The Self Imposed Sewing Club

When the latest BMV sales offer arrived Sunday night, my first reaction was I haven't even got my last order yet, a thought quickly followed by and I haven't sewn anything from the order before. Having just read Victoria's posting Scaling Back A Good Bit, I recalled her words "I can't possibly have every pattern I want and let alone be able to sew it up."

I graduated high school in June 1980. My brother married the month before. My parent were young, 38 and 43, and they couldn't afford a wedding and a graduation so although I had a pattern picked out, I had to wear my bridesmaid's dress. I resented that for a long time even after I understood the reasoning from an adult perspective. It was a dream dress. It was my moment. I wanted that once in a life time opportunity to wear it. I only gave the pattern away a few years ago. Now, I want it back. It's a garment I regret not sewing.




In her blog 37 Days, Patti talks about the last 37 days of her stepfather's life - from diagnosis to death - and the huge impact that time had on her. She says what emerged was a renewed commitment to ask myself this question every morning "what would I be doing today if I only had 37 days to live?" For Patti, the answer is to write.

While I love to write - and it could quite possibly be said that I love to write more than I love to sew - what comes to mind are all the garments I've put off sewing because they are too where would I wear that-ish or worse yet, the years I put off sewing fashions all together waiting for the perfect body which I've since learned is the one I have right now.




If what can be worn at 18 looks silly at 28, worse at 38, and quite ridiculous at 48, it's equally probable that what can be worn at 48 will look silly at 58, worse a 68, and quite ridiculous at 78. No matter how amazing I age, I cannot imagine myself wearing a leopard print top, short skirt, and tippy heels at 78. Maybe but maybe not which means if I want to wear it, I better wear it now while I can and stop putting things off. Yesterday, I pulled out one of those bought but never worn belts, buckled it up, and wore it all day. So what if it makes me look short waisted and fat.

In This Thing Is Working, the Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, talks about her Self Imposed Sock Club. She writes... In January I matched 12 patterns I really wanted to get around to with 12 yarns I really wanted to get around to, rammed one set per month into ziplocks and shoved them onto the top shelf of my downstairs stash closet. Every month since then I've been drawing one at random, and I can't believe how much fun it is.




Sometimes when the BMV order finally arrives, I can't even remember what's in the package. This time, I've been excited about Donna Karan V1202 for weeks. It is so - absolutely not - small town Kamloops that I don't care. I'm going to sew it anyway. I don't want this to be another pattern I regret.

In fact, I'm debating a Self Imposed Sewing Club starting in September where I match up patterns I've been wanting to sew with fabrics that I've been putting off cutting into and once a month, I pull a package and sew it. What fun that would be. When I die, it's not coming with me. In fact, it's most likely not coming to the old folk's home so if not now, when?

Also eagerly awaited was V2934, an original 1950 jacket design. It's simple, elegant, a little bit different, doable with a skirt or jeans, fun, flirty, and somewhat unique - all adjectives I wouldn't mind describing myself. It needs to be sewn. In fact, I have two fabrics that would be just perfect. Perhaps this will be September's project to get me started and the Donna Karan would be perfect for November to wear to the Christmas party. YES YES!

A Self-Imposed Sewing Club - how does that sound to you? Can you relate? What have you been putting off? Will you get to it?

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - My daughter's Father-in-law has Type 1 diabetes. He recently bought himself a new pump and has gifted Kyle with his older model - FOR FREE. This is an INCREDIBLY generous - read thousands of dollars - gesture and an answer to prayer.

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Personal Growth - In their book The Art of Possibility, authors Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander put forward thoughts for transforming your professional and personal life. This is my second time reading the book. It's powerful. Simple not easy. I could read the book many times just to let the words sink in and to be remind of, and encouraged to continue, practicing these concepts.

In chapters like It's All Invented, Stepping into a Universe of Possibility, Giving an A, Being a Contribution, and Leading From Any Chair, the authors talk about new perspectives that encourage both ourselves and others. Perspectives that will allow us to consider if I had 37 days and move beyond I regret not sewing that dress and fall in love with the amazing potential of the Self Imposed Sewing Club.