It’s been a long time since I posted anything. Before Christmas, actually. This blogging thing hasn’t been the easiest for me. It’s been hard to be consistent about posting, and it’s been hard to know what to write. Sometimes I haven’t even been able to get projects done. In my head I have a long list of things I want to do, but somehow it’s hard to get started. I guess I’m writing this more for myself than for anyone else. And that’s probably a good thing, because I’m sure no one’s going to be reading this anytime soon. I need to start writing things down for myself. That way I’ll have a clearer picture of what I need to do.
So I recently finished a nice Christmas and New Year’s vacation, and I was happy to be able to spend the majority of it with my boyfriend. Incidentally, this was only the second time we’d been able to see each other since March started. After eight and a half months away, in November he had to go to his grandmother’s funeral, which seemed particularly cruel. I was glad I was able to spend a few days with him then, both to support him at that time and to enjoy each other’s company.
Eight and a half months of not seeing each other in person was hard on both of us. We talked to each other every day and did video calls most days too. It kept us in contact, but sometimes, most times, it just wasn’t enough. Skype is not a replacement for physical closeness. No matter what anyone says, this is not a way to live. People need social interaction and physical closeness. Isolation and virtual barriers are incredibly damaging psychologically, and those who are depressed or lonely know it well.
Christmas Together
We were both happy to be together again for a long Christmas vacation. Spending those days with him lifted my spirits. It was also our first Christmas spent together, which seemed like a milestone for us. I was thankful that I got to spend that time with him, and I was thankful that it lasted for nearly a month. For some reason though, no matter how much time we spend together, the goodbyes don’t get easier. How I long for the day when we will go home together instead of parting every time.
Now that the holidays are over, he is back to work and I’m getting back to my own work schedule. I’m feeling pretty good now, and I feel I could be productive. I’ve decided now is the time to write down all the things I plan to be doing and to organize my schedule and project lists.
My New Schedule
So what am I going to be doing in the coming months? I certainly have a lot planned. First of all, I’m going to be making lyric videos. I created my channel back in 2015 to upload videos with Spanish translations of songs I like, particularly older songs. I’m afraid I haven’t been very consistent with that either. But I have just uploaded two new videos, albeit later than I’d planned, and I already have a few more ready to publish soon. I’m hoping to get a regular schedule of uploading videos once or twice a week.
Blogging
As I said in the beginning of this post, I haven’t been consistent about writing posts for my blog. That’s something else I’m going to be putting my mind to. I want to get a schedule of publishing a post once a week. It’s often been hard to know what to write about, how to get started, and how to finish. Usually starting something is the hardest part. Maybe with practice it will get easier.
I guess the good thing about having my own blog is I can write whatever I want. I always intended to focus on crafts and projects, but I’ll also be posting about anything else interesting, even if it’s not craft-related. There are still a few long-finished sewing projects that I need to write about, and so those will be the first things on my list. The following things are also things that I’m going to be posting about.
Sewing Projects
Black Dress with Circle Skirt
I have a lot of sewing projects planned, as well as a number of unfinished ones. First on my list of things to finish is a dress using this pattern and tutorial. It was actually more than a year ago when I started it to test the fit of the pattern before making my Christmas dress. I can’t believe I never got around to finishing it. This week I’m going to finally do that.
Blouse with Bow Collar
Another thing I’m going to make is this blouse from Lekala. Several years ago, before finding Lekala and before realizing this was one of their patterns, I found a photo of this blouse on a Chinese website where they were selling it as a made-to-measure garment. I drafted a blouse pattern and made some modifications to it to make it look like the photo. It turned out looking pretty good, but it didn’t fit very well and was rather uncomfortable to wear. (It also happened to be at the time when I was led to believe I needed to put Fray Check on the edges of everything. That just made all the seams itchy and uncomfortable, and they frayed badly anyway. But that’s another story. Fray Check has its uses, but they don’t include covering all the cut edges of fabric for garments.) Anyway, now that I found the actual pattern, I’m going to get it and make myself a proper blouse.
Vintage Peplum Blouse
I have another unfinished project from years ago: a blouse from a vintage Simplicity pattern using some kind of double knit fabric. I gave up on this one after having some problems with the amount of fabric and the way some things ended up sewn together. This was another one that I mistakenly used the Fray Check on, which resulted in more itchy seams and a couple of problems with sewing. The fabric is really soft and feels nice, but it’s definitely not something I’m going to be comfortable wearing if I can’t fix the problem with the itchy seams. I guess I should dig that blouse out of the pile and see what I can do to finish it.
