May Skirt

I need a more creative title, but I can't think of anything at the moment.

I finished this month's skirt last night.  I used last month's pattern as a base because it pretty much fit, and made a lot of my own changes.  I even wore it today!

Kind of a boring straight skirt from the front, and it's even a boring gray.  I kind of have to stick to neutrals since I have a very limited selection of tops to go with these skirts.

The back is more interesting.  It's not the best picture, but I really like these pleats.  I was really proud of myself for figuring out (or remembering from high school algebra) how to draw an ellipse, but it turned out that was the wrong shape so I had to freehand the curve above the pleats.

I need to make a few minor changes to the pattern in case I ever want to use it again, but overall it's pretty good.

This is what I'm the most proud of - the inside of the zipper.  Ok, so nobody but me will see it, but it looks pretty awesome if I do say so myself, and there was no hand sewing involved.  It's not perfect, but for my first try with this technique I think it's pretty good.



Here's where I'm supposed to put how much it cost, but I kinda forgot to keep track.  It wasn't any great deal but I have a skirt I can wear so I can't complain.

Patterns and Plans

I know someone is dying to know whether I've made a skirt yet this month.  I haven't finished it, but yes there is a skirt underway.  Hopefully I'll have pictures in a few days.  Luckily I don't have any Memorial Day plans so I can sew all day Monday if I need to.  I'm really getting tired of skirts.  Really.  And I gotta say it would be more fun if I had tops to match them so I could actually wear them, but I'll work on that next year.  Maybe :)

Sort of related to the skirt topic, I read a book on the non-glamorous parts of the fashion industry (like manufacturing, selling wholesale, importing, exporting, etc.) and learned some things about sewing.  First, anyone can do it.  The people working in sewing factories, even the ones that make high-end expensive clothing, are unskilled labor.  (Not unintelligent, just lacking in education or language skills.)  A sewing machine is like any other kind of power equipment.  You have to learn how it works and then it's easy.  The reason people get frustrated with learning how to sew is not because a sewing machine is difficult, it's because the patterns are difficult.  Which brings me to #2:  Home sewing patterns are pretty low-quality.  They are made to fit a person who is standing straight up, shoulder back, arms straight down, who has no intention of moving.  The directions are confusing and are in such an order that you end up having to do a lot of hand sewing to make everything look nice.  I made some changes to the skirt pattern I used last month, mostly so it looks different, I incorporated some of the things I've learned recently, and I'm kind of excited to see how this skirt will go together.  Probably not perfectly because another thing I learned is that patterns are like recipes, you shouldn't expect to love them the first time you try them but you should make them over and over, incorporating changes each time, until you get something that is perfect for you.  Yes, I'm rambling, but through this process I think I've found my dream job.  I should have been a professional pattern maker.  Turns out they are the ones who take the designer's drawings and make them into a working pattern.  They use math, problem solving, and spacial relation skills but they don't need as much artistic vision as a designer.  Oh, and they make more money.  The best thing about this job is that once you have experience you can work as a free-lancer and work from home or from your own shop as much or as little as you want.  Sounds perfect for me.  Unfortunately, I'm not going to make the life-changes needed to get that initial experience so I guess I should cross that off my career list.  But it can still be a fun hobby.

Now for a more realistic career option.  I've toyed with the idea of becoming a CPA for the past 20 years.  I've met the education requirement in Utah but not in CA so it would require more school.  Then I'd have to have a year of auditing work which doesn't sound fun at all, then I could get a job doing people's taxes, which again doesn't sound fun at all.  It's definitely time to cross that off my list as well.  But I recently found out I could be a Certified Management Accountant, which ties in very closely with what I do.  I've met the education requirement, I sort of have the work experience, and all I have to do is take a test.  Not just any test, it's kind of like the CPA exam (some people say it's harder) and it will probably take me 2 years to do all the studying I need.  I haven't made a firm decision yet because the study materials I need are about $800 so I want to be REALLY sure before I move forward.  In the meantime I'm spending some of my spare time reading an old accounting textbook to see if it really interests me or not.  I think it does.  I'm going to put off that decision until at least September after the kids are gone.

My real career goal, at least 20 years ago, was to teach at a community college.  Per hour, it pays a lot better than teaching high school and I think part-time work is easier to get.  I can teach business or accounting classes because I have an MBA, but some kind of accounting certificate would make it easier for me to get a job (thus the CMA).  Whew, I feel so much better having some kind of plan for my future!  I may not actually do it, but having options and moving towards a goal feels so much better than just sitting around wondering what to do with my life.

Sorry that was boring, but my next post should have skirt pictures so that will be a little more fun!

Gravel

For the last few months it seems like all I've really wanted to do is complain.  I don't want to complain publicly because first I don't want to be negative, and second my life is pretty darn good and it would be in bad taste to complain about my petty issues when other people have real problems to deal with.  So here's my not complaining post.

Sometimes I feel like Atlas holding up the world - you know, when there is a problem so big it's all you can do to keep from being crushed by the weight of it.  I'm glad I don't feel like that now!  Instead, I feel like I'm being buried in gravel.  Just a bunch of little, petty, annoying things that on their own can easily be dealt with then tossed aside.  It's all the little things that only take a few minutes to do, but added together they'll take days (or maybe longer).  It's all the little decisions I need to make that then create other decisions and I don't know where they will lead, or should lead.  I guess I should expect this, since after all I'm at a major turning point in my life.  I think life is easier when you have fewer options - not better, just easier.

Anyway, there is a lesson I have to learn from this and I'm not sure what it is yet, but I'm determined to learn it well. In the meantime I'm going to go find myself a really big shovel.

Mom + More

This blog has been sort of challenging for me because the whole point is to write about myself and not my children.  Not that I don't completely adore my children, but I'm trying to figure out who I am besides Mom now that they're growing up and going off on their own.  I'm finding that I don't have a lot of interests or goals that aren't related to taking care of my family.  My personal skirt-a-month challenge has been great because I've had to actually learn things, practice, implement, and do something just for myself.  Actually just finding time for myself has been good (and difficult).  I tend to think that I don't deserve to enjoy myself unless the house is spotless, the laundry is done, the meals are planned, the checkbook is balanced, etc.

I need to find some more things to learn and enjoy, to fill my imaginary free time.  I guess there is really no such thing as free time, but I can make time for things that will make me a better and happier person.  Here are some of the things I've considered learning more about:  sewing, photography, economics, nutrition, astronomy, photoshop, interior design, landscape design, gardening...  hmm, in my mind that list was longer.  Some of those are more necessity than interest (like interior & landscape design - have you seen my house and yard?), and one I've already tried (photography) and failed to stir up any passion for it.  I've worked through so many photoshop elements tutorials that I'm getting bored of it, but there's still a little potential there since I should be making some photo books for some of my family's big events.  Nutrition is also something I'd like to learn out of necessity since I realize as I get older that I have to work harder to keep myself healthy, but I'm not really excited about it.  When I read articles on economics or astronomy, my eyes pretty much glaze over but occasionally there are math references that make me feel like I'm reading a language that I once knew but forgot and I get a little excited.

Overall, my list of new things to learn isn't all that promising.  If anyone has suggestions I'd love to hear them!