Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy 4th and a Question

Happy 4th of July to Everyone!
Now, back sewing. I have a dilemma I have to solve. I love sewing clothes; home dec, accessories, handbags - not so much, unless I absolutely have to and need to. On the other hand, I have many clothes, MANY! As a matter of fact, I do not need more clothes at all! DD is pretty much the same way, besides, with her being terrified by pins, it is harder to sew for. My husband doesn't want me to sew for him. So, what do I do? Do I just continue making stuff for myself regardless that I may not need it, per se?
Hope everyone enjoys the holiday weekend and their family!

21 comments:

Robyn said...

You know, I go back and forth. I get on a clothes kick and then get tired of clothes and make bags. Then I get tired of those and quilt. Then I get tired of quilts and make home dec items and so forth. I used to ONLY like clothes. Have you really given the other things a fair shot? Maybe you'll learn to enjoy taking a break and rotating about.

If that fails, just keep on making yourself clothes! Can't really have too many, right? (Tell that to my closet.)

Robyn said...

P.S. If I had your body, hair, face and were as photogenic as you are, I'd never tire of making myself clothes. Me, on the other hand, I think I look good in something till I see the photo and cringe and never want to wear it again.

Lisa said...

You have a great eye for design. Have you thought about making clothing and selling it to others?

Rachel said...

I have the same dilemma as you. I have more than enough clothes, but I still love to sew for myself, particularly dresses. I finally decided to just keep sewing for myself because I enjoy it and it is a stress reliever. I bought some of those huggable hangers from Bed, Bath, and Beyond that are supposed to take up less space with the same amount of clothing. I don't think that is what they call them, but that is what HSN calls them. I guess when my closet explodes, I will get rid of some of it.

susan said...

Well, unless you want to make this your profession, you have a 'passion/hobby' on your hands. Whether it is sailing, stamp collecting or sewing, a 'passion/hobby' is always a great, big pit into which one throws dollars (handful after handful). To offset this, I would get to a market and sell your extra, donate/give the rest and keep on enjoying creating (knowing that you are also shifting the surplus around the world). This balance might be what you are looking for?

JLo said...

Have you thought about selling on Etsy.com? Kids clothes in particular seem to sell well on there.

Nancy K said...

How about donating those you don't wear to the local woman's shelter? You can keep sewing with a clear conscious

Maja said...

I have a lot of clothes, certainly more than I need. What I do is, twice or three times a year, I completely clean out my closet and donate, give away or throw away(what has been worn to the ground) all the clothes I don't wear, need or like anymore. This also gives me an overview of what I have enough of and what I need, or rather would like to have, more of.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I can't wait to get to that point - I'm so busy plugging long standing holes in my wardrobe I don't have time to do anything detailed. It probably doesn't help that the yarn keeps calling me away from the fabric...

With that pressure off, I'd still sew garments, but each one would be better than anything in the closet already. I'd play with all the couture techniques, and buy the "good" fabric and take my time - in the end I'd have all those well constructed, excellently fitted, couture garments.

If all my garments were like that already... sorry, my imagination doesn't stretch that far ;).

Tany said...

I don't need new clothes either(but I need more storage space!!!) and I keep sewing for myself because that's what I love to do.

Hope you had a wondeful holiday!

Meg said...

Oh, I hear you on this one. I too often feel like I have plenty of clothes. So I'm sewing more these days for my 16-year-old daughter. She is of the age where you there is no such thing as too many clothes.

Jamaica Organic Agriculture Movement said...

I too share this dilemma. You make very beautiful clothes. You could consider donating them to charity or to some young person who would appreciate them.

Having too much "stuff" even if they are things we made or enjoy can eventually take a toll on your psyche.

Please tell us what you decide!
:-)

Rhoto said...

What a WONDERFUL question!!
Hi!! I'm visiting from Anne Mahler's blog ;)
Would you enjoy making beautiful skirts for young gals oversees who have nothing?
Or for a neighbour friend down the street who would be THRILLED to have something new?
Or for those in a women's shelter who fled in the night with nothing?
Maybe there's food for thought??
Warm Greetings from Montreal QC
Rhonda

Ann said...

Keep sewing what you love... clothes for yourself where you can be experimental and creative. Get more picky about what you keep passing the rejects on to charity. If you sew for others or for selling it becomes more like work and repetitive and hence, less creative. Keep sewing what you love.

Sue said...

I am with some of the other commenters and, even though I don't think I have too many clothes yet, I have started sewing items that take a lot longer to make and focusing on more difficult techniques. I couldn't stop though - otherwise change to sewing other items for awhile.

Gretchen the Household Deity said...

I am in no way qualified to answer this question. My closet is at the bursting point, but I can't stop sewing!

Anonymous said...

What about something you haven't tried? Underwear, bras, lingerie?

Mon Café Couture said...

I'd say keep doing what you want to do, I'm sure you did not sew your clothes because you needed to, but for your own pleasure. I switch to painting, then come back to sewing, and if I'm not inspired I make jewelry or nothing and so it turns again and again:)

Jenaveve said...

With the risk of sounding insanely jealous (and in the most complimentary way, of course!) I aspire to be exactly in this position one day.

And I know what I would do once I got there: I would begin creating historical pieces, outfits from different eras. No idea what I would actually do with them, it would be purely for the pleasure of garment construction, a challenge, and recreating beautiful pieces from the past.

Very interested to see where your question takes you.

Dei said...

It is as much the process as it is the product. You love to sew, so do what you love. There is nothing wrong with donating or selling items that you don't wear. You can sew for other, put your talent should always be explored. Keep sewing.

Marita said...

Hey there Adriana,

now don't you stop sewing!!! How can you even think about such thing?? start sewing couture, Sue had a good point, make things in more timeconsuming way and more difficult projects, don't stop!!!You are one of the most gifted sewers around this blogging community, it would be an enormous loss to us all.