Love-Hate relationships

Fun sewing!  

I have a love--hate relationship with sewing.

There is something about the creative process that I absolutely love. Shopping for the fabric and having that creative idea materialize or spark your imagination. 

Walking down the aisles of fabric and discovering that one beautiful gem that you just have to take home are moments of absolute joy.   

And then the excitement when you discover the perfect pattern that you can't wait to dig out your sewing tools and carefully cut the fabric.  

The anticipation of it all coming together builds as the sewing machine hums along piercing the fabric with the needle.  

I love that humming sound. The musical sounds that my serger and sewing machine create. It has to be one of the most soothing sounds that I enjoy. Seriously, someone needs to make a relaxation CD based on sewing machine sounds. I would love one for those times of separation from my machines.  

Vogue 8752 in progress

Oh, and the joy of having all those fabric puzzle pieces fit together! Some people like crossword puzzles, others like Sudoku, I love sewing.  

The Marcy Tilton jacket, Vogue 8752, and the Sandra Betzina dress, Vogue 1234, are perfect examples of patterns that remind me of putting together a puzzle. And so many pattern pieces too,  I luv it! 

Sewing for the pure enjoyment of a creative outlet is an escape that I find unmatched. I'm not rushed through the process with deadlines or demands. Nor am I criticized for my work because it is my creative outlet and I'm doing what I love.   

Even if I make a mistake, I can slow down and settle into one of my comfy armchairs. As I remove the stitches with my seam ripper I find it as a form of meditation.   

The ever-growing pile of mending.  

But sewing is not always full of fun and games.  

Oh no. If it were this pile of mending wouldn't be growing. And some of these items have been sitting there for months.  

I don't know why, it is not going to get done on it's own.

For some reason I find no joy what-so-ever in mending.

Repairing is not the same as creating.  

I hate mending and alterations. And I don't think that I'm alone. 

My nephew this week asked me if I could repair his winter jacket. He's fifteen and very capable of repairing it on his own. It is a hand stitching job. And he has the basic sewing skills to get the job done. This is a young man who has made pajama bottoms in a home economics class.  

And a co-worker asked me to shorten a skirt. It is a knit jersey and even though I brought in samples of knit items that I have sewn to demonstrate that I do not have the equipment to make those elegant knit stitches that she was describing. Despite my disclosure that I could not achieve the stitching found in ready-to wear clothing using the equipment that I have, she continued with her request to have it altered.  

And the ever-growing pile of ironing.  

So, I'm not alone in my lack of passion for mending. Other people add to my mending pile.   

What is it? Do you hate mending as much as I do?  

And don't get me started ironing! My ironing pile tends to grow as quicker than my mending pile.

No one can ever accuse me of being a domestic diva.  

So this is how I plan to spend my Thanksgiving weekend. Doing boring sewing chores. 

Hopefully there will be some time left over to get to the exciting fun sewing stuff, like finishing the Marcy Tilton jacket.     

And maybe, fingers crossed, I'll find some time to get outdoor and enjoy some of the beautiful awesomeness that autumn brings. Oh the glorious sound of autumn leaves crunching underneath my footsteps. Another sound I love! So I'll close with some autumn photos.  

Happy sewing and Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating this weekend.  

Doesn't it just make you want to go play or walk through the leaves instead of mending?