The Prodigal Quilt

It was the quilt that nearly got away. Yes, it was probably naive of me to send it by post, without tracking. But it was also exceptionally unlucky that this happened to be one of the (rare? frequent?) occasions on which the postal services of Europe let a carefully wrapped and packaged parcel slip through their fingers. Just like that, a quilt I made at my sister's request for her best friend's new baby - a very special quilt, therefore - disappeared without a trace.

I felt terrible about this for a multitude of reasons.  One, because gah why didn't I use the tracking option??  Two, because this was actually my very first order as the Seamstress Sans Frontières, my small-scale scheme of sewing special orders to raise money for charity. An emotionally charged one, because this was a very-much wanted baby born to a very-much loved friend.  My sister wanted to give something handmade specially for them, and I felt really privileged to be able to help. 

And without foreknowledge of the horrible postal disaster that was to come, it had been an absolute joy to make. The only really tough part was making fabric choices right at the start. We didn't know whether the baby would be a boy or a girl, and in any case I don't think I'd have consciously "gendered" the quilt anyway, but managing to keep it neutral and fun was a surprisingly challenging part of the process. I ended up with printed cottons and Kona solids from Plush Addict, and yellow backing from the Village Haberdashery, with scraps from the stash and binding and batting bought locally.  The zebras and "exotic places" prints are nods to time this little family has spent living in Africa.  And once I'd got the fabric picked, I sewed it into squares and played with it randomly arranged on the floor until I liked it. 

All in all, I don't think it turned out that bad* :

* That's British for: I think it f*cking rocked!!!!

Especially as this was my first EVER proper quilt.  Yeah, I was nervous about that.  I also spent the whole time thinking with amazement: who knew quilting was this much fun??! (I know, I know).  I mean - it sort of cracked me up to see all this spewing out of my sewing machine. I quilted till it was frothing at the mouth! And until my arms ached.  Again, who knew? (Um, all quilters, I suppose).

And then I wrapped it up and posted it and it got lost and we were all a bit devastated and I was just wondering whether to do it all over again and then, about three weeks ago, I got a note from our local post office.

It said I had a package to collect. What package, I thought? I haven't ordered anything.

So I went, and I handed over my note. And as the woman carried the parcel back over, it dawned on me. Against all expectations, here it was!

One manhandled but unharmed baby quilt, Returned To Sender.

I took it home, wrapped it up even better, and posted it again WITH TRACKING.

Signed, sealed and delivered: one happy ending!

Follow

Top Five: reflections & goals

I should have written this post last week. There's a momentum, isn't there, to looking backwards and then forwards at the year's end?  With new ideas and projects bursting into my head - the inevitable consequence of a sewing break and a restful holiday - it suddenly isn't easy to reflect much more on 2013.

Luckily, however, my reflections tie into my goals for the coming year, so I'm going to wrap up my Top 5 of 2013 with both. I know I said it in my last post, but I have found this such a great process - I am sewing self-aware! I have focus! - that I'll get going with another linky shout out to everyone who's taken part. So many great posts, people! Such fun!

1)  Finding my style, or lack of it

I realised when looking at my top five hits that towards the end of last year, I made a string of things that really suit me. I'm not talking so much about whether the clothes flatter, although I think they do - more just that they're really me. In fact, some of the ideas for my fails were like that too - they might not have turned out how I wanted, but they're clothes that reflect who I am and what I like to wear/look like.

I never have and still don't consider myself to have a particular style. I like to be a bit of a magpie, picking up whatever attracts, and my most uncomfortable style moments have always been when I was trying to wear a trend or an idea a bit too thoroughly. This year, with the slow advancement of my technique along with the habit of showing my clothes off on this here blog, I've found that I'm suddenly comfortable making clothes for me, in very the broadest sense.

In goal-for-2014 format: carry on!


2)  Hitting my blogging groove

Hand-in-hand with the above, as I've eased into my own personal style during the last 6 months, I've also found it easier to blog in a way that feels authentic. I honestly couldn't say what the difference is, I just enjoy the writing more, find it easier and feel better doing it, and am happier with the outcome.

If I have a blogging goal for 2014, it's to find a routine or schedule that helps me blog at a regular rhythm. Finding the time, getting the photos, managing to produce fully-formed ideas - nothing earth-shattering or unusual there! I just want to feel like I've got a manageable pattern to it all.


3)  The joys and perils of sewcialising

Just over a year ago I got on twitter.  I honestly had no idea how it would change my life. Really! Through it I have met a huge number of others who sew, most of them online but some in real life too, at our Brussels meet-up  in July. The sewcialists are a gloriously funny, creative, inspiring and generally lovely bunch to share sewing (and other) stories with - and I'm very very glad I took that deep breath and jumped in.

The downside? Twitter is a time-suck-vortex (or something). Factor in blogs, instagram and Pinterest too, and judiciously reading or ignoring becomes a whole time management issue in itself.  Also, new pattern releases are even more dangerous than before - it's like having all your coolest friends at once shout BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT. Learning to step away from my Paypal account, slowly...

