitched and there’s a button called Needle Down that makes sure that the needle is in the down position anytime you stop the machine. In addition, this button puts the presser foot in the halfway down position when you stop, so you can pivot the fabric, say, if you’re turning a corner.  And, the topper, there’s a button to start and stop the machine, in case you can’t use the foot pedal for some reason.

And those buttons are are not even part of the wonders that are available on the computer screen.

I have the machine that is just like the ones we used in Home Ec. when we made our beach cover-ups in seventh grade and our jumpers in eighth grade.  No computer, no buttons, lots of  fiddling with the tension by adjusting the bobbin case or some dial on the front.

The cadillac automatically adjusts the tension to the fabric being used.  That’s almost worth the price right there.

Of course, the computerized sewing machine could not have corrected the error I made in eighth grade of cutting into the jumper as I was trimming the seam with pinking shears. At least it was a distinctive cut.  And it was a chance to learn about patching.

And the expensive cadillac did not keep me from sewing the seams of one Sewing Expo project backwards nearly fifty years later.

Those are the user errors that can’t be fixed by  a fancy machine.  But look at it this way: at least I’m consistent!!!  Still making sewing mistakes after all these years.

And now for a quick explanation of the title.  One bitterly cold day as my roomie and I were walking over to the union for breakfast, she turns to me and says, ” It’s a little nippy.”  And we just cracked up because it was waaaaay beyond what most people would consider nippy.  And it became a catch phrase for the two of us.

And even today, I’ll use it when my nostril hairs begin to ice up after ten seconds outside.

“It’s a little nippy out there today.”

Here’s my idea: there ought to be a word to describe a word or phrase shared by friends over and over, especially with a laugh.  Catch phrase doesn’t do it justice. Something with warmth in it would do.  I’ll be thinking about it. Shout out if you have a suggestion.  Remember to click on the title to make the comment box magically appear.

And auto correct?  There ought to be a button to turn THAT off!

Stay warm,

Janet