Musings on the Creative Process...

Some questions arose recently in conversation about blogs - why we blog, what our "niche" is - and it got me wondering about just what my "niche" is - why do I blog?  What do I have to offer?    Do I even have a "niche"?  What does my voice say, and what does it sound like to others?

I really started this blog with no idea where it would go.  Fellow sewing enthusiasts encouraged me to start a blog, and I thought it would be a great venue to document my sewing journey  - mostly for myself, to keep track of my sewing foibles and successes,  but with the (slightly veiled) hope that others would appreciate what I offered.

I relish a good read and a well-written story.  I've dabbled in, and appreciate, good photography.  I definitely love sewing!  And I thrive on creativity - on many levels.  And I'm always up for a session of sharing - learning and/or teaching.  I also like to practice compassion and encourage open-mindedness/heartedness, a lightness of BE-ing, and a few smiles and even giggles for those I interact with.  I do like to think that my blog utilizes all of those attributes, to one degree or another.  :)

I also realize that I would like to pay more attention to my writing style, as opposed to pounding out yet another post, just because I think I should share this thing that I've created, and maybe somebody out there will appreciate something about it - a helpful tip, an "aha" moment, a lead to an interesting pattern, or maybe just a pat on the back for me.... (hey, who doesn't love a pat on the back every now and then, eh?)

I am SO appreciative of the sewing tips and tricks I've picked up from other blogs - thank you to everyone out there who has helped me on this journey!  Along with all of the fabulous tips I pick up online, occasionally I hit on an idea or realization that's new to me, and I write about it, and someone else tells me that they learned something because of my writing about it, and I LOVE it when that happens!   Sometimes it's just a matter of being in the right place at the right time.   Just the other day I got an email from someone thanking me for my explanation of the welt pocket process (on a post a wrote a couple of YEARS ago) - something that's been written about a squillion times, but I wrote in a way that *I* understood it, and 3 or 4 other people apparently thought like I did and learned something new.   Cool.  :)   3 or 4 is good.

But is that really enough for a blogging "voice"?   I'm sure we've all been to that place before, where 37 people have explained something to us, and then 1 person says it in just the right way, at just the right time, and you "get it"!   In the technical aspect of the sewing world, I think that happens all the time.  I still read blogs that are directed to beginning sewists, and I read a little tidbit and have another "aha!" moment.  With all of the tutorials out there, I'm sure we all have something to learn, and many of us have something to share.

But that's not really a "voice", is it?

Which brings me back to the title of this post: "Musings on the Creative Process".  I think that's what sewing is becoming for me - it's really about the creative process as much as, if not more than, the finished result.   It's both the public and the internal voice for unravelling my creative process.   The process of finding out who I am, and how I express that - sewing really is (or can be) a way of expressing my internal beliefs of who I "am" in my physical, external presence.

Pardon me while I think out loud.  I'm coming to the realization that sewing my individualistic wardrobe is a way of melding my internal self with my external expression, and it is, quite frankly, a "coming out" in a way.  Which requires an understanding of who I am....who I am becoming....who I want to become.....

I didn't know, at the beginning, if this was going to all about sewing, but I did say in my profile (which hasn't changed since I first wrote it) that it was about the process:

"Having a dream of what I want to create is wonder-filled....having a finished product that makes me (and you) smile is delightful.....being aware of what's happening during the process is priceless." and from my blogger title: "It's about exploring and sharing my creative adventures (mostly sewing these days) ~ ~those activities that sometimes obsess, usually inspire, occasionally frustrate ~and always provide a delightful maze to wander through."

Perhaps I'm going back to the roots of my blogging experience - please bear with me as I explore this territory about the expression of the internal  through the external.  And I would love to hear from you as I do my own exploration.....

I know there are a lot of reasons why we sew - I'm curious about those of us who are really interested in bringing the unique and creative into our clothes.  I really hope to open a dialogue with those of you who care to share.....

