Ever Onward

...in the midst of everything, 

I've been tidying and/or escaping by reading novels.  

 

~ rare needlework instruction book, Dublin 1833 with samples of sewing, embroidery, knitting and miniature clothing ~

 

But I did finish going through all my clothes (which included tops, skirts, pants, dresses, jackets, coats, scarves, hats, gloves, socks, undies, pjs, shoes, boots and bags).  Oh my.

 

 

~ Guerra de la Paz ~

 

Let me give you the stats.  

I got rid of 32 big garbage bags (to Goodwill). It me took about 3 weeks to go through all the clothes, and then reorganize what I kept and put it in place.

 

I'll break it down by category: 

 

4 bags of tops to go, 4 big piles to stay, took 2 days  

3 bags of dresses/skirts to go, 3 big piles to stay, took 2 days 

6 bags of pants to go, 3 big piles to stay, took 1 days

3 bags of jackets/coats, 4 big piles to stay, took 2 days 

0 bags of hats/gloves/scarves to go, all stayed, took 1 day 

4 bags of socks/undies/pjs to go, 3 piles to stay, took 2 days 

8 bags of shoes/boots, ? to stay (just enough to fit in my available  space!), took 6 days 

4 bags of purses/totes, ? to stay (I stopped counting the keepers), took 2 days                                               

 

 

Then I went on to books...

                                            ...but that's another story.

    

Quarantining and KonMari-ing

 

The perfect match.

 

 

~ Quarantine Collection, Fedora and Florals, Han Cao ~ 

 

 

 

Yes, I was feeling swallowed up by all my things after being sheltered-in-place for the last 5 (or was it 6?) months now.  

~ "Paisajes" series, Cecilia Paredes, multi-media artist ~

Especially by my hand-made clothes and that unrelenting fabric stash.  Oh, my.

 ~ Phyllis Galembo, Fine Art Photographer ~

 

 

 So, after reading Marie Kondo's Spark Joy and starting with her first step of tidying,

I pulled out all my clothes in one place...

  

~ Song Dong, installation artist ~

No, I didn't make an art installation out of it (darn!), it was more like a mountain overflowing the bed.  I did, however, manage it somewhat by excavating one sub-category of clothes at a time.  That would be "tops."  I did want to be able to sleep on the bed every night after all.  And I have a lot of clothes. 

No, I don't have any pictures of the process.  I was too involved in it.  You're supposed to gather all the clothes from wherever they might be in the house.  (Excluding those of my spouse.  He has the bare minimum anyway.)  

 

I did include my mother's stuff that had been left untouched in the so-called guest room since she passed away 6 years ago.  And the enclosed back porch off my sewing room which contained all the clothes I was going to recycled.  aiyiyi.  You can't imagine.

 

 I actually ended up trying on everything to see if I liked it, if it fit, if I would wear it, and most importantly if it "sparked joy."  If it did, it went into another pile in the adjoining room for saved "tops."  The discarded items went into a black garbage bag for Goodwill.  My husband put them in the car right away so I wouldn't be tempted to go through them again.  They went to Goodwill at regular intervals.

I kept track of how many bags went out and how many piles stayed in.  Tops: 4 out, 4 in.  Of the 4 to keep: 2 summer, 1 winter & 1 to mend.  The whole process for tops took 2 days.

 

Stay tuned for the next update.

p.s.  I started tidying on Wednesday, July 8, 2020!

 

I've Got Highlights for 2019!

Wow!

~ Sewcialists Top Highlights ~

Yeah, at first I thought "huh?"  But upon further consideration, I came up with some really good ones.

I officially retired this year, 
signing up for social security, medicare, etc.  And I also retired all my licensures, registrations, certifications, memberships and insurance for practicing as an Art Therapist and Clinical Counselor.  (phew is right)

Although I am still teaching a painting class at the local college (30+ years).

~ end of year class photo ~

That's me in the dress.

I finally organized some stuff this year, finally!  

And they're still organized!  That would be the junk room which I've completely cleared out.  Now all my gloves and scarves are organized by color in those clear hanging pouch-like things in the hall closet. Purses, bags and totes are arranged by size on shelves in the same hall closet.  Winter coats in there too, with light coats/ jackets in the spare room closet.  

I could go on and on here, but you get the idea.

Someone made me a quilt! 

It was completely unexpected and quite a thrill to receive.  Made out of fabric scraps from clothes I had made...and I still had no idea that it was going to happen.

