Game Plan, April 2013

As mentioned in my previous post, things are changing – for the better – here at Mostly Raaw Edges. I’ve got themes and goals and I want to share them with you!

This month, the theme is stash busting. For those of you who don’t craft, a stash is a collection of materials that crafters have at the ready. It sounds great, but stashes grow out of control faster than children grow up! And my fabric stash is no different.

So for April, I am joining the 2013 Stashbusting Sewalong, created by CationDesigns and EmSewCrazy. And here is my pledge:

"I, Ebi of Mostly Raaw Edges, commit to sewing only from stash fabric in April 2013, by creating projects for what I have. I commit to using at least six pieces of stash fabric this month, and buying fewer pieces of fabric than I use from my stash."

My goal in joining this challenge, besides reducing my stash, is to get over my fear of ‘ruining’ fabric, and to reduce lag time between projects.

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Next, I have a personal goal. I have been talking about opening an Etsy store for-ev-er, and finally it is time to put my money where my mouth is. My goal is to sew ten or more items by April 30, so I may open my store in May 2013. This ties nicely into the stash busting goal, because some of the fabrics in my collection are no longer very ‘me’ – but they could be very ‘you’ or ‘someone you know’!

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Finally, my professional goal. Starting up a clothing line is a monumental undertaking, but just like the pyramids were built one brick at a time, so will I build my line. I’ve finally got a decent collection of sketches, so my next hurdle is making samples of my designs to see how they look in real life. My goal this month is to make one finished and perfected sample. It may be a new design, or it may be the Peekaboo Polo Tee which debuted in February. We shall see…

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Whew! April is going to be a busy month. Better get cracking!

Showers, Fools, and Sewing News

Today in Boston I got caught in some serious rain on the way home, and thought: ‘April showers bring May flowers’. Which is all well and good, of course, but not when the rain is beating down directly on your head! I came home and had to put a towel on my wet hair.

It’s the first of the month and almost three months since I began blogging! The time is right to introduce some structure to Mostly Raaw Edges. Each month, I will have a theme, personal goal, and professional goal, which I will share with you. The theme will shape my sewing for the month as well as determine which other sewing blogs and online media I share with you. The personal goal is just that, but it’s nice to say it publicly and be accountable to that statement! Lastly, the professional goal has to do with bringing my clothing line, Raaw Atalanta, from an idea to reality.

I hope you stick around for the new changes, because I think they’ll make Mostly Raaw Edges more engaging and educational for you – and what is life without new ideas and fun times?

(ha-ha-ha! Happy April Fool’s Day, courtesy of Google.)

Be a Satisfactionist

Sue Kim made up the term ‘satisfactionist’ to recommend those of us who sew be more focused on satisfying sewing, than perfect sewing. It does not mean we set out to sew crooked seams or bumpy hems! Being a satisfactionist means accepting the little ‘oopsies’ that occur during sewing, without letting those ‘oopsies’ jade our view of our handiwork. It is important to enjoy sewing, and it is gratifying to be fully proud of our efforts.

When we begin sewing, we hold ourselves to the standards of items we bring home from the store – items sewn on specialized, powerful machines by people who use them eight or more hours a day, five or more days a week. Or we want our projects to look exactly the projects of our grandma, who has been sewing for longer than we’ve been alive. Or exactly like our favorite sewing blogger (who, let’s face it, probably does not share her duds!). So time and again, we come up short.

But that isn’t very satisfying, is it?

It is satisfying to credit ourselves when we finish our projects, when we tackle new techniques, and when we fudge things that turn out to be awesome. And it is very satisfying to graciously accept compliments on our work! We don’t have to mention that the interior stitching was done in two colors because we ran out of thread, or that our hem is slightly uneven, or that our buttons don’t quiiite line up with our buttonholes.

Sew for satisfaction, and be satisfied with what you sew.

Circle and Twirl

I absolutely love this skirt! I think it is one of the most darling things I’ve made so far, and I’m looking forward to giving it a good home, courtesy of my new Etsy store, The Be Market! (More on that in a future post.)

Circle skirts are pretty straight forward to make, though their simplicity means that you can get very creative with them. For this skirt, I love the free-floating hem embellishment I made (above), as well as the ribbons I inserted in the side seam (below).

If you’d like to make your own circle skirt, here’s a a great tutorial to get you started!

Just Call Me Goldilocks

As mentioned before, my first attempt at a Floral Bag by Sue Kim was too big. So I went ahead and made the smaller version … only to find it fits my laptop, and not much else. Too small! On the plus side, I still love this bag pattern.

I didn’t put any pockets in, both to speed up construction and because a gathered interior encourages pockets to tip over, spilling everything out of them. But for my intended usage, pockets are really a necessity. I could always wear one of those new-fangled cross body bags which are coming into vogue, but I like my bag to be my purse as well.

Nonetheless, I’m going to make another Floral Bag, in a size halfway between the large and the small, and I’m going to figure out a way to make effective interior pockets, too. And maybe some subtle exterior ones, too! I’m envisioning something country and rustic, like little blue flowers on a red and white gingham background. Maybe with a cheerful yellow lining? We shall see.

Giving Up On Catching Up

Confession time: I’m not a very trendy person. Or rather, I’m not trendy in a timely fashion. It takes me two to four years before I finally hop on the bandwagon, by which time the trends have begun to shift ever so slightly. The other day I realized that my mistimed wardrobe changes are part of the reason I am often unhappy with my appearance, and I decided that I need to more strongly develop my own personal style, so that I am less upset by fashion changes in the world around me. That, and I need to be more adventurous about jumping on things while they’re hot! Part of the fun of fashion is the play aspect of engaging fully with whatever the fashion gods deem ‘hot’. Right?

Floral Bag, or Who’s Laughing Now?

Say hello to the Floral Bag from Sue Kim’s fabulous book, Bags: the Modern Classics!

I made the large size, and it is HUUUUUGE! I’m embarrassed to wear it in public, because it is so big. It reminds me of the trend of giant bags a few years back, do you remember that one? I secretly used to laugh at women carrying bags large enough to stash a two-year old baby in. But who’s laughing now, hmmm?

However, the good thing about the size is that the scale of the print on the fabric matches the vastness of the bag perfectly, so it’s actually looks and feels appropriate and intentional. With it’s size and light weight, this bag is perfect for travel, whether as a carry on for a flight or as a weekender for a short getaway.

And from a personal standpoint, this bag neatly fits into my complement of purple travel bags – I just realized that all of my luggage is purple!