the triangle, the triangle!

Update from previous: I did in fact set aside the blue & yellow fox improv situation to give it time to marinate. I’ve been working with these three colors since then, trying to experiment with small pieces and let it become something larger. I want to explore negative space and more minimalist compositions. It’s hard! I want to put hats on hats on hats. I think it’ll lead somewhere good, eventually.

I’ve been working so hard and yet I haven’t actually finished a project in weeks, which is starting to get to me. I’m torn between taking a break to do some straightforward production sewing or just forcing myself to finish something, even if it’s not perfect. That might be a perfect encapsulation of me as an artist/craftsperson?

what i'm working on, again

I’ve been working on this quilt for at least a year, and I’ve reached the point where I kind of hate it. Not actually, but kind of actually. I know that I need to just take Daniel’s advice and put it away for a week or two, but it’s so hard to let go of the optimistic version of myself that was so certain I could finish the quilt top in January. There’s a part of me that just wants to keep staring at it and moving around blocks and obsessing over the final layout, because if I just try harder I can accomplish the original goal. I think that’s maybe a good metaphor* for my whole thing, like it’s just so hard to get my brain to work the way that I want it to. I know that I need to accept that I have ADHD and my brain works differently and that’s just a value-neutral statement of fact, and I definitely believe all of that, but there’s definitely a part of me that doesn’t believe that at all. My big picture goal for this year is to figure out how my brain in particular will work best and be most creative, and I keep forgetting that doing that means I’ll have to challenge a lot of toxic thinking and unlearn a lot of habits that are rooted in capitalism & the Protestant Work Ethic, rather than my own beliefs and values. And it’s so hard, why does it have to be so hard?**

* Is that the right word? Do I actually mean microcosm? Allegory?
** That’s what she said?

just keep sewing

Hello, it’s February now, I think. I just remembered I never changed my laundry this morning, which is totally appropriate for where I’m at now. Getting things done, eventually. I’m nearly done with the pants I’m making for the (January) #sewfancypants2023 IG challenge, and I finished my project for #sewjapaneseinjanuary, now I just need to post it. Honestly would just always rather be sewing than talking about sewing, but if I don’t step back and assess my progress, the laundry doesn’t get into the dryer.

I’m probably trying to do too many things this month, but I did manage to find a way to prioritize them so that I know which things are okay to push back as needed. The big picture priorities are developing some new classes for Treadle and working on some quilts. I’ve got a new zipper box bag class on the schedule, so I want to make a bunch of samples for class & potentially some knitting project bags to sell at the store. I’m also doing a half-square triangle technique class, and I want to make a few more sample blocks for that. And then I’m hoping to do an improv quilting workshop and a foundation paper piecing intro class in May, so I want to spend some time making samples and thinking about lesson structure. I’ve also got a baby quilt I absolutely need to finish this month because I mean just… it doesn’t count as a baby quilt if the baby is one before she gets it. And I’m also going to finish (?) the first quilt I started? Or probably just the top?? That’s the project of the month for the All People Quilt UFO Challenge, and I mean… challenge is right, it’s from when I got back into sewing 15+ years ago and it’s just a mess. So I guess anything I do to it will be an improvement? I don’t know, whatever, perfect is the enemy of finished, etc; I’ll just work on quilts all month and see what happens.

I’ll be doing some garment sewing too (obviouslyyyy), but I don’t know if I’ll start anything new actually. I just want to finish up all of the nearly-complete projects that are sitting in my studio so that I can start to think about entirely new patterns in March. ALTHOUGH, I sewed with Elizabeth last night and she helped me through sewing a neckband on a Cashmerette Concord sweatshirt with a serger, and it looked SO GOOD and so I might also serge a couple quick Concord tees once I finish the sweatshirt? (I just sized up the long-sleeve tee and did a crew neck and bands on the wrists, boom, CONCORD SWEATSHIRT.)

Alright, this is what my cat looks like right now, so I’m going to post this and then probably just stare at him for awhile and think about how blessed I am?? I love you, you’re perfect and beautiful, have a good night.

WIWO #5 : I'm not going to keep numbering these

We’re approaching the end of January, and I’m approaching the end of my first month of this new planning situation I’ve been working on. I feel really good about it? I’ve gotten a lot done this month, with noticeably less stress and angst than normal. Getting diagnosed with ADHD felt like such a relief because I knew why I struggled so much with maintaining habits, and two years or so in, I feel like I’m maybe finally figuring out how to give myself a routine I can actually stick with? It’s only been a month, but that’s like 3.5 weeks longer than my historical average, so yeah. Anyway! Here are the things I’m working on this week.

