Friday, December 10, 2021

Well it's December Twenty Twenty-One

2021 has been a strange year in so many ways.  I had so much hope when the year dawned because there was a vaccine available and a fair and equitable distribution plan was being enacted.  Americans had just elected a new President and it seemed as if we would have a new normal come Summer.

Now as December speeds towards the end of the year, people's choices not to vaccinate or get a booster has meant that we're on to the next variant, another surge which will claim more lives and in some countries more restrictions or another lockdown.  Here in the US, since lockdowns are so reviled, we're learning to live with Covid, people are still dying of Covid and other treatable health issues because hospitals are maxxed out.

Everything about our lives pre-Covid has changed. If you deny it, then you're either oblivious, unwilling to accept the change or delusional. Yes, I did say that because we're entering Year Three of dealing with Covid.

Covid has caused change in my life too. After almost two years of primarily working from home ~ I go into the office two days a week from April to November. Now that it's dark at 4:30pm, I'm mostly working from home. Which of course has changed what and how I much I sew.

Not only sew but buy, too.  I go through stages where I buy no fabric or patterns for months and then I lose my mind and buy all the things.  All this to say that 2021 has continued to be all about change for me.

In January, I changed my sewing room again.

I changed what I'm comfortable wearing at home especially during the winter months.

I changed how I view my hobby.  Solidifying it as a hobby and having a limited role as a social media influencer role. Realizing that route is not for me and better left to the sewists who want to take that on. However, I will rep Janome 'til the day I die! 

I've changed what types of fabrics I'm buying and storing.  My life has changed and while I love beautiful woolens and silks they're not practical for my life now. That's not to say that an amazing fabric might not make it into my wardrobe but they won't be the basis of my wardrobe the way they were before.  Also, while I'm making fabric purchases, it could be weeks, months or years before it actually becomes a garment.

Mostly though, I've changed my attitude.  For years I used sewing and creativity as a refuge from bad job situations, messy relationships issues and as a safe haven from anything I didn't want to deal with.  2021 brought an end to all of that and now I sew as the spirit moves since I have peace in so many areas of my life. THAT in itself has been a learning experience.

My sewjo has come and gone several times this year and sometimes for extended periods which is a new thing for me. It's also reflected here on the blog since this is the first year that I've posted so lightly.  However, as the year comes to an end and Christmas approaches, I will have vacation days to sew and wallow in my craft. I'm so looking forward to the wallowing!


I do have a list.  I've cut quite a few items out and the desire to sew is STRONG! I even have a series of shirts cut out for "The Borderprint Shirt Series Part 2". I'm loving the challenge of puzzling out how to work with and show off the border prints to their maximum advantage.  So there will be more garment posts before the end of the year and into 2022.

While I don't believe this will be the last post of the year, I do hope you will continue to follow my sewing journeys into 2022.


...as always more later!




28 comments:

  1. Your blog is so enjoyable and I identify with what you say about the world as well as sewing. You were the first blogger I signed up and I will continue as long as you continue. As you are the Queen of border prints I look forward to your sequel. I hope you have one of the best holiday seasons yet. Merry Christmas to you and all of yours. Jean

    ReplyDelete
  2. Merry Christmas I look forward to reading more of your adventures in sewing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Happy Christmas Carolyn. So much to enjoy and respect about what you've shared here. You've been a little bit more personal than usual and touched ever so lightly on politics. I think everybody who has blogged long term sooner or later comes to understand that being limited to only discussing ones hobby sustains an unreal one dimensional representation about the fullness of our lives as human beings. Bravo, I sense you taking baby steps...

    ReplyDelete
  4. I live your voice, both for the sewing and other aspects of your life. Here to follow as long as you're willing to share and post! Best wishes for a healthy, happy 2023!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Really enjoy the content of your blog and quite a few have given me pause to think.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dear Carolyn, apart from being a brilliant sewist, you write very well too. Your summary of the Covid situation seems to reflect what we experience here in Australia, and yes, the world has not returned to 'normal', and perhaps never will be the same again. Our State is opening its borders on Monday, and Covid rates are expected to soar. I expect we will once again choose to stay home, avoid crowds, and possibly sew clothes which may not be worn for a long time! I look forward to the results of your sewcation, and hope I can have one too after Christmas. What you can do with a border print is peerless. Happy Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I really enjoy following your blog, Carolyn, so I will definitely be following you into 2022. Happy Christmas to you and yours.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love reading your blog. Your makes are inspiring, & always add to my own love of border prints

    ReplyDelete
  9. If nothing else, I'm glad you have peace in your life, so sewing doesn't need to be a refuge. Always enjoy your blog. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I thoroughly enjoy your blog. It's like having a conversation with you.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I hope you never stop writing your blog, however infrequently. You are so inspiring as a sewist, so creative and skilled. And I appreciate that you share your opinions and experiences beyond sewing, too. May your holidays be magical and your new year a blessing. Thank you for this blog.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm with you Carolyn, I had hopes, but they have been dashed. As long as you are blogging, I will be here reading it and enjoying and commenting. Love those blue prints you are showing and that red floral is really spectacular. Keep on keepin on!

