Machines in the shop, time for reflection?

I am at home in bed resting today because I have a cold. And I am super bummed that I had to cancel dinner plans with some friends tonight because of it. I hate being sick!!

And because both my sewing machine and my serger are in the shop any way.

And my sewing room is still not back in full working order.

I am happy to report that the walls are back in! But now I have to make some decisions about what to do with that room and I have basically no budget....... hoping a creative solution strikes me soon.

About my machines no worries, no major problems, just cleaning and tune up and in the case of my serger some minor repairs. Keeping your machines in good working order is important. They need love and attention. Which has had me reflecting on the fact that I probably don't take good enough care of myself.

I fall into the trap that many women fall into. My family, my house and even my sewing machines are often higher on my priority list than I am. I find it hard to balance making sure that everyone has what they need to be in good working order and finding some time for myself.

However I am getting better at it. I have officially gotten over feeling guilty that my 3 year old daughter is in full time pre-school even though I am not working. She loves it and it makes me a better mother to have a little time to focus on the other things in my life. But just what should those other things be? In 2010 I made some BIG mistakes. They have been hard lessons to learn but I really have learned them.

I have spent my entire life trying to figure out what I want to be. See this previous post for more on that. But I think I have finally settled on the fact that I am what I am supposed to be right now. No more waiting to figure it out! No more trying to be better, or more. I am enough, my life is really actually pretty darn good. Why do I keep rocking the boat and trying new things?

So here are my resolutions (some of them are just realizations that I need to keep in mind), starting today. Well okay maybe after I get over this cold.

• Eat less junk and get more exercise (there is a rule that says if you are making resolutions this has to be one of them - I felt obligated and I need to actually do this)
• Take better care of myself (see above as actions steps) and do not feel guilty about actually doing this.
• Make an effort to visit my family more. (I have spent the last week with my mother, husband and daughter so I have a good start on this one). 
• Spend more time with my friends. I think technology tends to isolate us and therefore we need to be mindful that 1 actual visit with a friend is worth a lot more than a few Face-book exchanges.
• Get my sewing room back in working order and make some of the stuff I have plans to make. (I started on the shirt for my hubby but sadly did not get it finished before we set off for Disney World) 
• Finish shirt for Eric by 1/6/11
• Start on fancy dress for party on 1/31/11
• Figure out how to take better pictures with my new camera.
• Stop daydreaming about the things that could be and focus on all the wonderful things that I do have right now!
• Give myself a break and just live life. Yes I may have goals of volunteering and all sorts of other things but right now I need to focus on the small things in my life that have been over looked. And I have to some how balance this with the rest of my resolutions. 

I think that the downside to modern life is that there are all these expectations to do more and be more and life a big full life. There are just so many options and so much out there that it can be really overwhelming to feel like you have to keep up with all of it.

But as I sit here contemplating my attempts at bigger and more over this year I realize it made me less happy not more. I have also realized that these "expectations" have been placed on me by me and no one else really. So as I make these early resolutions I think that 2011 is going to be the year of less. Less pressure, less stress and hopefully a little less belly and thighs. I can't give up all my dreams.

I hope you had a super great holiday! We had a WONDERFUL time at Disney World. It was not at all relaxing but it was tons and tons of fun! And yes it was crowded but we had a great time any way.

Happy New Year! Yes I know I am early but this year I am really looking forward to a fresh start.

Peace Out - C

Does anything ever go as planned?

We were supposed to have guests all weekend. Hubby's best friend from high school lives in Germany with his wife and daughter. They were planning to be here Friday through Monday. But due to weather they missed their flight out of Zurich and through the wisdom of Delta (!?!?) and weird security they have not been able to get another flight to see us. They were going to go from here to Chicago to see family. But Delta now says they cannot lay over in Atlanta and is making them go straight on to Chicago. Of course this is the year we decided to stay south for the winter and are not going to Chicago to see our family. Major Bummer.......

