Sunday, February 19, 2012

Pulling myself out of a slump

All these dark, wet, miserable days we've been having this winter have put me into the worst creative photography slump I've seen in quite a while. Photography is all about light and the lack of light we've had lately has had me feeling the darkness pressing down on my soul like a palpable weight. It's incredible how much my psyche is affected by the weather, I can't imagine how I'd cope if I lived in a region with real winters and real darkness. For that matter, I haven't the faintest idea how I survived 20 years of New York winters, I can't bear the thought of living through one now.

Since the lovely and ubertalented (seriously - check out her gorgeous handmade cards!) Lisa from Handmade in Israel (and treasure hunting partner extraordinaire) generously tagged me with the Versatile Blogger award I figured I'd show that versatility by doing a post with no images, only words (fancy that!) in the hopes that getting a new post up there would do its part to jump start my creative muses...

So here goes, seven things about me that you might not know...

1. I received my new sewing machine on Thursday and since then have been engrossed in teaching myself to sew.

2. Since then I managed to make one small tote bag (which I'm using for my sewing supplies), a "wrinkly" peasant-type maxi skirt that I'm really pleased with (following this tutorial), next up was this maxi skirt in a light gray jersey (which turned out great but unfortunately makes me look like an overweight turnip, not sure what's going to be with that one. Best alternative would be to lose the hips, not the skirt, but we'll see how it goes...) and finally a pair of what can only be (very charitably) called a pair of light green pajama bottoms - comfortable but awful looking and will never ever EVER see daylight. I was aiming for wide leg pants, let's just say that pants have a much steeper learning curve and a LOT more logistical challenges and then we shall never speak of them again...

3. If I can manage to pull it off and do a good enough job I'm hoping to make one more skirt this week, out of a very cool black and white print fabric, that I can wear to my friends' son's bar mitzvah this weekend. If it doesn't work out I think I'll go for the wrinkly one, services here are fairly casual and I won't need a skirt for the party the following evening.

4. It sort of blows my mind that I might actually appear in public in something I made, since until this weekend I could barely sew on a button. I think my seamstress grandmother would have been quite proud (and then quietly horrified at the uneven stitching, but nevermind, I'm improving as I go).

5. I'll share photos of my creations (all except the dreaded green pants) if the damn sun ever comes out again.

6. If we do get a sunny day this week I am determined to get outside with my camera, enough is enough already, this weather is causing me to miss all the wildflowers!

7. In an effort to get healthier (and lose the turnip hips!) I made a HUGE vat of vegetable soup yesterday. I'm hoping that the peanuts I'm currently snarfing won't cancel that out. They're also very salty, which I'm not supposed to be doing either. I wonder if drinking a few giant glasses of water would flush out the salt a bit?

Hey, what do you know, I hit seven. So there you go. Nothing earthshaking, but it's what's going on in my little corner of the blogosphere today.

Instead of tagging anyone, how about I just invite whoever wants to to play along, and to let me know if you do.

Ooooh! Is that a tiny little ray of sunshine I see peaking out from the evil dark gray clouds? Fingers crossed!
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10 comments:

Leora said...

I'm so glad that you are learning to sew. If I ever decide to take out my sewing machine, get the few parts on it that need to be fixed fixed (I'm guessing it is simple but who fixes sewing machines? Everyone fixes computers or buys new stuff), I may try to make skirts again.

Soup sounds good. Yeah, salt isn't great, but better to use unrefined salt rather than table salt if you can get it - more minerals. What fills you up? I find if I eat lots of vegetables I'm still hungry. So that's why I gave up being vegetarian - easier to eat a piece of fish or chicken to fill me than lots of grains.

Dina said...

Yes yes, the sun is now out!! I'm going for a walk before it goes down. Cheer up Robin, the darkness will end.
Kol hakavod, learning to sew! I'll never know. You are so brave.

toby said...

Yes, the sky is blue here too! But it is still *freezing" so I'd bring gloves if you go on that wildflower hunt.
I'm also getting a sewing machine soon! I didn't aspire to be making clothing within a few days of getting it, but you've certainly given me inspiration to try!

Handmade in Israel said...

Thanks for your kind words. I like being called "ubertalented" a lot!!!
Great to read a little about what you've been up to since we went hunting :) The sewing sounds great. Enjoy those new skirts! I once made pj's which have never seen the light of day either :)

Josie Two Shoes said...

The last couple days have been gray, gloomy and cool here as well, and it does little to energize me. I'm glad that I live in Texas and I know the sun will soon return. Winters in Dakota where I grew up were brutal.

It was great to drop by and catch up with your life a bit! I remember learning to sew, it takes a bit of time before it becomes second nature and those curves on pants flow smoothly. It's been ages since I did a project, but you are making me think about it! I love folded quilting block designs, maybe it's time for a new pillow or two. Will be eagerly waiting for your beautiful photos to return as well, you have an amazing eye for capturing what is interesting!

Jael said...

Oh Robin ,the sun will soon shine again,as it does most of the year.I love this grey gloomy wintery weather,and wish it would go on....And good luck to all your new projects with the sewing machine:)

Robin said...

Thanks so much everyone, your enthusiasm is so encouraging to me :).

Leora, the soup wasn't all that filling last night so I'm planning to add in some kind of grain tonight, either wheat berries or barley probably, just to bulk it up a bit.

Josie, your pillows sound beautiful, I'd love to see a photo.

Jen said...

The lack of sun is killing me. It's a rare sunny day today and my soul is smiling. Can't wait til full on spring.

Mama Pajama said...

It's been a hard, though mild Winter, and I will be glad to see Spring. Yaay, new sewing machine! I'm glad you're having fun making skirts, and I'd love to see a pic! Several giant glasses of water every day are always helpful in keeping your system in balance, and a big vat of veggie soup sounds great (for all the mild weather, it's still around 30 degrees here). this is a fun exercise, and I think I'll play along, because I've had some things kicking around my head that I should probably get down so I can better formulate how to manifest them...

wishing you sunshine ~

Daryl said...

I still cant sew on a button that doesnt either fall off again or be so tightly sewn that it rips the fabric