~ Thanks Jackie, it's a nightly affair ~

I upped my exercise regime and monitored my nutrition intake in January 2019 for 3 months.  

And have kept off the weight and inches all year!  I've continued my regular exercise and eating program after the 3-month intensive and I'm at my lowest weight/inches in decades, decades, people.  Thanks to all the support from my coach, sister exercisers, friends and especially, my True Love.

~ I feel great! ~

And writing all this down has made me feel even better.  What a great idea Sewcialists!

I'll be linking up to Patti @ Not Dead Yet Style and Catherine's I Will Wear What I Like when they go live.  Come on by.

 

Spring Studio Sweep

But first, a shoe shot especially for Bella's ShoeShine.  

~ my flamin' oxfords (from ebay, of course) ~

Thank you, Bella!

Not nearly as cool, but still substantial, are my shots of the newly revamped and reorganized studio for sewing.  Check It Out!

Animals and Angels

~ artwork by Emile Morel ~

...were just pouring out of me in the jewelery-making scene.  But that's it for awhile.  I've cleared off the table in my studio and am ready for a sewing bout again.  Meanwhile all the jewels-to-be are now organized to the max which delights me to no end.

Without further ado, here's my latest playthings (after the break)...

I Don't Donate and I Don't Thrift

~ painting by Alice Neel ~

...anymore.  Let me show you why.  I spent today cleaning up and sorting through my fabric stash, et. al.  It felt very virtuous.  So I took some pictures to remind myself it can be done or rather, that I can do it.  Wanna see?  I can get pretty obessive with my organizational skills...Okay, here they come after the break.

Keep those doggies movin'

ahhha...

artwork by Nick Scalfittura.

Another day well spent.  After a morning of my task and nap routine, I was able to sustain the task aspect for the rest of the afternoon.  Accomplished much more than expected - even though there's much more still to do.  Man-o-man.  Note to self:  just keep at it, rather than dwelling on what to do or how to do it, etc., etc. and

To Be and To Have

Okay, I declare the studio and art supply room are done and done.  The studio is really cleaned and completely re-organized to my satisfaction and the supply room is good enough to move on.  That took 2 weeks to do with intervening naps when overwhelmingness over came me.

artwork by Alli Arnold.

That leaves the enclosed back porch (if I really need more space) and the dressing room as the next target areas.   I just can't bring myself to deal with that disaster area - aka my dressing room - right now.  awwkk!  It is filled with all the clothes unearthed from ___________ (fill in the blank).

It was about this time last year when I started Project Minima and decided to do something about my accumulation of things, especially clothes.  What I had decided to do was remake whatever didn't fit, I didn't like, or wear. So now I have all this unwearable stuff that has become my fabric stash, so to speak.

What's Going On?

I found myself in the supply room spontaneously doing some artwork at the little table by the window.  It used to hold my sewing machine.  With all the re-organizing, a lot of my art supplies are now lying around in boxes on the floor, but still organized within them.

painting by Leslie Lee.

It happened because creativity has got to come out somewhere I think - and I've banned myself from sewing until I get the studio, supply room, and dressing room sorted out.  Anyway, it was fun, low-key, satisfying - in the midst of everything going on - or not going on.

Well, I'm going to have to lift that ban soon if I don't get moving with the tasks at hand.

You know, you just can't block the creative spirit.  (thank goodness!)

Some Heavy Lifting Involved

painting by Eric Budovitch.

Moved some shelving units around today, from the supply room to the studio.  Inch by inch, but I did it, yea!  And started putting some of the sewing stuff on shelves.  Not sure what goes where yet, but I'm starting to get excited about possibilities.  And it doesn't seem too crowded yet.   Still lots to do.

A Studio of Our Own X 2

Rolling up two layers of linoleum covering the hardwood floor was the studio task for today.  It wasn't glued down since I originally put it there to protect the flooring in the first place from my messy art-making materials and processes.  After finishing, the Mr. and I just sat there and enjoyed the view.  smile. 

painting by Sopio Chkhikvadze.

I also brought up the subject of his closet (which he has to access through my studio...ahem).  I mentioned, wouldn't it be nice for him to have a bigger closet that he could enter from the hallway or...  Anyway, we were able to calmly discuss the possibility of expanding his closet through the adjoining wall of an unused office closet in the next room,

Taking Care of Business...Everyday

I found myself casually dropping in and out of the studio today doing bit by little bit - with no trauma, dread, or hesitation...at all!!!!

installation by J. Morgan Puett.