• do you sew, and dress, to express the inner you?  
• Has sewing helped you discover/uncover who you really are?   
• Does it take courage to dress the way you really feel about yourself?
• DO you dress the way you really feel about yourself?
• Do you sew to express your own individuality, and what is it that you are expressing?  Rebelliousness?   Power?  Artistry?  Thumbing your nose at something?   Something else?
• Maybe you sew just to be able to be "on trend" and do it affordably, or just want clothes that friggin' FIT you, because nothing in retail does - I'm interested in those reasons too.  
• Or maybe you just don't want to be part of the "fast fashion" crowd - kudos to you for that!

Why do you sew?   And what is the creative process behind it?

I actually plan to really explore this, both for my own self exploration and the curiosity that makes other people explore (obsess about?) their own creative process....

Your turn....I really want to hear from you!

Nineteen Easy Pieces

Yes - 19 pieces, in a pattern rated Easy.   Okay, truth is, you don't actually use all 19 pieces in any one view, but staring at the pattern pieces and trying to make sense of how they all went together in Katharine Tilton's new dress (Butterick 5881) was most definitely a brain puzzler!  Especially when you're trying to figure out how to color block it, and wondering which piece fits where....

I started with the easiest possible step, and just made a muslin of the underdress to check for fit.  Thanks to Martha, Seams Well, and Coco, who bravely went before me, I knew that I wanted to lengthen it (by about 2" in my case - on my 5'4" frame?  Yes, this is a short dress!) and go with a smaller size than one might think based on measurements - I cut an 8.

Other changes made:

• I eliminated the front opening and it still slips easily over my head.   
• I also raised the lower armhole by about 1/2" (even after doing my usual sloping shoulder adjustment, which gives a net result of raising the armhole by almost 1")  I did not, however, make a narrow shoulder adjustment - the cut is already fairly narrow.   
• I also raised the front neckline by about 1.5".   
• After sewing it all together, I discovered that I also needed to take in the side seams, at the armscye, by about 1/2" (for a total of 1" on each side) - I tapered this to nothing about 4" down the side seam.  The reviews of the others who made this dress indicate similar issues with the fit around the armscye & bust area.  Everything else is a very loose fit, so I cut the rest of it as is, and was happy with the fit.

The next step was figuring out which fabric was going to go where, and what pieces to cut out.   I settled down for a session of pattern instruction reading to try to get it to all make sense in my brain.   But before getting too bogged down, I hit on  a rather brilliant and simple solution (if I do say so myself)!  I simply took a picture of all of the pattern pieces on the instruction sheet, enlarged it a bit, cut them all out, labeled them and figured out what went where with my little paper doll pieces.  :)   That may sound like a lot of work, but it really only took about 10 minutes, and it made everything fall into place so easily!  And probably saved at least an hour (or two) of angst and potential mistakes down the line!

Ahhh, the memories of the paper doll days -
did anyone besides me play with paper dolls when you were kids?
Or maybe you still do? ;-D

Not only was it easy to see which pieces were used in which view, and where they fit, but I was able to note my adjustments on each piece, avoiding any cutting errors (thanks for that heads up, Martha!)  Tracing the pattern pieces and knowing which fabrics to cut was a piece of cake after that - yay!  And only 11 pieces to cut for view B.  Although I did draft a couple of pockets as well.

I also eliminated the elastic gathering at the back.   Actually, I did install the elastic, even though I questioned whether I was going to like it - sure enough, I did NOT like the extra pouf it gave to my backside, so I removed it.  All 4 pieces of elastic.  Installed using the zig-zaggy lightning stitch.   *sigh*  Luckily, it was another of the gorgeous days we've been having, and I was able to do my unpicking while sitting on the front porch in perfect outside light, watching the peaches grow :).   I was also lucky in that the unpicked stitches didn't show on the fabric at all!

