My husband's birthday is this weekend and we're planning a date night on Friday so a new top was in order. Luckily it's Selfish Sewing Week. I'm really into the shape of the shoulder of the Bess Top (*affiliate link) by Imagine Gnats right now AND it's a super quick sew so I grabbed the pattern and cut one out.
And then it sat for ages. Confession time: I was originally planning to sew this for Valentine's day. Blurg.
See what happens is this: I get the idea that I should sew something for myself and then lose steam before it's finished. The problem is that I only have short bursts of time in which I can sew and completing something for myself is difficult within those time frames. It will usually take about three or four "rest times" for me to get something completed for myself. In comparison I could get get three or four tops finished for Bean during that same period of time. It feels extra selfish to take all that time to make one thing for myself. Even during this Selfish Sewing Week I've had trouble focusing on making something just for me.
I know it's not really selfish and that it's important to take care of oneself and have personal achievements and all of that. I know it, but it still seems like an inefficient use of my time sometimes...
And then I finish something for myself and it feels so good that I make ridiculous crazy eyes like these when I'm trying to take decent pictures, hehe. I love making things for Bean and it makes me really happy to see her wearing all mama made clothes most days, but wow is it satisfying to wear something I made for myself. I don't know why I always forget that feeling, but I know I want to remember it.
So when the ladies at Shaffer Sisters asked if I wanted to CoHost their Sew-abration of Womanhood series I happily agreed. There are many reasons we don't take the time to sew for ourselves and this series really focuses on how we can overcome some of those issues to make lovely things made just for us. Starting tomorrow and throughout the rest of May we'll hear from a great group of bloggers, focusing on clothes for women and some of the challenges we face. There'll be a link up and a giveaway too so it should be a great month.
In the meantime SSW extends through the weekend so be sure to take the time to make something for yourself. For inspiration you should check out these amazing Selfish Sewing Week featured bloggers.
milkybeer · Behind the Hedgerow · jm_subrn · Sew What, Sherlock? Lladybird · sew Amy sew · the Brodrick Design Studio · adirondack inspired The Crooked Banana · Sewbon · Idle Fancy · girl like the sea oona aloona · Lauren Dahl · verypurpleperson · la inglesita Groovybaby...and mama · Buzzmills · La Pantigana · sew a straight line Dandelion Drift · JustMeJay · B Yazoo · Disaster In A Dress the quirky peach · Fishsticks Designs · Seamstress Erin · a happy stitch Casa Crafty · Sarah Jane Sews · YoSaMi · Call Ajaire · miss matatabi
And of course the Selfish Sewing Week giveaway too!
I hope you enjoy this little break from children's clothing. Don't worry, Bean and I will be back to our usual tricks come June and I have lots of fun stuff going on behind the scenes too!
It looms great! And I know what you mean, sewing for ourselves takes so much longer but I love it! And I don't think your eyes look crazy. :)
ReplyDeleteLooks lovely on you dear. I am excited to co-host with you. I think we have come along way in one year..don't you think?
ReplyDeleteWith Love,
Scary
Thanks April! I love it too, but I have to remind myself of that more often :)
ReplyDeleteI'm excited too! I think it's a really great series and I'm excited to see what everyone posts :)
ReplyDeleteOoh, that fabric is pretty!! I'm with ya on selfish sewing- I like finishes and women's wear takes longer. We are the NOW generation. Well you look great and even though I swore off selfish sewing for the 3rd time, reading this makes me want another go. I want that satisfaction!! Have fun on your date night, and congrats on marrying a Taurus. They are rock solid. I'm not biased or anything.
ReplyDeleteeep! I was so excited to see a fellow DY-er pop up in my feed from over at Imagine Gnats! love the top, love your site, and love selfish sewing : ) I hosted a month long challenge for it on my blog back in March and you are so right - I put off things for me because of all the other projects that seem to take priority and not having long chunks of time to work, but it is so good to make time to sew for ourselves, and I loved carving out that time (you know, right before I went back to making for everyone else ; ) enjoy your date night!
ReplyDeleteSarah I'm so happy you found me! It great seeing a former classmate in this crazy blogging world! Your photography is so good by the way. I stopped by your site last night and I'm super impressed :) I mean, the sewing is amazing too, but I love your pictures of everything. It's really well done!
ReplyDeleteDid you finish the notebook dress Amy? Did I miss it? I think I remember you hitting a minor hiccup on the final version, but I might be making that up based on a picture I saw on instagram haha. I really wanted to see that fabric in the final dress. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's a small world, huh? And thank you so much for the kind words about my photos - I have terrible lighting to work with most of the time but have gotten quite adept at editing : P Enjoy the tail end of your selfish sewing week!
ReplyDeleteIt looks great on you.Congrats on sewing for yourself. I have just printed the Bess top two days ago, but I might take a little to make mine.
ReplyDeleteIt's finished. I figured out how to get the humpy poof out of the back, but I'm not really satisfied with how it turned out...it will be posted on Monday. Meh.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sewing this and posting pictures. As a curvy girl, I get so tired of seeing only the XS/S version of patterns. This shirt is very pretty and flattering. Out of curiosity, what type of fabric is that? It lays very nicely.
ReplyDeleteLovely top! What did you use for the binding?
ReplyDelete