Finding Joy in Sewing

    At the end of August, I decided that for September and probably October, because it's my birthday month, I would only wear skirts because they make me feel pretty and feminine. After work on August 28th, I went through my skirts to figure out what  I had. What variety of outfits would I be able to put together, and which ones would be "sacrificed" as work skirts? Between both jobs, there is always a possibility that they will get stained or damaged.

    After taking an inventory, I decided I needed a red skirt. Hubby's favourite colour. He has never asked me to get a red skirt, but I wanted one anyway. I tried looking for one a while ago with no luck. This time, I went to Amazon. Silly me was too concerned with the style and length to bother looking at the material used or how you put it on. Elastic vs zipper. So it had to be returned. Back to the drawing board.

    I decided to sew one instead. I already had the fabric from years ago and a sewing machine. I've had a love/hate relationship with my sewing machine all my life. Every time I run into a problem, I get frustrated and stop instead of trying to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it.

    So I pulled out my machine and started working on this skirt that I started years ago. My husband has this "1 hour" rule. When you start something new or try to learn something, you only put an hour a day into the task. That way when you start getting frustrated, confused or any other emotion, you remind yourself that you are only putting an hour into it, and then you will be done for the day. This method allows you to walk away after an hour and revisit it later on. I chose to work on it for an hour, and then take a break for a while, then return when I was ready. Using this method allowed me to complete the skirt by the end of the weekend and be proud of my accomplishment. After completing my skirt, I felt satisfied and ready to continue working on our love/hate relationship. I have always liked jobs and projects where you can see the final result when completed. I quickly learned after making my skirt that sewing would be a hobby that gave me that satisfaction.

    In the last few months, I have sewed a handful of things and attempted an alteration. The alteration didn't go as planned. But that's okay. I learned a lot through that attempted project and that's what matters.

    I still get frustrated sometimes but I no longer get angry and walk away. I am much better at troubleshooting and moving forward through the problems. I have learned a lot about fabric, needles and everything else. Now if I could just translate my ability to work through my sewing frustrations to the rest of my life. One thing at a time I guess.

    For years I thought that I wasn't good at sewing because I get easily frustrated and quit. I figured I didn't have the patience for it. But I always thought that it was a waste that I had a machine and yet never used it. Not anymore though, no more wasted talent or machine.  My "talent" is still very much at the beginner stage, but it's a good start.

    In regards to wearing skirts vs pants. It's now mid-November, and I have no interest in wearing pants anymore. I love feeling feminine in my skirts, and it has challenged me to get creative with my wardrobe. Instead of just wearing the same jeans and shirts every day. Plus instead of simply coming home and putting on track pants after my shower, I now put on a skirt and feel more put together and better about myself.

    The moral of the story is if you have a talent, even if it is small, practice and work through the frustrations that come with it. The result may surprise you.

I pray this post finds you well this evening and blesses you in whatever way you need.

God Bless

~Hannah

One of my first photos taken after getting my Canon. Good to look back sometimes and see how far you have come.