Pedal to the Metal

I had no idea how much I loved sewing, until I returned to it this weekend after a long hiatus. How could I have forsaken this friend that has done so much for me, helped me work through so much in my life, to say nothing of providing me with costumes, clothes, gifts, and pin money? I am appalled that I let it get away from me like that.

I know why it happened. For a variety of reasons, I have been trying (for over a year, sigh) to mothball my sewing room, but it has been very slow going. I was trying to force myself to complete the process by saying that I could not sew until I had made the switcheroo. (Ideally, and eventually, I will have a sewing "nook", or at least a place to store my sewing essentials (thread, interfacing, elastic, plus all the stuff to make my corsets: two buckets of fabric, twill and bias tape, laces for trim, the mondo grommetter, etc.) in the house.) I have broken that once or twice, but I really haven't done much, particularly compared to my normal output.

But what I had forgotten was how much it feeds my soul. I can't really explain it, any more than I can explain why I must dance to stay sane (haven't been doing much of that lately, either; can't you tell? :-). I just know that my spirit needs this, and I forget that at my peril.

Oh, not all of it is a religious experience; to be frank, I dislike the cutting-out part. In fact, one of the things I like least about the type of sewing I do (designing my own things, mix-and-matching pattern pieces, having to make muslins to try out new patterns, that sort of thing) is that I can't get the cutting out of the way up front; I so often have to go back and cut a waistband or facing, or re-cut a piece, that I can't say until the very end, "Well! At least all the cutting is done!"

Yes, I'm one of those who does the unpleasant part first, if at all possible. (Since I dislike bread crusts, it's quite entertaining to watch me eat a sandwich: I eat all around the edge, saving the good inner part for last. I'm certifiable.) So it was that I spent much of the weekend cutting corsets. Since I've made a gazillion of them from this set of patterns, I can be pretty sure that I know what pieces need to be cut, so once the one remaining one is cut, I can sit down to the part I really enjoy, to wit, the actual sewing.

And if I actually even enjoyed the cutting this time, imagine how much happier I will be when I get to sit in front of the machine and just sew.......