dress #4

i realize that my blogs lately have revolved around sewing...but then again, so has my life. ;)
here is the fourth dress i made. I made it to wear to Ali's 22nd birthday party, and i did. =)

sew what

my passion for sewing has grown. i've made one shirt, three dresses, a shrug jacket, and last night started a fourth dress. i'm really having fun. i am eager to get back to the ironing board and sewing machine. there is so much pride in wearing something you created yourself. i was even complimented on a dress i made and wore to church on sunday. =) the hardest part of it all is deciding what fabric i want to use to make what dresses! ;)

Oregon

I love Oregon. What more do I need to say, really?

blue dress

so, this whole sewing thing is actually pretty fun. yesterday, i went to Joanna Fabric store after church. i was delighted to find that they are having a HUGE sale. i bought a few pieces of material, thread, and such. i went home and spent 5 hours making a dress. i don't know when i bought the pattern. seems like i've had it forever. but i finally used it. and i'm quite pleased with the result. i think i found myself a new pass time. ;)

Purple Shirt

I recently bought a piece of just over a yard of purple material for 25 cents at a garage sale. I initially bought it with the intention of practicing my sewing. As the material sat around my apartment for two weeks, I began to imagine what I might make out of it instead of just using it for practice. I wrapped the cotton around myself, draped it over my body, picturing ideas of what I wanted to create. A dress? A skirt? A shirt? Yes, a shirt. I decided on a top and went to work. No pattern. No real experience. Just me, scissors, pins, and my sewing machine. I had no idea if it would work. I thought it might be quite the disaster, but I wanted to give it a try anyway. I’m glad I did. In just over three hours, I had a cute little purple halter top! Designed by me. Sewn by me. Created by me. It felt so good to finish. Such a sweet sense of accomplishment. And I felt a great surge of creativity bursting out of me. What a wonderful feeling. I’m so proud. I pictured it in my mind and created it with my hands. I’m eager to try more and see what other things I can create. =)

One Whole Year

Well, I can hardly believe it, but it’s been an entire year since I moved to Oregon! The past is so vivid in my mind; it doesn’t feel like a year ago. Twelve months in Oregon. One year in Eugene. Sometimes it still feels surreal.
It always surprises me how much can happen and change in a year. Circumstances that brought me here are not what keep me here. A different happiness drives me now. But I suppose the most important part is that I’m still happy. Oh and I AM!
I’ve never enjoyed any other place as much as I enjoy Eugene. Mind you, I haven’t lived in too many places, but this is still my favorite so far. And living alone with my dog has proven to be my best living situation yet.
Watching the seasons change for the first time in my life was more magical than I have words for. I only hope this next year will awe me as much as the last. I hope to never lose the joy I found in the beauty of this place. I’ve never appreciated or cared for nature the way Oregon has lead me to. I’ve never looked at the world with as much wonder as I have this past year. I hope to keep the pleasure I felt as I watched creation change, grow, and bloom.
I don’t know where life may lead me in the future. And by the advice of a friend I admire, I won’t worry too much about what lies ahead so as not to stifle the divine plans laid out for me. I’m taking life in shorter increments and enjoying every day.

dress up doll

What girl doesn’t like to dress up? To feel pretty? To prance around in a dress with hair, make-up, and nails done? Well, I didn’t.
I’ve always been a simple girl. A “plain Jane.” Almost homely. I’ve never been one to take a long time to get ready. Rarely even brush my hair (it lays nicely without). Hardly ever wear makeup; basically only on special occasions. Never wear dresses, ever. Part lazy, never wanting to take the time. Part overly secure, feeling so comfortable in my own skin, never feeling the need to dress it up. Partly insecure, feeling I couldn’t pull of a more put-together appearance.
I have recently had a change of heart. I never envied the SoCal girls with their fake orange tans, long bleach blonde hair, miniskirts, clear plastic spike heels, and caked on make-up faces. I do, however, admire the classy woman with her well groomed appearance, elegant walk, and cute pair of shoes!
In all my years of not wearing make up, fixing my hair, or wearing dresses, I seem to have lost a feminine quality. I look at the women I admire and I realize that I don’t carry myself the same way. I lack the poise they exude. They have a radiance which I do not shine.
I’ve always made the excuse that I’m comfortable. Comfortable in jeans. Comfortable without makeup. Comfortable being me. And while that is all very true, I failed to acknowledge the possibility that I can be my comfortable self in a dress, made up, with a proud stature. I can still be myself in heels. I don’t have to lose my personality when I change my clothes.
While I know I will not live my life in the polar extreme of fashion from where I stand now, I do plan to incorporate more feminine attributes into my appearance.