Now I have all the art supplies in the supply room and only the sewing stuff in the studio.  The floor is cleared of obstacles and new light bulbs are in the fixtures.  One by one, it all adds up.


And there's still plenty more a-waiting my attention.

Break On Through...

Yea!  With a little help from the dearest one, that is.  Thank goodness he was off today to give me shots of encouragement as needed.  Spent much more than 15 minutes this morning digging in and doing the things that must be done.

painting by Ray Caesar.

It's all still a mess, but it's more of a controlled mess now - at least in one of the rooms.  Everything is off the floor in the studio and only sewing stuff is in there now - no art supplies (sorta).  Most of the art materials are in the supply room and need to be organized, but there's still lots of sewing stuff in there too, so

An Attempt At Sorting It

okay, okay, I put in my 15 minutes today.  30 minutes actually until I became over-whelmed.  Still.  Maybe I'll go back in and do more...

artwork by Simon Evans.

My true love had said "just pick up the garbage" so I armed myself with a trash bag and went in.  I immediately got side-tracked with sorting my scrap fabric by color!  That was fun. Then I emptied one of many tote bags full of

This is My Studio in Chaos

painting by Joaquin Mateo.

May Day, May Day.  This is the state of my studio, dressing room, supply area... I have decided this last month of my year long commitment called Project Minima shall be ___________!  I'm at a loss for words.

Cleaning, organizing, sorting it out, re-organizing, re-structuring, re-thinking, re-planning, making it work, etc., etc., etc.  I can't continue to ignore

In Need of Pantaloons

artwork by Marilyn Murphy

Dug through my stash of "does not fit clothing" and found 3 pair of yoga capri-length pants that actually do fit - well let's say I can get them on easily enough, but in certain areas they fit more like leggings.  But as ever, I saw potential!  Pantaloons, says I.  And just in time for the dip in winter temperatures - I could use something warming under all those skirts I've been making.

I recently saw instructions for making ruffles that was brilliant (unfortunately I can't remember where).  The kind where you don't gather them, they just gently ruffle as if cut on the bias.  The technique was to just cut a spiral out of a small section of cloth, I mean

State of Project Minima II

artwork by Louise Tidd

6-month status report on Project Minima:    Approximately 65 pieces completed.  Joined Refashion Coop, contributing twice a month since October.  Starting Sewing Rebellion Chicago Chapter in January, to meet monthly.  Re-organized work space.  Received 2 sewing/ design books:  I Am Cute Dresses by Sato Watanabe and Design-It-Yourself Clothes by Cal Patch, pouring over them constantly. 

The State of Project Minima

Sculpture by Kiki Smith

It's been just about 4 months since I started Project Minima as a concentrated effort to reduce my consumption in the clothes industry to zero.  So far, so good.  I haven't even wanted to buy anything apparel-wise.  Once I switched consciousness and started to see my existing wardrobe of ill-fitting, unwanted stuff as potential supplies for reconstructing clothing I liked, I was off to the races! 

I started off slowly, spending a few minutes (15 or so) a day to gather, collect and sort

Because 2 Sheers Can Make It Right

Installation by Helen Storey

Okay there's been many days since I was here last, but it was not for lack of doing.  Heck no, I was doing like crazy.  I am happening, man.  I have so many pieces going I just can't stop.  Really.  I am having fun.  And just so you don't get worried - this is not in a bad way.  no, no, no.  A bit obsessive, yes, but that's me with my laser vision when I get onto some creative idea.

Enough about my process. Here's what I've been working on:  I completed a dark navy sheath.  I don't know what it would actually be called, but it's very simple and comfortable and lightweight.  Originally made awhile back and never worn, now I cut off the top/yoke, added some wide straps and side extensions and that's it!  But it got me going onto all these other dresses because it's somewhat sheer and I thought it would look too cool with a sheer undershift...or maybe a sheer overshift.  So I went through my closet and fabric stash for other sheer-ish stuff and, well, that'll just have to be another story.

Art of the Kimono

Sculpture by Janet Pines Bender

Decided to move the few items of summer clothing that actually fit (and that I like) to their own area so I can readily find them. They had been interspersed with everything else, yikes! There's just a handful of items, but that's cool.

Anyway, I found an old kimono-type outfit I had made awhile ago and tried it on to figure how I might alter it. Turned out that if I just let it fall naturally without wrapping and tying it, it looked really lovely. So I just took off the ties and sewed on some snaps, and voila. I was on a kimono-esque kick for a long time, so hopefully the others I made will be amenable to adjustment too.  We'll see.