Sunday, December 29, 2013

The prodigal blogger returns

As you might have guessed (if you wondered at all) these past few months have been busy ones for me.  Life's been all about the day job, but productively so!  Sewing ground to a complete halt sometime in August, and what little "hobby time" I had thereafter went to ATCs, because they were easier to dip in and out of.  Looking back at my Flickr archive, I see that I did two ATC themed swaps in August, and one each in September, November, and December.

I did do some sewing before that, though, in July and early August, but none of that stuff got photographed.   I made a second version of vintage Butterick 6520 but was annoyed with it and to this day it hangs on my dress form, un-hemmed.   Layered over it is a rather crazy-looking Pavlova skirt, made from Ikea fabric that schmeebot sent me.  I like the skirt, but it's a bit much for the office, I think ...  

Neglected.

Two other skirts were made as well, one that didn't work due to fabric choice (more of the stiff Ikea sheeting), and one that gets worn regularly (made of my favorite, rayon challis).  I have photos of neither, of course.  (Should work on that.)

ATCs so far ... I have a strict daily production target.

December finds me with some time off, and I have been re-discovering this whole hobby thing.   ATCs take first priority (more on that later, in another post, another day)  but I have done some sewing too, making one skirt for schmeebot (which came out awesome if I do say so myself) and two skirts for me, both of which are a bit too loose in the waist, not because I have changed size but because I have forgotten all those little undocumented adjustments I apparently always made ... so I am out to capture, on paper, exactly how my ideal skirt waistband should fit.  If I can nail that, wide vistas of possibility open up before me ...

Schmeeskirt #?? ... it's corduroy!
Ladybugs from one of my early dress projects.

After such a long absence, I thought about dumping blogging altogether.  Who cares about faithful updates on my sewing progress?   Well, the answer is ... me!   Otherwise I'd really have no idea what I made this year, and which scrap fabrics I've already used for pocket and yoke facings for schmeebot's skirts. I'm also not going to worry so much about restricting myself to "only" sewing prattle.  Other stuff may appear here, if I find it useful .... cathartic .... whatever.    If you're still following along after a six-month absence presumably you'll tolerate anything I throw up here!

9 comments:

  1. Yay, you're back! Definitely don't give up on the blog and make sure you post about anything that takes your fancy. It's the only way you won't lose interest again during busy times. People are more than capable of tuning in and out as they wish and your satisfaction should be number one ;o) I hope 2014 is a healthy and happy year for you and yours!

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    1. Thanks, Marie! I definitely need to find balance in 2014.

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  2. omigosh baby hippo!!! (sewing lovely, etc.) but OMGosh BABY HIPPO!!!

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    1. Yes! (And I made an angry adult hippo later -- not as cute, obviously.) He was fun to draw, too.

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    1. You too! I've enjoyed following your blog this year, though I've been a rare commenter ... I need to change my ways!

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  4. I'm glad you're back! I guess I WILL tolerate anything you throw up here, LOL! I don't know what ATCs are, but I'm intrigued - would love to learn more about it and see some of your lovely illustrations up close (although I did have a snoop through your Flickr page).

    Happy 2014 - hope it brings you plenty of crafting time, whatever you want that to be!

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    1. ATCs are "artist trading cards" -- they're 2.5 x 3.5 inches (baseball card-sized) art cards made for swapping with other artists. I had lost the habit of drawing over the last ten years and wanted to get back to it, and ATCs have been the way.

      Happy 2014 to you too!

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    2. That's really neat! I used to do a similar thing yeeeears ago when I was into calligraphy big time. Calligraphers would send each other cards with beautifully addressed endvelopes. I still have a the collections of envelopes I received :-)

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