    ReplyDelete

  13. so moved by this. I too have had ups and downs. What has impacted my mojo most is that I am working at vaccine clinic nearly F/T. Wearing what is comfortable rather than smart. (You know what I mean)
    As we head into the new year filled with questions new vaccine, more variants overcrowding in Hospitals I want the escape and can manage only an hour or so if great once or twice a week. A far cry my old life. My hope and prayers for us all in the coming year and just support from and to each other will get us through and out to the new normal. Carolyn, please keep us in the loop of your sewing. I am fascinated by the border review above and look forward to seeing them modeled.
    With peace, Peg Happy Holidays

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm always inspired by your blog posts and hope they continue for many years. Thank you for always reminding me to make time for the creative hobby that I love, but that so often is on my backburner while I'm busy with the responsibilities.

    ReplyDelete
  15. We've had plenty of practice in negotiating change, haven't we? And that may be a good thing for most of us, I believe. Seeing your projects come to life and following your thoughts about sewing and life in general has been a blessing to me. We are not alone in trying to reconstruct our lives within the reality of COVID-19. I, for one, am still seeking an emotional and physical "new normal." And I appreciate your honesty when you talk abut how you're seeking it, too. So, onward to 2022!

    ReplyDelete
  16. As long as you write, I’ll read.

    ReplyDelete
  17. The border print works are really well considered and frankly there's some serious inspiration there.

    I don't think we are ever going to be the same, both for the better and the worse, and I don't want to go back to how it was for the most part (the need to be violent and hateful I can skip)(I have had enough conversations with customers to make me realize there's a chunk of the population that NOTHING changed for at all, and that concerns me. You'd have to be dead to not have the world changed for you, or very rich and well insulated from reality)
    Whatever you want to sew or write about, I am here for all of it. Much love to you and yours for this holiday season and the new year and the rest of it.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Long Live the Diary!!!! ;-) I have fewer sewing blog posts this year than I have had since I started blogging in 2005. I just haven't felt chatty this year....and the sewing has been minimal. But it's so good to hear from blogging buddies...thanks for keeping at it!

    ReplyDelete
  19. You are truly the Queen of the Border Print! I can't wait to see more along that line . For me, and it's my third attempt, I am now truly retired and loving returning to more blogging, sewing and all around creativity. That said, my sewing has definitely changed as well. I decided to put more emphasis on upcycling, mending and repair and then spending more money less often on specific garments to be sewn. I am buying a "speedweave" and can't wait to try that. Life is good. You know it's all about change. We can choose to go with that and grow or not. I think we've both gone the growth route. May you have a great 2022 with your new sewing digs and new choices and opportunities.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oh Carolyn, I so agree with you about the state of our world. Let's not give up hope and, as always, I will continue to read and enjoy your wonderful blog. Merry Christmas to you and your lovely family! Karen

    ReplyDelete
  21. Congrats on being in a happier job and relationship place. I look forward to seeing what you do with the border prints.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Your writings are appreciated. Happy that you are in a more peaceful place, Merry Christmas

    ReplyDelete
  23. Carolyn,

    The promise this year held, and the forces which crapped on that promise, are all very telling.

    Could more practical (dare I say "comforting"), fabric choices be the trend of the 20s. With fewer places to display fine fibers, rising temperatures, and casual chic, linen will soon be the practical fiber to rival cotton in earnest (give it 6 or 7 years for this decade's yowl to become audible).

    Whatever your path, you travel with a crowded sidecar.

    A reader

    ReplyDelete
  24. Thank you for your thoughts. You have put into words what I have been feeling, but didn't know how to say. I'm in two sewing groups and come empty handed to their show and tell, feeling guilty. Sometimes it feels like a forced march. Thank you for permission to sew when I feel like it and not feel compelled to have something for my groups each month.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I read this post and never commented. But then my mojo was sparked and I felt so good to be sewing...it resonates with me even more now:

    "I've changed my attitude. For years I used sewing and creativity as a refuge from bad job situations, messy relationships issues and as a safe haven from anything I didn't want to deal with. 2021 brought an end to all of that and now I sew as the spirit moves since I have peace in so many areas of my life."

    Such a wonderful sentiment! Thank you for sharing, as always!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. You may no longer want that role of "influencer", but you will always be an inspiration to me and many others. Thank you for this post, and for all of them, past and into 2022. I'll be reading and sewing!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! It is so appreciated!

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails