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.

Real Life

So.

This past week, I finally moved out of my parent's house. I am now living on my own.

And it's scary.

All my life, I've been a kind of loner. I was really good at the angsty-artist thing. I only had two really good friends growing up. We said we would keep in touch after we went to college, but you know how that goes. Time, and distance, kinda took a toll on the friendship([s] respectively). I understood, and I never really felt like I was alone because I had a roommate, and even when we went our separate ways, I had the other people in the dorm to take comfort in. I felt like I was living alone. Which was good with me.

But now, I'm really living by myself. And even though I see people every day, I am still very much a loner. I want to be independent, but being where I am in my life, especially taking into account where I live, I have to rely on my parents. My life revolves around work and school. It's stressful. At least when I lived in the dorm, I had people around me going through the same thing. Truly living alone is harder than I thought. I thought I'd like living alone...you know? No distractions, hogging of the bathroom. No dealing with another person's problems. But it's just lonely. Especially when you have no one to share your stresses with.

I'm sorry for the blog-vomit. I guess the holiday and the visual of actually seeing my stuff in the trailer made the truth of adulthood all the more real.

Go hug a loved one. Everyone needs it at some point. Some are just better at hiding it.

New semester

Hello all. Sorry I haven't been updating very much lately, but so goes the way of life. Work had become my main focus during the end of the summer, and it doesn't really lend very much in the way of news, hence the fallen blog.

But never fear! I have returned!

School has started again. Yay. Because of financial situations, I am only taking one class, a photography class. Luckily, the (new, which is a sad thing, to anyone who knows where I go to school) teacher believes in marketing yourself, and the appeal of the internet in promoting your work. He told us to create a blog, website, or photo reel to show our work.

Luckily, I have my own website, so this class is killing two birds with one stone: giving me a reason to update my website weekly (75 pics a week, at least 4 "best of" on the medium of choice), and it gives me a reason to blog about it. Anyone at home can follow along if they'd like. It'll at least give you a reason to relax for a few minutes at least once a week ;)

This weeks project was to take pictures of Life in Public Spaces. This means that if the place that you are taking a picture requires money to be there, or it is paid for by someone (other than the government), you couldn't take pictures of it, or if you did, you'd have to find an interesting way of photographing it (such as in a reflection, or window).

I went out with the intent of photographing movement and reflections. As you all know, intentions are just that. What happens in the field can vary greatly from the origins. I got some great shots of empty playgrounds, walking trails that weren't in use, and some other interesting things that you'll have to visit my website to see. But the first two things take on whole new meanings if you think about how much money has been put to use establishing new programs surrounding exercise and the need to get up and do something. It was after 4 every day that I went, and I didn't see one child outside taking advantage of the lower-than-90 temperatures. Three playgrounds/trails with no one on them. Many people in the class found the same thing.

I feel like this class will require a different view on what makes a good photograph, and how the intent can be very different than what is shown.

Happy clicking!

Pulled muscles are murder

So...any prayers you could send my way would be much appreciated, as it seems that my penchant for accidental-injuries-with-no-clue-of-how-they-could-happen seems to be back. On my other blog (mentioned earlier) describes it in detail.

I still don't quite know how it could happen, but it hurts like nobody's business. It must be mentioned that this is the first time that I've pulled a muscle like that, so at least I can scratch that off my bucket list...

In other news, I'm editing the Janice Wyatt Summer Arts camp video again this year after filming it a couple of weekends ago, and again, I CANNOT believe how talented these kids are. I am so glad that there is a place for them to express themselves year after year. Growing up, theatre was my get-away from problems with school and being a teenager. On stage, no one judged you for wanting to talk in a strange accent to release some tension, or breaking into some song, even if you aren't currently performing a musical. I was blessed to be able to experience that, and I'm honored that I get to film this for posterity so that these kids can see how talented they are.

If you have the means to, please consider contributing to your local theatre, because most of them could really use the help, if only to keep the camps going for the talented kids of MS, or wherever you call home.

New

In an effort to get me life on a track I like, I started a new workout blog. It's there to make me consistently work out because of the added pressure I've put on myself to post every day, or at least every other day. Hopefully, it'll help me stick to it. We'll see how that goes.

If you want to give me encouragement, or some good, old-fashioned ribbing, check me out at www.onlyoneforemily.blogspot.com