I have been switching from my winter to summer wardrobe this week.That means taking summer stuff out of the attic where it is stored and packing away the winter stuff for next season.It seems a little late to be doing it but the weather has been so unpredictable these days.When I do this, I take time to re-evaluate what I am actually using, what I need to donate, and what I may need.It can be a pleasant surprise to see what I have packed away and forgotten I had.This time around I came across a couple skirts that needed taking in so I decided to try my hand at a few simple alterations.Let it be known that I am no seamstress.I have no formal sewing training and very little experience.Nevertheless, these were not expensive items and if I wasn’t wearing them, what’s the difference?
About 10 years ago, a woman I worked for gave me a sewing machine.She was a whiz at making her own clothes, curtains, you name it.She told me that she didn’t have any training either but just started doing things and taught herself.To see her designs, you could never tell.She encouraged me to try my hand at it.For me it was more of a creative opportunity.Looking back I can see the machine was a very generous gift.
I have heard it said that you learn by doing.When I first got the machine, I used it to customize some T shirts and hem some pants.Yes, it was a little ragged but that was kind of the idea.Somewhere along the line I packed the machine away and didn’t pull it out for years.At my husband’s urging, I set up the machine at our dining room table( if you could call it that, we barely ever dine there) and left it set up.He thought that this way I would be more likely to use it.He was right.
The idea of altering something to fit you specifically is almost a lost art these days.For the most part, unless it’s an expensive suit or dress, we just pull a piece of clothing off a rack in a store, try it on, and expect it to look amazing.If it doesn’t, we may think there is something wrong with us or the clothing but we generally don’t invest time to alter it or have it altered.It is just supposed to fit.
I have a quote posted on my wall by George Bernard Shaw that says, “Life is not about finding yourself, it is about creating yourself” I have often tried to find a tried and true pathway to my goals but it is, many times, something you have to take time to carve out.You may have to grow into it.You may grow out of it.You make take another’s experience to heart and learn from it but it will never quite match your own.Why is it then that I wish someone would just hand me some kind of formula for my life when I know deep down, I would end up creating my own in the end?
I have had an idea for a book on health, fitness, and wellness for quite a long time but it is finally something I am taking steps toward doing.Baby Steps.I have always been fascinated by different styles of diet and exercise.I can’t say that I subscribe to any one method fully although I have reaped the benefits of my interest and participation in such things.That was the primary motivation for practicing yoga as well as getting certified to teach.It was also what inspired me to train for and complete my first marathon.Writing a book, for me, requires compiling all of the lessons I have learned over the years as a result of personal study, experimentation, trial and error.Perhaps this idea stems from a desire for a book that I wish I had during my journey of self discovery.I think it also reflects a desire to serve and help others.This is a dimension of my life that I never really understood before.It is beginning to take shape.
Writing can require alterations.You start with ideas, raw material, and then trim and shape them into something more focused and cohesive, something that fits.
Sometimes you have to take things in, sometimes you have to let things out,and sometimes you have to cut something off and let it fall away.
Speaking of what fits, I am stopping now so I can fit in a workout at the gym before teaching yoga tonight.I am cutting it short.More on this subject in future posts.
Goodbye for now….