Wednesday, July 10, 2013

But I need my sewing time…like I need air to breath.

Changes.

I hate them, I love them. And I am not always the best at dealing with them.
Wouldn't you think that after a lifetime of transitions, a person would get good at it?

In the upside down world of my full time job and a new business venture, I’m finding little time to sew.

We've been scrambling to prepare a retail location for Ellen j Goods, which has meant renovating the space and getting inventory ready. Which also means just about every minute of my day is occupied. Sunday, I was able to sneak away for a quick project. This was after JR and I had a Long Talk about planning our projects and priorities.

But I need my sewing time…like I need air to breath. It’s a way for me to work through Life Stuff while I’m working through Sewing Stuff. Does that make sense?

Anyway, back to my Sunday project. In an hour’s time, I made a caftan top. McCall's 6204.  JR came up to the sewing room at one point and gave me the old stink-eye because I was sewing instead of painting or working on marketing stuff or spreadsheets.


But I need my sewing time. And I got it. And , well, the caftan top was almost a flop.

While I liked the idea of it, it was too big...too something. And I wasn't quite sure how to wear it.


So, for two days, I've been taking in seams, re-doing, and re-fitting. maybe it works now.

Maybe it feels a little to dramatic and glamorous for me to be wearing a top with asymmetric sleeves! I'm not sure. One thing I know for sure, I am no Erica Bunker, my style muse for this pattern! 


My body has been changing. Which is a Very Good Thing. But I’m in this transition right now where many things in my closet are not fitting anymore, and I don’t have time to make new or alter. Each morning, finding something to wear usually means going through about ten outfits followed by a trip to the sewing machine to take in darts or seams where I can. I’m not even sure what size I am in patterns anymore!  But I am loving this reclaimed body and healthier life.

And how about our dear departed Google Reader?
I miss it. I’m having a hard time with the transition. I want to be able to read blogs and comment easily from my iPhone. I figured out how to do that through Feedly and that crashed. So now, I’m exclusively Bloglovin' and trying to work it out. Is anyone else mourning the loss of Google Reader?

Remember the Vintage Sheet Giveaway?
I really wish I could have given every one of you a vintage sheet. But as you know, I don't have the time right now to go out and search for 40 vintage sheets!  So, by random number generator (which happens to be my husband) Linda from Danville Girl  has won the vintage sheet and pattern!  Big happy congrats to Linda! 
Go check out her blog and say hello!

So, deep breaths, count to ten and get through the days ahead. That's what I'm going to do...how about you?

18 comments:

  1. You look great in your caftan! And it sounds like you have some wonderful adventures ahead of you.

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  2. Lucky Linda and her sheet!!!!!

    Stay sane, this too shall pass. Carve out your sew time a bit a day.....hang in there! you look amazing

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  3. I really like your new caftan, you look beautiful. I completely understand your need to sew. And I find it amazing that you can fit it in around your full time job, your part time business, your extended family and your husband. I too grieved over google reader. But I switched to an ipad app, mr. Reader and actually like it better than google reader. It was hard, creating export files from google reader and importing them into feedly ( epic fail), and then importing them into mr. Reader. And please share your weight loss tips. Thanks for your blog and sharing your life with us.

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  4. Lynne, you look incredible in your caftan, you look great in your new healthy body. It is hard when life is out-of-control and there is no "me" time. Can you wake up 30 minutes early and head right to the sewing room? Good luck getting the retail space ready, I want to see pictures.

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  5. I think your caftan looks amazing on you! I love the black and white with your white pants it looks really classy but still casual and comfortable to wear. What type of fabric did you make it in?

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  6. Your own shop. Great, can't wait to see it. I hope to see you at the Getzville flea market this weekend.

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    1. Sad face...We won't be at Port of Entry this weekend...Waaaaayyyyy too much going on. Maybe in August?

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  7. Your own shop, must come visit it when the time comes! I using Bloglovin but not lovin it. While we're at it, I also don't like the new Flickr!
    May I say it's the earrings that complete that look! Totally right.
    Take care of yourself, sweetie. No burnout.

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  8. I really like it! You look great, and the healthy lifestyle shows in your smile :-) sounds like you are juggling a lot but it all sounds so exciting!

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  9. This looks lovely on you! It's so fun-- like you! But I totally hear you-- it's so hard to balance your life successfully and meet all your responsibilities, but still squeeze in time for the things you love. I'm glad you were able to sneak a project in!

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  10. That shirt is fabulous! I love it and I love it on you!

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  11. You look great in that top! I'm no EB either, although sometime I wish I could dress as fabulous as she does every day. (As I'm sitting here in my Tar-Jay workout pants and Under Armour top!)
    A note on google reader - google dashboard did not go away, just the reader. The dashboard functions similar to a reader. I'm finding Bloglovin superior however.
    Congrats on the healthier body! I can relate to the transitioning sizes. I've been doing it for a year. Good thing we can refashion or take in when needed, right?!

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  12. Did u download the bloglovin app? That as how I'm reading your post and replying to you right now from my iPad. I never got the hang of google reader but like the bloglovin app just fine. If you haven't downloaded, try it!

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  13. The caftan looks fabulous. I'm with you - can't live without sewing, because, like you, I need that time to put my head on straight - sometimes I wonder how I actually manage to sew seams straight with all the stuff gong on in my head.

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  14. The outfit looks great on you and it screams the sewing diva is ready to tackle anything.

    Congrats to Linda.

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  15. The caftan look cool and chic on you. I know what you mean about working through life's stuff while sewing. I tried bloglovn and hated it. I don't want to have to go to the blog to read all the posts. I like to do it in the reader, which The Old Reader allows.

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  16. Your top came out very nice indeed. I love the fabric. I too need my crafts to relax and at the moment I am really struggling to find time for myself which makes me irritated and tense. As for Google reader, I miss it really bad. I have downloaded Bloglovin, but it is not as good as google reader was:( As it is, I am missing out on reading many of my friend's blogs.Keep up the wonderful sewing. I love reading your blog.
    Loredana
    www.loredana61.blogspot.com

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  17. This is a cute top! I need to venture out and try a few new styles like this!

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