Monday, March 1, 2010

Why I Started a Sewing/Project Blog: A Remider to Myself

 My mom often says to me that she wished she had taken pictures of all the many, many things she has sewn over the years and kept a scrap piece of the fabric for a quilt or something like that. In my lifetime I am certain I will never make as much as she did before I was even born. However, because I haven't sewn that much, I have been able to take pictures of most of my projects. Originally I had just a photo album on photobucket as a place for me to keep track. Then a friend of mine started a sewing blog and I thought - what a great idea. Then I can write notes to myself, keep track of which pattern I used, etc. I didn't read sewing or craft blogs at the time. In fact, although I love to sew, it has always been in spurts. And since my mom was and is such an excellent seamstress, I often just asked her to "help me" sew things. This turned into her sewing and I basically just ironed.
I have gotten better over time and have become more confident in my abilities. I have found that as I have been blogging though something has changed. I am pretty sure part of it has to do with all the sewing/craft blogs I read now. And my friend who I got the idea from to start a sewing blog is now all over the place. (She really is amazing.) I have like 6 people beside me who read this and instead of being me and just posting when I made something, I started to feel this pressure to perform so that I would become something. I sometimes think I have to take the pictures in a perfect manner in order for them to be worthy to post. Then, one day I ran across an article on Simple Mom or Small Notebook (I can't remember which!) that basically reminded me  be who you are. Your blog is not someone else's blog. Do it for you, be you. So, that being said, I think I feel a weight lifted off my shoulders with feeling like I have to impress the 6 of you. I'm not trying to be a hit in the blog world, I just want to keep track of my stuff and share ideas.
Since I hate posting without pictures, I will leave you with this and come full circle. Here are just a few things my mom has made over the years.
 1 - My wedding dress!, 2 - nightgowns and caps for my sister and me, 3 - Pants and a tie for her first born's first born, 4 - my sister's dress she wore for her high school baccalaureate and my dress (which I "helped" with. It was a quick sew that turned into a pattern we LOVED over the years, affectionately called the "seams" dress because it was serged together and at some point you could see the black side seam thread showing), 5 - shorts for my brother, sister and me, 6 - my chiffon dress for my first Harry Connick, Jr. concert, 7 - all the bridesmaid "dresses" for my wedding, 8 - this beautiful Chinese dress that I loved (my sister is wearing it here), 9 - Halloween costumes for many, many years (and don't forget her cute shirt when I was in-utero)
If there was ever a person who should have a craft blog, it should be my mom - she sews, makes jewelry, crochets, does card-making, has done woodwork in the past, general crafts and always has the greatest ideas. But alas, I can't get her to start one!

2 comments:

  1. You have a very cute mom. She really is VERY talented.

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  2. I loved your post. First of all, my mom is also a great seamstress and made my wedding dress, all my formal dresses and when I was younger, everything from underwear to Halloween costumes. Secondly, I keep thinking about starting a craft blog, but have felt the same "pressure" even before starting! You're so right that I should just do it for myself, even if it's not cute and no one ever looks at it! Now if I can just find a minute of time between feeding the baby and demanding little boys I'll take some pictures of my recent projects and get started!

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