I shopped my stash for this one, and found two pieces of linen, and some batik cotton - I never would have shopped specifically for a combo like this - the magic that can happen when you're searching for a match in stash is such a happy thing at times!  :)

Laying out the chosen pieces:

(I did see something I wanted to change when I did this -

I  dumped the small brown square in the back, 

replacing it with a piece of the batik)

In this view, the entire underdress (the silvery/grey linen) is one long piece, extending from neckline to the lower hem.   The other two views have a shorter underdress, with extra layers of skirt attached.  The grey pieces in the bodice are actually part of the overdress - the bodice and the upper skirt are two layers of fabric.

Sewing everything together went very smoothly - the pieces are perfectly drafted, and fit together beautifully.   The instructions are very clear - good job done on this one by Katherine and Butterick!

Surely y'all know by now that I loves me my pockets, and this dress, in its casualness, just screamed out for pockets to me.   The pattern has these quirky little gaps in the seams between the bodice and the skirt, so I added one small pocket inside one of the gaps:

I did this by stitching up a simple patch pocket, attaching the top of the pocket to the overskirt, then lining it up and patching the 3 lower edges to the underdress.

I also added a pocket at the side seam, using a similar process.   I left an opening in the side seam of the overskirt, and attached the pocket opening to the front piece of the overskirt, and patched the rest of the pocket on to the underdress.   A bit unconventional, but I do have functioning pockets!

You can see the opening of the pocket in this shot.

You also get a sense of the line of the back without the elastic gathering.

It still has a bit of "flounce", but not as extreme as it was with the elastic gathers.

Another change I made was to eliminate the center front opening and buttonholes - the dress slips on easily without buttons, and I'm all for simplifying, especially when it comes to eliminating the full-on plackets and buttonholes!   Unfortunately, I didn't think this through when I was cutting the overdress pieces of the bodice - they meet in the center without overlapping, and then you add the center band for the buttons and buttonholes.   This meant that I ended up with no seam allowances at the center front!

My solution was to butt the edges together, lay fusible interfacing over them, and then zig zag over the butted seam.

Finished, with buttonhole-less buttons :)

Oh, one other change - the pattern calls for a neck facing;

I made a binding instead.

Styled two ways (and worn both ways the same day I finished it!

(I should probably also mention that, given the linen fabric, I do look 

a bit rumpled after being out and about for a few hours.)

The funky, edgy look:

And the more casual look:

Oh yes - the border print bits on the bottom are Marcy Tilton silk screens.  I'm thinking of adding just a couple more, so the dress isn't completely finished yet.

Bottom Line?  I like this pattern WAY more than I thought I would!  I can see it in a much lighter-weight fabric, maybe even a sheer overlay, and I can also see it with sleeves as more of a winter-weight dress.  It's definitely a winner in the comfy-casual category, especially given the wide array of creative options inherent in the design.   Thumbs way up!

And yes....I think it's true....in spite of the better part of a lifetime declaring myself a non-dress person....I do believe I'm turning into a lover of dresses!   The times, they are a-changing....

Another Successful Me-Made Week :)

Loving the Me-Made-for-a-Month concept.   Seriously, Loving it!  I'm definitely choosing my outfits with more consideration, and dressing "up" a bit more, even when I'm planning on spending most of my day at home.  I'm ready to pop out to the grocery store at a moment's notice (hey, I might even find an excuse to go out and about!)  And I'm sure we all know that when we feel better about how we look, we project that, and strangers smile a bit more, and a few more feel-good vibes end up getting spread around.   If we help spread a few more smiles around, just by dressing a little bit more consciously, then who's to argue with that?

Here's this week's roundup:

Day 11 -
Au Bonheur Asymmetric T,
rtw pants

Day 12 - Mother's Day.

I spent a good portion of the day tending the garden in memory of Mom -

along with teaching me to sew, I spent many cherished hours with her in our vegie garden as a child.   She instilled in me the love of fresh vegies, along with the pleasure of getting my hands dirty.  :)   "It's CLEAN dirt", she used to say.   

