Sewing and stuff

Or Stuff if you prefer to capitalize it.

One of the sewing forums I’ve been reading holds sewing contests throughout the year. One is called a SWAP (sewing with a purpose) and that always intrigued me because I like the idea of having a plan for my sewing. I want everything to go with everything, mostly, and I don’t want to have clothing orphans that just sit there never getting worn.

But I’ve realized these SWAPS are done a few times each year, maybe even each season. I don’t remember. Each one includes seven to 11 items of clothing. Now you can do the math as well as I can—if you sew seven pieces each season, you’ve got 28 new items of clothing every year. I don’t have room for 28 new pieces of clothing in my closet. What’s more, even if I did have that room, I don’t want that many items. That much clothing makes my brain hurt.

Here’s another ongoing projects—a jacket a month. Wow, 12 jackets each year?? My last job required professional business dress, not business casual, so I wore suits or suit-equivalent clothing every day. I owned just four jackets and that was plenty. I don’t need or want 12 of them.

I’ve realized this forum isn’t a good match for me. Those women are amazing sewists/seamstresses/sewers/whatever and are very generous with fitting/cutting advice. They really know their stuff. But I don’t fit in. From my perspective, they just never stop sewing clothing for themselves. Then they complain that their closets are full and they have massive stashes of fabric.

So that’s why I capitalized stuff. I think that kind of sewing becomes another way to accumulate things that end up cluttering my life and my brain. No thanks.

I have one final item to sew for my own, retooled wardrobe: a wool skirt that has a bit of stretch in it. Then I'm done sewing for myself until something wears out or somehow gets ruined. The rest of my sewing will be for others or for gifts or for the house.