On the sewing front, Eric asked me to make him a shirt for Christmas. I have made him several short sleeve shirts but have never made him a long sleeve shirt. So I am going to give it a try. I am using McCall's M6044. I am hoping it turns out well. It is similar to the short sleeve pattern I use for him however, I did have to make the sleeves each a full 2 inches longer than the pattern. No wonder store bought clothes rarely fit him right. I buy him a large tall and for this I cut a medium and lengthened the sleeves. I hope it works out right. The fabric is cotton and it the phases of the moon. I was the most scientific fabric I could find. Poor guy he picked it out back in August and I still have not made the shirt.

The bigger problem is that this is how far I have gotten.....

Yes you are right this is a rather sad pile of cut out pieces. Because of holiday plans tonight and tomorrow night are about all the time I have left to have any chance of finishing this before Christmas. I guess there is a chance it will happen. Anyone know any elves who work cheap?

I am looking forward to my January sewing plans. I plan to sew only for myself all month long. Not for my family, not for friends, for myself. I need some new clothes! And I may have an excuse to make a fancy party dress for an event on Jan. 31st. I LOVE fancy party dresses and have been looking for a reason to make a wintery one for a long long time. So dreaming about all the fun things I want to make for myself has distracted me from finishing this shirt for my hubby. But don't worry I bought him some back up gifts just for this very reason. And he will get his shirt soon enough.

Have a great weekend!
Peace Out - C

What did you think you were going to be when you grew up?

When I was young I often contemplated what I was and was not going to be when I grew up. I never really could settle on a profession. I toyed with the traditional Doctor or Lawyer. I thought a lot about be a mechanic and regret not looking into that option. However, I really wanted to be an artist but was convinced that was a hobby not a practical profession and never really pursued that route either.

This is me in High School,
full of hope and confusion. 

One thing I was sure of was that I was never going to get married and I was never going to live anywhere near my parents. Well I was basically wrong all the way around on what I would want out of life as I got older.

I did get married and I have to say it is on the short list of my VERY wise decisions. I was also wise to hold out for the right person to marry. My husband is fantastic and is one of the few steady things in my life. I tease him for the fact that he never seems to change while I am a swirling tornado of change around him. But maybe it really is his stability and steadiness that I admire.

I do not live near my parents. And this is one I might change if I could. My dad died several years ago so the door is shut on that one. But my mom lives about an 11 hour drive or short plane ride away. And I admit I do not make enough effort to visit her as often as I could. Hum... New Years Resolutions may be my next post. At this time we cannot move closer to her. So for now this is a moot point as well.

So what is my point? I am back to wanting to be an artist. I have tried practical all sorts of different ways and all I can say is that I am not practical and trying to be a person I am not has not served me well over the years. So, what steps am I going to take towards this new dream? Well for once they are going to be small ones. I typically take the "GO BIG or go home!" approach to life and that is not working out either.

My first step is to give myself the gift of time. If I am not a money making artist in the next few years that is ok. I need to spend time looking at the world and figuring out what sort of art I want to do. I have always preferred making and doing things rather than your traditional "desk job". And I hate sitting in front of a computer all day. I know ironic I am sitting here now writing this.

For now my main "job" is being a housewife and a mother. And I am going to work on doing both of those better. And maybe just some peaceful living of life will point me in the right direction. I have spent my entire life feeling lost and out of place. I am done feeling that way. I am exactly where I am supposed to be doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing.

In case you are interested several of the items that were left after the craft show have been listed in my Etsy shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/stemstallkids.

And just for you dear readers if you order something this week - before I shut the shop for vacation -  you get %15 off your entire purchase. Here is the coupon code: friends15off just enter it when you are checking out.

Have a great day! Do something just for you today.

Peace Out - C

Show was great! Soon starts VACATION!

The show was great on Friday and Saturday. Here is what my booth looked like for those of you who did not get a chance to come say hi. And those of you who did, it was so nice to see you!

The space I was given was not exactly what I had envisioned but I made it work. And  all the other vendors in my room were extremely nice so that made things go more smoothly.

Business was brisk on Friday night, but Saturday was slower than expected. Over all I sold a fair amount of items and had a good time. And I only bought 1 thing for myself which shows some serious self restraint if you ask me.