Wearing (again) my Marcy Tilton French Housewife dress.

Day 13 - A jeans work day.

Wearing the first tshirt I ever made (pre-blog, and I'm too lazy to look up the pattern)

and the first jeans I ever made (Jalie Jeans)

Day 14 - Another version of Shams' tablecloth skirt,

blogged here

Days 15 and 16 were 2 more jeans work days.

These took an immediate claim to Favorite Jeans right after making them, 

and I take a rather perverse pleasure in the fact that they are now really showing their wear - the knees are thinning, they have a few stains, and they really shouldn't even be worn as work jeans anymore!  (I do see clients while wearing them!)

And finishing off the week, it's Theme Friday!

"Hats" is the theme for the day, and not only did the weather cooperate,

but so did my hair (bad hair day).  Perfect!

Wearing Decades of Style Collar Perfection blouse - pre-blog, and

rtw pants.

I'm still identifying wardrobe holes, and already looking forward to next year's MMM, when I might be able to set a realistic goal of wearing ALL me-made clothes for a month!

I Don't Much Like Bright Shiny Obj - Oh Look!! Some Glitter!!!

Really.  You won't often find me wearing much of anything bright and shiny, other than a bit of jewelry, perhaps a touch of metallic thread - I'm just a bit more of the earth than I am of the stars.   Except for those times when my mind is wandering through the galaxies, but that's another matter....

But still.  How easy it can be to get distracted by the glittery baubles that jump into our path, squealing "Look at me!  Pet Me!  Touch me!   Sew with me!"  Right?   Not that I ever actually bought and sewed with any of it, that is....until.... A friend asked me to make her a flashy, over-the-top, steampunk bustle.   And then another one.   And my little Etsy shop was born.  And even though I will likely never wear this sort of flash, sometimes it's just flat out FUN sewing with the metallic, the shiny, the polyester and velvet and tulle and sparkles.   And although I've never before been much of a fan of raw edges in garments, with the bustles and costumes I'm really feeling a penchant for slicing and dicing and shredding and letting the raw edges flit and fray and live their own life...

One bonus of sewing with fabrics like this is that people often end up with them in their stash and have nothing to make with them - sometimes it's a "What was I thinking?!" matter, sometimes it's just leftovers from a costume or some other project - whatever the reason, my darling friends find a bit of glitter in their stash, think of me, and say "Aha!  It's bustle material!  Dump it on give it to Jilly Be!  And I happily fondle it, knowing I have material for another over-the-top concoction that I get to dream up :)

Here's my latest creation, custom made for a client who is making articulated fairy wings (!) to go with it.

Back view, inside and outside - This one is reversible!:

Side View:

Once I (thought I) was done with the new client's bustle, she asked me to embellish a bra that was to be part of her costume.   Oh goodie!  More flash and glitter!   I thought this would be a simple fix.  Hah!   (Note to Self:  Do NOT, repeat NOT, agree to work on someone else's sewn item before you've had a chance to actually inspect it.)   After replacing the nasty, scratchy, el cheapo ties on the original bra, and then repairing the poorly sewn beads, (all of which took WAY longer than my embellishing!) I was finally able to get to the fun stuff.   Here's the result:  (Note:  my dress form is about 2....or 3....sizes larger than the client)

The client is going to add the wings, which she is making herself.   She has promised me pictures, and I hope I'll have permission to show y'all the completed costume!

How fun can sewing be, eh?   Now it's back to more practical stuff   (i.e., sewing for moi...)   Oh, and a gift for a special someone - another creative and too-much-fun goody, I hope!

