I've been sorting out a lot of items I've accumulated -- selling some off, giving some away, upcycling or recycling the rest. When I started this project, at first I was annoyed with myself for not being realistic about how much room we have in this small house and how much free time I really have each day.
Over the past few weeks, I find my attitude toward myself is shifting, and I am more compassionate towards my younger self who wanted to try out everything and learn all kinds of new skills and revive old skills.
In that last category was sewing. I hated learning it in Home Ec but once I was out in the world, I got better skills and from time to time I've enjoyed making, repairing, and altering clothing. Not fancy things, for sure, but I could do simple projects.
About ten or twelve years ago, I got the bug to alter some clothes. An author I admire once said n an interview that when she started making some money, one of the things she did was to have some blouses altered. Clothing I buy off the rack could use a little adjustment; the shoulder seems need to be brought up some, and my pants legs often need hemming as I am long in the torso but have legs that are average length. So I got the idea to buy a budget-priced sewing machine and make some improvements to my wardrobe. My young-teenage daughter was taking a summer class in sewing so I thought, "Hey, we can work together on our machine skiulls!"
Well, we couldn't. My daughter was fine with sewing a skirt but that was all she really wanted to do with summer sewing. And I found that my aging eyes made it difficult to thread the sewing machine. I could get the bobbin and then, with great effort, get the thread through all the loops and eyes till I pulled it through the needle. But then I dreaded needing to change thread colors or having the thread break. The window of time for me to sew comfortably was closed. I sold off the machine.
but I kept a couple of the patterns, thinking I might do some simple projects, like vests, by hand. And then I moved twice, and you know -- various things happened. Recently I sent ofrf one pattern book to a friend and any others I find will go to Goodwill. I'm not mad at the me that was unrealstic about taking on sewing projects; I understand why I still hoped I could do it. But I have plenty of clothes and can easily find replacments at the thrift store if something goes completely to pieces. The pandemic still goes on so I don't need a bunch of going-places clothes anyway. And there are some advantages to being more realistic, like not having to sort out %^&$#%@& boxes of %(*!#@$%$# stuff!
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