I Am a Crafty Girl

I started a sewing challenge with my girl Teen when she got a sewing machine for Christmas.  I, too, have a sewing machine and use it WAY TOO rarely.  We wanted to start with an easy but useful project: a pillow.

What's in a pillow? (besides stuffing)  It's four seams at the same length with a 90 degree angle and some shite stuffed inside 'till it's comfy.  But if you're *making* it, it's gotta look cute and not crafty.  I have two pillows that are hand made and look crafty, but maaayyyybeee not so cute....  They were purchased at a free-trade market; the big one is super comfy and the little one is actually a quillo (think Poppel but a pillow/quilt combo) hand made by Amish peoples.  And while they're superbly made, they're just not really my style.

I wanted something that went with my mint-green and wicker sectional, was comfy, looked modern, and was cheap.  Not as easy as I thought.  I used the fabric from an oversized Ikea pillow I purchased at least 6 years ago (white velvet-like fabric).  It was slightly stained, and even after a bleach wash looked a little worse for wear, but it was free.  I purchased a 15" pillow form from Micheal's with a 50% off coupon for about $6.  I deconstructed a skirt with embroidered birds and flowers to appliqué to the pillow only to find that it all looked HORRID together.  This is when the project stalled.  I had a white velvet case sewn on 3 sides with some stains...

Teen had finished her project after finding some great printed fabrics (Ikea, I think).  Her two pillows looked lovely and I was totally jealous.  Then stuff happened (like the Luau) and I had to put my sewing machine out of sight, therefor putting it out of mind.  I had found a craft website who had dedicated February as Pillow Month.  The inspiration was nice, but it's a lot of quilting which is a bit above my project commitment level.  I still had my heart set on appliqué, though.  I wanted a peacock, or at least a bird, with colors that coordinated but maybe not matched, and perhaps some texture.

Eventually I settled on the cheapest of all fabrics: felt.  At 29cents for an 8 1/2"x11" sheet, felt in all colors is cheap and readily available.  I also purchased some iron-on fabric adhesive to make my life even easier.  I researched modern shaped birds that are, admittedly, ubiquitous.  I designed a little birdie based on a few things I saw, put in about an hour or two of work, and my three-seamed square turned in to a pillow before my eyes.

I made it to go with my mint-green couch, but with the paisley-textured felt of the body, it REALLY works with the blue mini-chairs I acquired when Pocket moved to RI.

It feels great to finish this project, and I'm looking forward to the next.  I really don't mind if it takes me a month or two to finish it as long as it turns out as nice.  :-)

Body Con

One side effect of all this running and hockey playing and trapezing (next class is Saturday, wOOt!!) is that I've lost about 15 lbs and 2 or 3 sizes. Which, well, good, I guess. But I can't say it ever really mattered.

I'm of the body acceptance camp. You have your body, and there's a limited amount of things you can do to control how it looks. Western society holds up unrealistic images of beauty for women (and even some for men, but obviously it's more prevalent for women). I spent most of my life hating the way I looked - my nose, my feet, my hands, my "Buddah Belly" (thanks for that quaint nick-name, family). I never believed it when someone told me I looked nice or good or even cute. NEVER. That's a lot of stress on a girl! I went through the phases - deciding not to give a crap and eat whatever I wanted, which just made me fatter, then deciding to give a crap and work out like a mo fo and got skinnier, but none of it made me HAPPIER. Not until I decided to accept my shape, no matter what it was.

I also don't believe that fat people are inherently lazy. It's the most socially acceptable form of prejudice to dislike or mock people who are heavy. Hell, I've been guilty of it (though mostly I mock what people are WEARING, not their size - taste is ALWAYS mockable). Now that I'm getting more and more into sports and running, etc, the media that I'm looking at denounces fat. Well, fuck you. Some people enjoy life in different ways. Also, go to any race, even the VT50 - there were people there that I would NEVER expect to be runners based on their size. But they ran - muddy trails in back woods for more miles than most people walk in a month. Are they lazy? No.

So, yes, I work out. I run. I play sports. But it's not to be "skinny." Part of the freedom of body acceptance is accepting that your choices have consequences. I made a choice that I would make myself happy, no matter what that meant at a given time. Sometimes it makes me happy to play hockey for 2 hours, so I do. The consequence of that choice can mean sore muscles and bruising over 60% of my body as well as serious caloric burn. Sometimes it makes me happy to eat nachos and drink margaritas, (ok, most of the time it makes me happy to eat nachos and drink margaritas) and the consequence of this choice is a fully belly but also experiences with friends and loved ones that deepen my relationship with them.

So, if you see me and say, "Gosh, Leeapeea, you're so thin!" and I give you a weird look and a questionable, "Thanks," let's go ahead and move on to another topic, m'k? Maybe order a plate of nachos and a couple of margs... ;-)