I’ve been getting back into sewing again in my quest to find things to do that aren’t video games or watching streams as far as things I enjoy. I also enjoy reading and could stand to do that more, but I’m often playing Animal Crossing since that came out. I’ve even been figuring out patterns on there.
My angle to sewing seems to be either practicing by making something costume-y or fixing holes in older clothes that would be fine to wear out if they didn’t have those holes. Overall I’m still practicing, but I can feel improvement. I’ve also figured out that sewing seems to be an elaborate way of tying things together, as it involves a fair bit of knots, intentional or not. Sometimes the thread gets weird and has to be fixed up to not have weird knots and slack hanging out of the visible side, and ideally also avoid that on the work side. I’ve been practicing hand sewing as I’m not sure if any machines work here, and the hand part makes it more of an interesting exercise.
I like practicing practical skills, as I’m a programmer typically, and I should know more about the physical world. For mechanical skills, I’ve even taken a go at fixing a turntable I have, and it’s working more now than it was before, but still needs some adjustments for better playback. I also wonder how practical sewing is in a survival situation, but I feel it’d largely be related to cover and shelter from the elements. A different technique is probably needed to have things be water resistant like with a tent or a coat, so maybe I could look into that for future reference. Sewing can also be used for holding severe wounds closed, but I’m not exactly a doctor type either.
On the other hand, I look at practical skills as a way to be useful if everything completely goes to hell and power is practically non-existent among other things. I had wanted to look into being able to leave the power grid as well and still run things, but those solutions are overpriced. Scavenging post-collapse would be a better chance at those at current rates. I probably think way too far ahead, but I just want to be prepared for anything I can be reasonably prepared for, as luck and timing for regular restocks isn’t exactly the best strategy to rely on. Books are also important, always. Maybe almost always.