Can you tell that sometimes I just love to sew?  ;-D

Oh, and by the way, in case you're wondering about that friend who got me started on the bustle-making, she wears hers to steampunk events, where she sells her art - the most amazingly awesome snowglobes you have ever seen!   I DO hope you get a chance to see them in person, but in the meantime, here's second best, a link to her website, Camryn Forrest Designs

The Wearing of the Me Mades (Week 2)

Every now and then you have one of those days, right?  Well, It's been a week.  Yes, it has.  Not only did I not sew; I didn't accomplish much of anything else either!   The good news:  I still managed to wear me-made every day, AND took pictures!  Well, I missed one day, but that day doesn't count, because I wore the same thing two days in a row.   My jammies.   Told you it was a week.  The further good news:  I broke through it all today, and had a marvelous day at work.   The sun is shining on me again :)

Day 4:  With 2 of my wonderful women, catching up on life :)

Wearing rtw top, and my "Basklecloth Skirt"
blogged here.

Day 5:  Hanging around home - thought I'd get out and about,
so I dressed for it.   Never happened. 

Burda Style Tneck top, from November '11
blogged here

Day 6: Looks a lot like Day 5.  Almost is

With Cat

Katherine Tilton Zip T, blogged here,
and Marcy T pants V8712 - I didn't blog this particular pair,
because I've already made them enough times I have no more to say!

Day 7:  Managed to get out and about,

because I had an appointment and had to.

Marcy T (yes, MORE Marcy!) Jacket V8795

blogged here

and Marcy T pants (yes, AGAIN!)

Days 8 and 9:

This was my view of the world for those 2 days.

The Psychedelic Crossword PJs

Day 10 - Feeling 100% again!!!   Yay!!!

Good thing, because I had a client to see

This is Theme Friday - todays theme was Sewing/Creating Space

Rather than follow trend and pose in my actual sewing room, I recruited my 

two mannequins to model a couple of bustles with me.

I'm a bit rumpled after a day of trucking around the woods (yes, dressed like that - my work does take me into some interesting environments sometimes.....)

Wearing LaFred Thalia Pants

What I've learned this week (besides a whole lot of life lessons), thanks to the Me-Made experience:

I can easily wear the same ole' thing 2, even 3 days in a row, if I have no real reason to dress differently.  Sewing for myself had definitely upped my wardrobe and appearance consciousness, and Me-Made-May is taking it to another level.   This is a good thing.  :)

I'm already identifying holes in the wardrobe.  Need a bit more color in tops, since I prefer to wear softer colors (not black) when seeing clients.  It's an energy thing.

Thank goodness we are having some major Weather Variety!  I would be doing a whole lot of repetition if this were happening mid-winter or mid-summer!

I've already done several bags full of closet and drawer purging.  Most is being re-homed, some is slated for ripping and upcycling.   Closets and drawers both have a lot more breathing room :).

I'm still surprised that I'm managing to take a picture every day, and other than the 2 jammie days, I've repeated some items, but no complete outfits.  Yet.   Still LOVING the whole concept!!!

Thanks to Zoe, and to ALL of the MMM participants who are making this process such an inclusive and fun challenge!  I'm loving seeing all of the daily outfits on the flickr page!

And I'm hoping to get caught up on a bunch of sewing this weekend :)

Me-Made-May - It's Friday!

Why did I wait so long to participate in a Me-Made-May???  Nearly 500 participants this time around!  Had I known how fun and inspirational it can be, I would have jumped in before now.   I thought that it required wearing  something you made every day of the month, AND taking a daily picture (not enough me-made clothes and taking a daily pic sounded like WAY too much work...)   Wrong on both counts!

Although I have vowed to be wearing at least one me-made item all the time during the month, I still don't think I'll be able to take a daily picture, and that's fine by me...you get to make up your own "rules" - my kind of group!

 My plan is to post what pics I have on Fridays; here are this week's shots.  People are getting creative with the concept of a Friday Theme - this week it's Water.

Day 1 (It was only Wednesday, but I jumped right in with the water theme):

Style Arc Linda Pants

Style Arc Island Ali top

Day 2:

Marcy Tilton V8813

aka The Lil Ole Lady Dress Gone Wild

Day 3 (Water Theme Friday)

Looking for some bigger water.....

