Gillian over at Crafting a Rainbow has put out a call to all us Sewcialist bloggers to participate in her year end wrap up in the form of the Top 5 of 2013.
I wasn’t a blogger last year, but I am now, so I wholeheartedly want to participate this year, especially after reading everyone’s posts from last year. I was a blog reader, not a blog writer, yet, but I read each word and cherished them and longed to be a part of the online sewing world.
I will begin my Top 5 of 2013 with my Top 5 Reflections: What did you learn about myself or sewing this year?
Wow!
This was definitely a year not just for sewing growth, but also for the personal growth that many of us experience that goes hand in hand with sewing your own wardrobe.
Here’s goes……..
1) I don’t have to settle for ill fitting ready to wear clothes, I can make my own that fit and flatter.
2) It’s not me or my body that is the wrong size or the wrong shape, it’s the mass produced garment hanging on the rack. I am as I was made and I am beautiful just the way I am (even if I have to remind myself of this daily).
3) I learned to draft a bodice sloper, skirt sloper, and sleeve sloper based on my measurements and can make garments from them.
4) I have grown comfortable enough with my sewing skills that I have become brave enough (and successful) to hack or alter a pattern into something else, reinterpreting the pattern into my own vision!
5) While reticent to start a blog, join Twitter and Instagram, I did ALL of these this year. I was so afraid I wouldn’t have a voice, or a purpose, or enough skills to cultivate a meaningful online presence with the sewing rock stars whose blogs I devoured. But, in a moment of bravery, or insanity – you decide – I started this little blog, piped up on Twitter, and downloaded the Instagram App to my smartphone (what?? who IS this person?).
And there I found such a wonderful and inviting world of amazing sewers who have welcomed me into their clan with open arms.
Thank you, all of you.
Happy Sewing!
The Seeds of 3 
This sums up alot of how I feel too. Sewing can be soooo much more than just sewing. It certainly is for me.
Totally, and your blog was one of the first I became enamored with, FYI. 🙂 Weird, huh?
I remember being so shy of the “big” bloggers, and feeling insignificant… if there’s one things that I’ve learned this year, it’s that there isn’t as much heirarchy as I had imagined! Just a lot of really wonderful, kid people. Yay Sewcialists!
It is so funny, when I first started interacting with you and Leila (who I only knew as nekochan from flickr) I was a little star-struck. Gillian with all of her Tiramisus and knit knowledge is tweeting to me!!!!!!!!!
Awww, what great things you have accomplished! It’s funny because I found your blog through one of the sewalongs and thought, man she knows what she’s doing, look at all her friends…. guess it’s all in your perspective. 🙂 Looking forward to sewing another year with you!
You too! I know we “met” in the Tiramisu sewalong – my very first sewalong – and I didn’t even have a blog then.
I had no idea you were so new to all the social things and blogging! So glad you let your presence be known! =)
I’ve been blogging for 3 years now (by no means am I a big-timer) but I’m just now approaching my 1 year of Twitter. It’s been an amazing time and I suddenly have tons of wonderful friends with similar interests who are my generation! I love the overall support and encouragement of the sewcialists!
Really? I still feel like the new kid on the block. And lemme tell you, the day I realized that you were making that Wonder Woman cape for AnnaMay via Epbot I was soooooo starstruck!
lol – I guess that is my one claim to fame! It was also one of the first times I got good photos of the person I made something for actually wearing it. Most of what I do is so behind-the-scenes no one even knows about it.
I do love these end of year posts – great reflections & it’s a joy to chat with you on twitter – you make me smile 🙂
awh, thanks Lizzy! I enjoy chatting with you too 🙂 I love having friends all over the world now!
It’s so nice to see all these posts starting to pop up now – we really are part of a pretty awesome community aren’t we. Glad you have had such a great year, and it’s nice to know that other bloggers feel the same as me!
Fantastic community! I love being part of it!
Sounds like a great year of sewing. I’m glad you joined “the twitter.” Personally I had no idea it would become such a big part of my life when I joined. It’s great to have some real sewing friends!
I always wondered why in the world people would want to tweet or read other people’s tweets, but I wasn’t thinking about it in terms of an online community sharing a passion about a hobby. I mean, really, how else will we pick button and top stitch thread colors?