Same

Repetitious life.
Day in the daisies needed.
Figuring out new life plan.

New life

There's this wonderful thing that I realized the other day: I have control over how happy I am. I, and I alone, set the stage for what my life will be.

My list:
1) Live without regret.
2) Go with your gut. Do not second guess yourself.
3) Take chances.
4) Have fun.

I want to be proud when I look back on my life. And I am starting on a path to getting there.

Inspiration

I have been sewing a lot lately. I showed you guys the skirt I made out of a bedsheet, and I made a dress for Easter that fell apart the second I stepped out of the door (note: DON'T baste zippers and expect them to stay together), and I just finished a maxi dress that I am in LOVE with.

I've been looking at dress patterns, and Pinterest, and other blogs for inspiration, and gave up because I couldn't find what I was looking for. Because I am a visual person, I made a trip to the fabric store and found some gorgeous fabric that gave me some ideas.

This is a maxi dress that uses a tank top and shirring to create a fitted silhouette. I had a LOT of trouble with the shirring, and this blog post helped sooo much. It took me .3 seconds to fix the problem, after two hours of troubleshooting. It was definitely a "duh" moment once I figured it out. I added pockets because I am always in need of a pocket when I don't have one.

I have about 1/2 yard of fabric left. I'm thinking about making a nice clutch or cinch bag with it, because this fabric is too cute to go to waste!

Re-energizing my outlook

I have gotten into sewing, or should I say "rediscovered my passion for it."

For Christmas I requested a sewing machine. Now, you should know that I am not the greatest at follow through when it comes to projects (see this blog.) But, sewing is one thing that I have always enjoyed doing, even if I have little patience for patterns.

I was a self-taught sewer growing up. My mother sewed many things for me (read: dresses asked for at 10:30pm for a dance the next day) which made me want to start making my own clothes because it is cheaper, and when you take into account all the fabric out there that can be upcycled, I was also helping the planet.

So, the other day, I created a skirt out of a bed sheet that had gotten stained by a reed diffuser fall. I love the color (a sort of light aqua), and it was made out of cotton, so it was light, so I thought "Why not?"

It's a gathered skirt, with a flat front waist band. There is elastic in the back half of the band. It has two layers to make it fuller, and pockets (which were much easier than I thought they would be.) I used a decorative stitch with a double needle on the hem to give it a little pizzaz.

What do you think?

Stress relief

Am I the only one in blogger-land who doesn't finish projects?

I crochet when I need to de-stress. It's relaxing and gets me out of my head for a little while. That being said, I have only finished 6 projects in the 13 years I've been crocheting. SIX!!! They were three scarves, three hats (one matching a scarf), and a blanket that was given as a Christmas present 2 months late.

So what is my problem? Why do I have 15 unfinished projects building up in the tub I have had to dedicate to unfinished projects? I guess it is an unwinding process and when I de-stress, I don't need need it anymore, and don't want to reacquire the stress wound in the double crochets.

I should probably start making Granny squares to create a blanket so at least I can USE them later. Two feet of a twin sized blanket is un-useable as anything other than a gigantic scarf.