Ramblings

How much time do I spend sewing? The answer: A LOT.  It’s part of my daily routine.

I’m a firm believer in practice makes perfect and if you dedicate a lot of time to something it’ll eventually become second nature. The more time you spend the better you’ll get! The thing with sewing though is that there’s always something to learn. There are a lot of advanced sewists that are still learning new tricks, so I think that is part of the appeal of this new hobby- you could never truly master everything! It’s pretty humbling but it’s also dangerous to those perfectionists out there.

If I am not actively sewing I am thinking about sewing. I’ve come to a point now where I look at garments differently. Instead of just looking at the garment and thinking “oh that’s cute”, my brain is deconstructing it, mentally taking note of the zipper placement, darts, silhouette, etc. The best way to describe it is like this: As a musician, when you are first learning how to read sheet music the page looks like a bunch of black dots and lines. But once you actually LEARN how to sight read, know and understand scales, you can begin to see and HEAR that music in your head, without actually playing it on an instrument. For those of you who read sheet music you may know what I am describing. (I play the piano).  I look at clothes the same way. It’s no longer just “something cute” but something that has X Y Z details, well made or just poor construction.

The problem with this constant state of thinking or working is that sometimes it can consume your life….at least for me. Admittedly,  I am an “all or nothing” person, where either I’m going 1000% (yes, note that extra zero) or I’m doing diddly-squat, lol. I have a hard time finding balance. The past few weeks I got so caught up in a particular project- spending consecutive days and hours on perfecting it, resulting in frustration and ultimately burning myself out. It’s a very fine line and finding balance has been a constant theme throughout my life. So please pardon my absence.🙂

On a lighter note, Simplicity released their Early Spring 2021 patterns a few weeks ago. Despite it getting a lot of positive reviews from the sewing community, I didn’t find any must haves the new collection. I think Simplicity is targeting the minimalist style and the state in which we live right now- everyone staying home- so they are cranking out some simple styles, perfect for zoom calls, lounging, etc.

I have always liked clothing with more detail (as the kids say “extra”, lol) and with punch so I am gravitating towards McCalls. The majority of what I sew is not really “stay at home” clothing but I am ok with that. I prefer RTW basics- they are usually inexpensive and easy to find. As a petite I enjoy sewing “going out clothes” because 1. I know they will fit properly and 2. they are usually more complex projects. I also find it fun to choose interesting fabrics that you won’t find in the store. It really is a win/win- I learn some new sewing techniques and get a fancy outfit in the end.

So here we are on February 14- Happy Valentine’s Day! Wishing you all a LOVELY day spending time with people you love or doing things you love!