Style Arc Bobbie Bask Skirt

(the tops are RTW)

The heck with it - I'll just stand in the fountain.

So far, I've separated out the me-mades from the rtw in my closet, and that's giving me a much better idea about what needs to be re-homed, recycled, or ripped and re-made.    So many of my older, rtw clothes are really NOT in good shape, other than the nicer items, which don't fit well (amazing what you discover about fit when you start sewing, isn't it?)  I wish fabric shopping weren't so darn fun, because I seriously have more than enough in my closet and stash to last me.....[ahem] a rather long time....

I'm also actually WEARING clothes that have been a bit neglected (translation:  skirts and dresses).  That's partly the weather - high 80's 3 days in a row!   As much as I love the tropics, that's just too danged hot for here; I'm wilting....  Standing in the fountain was yummy on the feet :)

Oh yeah, and taking silly pictures that aren't just showcasing a particular pattern or garment is another perk, and it actually makes the whole picture-taking thing more enjoyable :)

Another nice aspect of all this is that I'm discovering new-to-me sewists and blogs, new patterns, and even new pattern companies!  Like this Japanese company - I'm really tempted to download a couple of their patterns:  Tamanegi-Kobo  (click on the "Patterns in English" link, and translate).  I really like the Sophia jacket, and check out the sleeves on the Fujiko top (set-in on the front, raglan in the back - unusual!)

Sophia Jacket - Love the collar, lose the belt though.

Looking forward to playing with my wardrobe and seeing just how far I can stretch what I have this month, meeting new people, filling myself with new inspiration....and doing some major wardrobe reassessment :)

And you?  Have you or are you participating in MMM this year?  Or have you in the past? What is or was your motivation, and what did you take away from the experience?

Off to do some errands before the afternoon heat starts to wilt me even more....

Happy Sewing, Everyone!  :)

PR Wknd Shopping Aftermath + Jumping on the Bandwagon.....

The Me-Made-May bandwagon, that is.    And dang if it isn't getting crowded!!!  313 participants on Zoe's site as of this writing!   I've not done this before, but I'm pretty sure that I  have enough me-made items in my closet to make it through the month, so here's my promise:

I, Jilly of jillybejoyful, sign up as a particpant in Me-Made-May '13.  I endeavor to wear at least one handmade item at all times, all day each day for the duration of May 2013.   There WILL be repeats, and I highly doubt that I'll manage a picture every single day, but you'll have to trust me when I say I did it.  (I'm inherently honest, really!)  I know I won't be posting a pic every day, but I'll do my best at a weekly update.

Thanks, Zoe, for starting this inspirational challenge and for keeping it going!   I couldn't imagine that I'd ever participate when I first heard about it a couple of years ago, but now that my me-made wardrobe has grown, I think it will only take a bit of conscious awareness for me to make sure I make it through the month successfully :)   And hopefully point to any holes I have in my wardrobe, and set to work filling them in :)

Now then, about that shopping....

I thought I didn't buy much at all (and compared to many, I'm sure I didn't!), but when I gathered everything together I realized that I have a rather happy little haul...

Britex offered a free tote bag to all of the PR participants who visited the store.   Not only did I visit, but I actually BOUGHT something!   Just a touch of ribbon...only to find out that nothing on the notions floor was included in the 10% discount they were offering us.   Ah well, I like the ribbon :).   I also got some of the fusible cotton Japanese trim from Sandra (people rave about this!) in black and in white.  And some horsehair canvas (for bags) and a copper remnant (for bustles) from Stonemountain.

More Stonemountain Remnants - a particularly yummy thin wool, and a lovely cotton, both with unknown destinations:

The black wool gauze that had me rushing to Stonemountain first thing in the morning (yep, we cleaned them out of this one)  Even the selvedge is lovely :)

And then, since I had to go to Marin to pick up something from my Vet, who just happens to be right across the street from Dharma Trading, I popped in to get a set of the Colorhue dyes used in the Wabi-Sabi technique I recently blogged about.   And a bag of silk remnants - they bag up their remnants and sell them at 1/3 off - a great deal for projects like this!   My bag contained various weights of charmeuse, habotai, gauze, chiffon, flat crepe - I'm itching to do some more dyeing & weaving!

