Monday, March 23, 2015

Am I there yet?

The other day I was discussing my sewing skills with a friend, and she asked me what level I considered my sewing skills at. My answer has always been beginner, which was at the tip of my tongue, but what came out was, I don't know...
It made me step back and reassess my skills, and I asked myself the question, what am I, what do I want to be, and am I there yet?
Here are the answers that I've come up with.
1. What am I? I am a sewist, a seamstress, a maker, a doer. I'm not a sewer, as that translates to sewage, lol.
2. What do I want to be? Everything that I already am, plus, a drafter, a designer, and a creator.
3. Am I there yet? Unfortunately, no, not yet. But I'm on an incredible journey that has as many bends and curves as a river, and I hope it never ends. I hope there will always be something I want to add to the list, to keep me from "getting there", because I'm loving the journey so much.
The day I started fiddling with my little "cheapest, most basic machine", I never thought I would get to where I am. I threw in the towel three times on my journey (with gaps as long as over a year), but my passion for sewing, even though I didn't know how, kept me coming back and trying again. And thanks to many people along the way, I learned to sew.
I no longer consider myself "beginner". Not that that's a bad place to be. It's a great place. But what's even greater is seeing the progress one has made.
I don't know what to call myself now, I've never been good at rating my own work, I guess a person can have problems with being too humble, because they sell themselves short. I guess intermediate or something along that line.
And someday, maybe someday, I can sew up my own designs, that I can completely call my own. Oh, sure, I can tweak a pattern, or even make fairly drastic changes, but I always need a pattern to start. And that's ok. For now.
While I'm in, I'd like to share how my Annnabelle dress from Violet Field Threads is coming along. The girls and my house are not allowing me much sewing time, but little by little I'm getting it done. Here's a pic of how far I am. Thanks for stopping in, and I hope I inspire you to learn a new skill as others have inspired me!

Thursday, March 19, 2015

My Jamie dress with Circle skirt.

So I know this post is looong overdue, but sometimes life happens differently than you plan, right? Anywho, I got my dress done!! Here it is! The Jamie dress, with a two modifications, a higher neckline, and a circle skirt.
I opted for a circle skirt instead of the gathered skirt that originally comes with the pattern, simply because it's less bulk around my waist, where I have enough bulk already, lol. 
I also finished the bottom of the circle skirt with piping, since I don't own a serger and circle skirts can be difficult to finish without one. The piping worked great though, and not only adds some body to the skirt, but also an awesome pop of brightness to a dark fabric. I added the lace at the waist band, because I love lace! Aaaand because I wanted to enter it into Scientific Seamstress' lace it up challenge, :) 
March in Canada isn't all that warm, and the wind that was blowing was like ice, so I was working really hard to make it look warmer than it really was. Except in this picture, lol. Thanks to Jeanine for taking the photos!!

I'm super excited for a number of reasons. One, it's a dress for me! Two, it fits me well, and accentuates my curves (in the right places, lol). And three, I actually finished. See, I have this strange obsession, I have to finish my current project before I start another. No UFO's for me, lol. Come's the the slightly OCD territory. I also can't sew with a messy house. Wish I could, because I'd get sooo much more sewing done, but I can't. So I get up early, rush to tidy the house, and then sew, if there's time. I usually get an hour or two in the evening after my littles and hubby are asleep.

Hopefully I can get my Annabelle dress done for the next post, so thanks for stopping by and don't forget to come on back!