It's fall, and the sewing bug is back. I was waiting for it. Mid-August, leafing through project books and patterns and notebooks and thinking about Christmas sewing, I was wondering when it would show up. Now that I'm back at my job, (my job that permits a subterranean sewing space for use when there's nothing better to do) the sewing bug is back, as I knew it would be.This year, I am paring down, just a touch. It's necessary, really. My life is more packed than it's ever been. By this time last year, I'd already knocked off four whole gifts, including a quilt. This year, my homemade gift list is just five items long. I'm trying not to feel guilty about that. I've been a handmade gift-maker for years, probably since I could hold a pencil. And I love it, I do. But. There is a lot of making I'd like to be doing for myself. We are buying a house, (still in the works, can you believe?!) and there will be curtains to sew. I haven't made anything for myself in awhile, yet I keep buying a few yards of this or that or some other thing, thinking I'll have time to make it into a skirt.
Also, with the advent of Etsy, there's a lovely, heartfelt, sustainable way to shop for Christmas gifts that never existed before. Ten years ago, there were two options: make something lovely, heartfelt, and sustainable, or go to the Mall and sacrifice your values. Now the act of shopping can actually be an enactment of my values, and I love that.
Also, with the advent of Etsy, there's a lovely, heartfelt, sustainable way to shop for Christmas gifts that never existed before. Ten years ago, there were two options: make something lovely, heartfelt, and sustainable, or go to the Mall and sacrifice your values. Now the act of shopping can actually be an enactment of my values, and I love that. Are you thinking about Christmas yet? Have you read Bill McKibben's Hundred Dollar Holiday? What are your gifting values?
Are you peeved with me for even bringing this up, Christmas! In early October! Oh, friends. I completely understand. Back to my sewing.
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4 comments:
I haven't read that by Bill McKibben, but since I like pretty much everything by him, I should!
And as a fellow crafter, I totally understand thinking about christmas already...
Thanks Becky, that makes me feel like a little less of a nut...
The Bill McKibben book is really interesting. He's an interesting soul-- both an environmentalist and a Christian, which is rare. I feel like religion and the environment are pitted against each other all too often...
Arrrr, yes, I'm peeved but only a teeny tiny bit. You are too sweet to be peeved at for more than a micro-second.
Okay, all better now.
Ya gotta at least start thinking about what your gift list and for whom you can and want to make gifts. Holler if you want an apron for someone but don't have time. I love making 'em.
Awww, thanks Becky. :)
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