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Tag: sewing

Too Many Projects, Not Enough Time

I feel like I say this at least once a year. But I’ve done it again. Except it’s worse this time, because my COVID productivity has been terrible and I’ve spent a lot of time not doing anything productive (mostly playing Among Us, coloring on a phone app, and watching a LOT of YouTube videos–but not useful YouTube videos). So my productivity time has been stifled AND I’m trying to get my too many projects done. Great combination, she says sarcastically. We’ve been super busy this summer, camping and road-tripping and the like, which admittedly is not helping the productivity problem, but now things are somewhat settling down. Which means that it’s time to do random sewing crafts with the small-ish, mobile ones. I think this comes from a vague idea that, before offspring, I liked to sew, and that I should pass the knowledge on and whatnot, but in practice I do all the sewing and generally get grumpy at every one else for being absolutely no help. So then we don’t do any more sewing projects, until I get the whole passing things on idea going again approximately 12 months later. (The past couple of years we made worry pets and small owls that can be heated up in the microwave.) This year we’re going to make reversible cross-back aprons. Well, just me and the littlest one, cuz the rest aren’t interested. Certainly bigger scale than normal, but hopefully not more complicated. However, we went to buy fabric…

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Putzing About

Oh, friends, my November was gloriously productive. It was so productive I’ve gotten cocky. No doubt that will be a mistake later, but for now, I am reveling in it. So, the time goal worked out really well. I got a ton done. So I’m continuing that for December, though I’ve lowered it to 30 minutes because Holidays and so forth. So far, so good. I’m actually ahead for the month. Aside from that, I’m still working on drawing/shading/coloring classes. It’s been very interesting, though we may be getting to the point where I should stop doing classes and actually start working on projects.  I’ve also started doing some vocal skills classes. It’s been a long time since I’ve had any sort of instruction on the matter–probably high school. All the choirs since then have just assumed you know what you’re doing and left you to flounder if you don’t. So hopefully that will be useful in the future. Right now, so far, it’s been pretty basic, and also I have a cold and singing makes me cough. AND I’m sewing again, making presents for Christmas, as well as putzing around with other random projects (including patching the pile of clothes that need patching). My mother and I went to Goodwill Outlet last week (where you can buy clothes for about $1/pound) so I now have stuff for other projects should the Christmas presents go well. It’s a creative monstrosity over here. No doubt eventually I will have so many options of…

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So, How About That Plan From Last Month?

Last month I regaled you lot with my sewing plans. (And I realized I never linked you to my sewing Pinterest board, which is here, and which you can see is still getting healthy usage.) And I said I’d check back this month and let you know if I’d actually gotten on the actual sewing part of this madness. The answer is no! But it’s more complicated than me just being lazy (or actually working on writing things, like I was supposed to, though I did do that). I picked out two patterns to do. I cut out the pieces (which was harder than necessary because said patterns are in books and you cannot cut up library books). And then I hit the problem. The average American woman is 5’4″. I believe they make patterns for people who are 5’7″. I am 6’1”. So I cut out my patterns and then remembered that I can’t just use a pattern, I have to modify a pattern. I have to lengthen it in the right spots (such as, say, arm holes) and move darts and all sorts of wizardry. Actually, in the past, it’s been easier to take men’s patterns and make the shoulders narrower than mess with women’s patterns, but it’s been five years and I forgot. (The last clothing I sewed, five years ago, was a brocade vest and spats for a steampunk costume. I made the vest without a pattern, and luckily spats are not picky on sizing.) So,…

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A Creative Interlude

Good morning! Do you ever have those times when you really should be working on something, but something else comes along that sounds like way more fun? Or, like, it doesn’t matter if anything ever actually does get done, because planning is fun? And shopping for supplies, and picturing doing it, and… …anyway, this is me right now. And what I’d like to be doing, at least theoretically, is sewing. Not sure what exactly has brought this on. It’s probably a combination of having too many writing projects going, the fact that I hate half my wardrobe, and the fact that I used to sew all the time, but haven’t touched my machine in four…maybe five…years. So first I went into the planning stage. My planning stage mostly involved reading tons of blogs about upcycling clothing and starting a Pinterest board. I’ve also checked out some sewing pattern books from the library. Somewhere in the Pinterest stage I went from upcycling clothes to just making clothes from scratch. That might be because I actually did a couple of upcycling projects. The kids and me made slouch hats and arm warmers from old sweaters and hot glue, and I also took an overly large t-shirt I got from giving blood and turned it into a workout tank top. Upcycling urge conquered, I guess. So now we’re on the sewing from scratch phase. At the end of last week, the small, somewhat mobile one and I hit our local Joann’s, where I…

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