Saturday, January 17, 2009

Inaugural Post - Why I Sew

Hi there,
Welcome to kindred crafters. My friend Sara and I decided to start this blog as a way to facilitate our own discussions about crafting. You see, we live several provinces apart, and chat several times daily, via email, about what we're up to, what is inspiring us, and what we'd like to try next. Crafting has really brought us closer as friends, and these emails about crafting have been peppered with tales of our respective family lives, work lives, and everdayness.

So . . .we thought that maintaining a blog might make this easier and more fun. I'm a newbie at crafting, in general. Sara is an old hand, and has proven to be my mentor. I have found SO much inspiration online, and have seen evidence of a real community out here, that I'd like very much to be a part of. So this is our foray out there.

I thought a good way to start would be to record why I sew. I sew because:

1) It's fun.
2) It makes me feel useful.
3) I have a real sense of pride when I hear my two year old say "Mama sewed it."
4) I see a new community of women gathering online and in real life over sewing, creating, crafting, and it excites me.
5) It's so very fun.
6) I am constantly inspired by what I am seeing online and at craft shows.
7) Sewing is a skill that I see almost immediate improvement in my skills, which is very reinforcing.
8) I get great satisfaction with finishing a project. I'm a bureaucrat by day and sometimes it feels like things never get DONE, ya know? Sewing things at the end of the day makes me feel like I have accomplished something.
9) It has brought me closer to Sara, which has been most awesome.
10) Did I mention it's the most fun?

Why do YOU sew?

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This week I made a few dolls, based on a pattern provided by Emily Martin, of the Black Apple, on the Martha Stewart Show. My daughter, who is 2, will be attending a birthday party for her cousin this coming weekend, and was in need of a gift. When I came across the pattern online, I figured it looked manageable for a sewing newbie like me, and it really was. My decision to attempt this was cinched (and the work was doubled) when I showed Margo and she said "and for me, too?". One doll became two. I learned quite alot whlie sewing these dolls, and think that I improved on my original with the second doll. I LOVE that about sewing. I feel it's a skill that will continue to grow and push and stretch my abilities and interest. There is so much out there I want to try!


So that's it for me. We both welcome any and all comments, and are both so looking forward to sharing with one another and other kindred crafters.
- Donna

10 comments:

HomeBizLiz said...

The dolls are very cute! Welcome to world of blogging, I found you thru SewMamaSew. You should join Twitter, lots happening there.
Here is my email, I'd like to talk to you a little about your site, I'm new too and a crafter.
lizlatham46350@yahoo.com
HomeBizLiz on Twitter

hana.k said...

I look forward to this blog growing and what you guys will share, especially related to sewing since I'm new to it!

Carrie said...

Cute dolls! Way to go. Welcome to the blog world!

Anonymous said...

Great first post ladies! Sewing and crafting keep me sane!

Maggie said...

I love to sew as well. My reasons are very similar to both of yours. Do you feel the same frustration though, about having so many things you want to make and not having the time to actually accomplish them? I too have a day job and two little ones, so time is something I don't have much of. This is my love/hate relationship with crafting and creative blogs (always finding new stuff I want to make).

I have to commend you on the dolls, they are adorable. I started dolls for my girls last Christmas (as in 2007) and just started stuffing them last night!

Donna/Sara from Kindred Crafters said...

Great job on the dolls, D! Love the colors you chose and their coordinating hairpins.

Sara

Natalie said...

Can't wait to see what you ladies come up with. I'm a newbie to the sewing world, but having the online support makes it so nice...just when I get discouraged, I'll see a post that clears something up for me and gets me excited about the next project...and who it is for.

Spencer, Allison, McLean, Lucy, Olivia and Jack Mylymok said...

Can't find the template anywhere, HELP!!!!

Donna said...

It is a bit tricky to find - here's the link:

http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/web/pdfs/2008Q2/tvs_3128_031108_dolltemplate1.pdf

koala brains said...

Love the premise of your blog. It's going to be fun! Glad you stumbled on my blog. Look forward to seeing your creations.