I rule!

I hemmed a dress today!  It was lined and everything.  I had to make two separate passes with the sewing machine (conveniently loaned from a neighbor, who'd also helped me pin the skirt).  But I did it!

I have that same awesome feeling of power I got when I first lit a fire in the fireplace.  :::Grunt::: Make fire!  Hem dress! 

Funny the things you remember.  Neighbor had told me how to load up the thread in her sewing machine and then left me to it.  And the first thing I do, all automatic-like, is reach in back for that little metal lever you hit to make the little guide plate plop down.  I haven't used a sewing machine in probably 20 years (and if you'd asked me two hours ago what to do first I couldn't have told you), but when I'm face to face with the machine, my left hand remembers what the moves are.

I also remembered other things -- basic things, sure, but things I hadn't known I remembered.  (Things like, "You're gonna want to make sure the needle is IN the fabric before you turn it.")

The result is far from professional (I didn't really give a damn whether the lining was even) but it's surprisingly serviceable, if I do say so myself.  I'm feeling all domestic goddessy now.  Next up, maybe I'll bake something.