I’m getting close to the finish line with altering my skirts for the All People Quilt UFO Challenge. Did I talk about that here before? I talked about it on Instagram. It’s been… a good learning experience, i.e. so much more work than I expected. I assumed I’d be able to just sew in a new narrower seam at the sides, but I ended up having to essentially take apart the entire skirts. I had to take out so much room, and they’re all gored skirts of various design, so it just made sense to split up the amount I was removing between all of the seams. Definitely a better result, but so much tedious seam ripping. Oh and just tonight I realized I’ve somehow managed to lose my zipper foot, so like… guess I’m going to the sewing machine store tomorrow. It’s okay though; I’m still on track to have three skirts that are wearable and honestly far more flattering than they used to be. Once I’ve finished all three, I’ll post photos and write more about the entire process. I learned a lot more than I was expecting, and I’m feeling a lot more confident about alterations.

Sawtooth Block #1 with bonus angry cat content, you’re welcome

I’m also feeling good about the HST-Sawtooth Block Class that I’m developing for Treadle Yard Goods. It’ll be a one day class focused on technique for Half Square Triangles, and I think I feel good about trying it out in the March/April session. I’ve made a couple samples, and I’m hoping to make 2-3 more. I wanted to do all of the samples with the purple/blue HST blocks—I found a whole bag of them in a container while I was cleaning my studio, but the purple fabric is apparently a poly/cotton blend, and I just… I just hate working with polyester fabric. I’ll finish a quilt with those blocks eventually, no reason to let them go to waste, but I just didn’t want to deal with it now. I pulled a yard of Anna Maria Horner floral and some coordinating solids, and I’m going to do a few more blocks with different combinations. Oooh I really hope people want to take this class, because I love making half-square triangles.

I’m sorry about this garbage photo, but I just finished this block an hour ago, and I love it so much.

I’m also going to try to make a dress for my niece from Cotton Wool Linen Kids, theoretically before the end of the month. I don’t necessarily have time, but I really want to do something for #sewJapaneseinJanuary, an IG hashtag thing organized by Blogless Anna. I’ve never sewn anything from a Japanese pattern, so I thought maybe this was the time to try it out. I also am trying to like… participate more? And like… engage with the larger sewing community? I don’t know, I’m such a hermit by nature, I forget sometimes that I can like, talk to other people about sewing and participate in fun group projects like this. #growth, basically. Anyway assuming I find the time, I’ve got this super cute mermaid fabric I bought specifically to make a kid-sized dress, and there’s a super cute dress pattern that I think will work well with it.

And I’m increasingly less optimistic about finding the time, but I’m also hoping to squeeze in a pair of Cashmerette Calder pants before the end of the month, also inspired by an IG hashtag—#sewfancypants2023. I really hesitated on this one; sewing pants is like… super trigger city in my fight for body neutrality (body positivity is a trap). But I don’t know, the Calder pattern is super cute and super simple, and it’s got a high waist which I love, so why not try it out. I don’t actually have enough of any fabric for a ‘real’ pair, but I’ve got a fairly ugly duvet cover from who knows where, so I’ll be able to do a good fit toile. I’ll probably do the whole pocket process and everything, just to practice and make sure everything fits correctly. If everything fits right and I like the pants, I’m going to get some Robert Kaufman Brussels washer linen/rayon, probably in a dark blue?? Or some kind of rich/dark color. I think they’ll look really cute. And then I definitely want to do a few pairs of short pants for spring/summer too. So yes, if I can manage anything, it’ll be a very fancy fit toile, but whatever, I want to make a pair of pants, and I want to participate! So there.

Oh wow okay, now that I’ve typed all of that, it sounds like so much! We’ll see what I can make happen.

WIWO #4 : Hello 2023

It’s already getting disorganized, but whatever, it looks so much less cluttered than it did a month ago.

Only three months between posts, not bad. I’ve been working on a lot of things, but doing these weekly check-ins somehow always slips off the to-do list. Maybe 2023 will be the year I start to enjoy blogging again.

I spent the last few weeks of 2022 and most of 2023 so far doing a deep clean and reorganization of my studio, and it feels so good. I’ve got the majority of my fabric refolded and reorganized into bins and moved into a dedicated area of our attic, and my studio feels very clean and organized and low on distractions. I don’t normally let myself take the time for projects like this, but I’m glad I was able to overcome a lot of emotional baggage and just take the time to create the workspace that I need. I’ve got more planned, but this space feels so much better than it did a month ago.

Feels surprisingly revealing to let other people see this?

I also spent some time reworking my projects database on Notion. I’ve been using Notion to organize my life for a couple years, basically since I was diagnosed with ADHD. I made some fresh new databases & a planning calendar for 2023 based on what worked (and didn’t) in 2022, and I feel more together and prepared than I… maybe ever have? Really honestly exciting stuff, after spending most of my life trying to force my brain to work how I thought it should, I feel like I’m learning how to work with my specific brain chemistry & structure (or whatever) instead of fighting it. Surprisingly, accepting myself is a lot more effective.

I’m about halfway through my first Cashmerette Concord tee, and I love this pattern so far. The past few things I’ve sewn have been very fitted blouses or dresses, so it feels so nice to be working in knits. I’m hoping to get this first version finished in the next day or two? My first attempt at the neckband did not go well, and ripping out the vertical zig zag stitch I used was… frustrating. I powered through, and now it’s repinned (re-clipped?) and ready to sew. It fit really well, so once I’ve finished this one, I want to make one or two more, maybe with different sleeves? I cut this first version with the faced hem, but I didn’t realize it was tunic length. I’m almost certainly going to cut off the bottom few inches and just do a turned hem, but I really want to try that faced hem, so I’ll probably shorten the pattern and do a midlength tee with a faced hem next.