Corsets
I made my first real corset in 2018, and I haven’t made another one since then. I really like the way corsets look, and I want to make myself more. My next one will be an underbust corset. There’s a pattern that I’ve been eyeing for a while, and I think it’s about time to get it. I have a few ideas for the next corsets I’ll be making, and I’ll be solidifying those and making plans for them in the meantime. I’ve also been planning to make a flowy pink dress to wear under the maroon corset. I don’t actually have a plan for that yet, but I’m putting it on my list to come up with something and do it.
Jumpers
I haven’t worn a jumper since I was 10. I really like the look of a jumper over a blouse, though. I’ve been wanting to make some for myself, but somehow I haven’t gotten around to it. I’m going to make sure I do in the next few months.
Garments for Others
Not only have I not been doing much sewing these days, I’ve also been neglecting my youngest sister. She’s been asking me to make her a few dresses and blouses and I haven’t done any. I have the pattern for a dress I’m going to make for her, and it’s going to be one of the first things I do.
Garment Repair
This is not the same thing as actually sewing something, but I’m going to put this on my list. There are a number of things that need repair, and I need to get it done already. I have to put new zippers in three of my skirts, and two more need some seams resewn. I also have to change out the elastic in a few other skirts that don’t belong to me. Repairing clothes has got to be the most tedious parts of sewing. But it has to be done if those otherwise good skirts are ever going to be worn again.
Crochet Projects
Last year I was working on designing some crochet patterns. It’s been really slow getting started, and I haven’t been able to get a lot done. I need to work on finishing up some of those designs so I can officially publish them. I also started designing a skirt which I was loving, but the yarn I used has been out of stock for almost 4 months. If it ever comes back, I’ll finally be able to finish that skirt. I would like for it to be soon.
In addition to my own designs, I have a few acquired patterns that I’ve been meaning to crochet. First will be a pair of ballerina slippers that I started but never finished. (Seems like there’s always something else to do…) Sometime soon I have to make a sweater for my younger sister since she doesn’t have one.
Leisure Activities
I have to include these because I don’t usually make time to do leisure activities. First of all, I’m going to make sure I spend time outside every day. I can even take my crocheting outside with me to work on some of my projects.
Gardening
I’ve been thinking about having a vegetable garden for years, and this year I started making preparations to start one. Over the Christmas season my boyfriend helped me prepare a tiny patch and plant the first seeds: some onions, carrots, and zucchini. It hasn’t been that long, but there are already nine healthy-looking zucchini seedlings, as well as a number of tiny shoots that are either carrots or onions. I can’t recall which ones we planted on that side. Seeing the new plants growing makes me happy and gives me motivation to plant the rest of the garden. I’ll be seeing about doing that in the next few weeks. Eventually I hope to grow all our vegetables rather than getting them from the store. I am already excited imagining delicious fresh vegetables come harvest time.
Art
Next, I need to dedicate time to doing art. I have a coloring book that I’ve been working on, but not consistently. The early morning would be a good time to do it. I also need to take up drawing again. I used to love to draw, and people told me I was good, but I haven’t drawn anything in years. Every so often I think about it, but again, I haven’t made the time. I’m going to make the time now.
Learning
I’ve been longing to learn things for a while, and I’ve decided that it’s about time I did. With a few courses I picked out from Udemy, as well as some other learning resources I’ve found in other places or already had, I’m finally going to set my mind to it learning the following things.
Dance
For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to learn to dance. However, I’ve never been able to find good resources for learning the dances I was interested in. The only thing I ever learned was the slow waltz, and just the very basics. Though without a dance partner, there hasn’t been a lot to do with that… Anyway, I found a tap dance course on Udemy that looks like it might be good. I also found one for the Charleston, which is another fun dance I’ve been wanting to learn for years. I’m looking forward to starting both of those to learn something and have some fun.
Piano
I used to take piano lessons when I was younger, but somewhere over the years I quit practicing. Our piano is also broken. Nearly all the keys in the two center octaves either won’t sound or they feel like there’s not enough resistance and they sound too hard. That also went into not practicing anymore. Now I’m feeling like I really want to practice again. We’ve been thinking about getting a new piano, so when we have one that actually works, I can.
Art
I previously mentioned art in my list of leisure activities. It’s also in this list because I plan to learn more about drawing and coloring techniques so I can improve my artwork.
Singing
I’ve always liked to sing, but my voice is somewhat weak. I can’t even sing very loud while keeping the right key. I want to be able to sing well and improve my vocal performance without hurting my voice. So with the help of a Udemy course, I’m going to be working on that too.
Is that everything?
I think that about covers everything I’m planning and committing to for the next few months. If anyone actually read this far, I’m sorry it was such a long post. I guess this was more for me than for anyone else. If you did read it, now you have some idea of what to expect to see on my blog in the next couple of months. I’ll be posting about all my sewing projects and many other interesting things. Well, time to get started!