Because I Wanted To

    These days sewing is a chore for the most part. It's a thing I can do, a thing I am good at, but not a thing that I enjoy. I usually have to talk myself into it. Part of that is because I have to drag out and set up the machine before I can do anything. It is not really worth it to pull out the machine for one article of doll clothing. So I make sure I have several things prepped, and then the sewing takes a lot longer. And in turn, it takes longer for me to talk myself into starting.

     Yesterday I took out my sewing machine because I wanted to. I have a project for me, and I did it because I wanted to, not because I had to. I'll admit, it took a bit of time (weeks) to actually take the stuff out, prep the material, and get into the project, but I did this for me. 

      I even tried new things! I used my cutting mat to measure and cut. I also used pins. Now I have used pins in sewing before, but I almost never use them while I am sewing doll clothes. They are just so small (the doll clothes) that I don't really have a need for pins. The longest seam is only a few inches after all. But I wanted my edges to line up nicely, and I needed this to be even all the way across. So I used pins. And a stretch stitch, which I have never done with this machine in all the many years I have had it. 

     And I made several little velvet bags. One of them, I forgot to do the narrower fold on the long side of the fabric, so the bag ended up wider and you can see a bit of unfinished edge (I guess just if you are looking for it, which I was) where the drawstring goes in. But stretch velvet is a pretty forgiving fabric, even though it is a huge pain to work with, and I really like how these bags came out. These are not new to me. I have made lots and lots of drawstring bags over the years. Just not in a very long time. 

    Since I already had the machine out I figured I would get into a doll outfit as well. I probably should have done this on Thursday, or maybe Friday, but I didn't. Because I didn't want to. Because I needed time to do just things that I wanted, and not just things I had to do. But since I already had the machine out, and these pieces were quick, I got them taken care of. Now to prep a body (not today!) and get the doll dressed. His chaps are already mostly finished, so I have a nice start. 

     It was definitely nice to do some sewing because I wanted to. To make something that I have no intention of offering for sale. And while they are not perfect, they are really nice bags, and were kind of enjoyable to make. Though the thing I like most about sewing is what I can do with it, not the actual act of doing it. Maybe today I will also do things just because I want to. I keep on thinking about my custom horse in the closet. He needs a tail, some sanding (and then more sanding, and more sanding) and some other bits of work. Maybe I will do something with her this week.