Tag: fabric

Space Ghost NSV

Ok, this title needs some backstory. So I’ve been on a self-care journey which included getting back consistent with my fitness/ nutrition regime. It all started with this picture in late April 2016😵😵

I literally looked at it and asked ‘Is this me?!!’ I was the heaviest I’d ever been at 218 lbs. What is funny is that I was so in denial about how much weight I gained (40 lbs over 3 years) that I thought my scale was broken or, at the very least, needed new batteries. I guess I needed a doctor’s appointment to confirm that my scale was indeed NOT broken since my weight was the same there as well. The additional copay added insult to injury over not needing a new battery.

I didn’t even want to sew anything for myself until I’d lost ‘enough’ weight. In fact, I had gained a lot of weight spending so much of my time sewing for others outside of being mommy, Mommy, MOMMY! I had to carve out time for myself. So I started working out consistently again (even through intermittent physical therapy sessions for a year after incurring some injuries because I tried to come back 40 lbs heavier like I had never left😂😳). I even became active again in an online fitness forum, Fitness Is NOT A Game (FINAG). Although I prefer to work out alone, being active there has been instrumental in my weight loss/ self care journey. The members are so supportive, share a lot of helpful information. A nice component of the group is celebrating non-scale victories (NSV) and there’s also plenty of sh*ts and giggles🙊

Even though I had not lost ‘enough’ weight, I realized I did have to start sewing for myself again since I still needed clothes. Sew, I did! Sewing is also part of my self care. It brings me great joy to create and see ideas materialize (literally). Part of my self care also involves saying ‘No,’ so the majority of my sewing is personal right now which brings me to my latest project, MCCalls 7610, Option D. I set some of my fitness goals in conjunction with sewing (two of my loves). My goal in January was to wear an all white fitness outfit, like Space Ghost 👻 😂🤣 I had a few hiccups, (mainly, my machine needed a tune-up) but I finally finished it, with some alterations. I made the front panel out of sports mesh. I planned only using that only for the back, but didn’t have enough Jersey fabric for the entire front piece. I twisted the back twice instead of the once per pattern instructions. I also added more ruching to the side seams to give the illusion of hips, since on paper, I’m a coke bottle but IRL, I’m an Oscar from the front…until I turn around🙊

So, I’m celebrating my non scale victory for Halloween with my version on M7610 as Space Ghost.

I still need clothes since the pieces I’ve made over my fitness journey are now too big #goodproblems😜 I’ll try to stay on track and not eat too much of my daughter’s candy today. Happy Halloween! 🎃 👻

That One Time Mini Me Didn’t Try To Burn Our House Down…

I promise…I actually did sew something in this story. I was working on this hoodie- McCall’s 7841. I altered the pattern to give it a peephole at the bust and also shortened it to crop it a little bit. My sew sister gifted me a camo knit fabric and I had juuust enough to make it. Camo is my FAV!! As usual, I sew in segments…so I do what I can for whatever amount of time Mini Me lets me be great…seriously! It can be a couple of days to finish something simple to a month or more since I do have a full time job and my little diva on my hands.

One day Mini Me faked sickness at school, so I took off early to pick her up. She was feeling so bad in the office but by the time we got home she was skipping and singing la la la up the stairs. That little girl nor her teacher care about my dwindling PTO! I didn’t mind too much because I really wanted to finish this hoodie!

Since we were home earlier than usual, we started her homework so we could have our time together…and then finally finish my hoodie. While I was checking her work in my room, I hear the pitter patter of her little feet running back and forth across our apartment. I could see her in my peripheral but wanted to finish checking her math before I summoned her. However, she beat me to it and comes running toward me waving her arms in the air yelling ‘EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!’ She points toward the kitchen and when I walk in, the whole garbage can is on fire! It turns out she lit a paper towel (I was cooking soup on the stove) and threw it in the garbage. Why? I don’t know…she didn’t even know when I asked…after I put the fire out. The pitter patter of her little feet was her getting cups of water from the bathroom and running to the kitchen to throw at the garbage. Bless her little heart!

There is a silver lining. Now she learned how fire works, that plastic melts, we can get a nice new metal garbage can and how a fire extinguisher works. Nope, it’s not full of water folks. I was cleaning all sorts of chemical dust…while my hoodie lie all lonely and unfinished on my sewing table LOL. I didn’t think of taking pictures of the mess since I was busy trying to stay alive. I eventually did finish the hoodie…just not that day. The picture below is of me actually wearing it in the gym (my second home). Sewing and fitness are a couple of things that I do for myself. If I’m not in the gym upgrading my milf status, I’m probably talking about it here. I plan to make more hoodies soon. Hopefully, I will not have to put out any more fires👀👀

Sew Many Projects, Sew Little Time (Top 5 time savers for sewing with an unrelated 9-5)

Sewing is my crack. Actually, if people really knew how many GB of RAM my brain uses for sewing and related creative activities, they’d wonder why I have such a limited wardrobe. My coworkers can probably guess my outfit for the next day because my business casual dress is even more scarce. Oh she’s wearing the navy pixie pants today; it must be Tuesday. This raises the question, if I think about sewing all day, then why do I have sew few clothes?!

The number one answer is TIME!!  While sewing takes up a lot of my mental space, the  amount of time I have to actually sew is limited mainly by two things: 1). my day job and 2). my mini me.  So between my child plotting to take over the world,  managing a career and having some semblance of self care (which includes sewing) and a social life,  I realized I needed to get more organized. I have found the following steps helpful in getting my ideas out of my head and onto my body (or my mini me).

  1. Pick out several patterns at a time. I pick out several projects I want to make in the immediate future and narrow it down to 2-3. This immediate future list is ever changing, so I find that having one at bat, one on deck and one in the hole helps to make my plans more concrete and keeps me focused.
  2. Arrange patterns by degree of difficulty (i.e., number or steps/ time to prep/ notions needed, etc.) I work on easier projects during the week. Those that are more involved, I break up into smaller steps (see steps 3 and 4 below) to work on over the weekend, so it’s more manageable to finish during the week.
  3. Make pattern adjustments and pretreat fabric (if necessary). I usually do this on weekend in case I need to get extra fabric or notions based on whatever changes I need to make to the patterns that I have lined up. (This also helps me to have a plan when going to the fabric store which I will touch on in the future 😜)
  4. Cut and mark fabrics for your chosen patterns. This is also something I try to save for the weekend as this tends to be pretty time consuming (especially when you have to keep the scissors away from the super helpful mini me who is always ready to be of assistance).
  5. Sew! Sew! Sew! Once you’re ready to sew, you’re pretty much done!

 

Image result for sewing gif

These are just a few of the things that have helped me to make the time I do make to sew more productive. I get my creative juices flowing while raising the vig on the wagers in the office wardrobe pool. What do you do to make your sewing time more productive?

Sources:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjbg4Tj34fYAhWDOiYKHX1jCtAQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.creativespotting.com%2F2015%2F03%2Fhappy-friday-adorable-moving-sewing-pattern-gifs%2F&psig=AOvVaw2HO5tB5q4DL3izEa6fcEeu&ust=1513280620886166<<<<<<&lt;