Goal for 2014: more :-)  Seriously, making lots of online friends is actually the best thing about my sewing life to have happened in 2013. And in real life, there's an Antwerp meet-up next Saturday (18 Jan). If you're in the area, please join us - the more the merrier! Go here for details.


4)  Sewing for others

Basically, this post sums it up.

(I'll be honest - this is taking longer to write than planned, and there's a fabric sale I have to get to :-) Priorities, people, priorities!)


5)  E n j o y

I'm allowing myself to get vague here. Basically, 2013 was a really good year for me.  All the things I've mentioned above meant that it was great in terms of sewing, and thinking about sewing, and talking about sewing. but it was also just a really good year.  I actually don't think it's a coincidence that G and the kids and I had the most brilliant summer holiday, where we just sort of connected with who we all are as a little family, and then - speaking on my own behalf, but I think it applies to us all - came back and settled into enjoying being ourselves. That's when my sewing and blogging got that much more satisfactory.

summer holidays - siblings - birthday parties - so much fun

I think that creativity is one of the biggest blessings there is in life. Connecting with it, drawing it out, can bring us so much good - and I have so much I could say about that. So much about the post-natal depression I finally (hopefully), with the help of a sewing machine, knitting needles and, yes, some fantastically good care and attention over the last four years, seem to have escaped. So much about the good it does just to concentrate on fabric and wool, even when you think you don't have time. Especially then. I want to get off to that fabric sale, so I won't go on. But I know you know what I'm talking about :-)

So, of course, I could list a ton of things I want to do in 2014.  Places to go, people to see, patterns to sew. (That last list is already long and specific!)  In the end, though, what it all comes down to, is this:

Oh look - I got all reflective there after all, didn't I?  :-)

Follow

A new project: Seamstress sans frontières

Friends, I think it's time to tell you about a new little thing I've got going on. And I do mean little - this is strictly a cottage-industry-style venture, which in no way should impinge on my important business of selfish and child-related garment sewing :-)

But, it was time to move beyond the end of my own nose. And I therefore present (drum roll please!) the founding of...

The seamstress sans frontières!  Who is to be found on Facebook here, with a linked JustGiving page here.

So, what's it all about?

Well, you may remember that I recently made a number of baby/child gifts, and I mentioned in that post that it'd got me thinking about how much I like to make these little things for other people. It was the germination of a whole thought process which included things like:

• Why aren't there more babies to sew for?
• And on the other hand, isn't it a bit pointless to sew things for the same friends and friends' children over and over again?
• And actually, can I even know if these things are really wanted and welcomed?? (Because my friends are all truly lovely and polite, and would never actually tell me they didn't really use that 500th bib I gave them).
• And while I'm at it, if I want to do more unselfish sewing, isn't there a way to be even more unselfish about it than that?

 

And thus was born the idea of custom sewing orders for charity. I'll 'sell' in exchange for a donation, matching the cost of materials, to the Charlotte Wilson Memorial Fund via JustGiving.  Hey presto - I get sewing variety, making things that I know are wanted, all along with a great feeling of virtuousness, while customers get their goods made to order at a reasonable price.Win win!

I wanted to fundraise for a charity supporting small projects in Africa - for a variety of personal reasons, but most importantly because I think it's the small organisations who most often need the help. Also, I have to admit, I really don't intend this to be a big thing - maybe family and friends, and perhaps colleagues or other locals - think global, act local, right? And I still need to fit in the rest of my life. I just kind of wanted to support something that matched the scale of what I'm able to do, too. I hope that makes sense :-)

Of course, when I decided to start small, I hadn't reckoned with my friend Toby's big plans. Plans not only to be the biggest fundraiser for Movember Belgium, but also to win Best Mo in a Costume at the Gala even last week.

Sadly, he came second for the fourth year in a row on the fundraising. But the costume - no competition!

Toby does a fantastic job raising money every Movember, as well as heroically encouraging others. Not only that, but he managed to push me well beyond my sewing boundaries with that costume! I'm already finding that taking on other people's ideas instead of my own is opening up whole new worlds of sewing fun...

And tremendous fun it is. I honestly never thought I'd see myself either costume making or quilting, but here I am and enjoying both enormously.  Sewists of the world, break out of your boxes - you have nothing to lose but your ingrained habits! (To send Karl Marx spinning in his grave).

:: :: ::

Well anyway, in my little time away from this blog (only two weeks, but I missed it!) I've read plenty of other northern-hemisphere bloggers complain about the dark days that allow for so few photos - and pretty much all of us, everywhere are heading into the pre-holiday rush. Yep, me too (but I'm not going to add my apologies :-). But I also realised that I so like dropping in here, and so enjoy that exchange of ideas and makes and, y'know, goodwill and stuff, and, well, I dunno. I suppose I'm trying to say: I'm gonna blog more! and better!

But without actually making any rash promises :-)

Till soon my lovelies...

Follow