Inspiration

Since being bit by the sewing bug, I've become addicted to Pattern Review. It's a really lovely site that covers all things sewing - pattern reviews, message boards, articles on sewing related goodies, and a bunch of other fun stuff. I already have a stash of patterns that I've picked up during Joann's sales and I love browsing the site to see what other sewers have created with the patterns I'm drawn to - the successes, the tips for making the garment better for others that will make it, design ideas that I wouldn't have thought of on my own, etc. Many of the reviewers link back to their blogs and I've amassed quite a list of sewing blogs in my Google Reader.

I've been reading through older entries in their blogs and I find that I am so completely inspired by these women. The beautiful clothes they make are a huge part of it, but I'm also so happy to find a whole group of women from all walks of life out there that are into all things creative. Party planning, knitting, photography, decorating, cooking and a whole host of other creative hobbies and outlets are represented alongside sewing. They're mothers and daughters, stay at home moms and happily sans kids, single and married, here in the US and living abroad. It's gonna sound silly, but I just feel at home reading these blogs. I'm going to be adding a list of my sewing peeps to my sidebar soon, just in case any of you are feeling the need for some inspiration in your creative endeavors.

All of these warm fuzzies are doing nothing for keeping my list of sewing projects reasonable, though. I see so many things that I want to make and not enough time to do it. I have at least 5-6 projects going right now with dozens waiting in the wings. My fabric and pattern stash are growing at incredible rates, but I can't say I'm all that upset by this. Heh. Thankfully, Jim is being a good sport and not commenting (much) on all the crazy.

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Between my fashion intervention with Diabolina and starting to sew, I find that my head is bursting with fashion and accessory ideas, especially for the upcoming fall season, and I'm having trouble keeping it all straight. Since I can't sketch to save my life, something that is quite sad to me, I've started tearing out things that I like from catalogues and magazines and will start putting them in a book that I can reference later. I never thought I'd be one to do an inspiration book, but I'm pretty excited at the prospect of it. I think it'll be a nice way of keeping all my ideas in one place and will free up some much needed brain space for other things.