Surely This Can't Be Normal

Okay, sure, there are a lot of things going on right now that aren't normal, but what I really meant was this:

I've made about a dozen masks, and so far I've broken six sewing machine needles. The last two were needles meant for sewing denim.

I tagged in my expert (my mom, the master quilter) and she thought it might just be the number of layers, and we were talking about it as I worked on one. I was zipping along and she said "Wow, it sounds like you're going really fast." So... you're not supposed to just push the pedal all the way to the ground and zoom along as fast as you can? No wonder I don't sew. I don't have the patience for this sort of thing.

Anyhow, when I broke the fourth needle and I was on the last one that came with the machine, I ordered new ones on line. Then I realized I wasn't going to get them quickly enough, so I called the local sewing machine/vacuum cleaner store and talked to Pavel. Or rather, I called the store and listened while Pavel talked to someone else for a good 20-30 seconds as I said "Hello?" and I tried to figure out if someone had accidentally knocked the phone off the hook to keep it from ringing. But eventually Pavel came on the line and I explained my problem and he agreed that I needed more needles. So I gave him my credit card info, walked downtown, called him again to let him know I was there, and then he passed a bag out to me and locked the door again. Shopping in-person during the pandemic is a little weird.

Eventually my online order came in as well, and now I am set for needles for a while.

But really, this can't be normal, right? I'm beginning to think I'm just bad at this...