Now, am I going to make a career of craft shows? No I really do not think I am. It served its purpose. I wanted to clear out the stock pile of fabric that I had and move on. And that was accomplished, mostly. I have a few aprons left as well as lots of flowers and headbands. I had 40 sets of napkins and I have 10 left. I am working on listing all the remaining items on Etsy. I also have one more custom order to finish up. And as soon as I am done with that I will officially be on vacation. Ok as much as a housewife and mother ever gets to go on vacation. Wednesday is my goal for this.

I think I am actually going to take a possibly permanent break from trying to make my sewing into a business. I don't think the timing is right. Or maybe I just am not meant to be a business woman.

I plan to keep sewing but just for myself, family and friends. And only things I want to do. I also hope to try some new things and expand my skills. I plan to spend some time learning my craft. I know I am good at what I know how to do but I want to expand my abilities.

For now I am feeling like being a housewife and mother is enough for me. I have tried to do more this year and things have just not worked out as I had hoped. It has been a rough year. I think I need to just make my plans smaller and focus on the good things I have. One thing I have realized this year is that I do have great people in my life who I am very thankful for!

What does this mean for the future of the blog? Well, I don't know. One possibility is that I write a few more posts and shut it down. The other is that I change the focus since I am changing what I am doing. I am not totally sure yet. Any suggestions?

Peace Out - C

Trying to not be a Scrooge this year.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. We had a low key time around our house. And in an unusual move for me we started to get ready for Christmas. In recent years I have been a bit of a Scrooge. For many reasons really but mostly because I feel like a bit of a hippocrate (spelling?) since we do not participate in the religious aspects of Christmas.

We put up the tree and made cookies. I know I know, Thanksgiving is supposed to be more than just the start of the Christmas Season, but hey it was just us. We did what we were in the mood to do.

I saw "The History of Christmas" on the History Channel the other day and according to it, there has always been basically two Christmases. One secular and one religious.

According to our good friends (though we have never met) at The History Channel the secular holiday has always been basically about hanging out with your friends, eating, drinking and having a good old time. Sounds good to me! I am not the only one who ignores the religious aspects of the holiday and admits to just enjoying the cheerful part of it. Gotta love America, we even have the right to "celebrate" Christmas the way we want to or not and none of us can agree on how to do it.

Speaking of the "Holidays" ... I am all packed up and ready to head on over to the Decatur Holiday Marketplace at Clairmont Elementary. Should be lots of fun! There will be over 100 craft and art booths, food and music. So if you are around this weekend stop on by tonight 5:30 - 9:30 or tomorrow from 10:00 - 8:00. It is going to be a long couple of days, seeing some familiar faces would be nice. Plus you can check out the market and support some local artists while getting some Christmas (of holiday of your choice) shopping done. Or if you are like me buy a bunch of stuff for yourself ;)

I am proud of myself for planning well and not being uber stressed here at the last minute. My brilliant hubby helped me set up a mock booth the other night and it made me feel tons better. I was worried that my booth would look all sad and pitiful and I was wrong. It is going to be great. Seriously it will be at least 3/4 assed (you know rather than 1/2 assed) which is acceptable to me these days. Hey I am not Martha Stewart.

Since I had a little time today I started on the Hot Buttered Toast apron that a friend of mine special ordered as a gift for her mother. The nice thing is I had it all cut out from when I was making aprons for the festival and had just put it to the side.

Back when I cut this one out I planned for it to have a ruffle edge. So here is the beginning of the ruffling process. I wanted it to be a subtle detail and not detract from the overall fabulousness of the fun fabric and the fun nature of the design of the apron. So in the interest of laziness and simplicity I finished the bottom edge of the ruffle with a rolled hem - napkin edge finish. Super easy - if you have a serger. Make sure you are using a single needle and remove your stitch finger to get this finished edge. If you have questions about how to set up your serger for this, just ask!

Then I changed up my serger settings and used the serger to create the ruffle. It is a simple change. But you have to put the stitch finger back in and use two needles. Again if you want more details on how to do this serger technique let me know. But I still pull out my manual and use it for the settings just about every time. I also make notes right in the book about how to make it work better.A ruffle made on the serger is more subtle than doing a ruffle by hand out using a ruffler attachment on your sewing machine. You do have less control over what the ruffle will look like. But serger ruffles are predictable and that is what I wanted.

Well I better head on out and get to work. Hope to see you this weekend if you are in town!

Peace Out!
Chrissy