On Some Thoughts about Writing

This was not my intended post for today, but I’m in a contemplative mood, so I’m subjecting you to some of my random thoughts on writing.

 

 

I write a considerable amount and I have a lot of ideas. I do like to write piecemeal, though, and things don’t always get finished because I’m not in the right mood for whatever subject I happened to have chosen for a particular work or I’ve misplaced a piece of my story (when I say piecemeal, it also means writing on different pieces of paper not just working on it little by little). As proof of this, let me share with you my collection of in progress works: 5 or 6 poems, 5 short stories, and a handful of blog posts that I was trying to get done in advance, not to mention a few essays for a class I’m taking. Some are in a notebook, some are typed and saved on the computer, and part of one is on a post-it note. I’m not sure how I keep track of most of it, but I do.

 

Now, I’m not complaining about having so many things I want to write, after all, I write as a hobby and it is far better than having writer’s block, but it would be nice to actually get some things finished. However, when you have so many ideas it can feel like as much as you want to write that there simply is not enough time to actually get any writing done. When you reach this point, I feel like it’s time to take a step back or just pick something that’s in progress and write. It doesn’t have to be good (that’s what revision is for) or something that you're even going to keep as part of your story/poem, but you are accomplishing something and you might come up with something completely new that you never would have thought of otherwise.

 

This morning I was finally able to finish the section before the end, let’s call it the second middle section or the pre-end portion, of a story I started in October, and you know what? I suddenly feel like I have time to write after all and maybe finish a few other things as well. Does anyone else feel this way sometimes? ♥

On “Sew and Save”: A Book Review

 

Title: Sew and Save
Author: Joanna Chase
Genre: Non-Fiction, Sewing

About the book….
A 1941 sewing book that explores war time rationing, caring for your clothes, aspects of sewing including buying the fabric, supplies, making your own clothing and accessories, and even includes a very short chapter for knitting.

What I think…
I am so glad they created a reproduction of this marvelous book! This book is as enjoyable as it is practical and because of this, it is probably one of my favorite sewing books to read even if I’m not looking for something specific just because it’s so interesting (In fact, it’s the only sewing book that lives in the book pile next to my bed).

Some of my favorite things include the example four year plans they offer for war time wardrobe planning, the tips given for maintaining articles of clothing (anyone storing their silk stocking in air tight jars?), and the section on making use of old clothes.I like that it comes with pattern diagrams (the type where they show it on grids) for some of the things mentioned. There are also a small handful of images and diagrams, which I would not consider anything other than basic, but they are charming.

It is written in a manner that is direct, yet engaging, pointing out the necessities, reasoning, and importance for taking certain aspects of wardrobe into consideration, which can still be considered important today, especially for those of us who wear vintage.

To sum it all up…
You don’t have to sew to enjoy this book, it’s a great resource for details about the 1940’s and written in a light enough manner that you’ll find yourself picking it up and reading it for fun! ♥

On Some of My Recent Sewing Patterns

Being in a state of having started on my muslin fitting (1 st ever, which is making me anxious, but fitting was on my list of goals) for the Wearing History Overalls and feeling like I might be reaching a sewing slump (this happened about the same time last year, so maybe it’s seasonal?), I don’t have any projects to share at the moment, or at least not any that have been photographed.

Instead, I decided to share some of the patterns I've bought over the past few months.  For awhile, I’ve been trying to fill in some gaps and I feel like I’ve finally reached that point where I have a nice assortment of patterns for various wardrobe pieces that can be mixed and matched.

Boleros- One of my skirt patterns also had a pattern for one, but I have no idea how to go about resizing it and I really wanted one with buttons. I can see myself making all three variations.

McCall's 9319

Sundress- I debated on getting this off and on for three days, as my other two attempts at sundresses have gone badly and I’m not overly fond of Butterick. I'm glad I bought it though, and hopefully three times will be the charm in sundress making!

Butterick 9372

Skirt and Blouse- It was on sale and I couldn’t resist…Love the look of the one on the left and will probably stick with the envelop colors and the striped print for blouse when I make it.


Simplicity 3450

Jumper and playsuit- Another pattern envelop with colors that I’m going to be susceptible to in terms of the jumper.

Simplicity 4668

Sport’s shirt -I want to make a second pair of pedal pushers and would love to make this to go with them, but I have to resize it (another goal). I’m thinking a wide cinch belt would look nice with it.

Advance 5859

Beach outfit-Just in case the sports shirt doesn’t work out, there’s always the shirt with this darling beach set (my name for it, since that's what I think of), which I think would also look great with a cinch belt.

Simplicity 3223

And the piece de resistance! Last month I was super excited to find Simplicity’s hooded princess line dress!

I tend to limit myself to spending about $15 at most and if I do spend more I try to get ones that include multiple items, but this one was an exception to the rule and it was still under $20, which made me extremely happy. ♥