Hello again.

I've had this sewing blog for nearly 4 years now. I think it's appropriate to end my hiatus, firstly, by acknowledging that. Looking back through my archives, it's neat for me to see both how far I've come in my sewing and how much there is yet to learn.

I completely disappeared from the internet sewing community for the last few months. After my last post, I still had a pink pencil skirt to review but decided I hated it. That began what was a long slew of self stitched wadders & UFOs. I did manage to make the kids' outfits for our annual convention & I will post those pictures (if nothing else it is fun to see how much they've grown the last few years).

Not only did I stop blogging, I stopped reading sewing blogs, reviews, message boards. I allowed all sewing inspiration to stop. My failures hit me hard. They made me question what I was doing sewing if it was all just a waste of time and money.  I mostly sew because it feels good. Being able to have something useful that you made; that's cool. Being a homeschooling stay at home mama, my days are full but all too often, at the end of the day, I find myself with many items on my to do list left un-done.  And to spend hours working on a sewing project only to have it fail, and fail hard. It hurt. And it was project after project. I did try to get back on the horse, but man! It just wasn't happening.

The mistakes were always different. Couldn't get the fit right. Bought the wrong fabric. Got sloppy during the cutting stage. Rushed zipper insertion. Took a short cut & didn't line the skirt.  Pre-shrunk fabric shrunk significantly after being sewn. A sewist's heart can only take so much.

But then my sister wore the dress I made her 3 years ago to her baby shower. And being the good little sister she is, she made sure to tell everyone who complimented her that I sewed the dress. That I had made the majority of her maternity wardrobe (that I had sewn for myself 2 years ago when I was pregnant with my third).

And gosh darn it. I CAN sew. I'm good at it (mostly). I love it. This hiatus, though, has taught me a few things. I've learned the importance of cleansing my palate with TNTs. Of focusing on the positive; the things I have successfully sewn. Something is better than nothing. Perfect is the enemy of the good. Stewing a basic t-shirt is better than stewing over the custom dyed lace dress that never got past the muslin stage (sob!)

So. I'm back, I think. My first project will be a color blocked tunic. Vogue 8950. It's rated Very Easy. It's a knit, which, well is the very epitome of my comfort zone and it requires just a smidge over one yard of fabric. Hopefully all goes well.

If that goes well, then I've got big plans. I've had my eye on the Robson pattern every since I made the Minoru and this is what I envision.