I actually tried and failed to spend a little more $$ - I finally got in to the Vogue website last night and put 2 patterns in my cart, but it was still running so slowly I wanted to wait until this morning to figure out a third (3 is the magic number - 4 bumps you into the next shipping charge).  By today everything I wanted was sold out.   Sold out!?  I guess that's what happens when they put the brand new releases on sale the day they're released.  Ah well, I can be patient until the next sale rolls around.   I really wanted to make up Sandra's new pants though!  They have just the sort of shape that I like, a unique way of puddling at the ankles, no elastic at the waistband, and they're one-seam pants that fit well.   Must get!

I wave goodbye to all of the PR attendees who are taking off - do come back, and next time, I hope to spend a little more time with some of you!

**UPDATE**  Before I knew that everyone was having trouble getting in to the Vogue site, I  emailed a report to them stating the troubles I was having, and said that I hoped the problems would get resolved before the sale ended.   I just got an email back from them apologizing for the difficulties, and they told me they would honor the sale price for me.

Sometimes it pays to speak up :)

Pattern Review Day, 2013!

Yesterday I attended my first "official" Pattern Review event - in San Francisco this year (yay!).  I was really looking forward to meeting a number of PR & blogging folks from all over, but the first day was SO jam-packed with activities that finding a moment here and there for meet & greets was harder than one might think!

Sandra Betzina was the guest speaker - if you've ever heard her speak, you know how delightfully firey her style is - FILLED with tips and tricks & show & tells & answers & hints & advice and unfinished sentences and and and.....always a fun time with her!  She has a couple of new patterns out - not only were the new Vogues JUST released, but they're on sale at Club BMV through Sunday - right after being released!   If you can make it in to the site (I haven't had much luck yet...overloaded?), check them out!  I love her new pants pattern, and plan on adding that to my stash :).

I'm pretty sure that Sandra casually mentioned Stonemountain and Daughter approximately 73 times during her talk; clearly that's her go-to destination for most of the garments she designs.   Saturday was the official "shop til you drop" day for the PR weekend.   After Sandra's talk, I have a suspicion that most of the out-of-towners who were thinking of spending their shopping day in SF changed their plans so that the first stop was Stonemountain in Berkeley (my personal local favorite...by far!).   I already planned on zipping over there in the morning for one specific fabric that Sandra had showed, and I'm glad I got there early!   This is what the line looked like about an hour after they opened:

That was maybe 1/4 of the PR folks who were flooding the store!

I was really delighted to finally meet and spend some time with one of my favorite bloggers and PR members, Mary of Biblioblog:

You may notice the twin MarcyTilton-with-hook-and-eye-tape jackets (totally unplanned - it's no wonder we knew from the get-go that we would be friends!)

Here's Wendy (one of my local BABES babes) with her pile of fabric (Mary hadn't started shopping yet), backed by a couple of the friendly and efficient employees madly trying to keep everything moving.

Backing up to Friday night, the gang took over a large area of Buca de Beppo in SF - they serve family style Italian meals, and I admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the tastiness of (almost) everything we were served.  Lots of raucous laughter and cheers as raffle prizes were handed out and new friendships were being formed (that is, if you could hear enough over the noise to have an actual conversation lol!) - but once again, I somehow managed to NOT hook up with a number of people I had been hoping to meet - y'all are going to have to come back!

It's always nice to spend time with a bunch of other sewists, and in spite of the fact that I'm not normally much of a big crowd lover, I'm really happy that I  attended this year.  :)  Some of the rest of you are probably still out there closing down the fabric stores - I hope you enjoyed your experience in the Bay Area, and if I didn't meet you, just give me a shout out the next time you're here, ok?

