Make it Sew!

We thought we'd be in the yurt by mid-May... we weren't! In mid-June, we headed to Lowell to sew the yurt's roof and walls. In a sewing marathon lasting 30 hours over 3 days, we completed the job.

The car is ready to go with fabric rolls and laundry! Our destination - 95 Rock Street - owned by CBA, where Nancy used to work. Stephen Katz, owner of UnWrapped Inc generously let us use his equipment. Wednesday 10 AM - the roof material is unrolled on long cutting tables. Drawing cut lines on the fabric... ... 16 pie-shaped panels each 11' long. Sewn together, they make the roof. Each pie is roughly 14" at the top and 4' at the bottom. We had the whole roof cut in less than 2 hours... "Wow, This is going to be easier than we thought!" Nan was assigned to look after us. She first introduced us to... ...the gear driven Singer! After a tutorial she says, "Don't worry, its easy!" Anita Moeller comes by with lunch from Nancy's favorite Vietnamese restaurant. After some practice, Dave starts. Control is a serious issue. By 9 PM we are on a roll. We finish off the first half of the roof by midnight. Bobbins need refilling every hour. The view of Lowell from the 4th floor. Thursday: Dave is getting much better at machine control. Work stations: UnWrapped employs about 100 people. Vinny helped out when the machine needed oiling or tension adjustment. By the end of Thursday, we've got the roof "mostly done." By Friday at 9 PM, we are done in! Our instructions say, "You'll undoubtedly... ... experience a feeling of radiant relief when the cover is finished." We did!