Sew Distracted

Goodbye to all that

This last day of 2008 found me sitting on the floor surrounded by stacks and stacks of patterns making some shaky attempts at resorting and re-filing things that have been sitting here waiting patiently for far too long.

The long past due lists of things that needed to be redone, resorted, made and remade are not going to be resolved this year but I was having a blast looking at the patterns, and then letting my eyes wander beyond the piles of inspiration all around me to the fabric in the cubbies and on the shelves.  

The pattern sortie was inspired by the new Threads and the new Vogue Patterns, both of which arrived yesterday.  As I flipped through them my mind began to fill up with ideas and dreams and wishes, and I began also to think about all the projects I have dreamed about in the past, many of which have been posted here.  They are not forgotten.  

The piles of patterns still need to be sorted and filed away.  There are many piles of things that have been waiting for my attentions to wander back to them.  But there must be creative activity along with the sorting and filing and I am looking forward to doing some of each in 2009.

I am not making any sewing resolutions this year.  My record has not been good in the resolution department and I prefer to look forward with acceptance of open eyes.  With the close of 2008 I hope to say goodbye to the frustrations of wanting and try to embrace accepting. It may prove to be a much more rewarding path.

I did finish 2008 with a sewing promise fulfilled, small promise though it was.

In October DH bought an Alpaca Jacket at the NY Sheep and Wool Festival. The price was ridiculously low and it was COLD that day.  We have no regrets and the fabric is warm and snugly although the construction left something to be desired.  The zipper too was sub-par, as it broke on the second or third wearing.

As usual I waited until the last possible minute, ripping out the old plastic separating zipper and threading up the machine on New Year's Eve.  As I threaded my trusty old Elna Carina, I realized that it still had the test fabric under the needle from the last time I had it repaired, early in 2007 when I met Carolyn and Ann in NYC, as I was planning my sewing come-back.  I wondered if I was pushing my luck, expecting the Elna to just start up with nary a stutter as if nearly two years had not passed.  But the Elna has rarely failed me.  And I plowed ahead. 

This year no promises.  No grand plans.  Just determination and acceptance.  I think they will see me far.

Rediscovering some old favorites and a new combination

Let's see, when last I posted semi-regularly on this blog I was fretting about clothes that fit and clothes that didn't fit.  That situation hasn't really changed much.  I am  much the same size as before and I still haven't gone through my closets in any organized fashion. Things that fit still cohabit with things that are either too big (the larger pile) or too small (the smaller pile) and there is still much sorting out to do.  There is a growing pile of things I need to do "something" about.

All in all I would say things are normal.

What I have come to terms with is the fact that I love to look at fashion magazines and pictures of clothes and I love shopping but I am not interested in being "in fashion".  And although I love looking at fashion magazines, I love it for looking at the clothes as objects but not necessarily as something I must have.  The clothes I wear are things that I love in and of themselves, and because I love them for themselves I will wear them.  And if something is perfect it is perfect. -- it cannot be knocked off.  This is perhaps part of the reason why I am not interested in making all my own clothes.  I love shopping and looking.  I love finding the perfect thing, be it simple or complex, expensive or inexpensive.  Now I also recognize that few things live up to that image of "perfect" as it exists in my mind, so there is plenty of room for snoop-shopping and inspiration gathering and the making of clothes that are my own interpretations of those inspiration garments

I don't exactly know where I am going with this except that I want to explore what I buy, what I make, what inspires me and how and why I make the choices I do.  Probably this is all boring self-indulgent stuff, but then what is a blog but a place to explore all these random thoughts running around my brain?  In the end it comes back to sewing, and even though I don't want to sew everything, the idea that I don't have to sew everything is somewhat liberating and allows me to hold those things I do make, that turn out to be perfect in their own ways, in a special place.

Take this photo, taken in the afternoon on Christmas Eve, with the old camera.  

The pleated skirt.  This is a pleated Pendleton skirt that is a few years old (3-4). I tried it on in early December and it was too big.  I hemmed and hawed a bit, because I have several pleated skirts that just don't seem to be me -- but they are longer, lower calf length, and I don't think I will be keeping them although I may repurpose the fabric.  

This skirt however is different.  The length, just at the bottom of the knee is flattering, and I absolutely love the shades of blue and olive in this skirt.  So although I was not completely certain about the style, I took it up anyway.  I still have lingering doubts that it is too preppy, but I do actually like this outfit and these pieces have given me new ideas about the skirt and perhaps new ways to wear it that I hadn't considered before.  If I do grow tired of the skirt I can always use the fabric for something else. In fact I love the fabric so much that I bought more of the fabric when Ann first posted it over at Gorgeous Fabrics in case I decided not to save the skirt or I wanted to make a dress or something. I have no trouble with having more of this fabric in my stash.  I love plaids, or more exactly I often love the idea of plaids but rarely find a plaid fabric that I actually love.  For me this one is a must have, and I am surprised there is still a small piece left, but then it is not really typical plaid colors.

The turtleneck is a soft blue-green which matches the skirt pretty closely.  It is from J Crew and is at least 10 years old, probably older. It had been retired for a few years as it had become a little too snug.  I have a collection of turtlenecks in all the variations of shades of soft to medium blue-green, and all about this size, so I am happy to be able to wear them again as they are among my favorite colors.  

The flat teal boots I bought at Zappos a couple of years ago, after having them on my wish list for a while and watching the price steadily go down.   In the end I am glad I got them; they are long enough to go up over my knee if I turn the cuff up, and I wear this color a lot.  I did not plan on wearing them with this skirt, that just worked out, but it plays perfectly into my theory that if you buy and make things you really love, the combinations will become evident.

What I got for Christmas

G has just gone out of the house to get a hair cut and go to the post office.  He has gone by himself and I am beside myself with glee.  So apparently I am celebrating by writing a blog post.

For those of you who don't check out the other blogs, G has not gone out by himself for many months.  He had lost all initiative and ability to find ways to entertain himself.  He had surgery in mid December and is very much changed and much more like the person he once was.  His memory is pretty iffy.  He does not remember much of the last two years, he sometimes has trouble recalling people or events, and there are days he is sharp and days in which the previous day is already as myth.  But he is entranced by life, observant, and eager to participate.  He loves talking to people and doing things again, and yes, he can go out by himself.  This is indeed the Christmas present I was hoping for.

Also under the tree was a new camera.  

I was really looking forward to this and was determined to buy myself one after Christmas (remember that I said that initiative was not one of G's strong suits a mere two weeks ago).  But the camera came.

For years, until I got this blog, I was not really much of a taker of photos.  I still forget to carry my camera with me, and even if I do have it I forget to take pictures.  But I am getting much more interested in photographs, specifically in taking pictures of things I make and the garden, but hey, a girl's gotta start somewhere.

So I wanted a camera that had more capabilities than  my simple pocket-sized point-and-shoot, but I was not quite ready for full SLR mode.  This camera looks great.  I have already taken photos in auto mode, but haven't yet started learning how to actually set my own lens openings and move into "real" photography.

It is winter and my house has problems with light in the winter either too much or too little, so I know this will be a good training ground.

Those were the big gifts, and the biggest of all is the most intangible.

But I also got:

** A couple of knitting bags

**  A pair of socks and some sock yarn

** A pretty new necklace

But I am starting to ramble.  I have so much to say but  I also  have some sewing to do.  Well actually I have some mending and alterations to do first and then some sewing to do.  But none of that can happen until I do some ironing.  It seems that I have done no ironing since before G's surgery and every piece of clothing I own is piled up on the cutting table waiting to be ironed. 

Gee I guess there are advantages to having generous closets.  

More later.

Happy Holidays