Gina Comes And Saves The Day!

We needed bedding for our new truck traveling getup so I purchased foam pads and planned to make removable covers for them. The plan seemed simple enough so I didn't worry about the issue of having sold my sewing machine at a garage sale. No problem. I would simply sew the covers by hand as I casually watched TV. How could such a simple plan go awry? First off, the concept of "slipping off" cotton covers from foam pads is a near impossibility. I had to keep modifying my pattern, which meant tearing out seams that took a ridiculous amount of time to sew. After hours of frustration my head began to throb, my vision blurred (which was probably brought on by the first 2 hours of working without glasses, which lead to tearing out more seams), and panic was setting in. I knew if I continued I would start cutting things that shouldn't be cut, which would lead to going to the store to purchase additional material. And of course, I had already purchased all the material. I would have to redesign my project using two types of material. This project was never going to end and would cost the equivalent of a designer mattress with custom silk sheets. HELP! I called my dear friend, Gina. She was over in 5 minutes, sewing machine tucked under her arm. She plopped down on my bedroom floor and started sewing seams. When she realized the complexity of sliding on and off the covers she made me look online for a solution. I was incredulous. How do you look up "making cotton slipcovers that slip on"? But, alas, it was there. The trick is to wrap the foam in large trash bags, slip on the covers then pull the trash bags off. It was ingenious. Of course, taking them off will still be difficult. But, at least it is better than buying $100 worth of Velcro, tearing out the long side seams and sewing it all back together. So thank you, Gina. You saved the day.

By the way, our maiden voyage is tomorrow. We are going to Carpenteria. Leonard has to work in Santa Barbara and I will be moving Lenny into his new crib (graduate housing). We are spending the night at the campground. We will see how it works out. Note to self: Make sure all the straight pens are out of the mattress covers.

Additional note: The mattress cover is the black material in the background of the picture, not the sheet in Gina's lap. I was temporarily side tracked with a plan which proved unsuccessful.