obsession

This is how you know that sewing has morphed from being a nice, harmless hobby into an all-consuming obsession.

1. I dream that I am in sewing class, actually working at the sewing machine. And when I wake up and realise that it was just a dream, I actually feel disappointed.

2.I tell my husband that I need to make a trip down to Chinatown to get a couple of small things: a concealed zip, a concealed zip foot, and some interfacing. An hour later, I leave Chinatown $70 poorer, with THREE different fabrics (two to three yards each), an extra seam ripper (can't have too many of those, right?) and a handful of wooden buttons (which were too cute to pass up). Do I know what I am going to do with all this fabric and buttons yet? No. But I have a few ideas and an extra seam ripper if things don't turn out well.

3. About a week later, I am lying in bed with a migraine - the kind that produces a fog of pain. My husband and helper have to handle the four kids. But I cannot fall asleep because my brain won't stop thinking about how to attach a facing onto the yoke of a skirt that I have half done. Pathetic.

Postscript. I am learning some basic patternmaking and am enjoying it a lot. It's complicated some times - so many numbers! - but when I've finished drafting a basic bodice, it feels oh so satisfying. As a result of this course though, I have had no time to work on any kids' outfits.

Drafting the front neckline of my bodice - I took a picture to help me remember how to place the French curve.

true story

Ok, so. True story.

Late 2003, I was pregnant with my first son. (He was born March 2004 and is now SEVEN years old!) I was talking with my husband on the phone and said, "Hey, won't it be cool if I get a sewing machine, then I can sew clothes for my baby!" I thought it was a brilliant idea.

Silence on the line. Then he says something to the effect of how I'd end up going crazy frustrated with the sewing machine. Anyway, new baby on the way, how would I find the time?

This was not quite the enthusiastic response I expected.

Then, Joshua was born. This baby turned our lives upside down because he refused to sleep. Of course he was cute, and sure, we adored him. But we were so sleep deprived. He was the reason my man started drinking coffee. And I was tired, all the time.

In 2009, and four kids and a helper later, I wondered again if I could get a sewing machine. This time, my man hauled me and our four down to town to buy me a sewing machine. I chose the simplest one I could find, just in case I did lose interest!

And now I sew.