Once I left Stonemountain and settled back in to normal errands, everywhere I turned I found that people were commenting on what a great day they were having.  Was it the Sunshine?   Something else in the air?   Just what I was attracting/seeing?  It has, indeed, been a very good day :).   After running around town taking care of the Stuff of Life, I tended my overgrown-but-still-beautiful garden for awhile.   I'll leave you with a few shots that I just took, which will hopefully explain why I'm going to go back outside to enjoy a cuppa out there.  :)

Happy Weekend, all!   :)

A Perfect Day (Attitude is [almost] Everything)....

Today was the 1st anniversary of my darling Mum's passing.  I did no sewing, but I have Mom to thank for all the sewing that I have done.   So this post is a little bit about sewing, a little bit about gratitude, and a little bit about attitude.  And of course, a lot of bit about Mom :)

Mom was the reason I sewed in the first place.   As with many women of her generation, sewing was a part of life, and  I was so grateful that she passed the practice on to me.  :)   Even though I gave it up for many years, she was, all those years later, the reason I started sewing again - so that I could make clothes that would fit her altered body and her special needs.   And whaddaya know, the sewing bug bit me so hard that I haven't bought a piece of RTW clothing for myself since!  I (theoretically) started sewing for her - but over the past years I've replaced half of my RTW wardrobe with clothes I've stitched myself.  :)

The death of a loved one...and the anniversary of the death, can bring up so many feelings.   I could have been feeling sad, steeped in memories of the past, but instead I've had a remarkable joy-filled day :).     Yes, I miss my Mom - we were close, and I was her caregiver for the last 5 years of her life - 3 relatively easy and wonder-filled years, which gradually got a bit more stressful, and ultimately quite time-consuming by the 5th year....but always filled with wonder, and blessings of many sorts, from many sources.

I set aside this day as a day in honor of Mom, of what she represented to me, and the (usually) positive and uplifting way she lived her life.   I began the day with a lovely energetic clearing and meditation,  and this set the tone for a day of blessed reflection and accomplishment.

I knew that I wanted to spend the day in the garden - another passion passed on from her. Whenever we lived in a place that had a plot of land, we had a garden, and fresh fruits and vegies on the table.   She was often busy doing something with her hands, something creative, be it sewing, cooking, gardening, artsy-craftsy fun  and creative projects - and she worked full-time!   My father also had a strong (somewhat rebellious) creative side, so I think I came by my own somewhat unique sense of style quite organically.  ;-).  

Today.  I cleared all of the vegie patches in the yard and readied them for planting - lettuces and spinach and chard went in today; tomatoes, tomatillos and peas will follow tomorrow, and root vegies will go in soon after.

And then, as the day was winding down,  I remembered that today was the finale of the Great British Sewing Bee!   If you read my last post, you already know how much I love this show, but what makes it even more special is my heritage - Mom is from England; she was the quintessential WWII War Bride - she was in the WAAF, and Dad was a Sargent in the US Army. They met at a dance, and she followed him back to the U.S.   (with enough $$ for a return ticket back to England, just in case, she was fond of saying.....)  They married, somewhere along the line I came in to the picture, and they continued to dance together for many years.

When she came to America, one item she brought with her was her darling little Singer Featherweight, which she sewed most of my clothes on as a child :)

Sad to say, this is not "The" Feather she used, and subsequently taught me  to sew on - some time after she passed it on to me I gave it up in exchange for newer, bigger, faster, "better", [headdesk] but I mended my error in spades once I started sewing again.

(See Featherweight Spa Treatment Post

And now, I'm off to watch The Great British Sewing Bee finale (still rooting for Ann, even though I really appreciate all of the finalists!!), and lift a (rare for me, but this is a special day) glass of wine in Mom's memory.

May we all have someone to pass our love of sewing on to, and may they appreciate the gift even half as much as I appreciate the gifts from my darling Mother.   The gift of a passion shared, and received, never stops giving. :)