It was with good intentions . . .

I was supposed to have a 3 day weekend and my intention was to sew, sew, sew.  Well you know what they say about plans - kind of like New England weather:  wait a minute and it will change.

I got home from work on Friday, cleaned my sewing room and made a list of a few things I needed at JoAnn's.  I should have known better and should have gone to JoAnn's on Friday.  I went out early Saturday to get thread and zippers, realized I had to do a few other things and before I knew it, it was 4:00!  How did that happen? 

Got home, started a project and lost any motivation I had remaining.  Ugh!  Got up early this morning to finish up some work and realized I had turned my computer off at work so I couldn't access the files I needed.  Back in the car, got to the office and ended up working for most of the day.  Oh well, maybe I can salvage part of the weekend tomorrow.

I do have a plan though. I picked up a Simplicity pattern during the last sale.

View D caught my eye and I think it will look great with interesting buttons.  It looks straight forward so I'm hoping it goes quickly and I can move on to some other patterns on my list.

Stay tuned!

My Journey

Hello there and welcome!  I'm so glad you stopped by!

I've been reading blogs for years and something caught my attention a few weeks ago.  Many bloggers were talking about "Sewing Heals."  I think most of the discussion was towards mental health healing, but then I got to thinking about it more.  The healing from sewing for me was after divorcing and raising 3 children on my own.  I remember having a knot in my stomach and throat all the time.  I'm talking for months, even years.  The only time I ever found peace was when I was sewing.  I was able put aside feelings of anxiety about how I was going to make it on my own with 3 children, the desperation of providing for them and the hopelessness of digging myself out of the financial hole I was in.

When my kids were younger, I always scrapbooked.  I loved looking at the photos and telling a story, but during the time of my divorce and going back to work full time, I didn't find any joy in telling stories on beautiful papers.  I finally dug out my old sewing machine that my Mother had given me and started sewing.  I had sewn years before - mostly quilts and play clothes for my kids.  I found that sewing started to bring me joy and satisfaction.

The first couple of years (and even now), the garments I create aren't always well fitting and beautiful, but I feel so good about creating those garments.  I've decided to challenge myself moving forward.  I'd like to create a handmade wardrobe.  It's not a RTW Fast (although I love the thought of that), but more of a personal challenge to learn about fitting and techniques.  I'm not proclaiming to never buy another item of clothing (although it's been a long time since I've been to a mall or even a TJ Maxx!)  Thoughts of creating a wardrobe of clothing full of fabrics and designs that I choose makes me smile.

I'm also challenging myself to chronicle my journey so that I can see how I'm improving and connect with other sewists.

Stay tuned!