Thursday, November 6, 2014

Answer me these questions three... (or four)

The lovely Maggie of Stitch-n-Thyme nominated me to participate in the Blog Hop that has been circulating. She has great style and everything she makes looks so classy and perfectly-constructed. I was flattered to be included since I'm not a very consistent blogger....

Here's the definition she gave and i'm going to borrow it: "Blog Hop: One fun blogger nominates two other fun bloggers to participate by answering a bunch of questions and then forwarding it on to two new bloggers. A way cooler version of a chain letter."

I remember doing a chain letter when i was in like... middle school maybe? It was a chain letter to join the "Pencil Club". You send a pencil to person A. You send the letter on to 5 (slacker) friends. You get zero pencils in the mail. It was a failed ponzi scheme. You may be asking, "Why would you want to get pencils in the mail?" Well this was in the era of Lisa Frank, and having fancy pencils to match your trapper keeper was hot stuff. (Does anyone relate to this or even know at all what i'm rambling about? haha)

Ok, let's see, here are the questions:

Why do you write?

I started this blog back in July of 2012 (had to look back to check) and I was just starting to learn to sew. I had a machine and didn't know at all what I was doing. I did a ton of research on how to sew and various techniques and the best answers came from sewing blogs. And there were a ton of sewing blogs. i had no idea this was even a thing. I entered a facebook contest from Mood Fabrics and surprisingly won (hey it was a random drawing, i didn't do anything special). they sent me some gorgeous fabric and i thought to myself, "hey i should start a blog and then when i sew something awesome with this gorgeous fabric i can post pictures on my blog!" but i was intimidated by the fabric because i didn't know what i was doing, so it's still sitting in the bag... 2 years later. i know, i feel so bad. i'm sure you have fabric that you're hesitant to cut... now i should really make something with it since i finally think my skills are up to the challenge. also Karen of the blog Did You Make That was hosting a pattern pyramid (also similar to a chain letter) and I wanted in on that, so there's another reason this blog was born. and then not too far into blogging, i remember seeing that i had 8 followers, and i was like "I have 8 followers!!!! People read this!!!" and that interaction with fellow sewists is what has kept me going.


How is your blog different from others of the same genre?

Well, my photos are sub-par, which i would love to fix, but don't feel like investing in a nicer camera at this point. I actually took 2 courses of senior level photography in college and can even process photos in a dark room old school style, so i'm extra ashamed that my blog photos are blah. (i had a fancy camera and it was stolen...) anyway, pity party over. i do wish i had a special niche, something that made my blog super unique. but i also don't commit a lot of time to it, i feel like i should do more, but i'm not trying to make this a job or anything. that would be sooo much work and i already have a full time job. i just really love connecting to other sewing bloggers, people who share the same interest. every time i get a new comment i get excited. and so i keep going.


What are you working on now? 

In the middle of a purpley/cranberry colored bamboo knit dress. trying to perfect the lady skater pattern to fit my shape better. it's a really nice, comfy go-to dress pattern. i had issues with the sleeve width and then my adjustment made the bust too small/tight. so i've been doing a lot of research on sleeve caps and pattern drafting and looking at shirts i already own that fit well and inspecting the sleeve piece shapes. basically nerding out. and re-drafting the bodice and sleeve. i also slashed and spread the skirt to make it gathered but still have a nice a-line shape rather than being a rectangle (as with some gathered skirts). i like the regular lady skater skirt pattern piece, but this bamboo knit is just so drapey that it would hang flat against the body anyway and risk VPL, and i don't want any of that.


in progress, i'm not cool enough to wear this as a crop top and skirt combo, so i'll have to attach them...


What is your writing process? 

stream-of-consciousness. i just type. i don't think about it too much. i don't go back and edit (my apologies!). if i catch a typo or bad grammar i'll fix that, but that's about it. there are lots of fragments (and run-ons), but i think it's ok, because at least i realize they are fragments (i actually did really well in english classes, promise!), and i want to think it makes this more informal and relatable... i don't plan either. so i'll type up a post in a half-hour or less (guess I'm the opposite of you Maggie!), whenever i feel like i have something interesting or funny to say... or if i have a finished project and i'm hoping for some compliments... (just being honest!) or if i have a halfway completed project and i need serious help (and boy have i gotten a lot of helpful feedback, thank you guys!) i want my blog to be exactly as if i were just talking to you. and i do try to inject some humor. and often some sarcasm seeps in, but it's all meant in good fun. but i think that's just how i am in everyday life as well.


Thank you again Maggie for the nomination =) Being included makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And now to continue this chain letter along, I'm supposed to pass it on to two more bloggers. 

So my nominations are: 

puu's door of time - she has such a fun style and i'm really admiring the chanel-esque jackets she's been sewing (and now i really want to make a cute jacket...)

simply E.GO.tistical - the dresses she makes are so cute (and hot!) and all those awesome workout leggings... so impressive

Hopefully you guys haven't already done this blog hop and if so, how did i miss it, please send me the link! and if you are anti-chain letter it won't hurt my feelings (well i'll pretend it didn't hurt my feelings, but hey, you won't know! hahaha)



Sitenote: I'm really loving this #bpsewvember that's going on on instagram. love seeing all of the sewing related photos and the comments back and forth have been really fun. Follow me at "soisewedthis" and let me know where i can find you. And if you're not on Instagram, try it - it's fun and it's not that hard. promise. (i actually prefer it over the other social networking sites like facebook or twitter) Happy sewing and happy photo-taking!

4 comments:

  1. Fun read! I am stream of consciousness, too. Sometimes I feel like I should put more effort in my writing but eh.. I start with my photos and then go from there. Also, I am trying to get in to instagram. I started an account a couple of years ago but only added a few photos before my phone became terribly out of date. I just upgraded my phone so I can use it again. I'll look you up.

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    1. I think I found you on Instagram :) you should definitely try posting on there, it's pretty fun and also really quick, which is a bonus when you have so much going on (like chasing an adorable toddler around)

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  2. This was great! Thanks so much for playing along :) I loved reading your answers and makes me want to just write a post and then hit "publish"! I might have to try it. And you have intrigued me on this Instagram thing. I have had an account for awhile, but *never* put anything up. This might be the push I need.

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    1. Thanks for the nomination! It was fun to be given a specific topic to write about :) Following you on Instagram, looking forward to seeing more posts from you!

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Thanks for reading! I welcome any advice, insights, witty remarks, snarky comebacks, commiserations or just a quick hello. I'd love to check out your blog as well, so let me know where you're posting. Happy sewing!