I thought I took a photo of the tiny vertical zig zag stitches I had to rip out, but I guess not? After pinning the first time around, I finally remembered that wonder clips are much easier to use with knits.

I’m trying to do a few other things this week, probably too many things. I made four skirts in 2022 and none of the waistbands fit properly, so I want to get those fixed so I can wear them without safety pins. (Now I’ve mentioned that here and on Instagram, so I’ll have to do it.) Someone I follow on Instagram (Anna at @bloglessanna) is hosting #sewjapaneseinjanuary which is exactly what it sounds like, so I’m going to try to make a quick dress for one of my nieces from a book I’ve had for ages. And I’ve got a Chalk & Notch Wren blouse that’s nearly finished that I’d really like to be able to wear. I just need to do the buttonholes & let the sleeves out a little with the very minimal 3/8” seam allowance, and it’ll be wearable if probably tight in the shoulders. Must remember to include sleeves in the fit toile and also always increase seam allowance when doing a new pattern.

Oh that is definitely too many things to try to do this week! We’ll see which ones get done, I suppose. I hope you’re having a happy, healthy & productive 2023.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON #3

I don’t really know why I’m numbering these, but it feels good, so I guess we’ll see if I stick with it! I’m writing this at the end of a long, long day in the studio where nothing quite turned out the way I was hoping. Nothing tragic, just everything was a little disappointing.

For the first time in quite awhile, I did a timed improvisational quilt block. I’ve been so focused on garment sewing lately that I’ve forgotten that I’m primarily a quilter. I’m slowly getting back into the habit; so far, everything I’m making feels pointless, but I’m sure eventually I’ll get back to making interesting patchwork.

I finished changing the buttons on my black twill Reed skirt, and I’m ready to sew a blue twill Reed skirt and a short-sleeved Patina made from an old topsheet. I also finished making a Samson from purple knit; initially I thought I didn’t like it, but then I wore it for two days straight.

I think really what I’d like to do this week is finish projects. Finish my second Reed and third Patina, finish the quilt top I started today, finish hemming the dumb curtains, finish the tank top I started making for Daniel when it was still warm enough that tank tops felt relevant. And maybe rest a little more and give myself some space. I strained a muscle in my back, and I was in so much pain all day today (and ingested a dangerous amount of ibuprofen) and yet I’m still frustrated that I didn’t get more done. It’s possible that I’m not being entirely fair with myself. It would be nice if next week, I’m coming into this space with a little more peace and acceptance.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON #2

Okay! So far, I’m pretty into this What I’m Working On thing, mostly because I just now read my last post, and I’ve actually finished or made progress on most of the things.

My first Reed Skirt is done in the sense that it’s a skirt and I’m counting it as a finished project, but it is not done really because (a) I put vintage buttons on a skirt that will need to go in the dryer every time I wash it (because stretch twill) and (b) the waistband is very much too big. That’s fine though, because I’ve already made some covered buttons using some vintage covered buttons from my stash, and I didn’t topstitch the side seam of the skirt because I had a feeling I’d end up needing to take it in a bit. I’m going to switch out the buttons and wash & dry it and see where it’s at before I alter it. I’ll also probably write more words about the pattern overall, but I’m planning to make two more versions first. Overall, really love the pattern and Grainline Studio in general.

I also finished my niece’s quilt, finally! Photos to come, but I’m super happy with how it turned out. I should start a new quilt now? I’m working on a small quilt/wall-hanging for my quilt guild that I’m pretty psyched about, but I should also start working on a quilt for my partner’s best friend’s baby. I’m really determined to keep this one simple and get it done; that’s what I said about my niece’s quilt, and it turned into a very elaborate improvisational log cabin situation that took me six months to finish, so. Yes. I’ve already got fabric picked out, and I’m going to try very hard to just do a modified nine-patch situation and get the quilt top done in a day or two. And I’ll stick to crib-quilt size, and maybe finish it before Thanksgiving??

We just got some new Rifle Paper Co fabric in the store, including some really beautiful cotton/linen. I’m going to take that as a sign and buy some to make an apron for my friend. I should figure out a pattern to use; Seamwork has a classic apron pattern, but I’ve sort of been thinking of doing a cross-strap style? Maybe I’ll just stick with the Seamwork pattern so I’m more likely to just get it done (and use less fabric?).

What else? I’m hoping to cut out a Seamwork Samson today, along with a short-sleeved Patina. I’m doing the Samson in a very basic aqua knit I got on sale; this is the first pattern I’m doing from Samson, so I don’t know how the fit is going to turn out. Oh and I just remembered I need to do a 2” FBA on it before I actually cut anything out. I finally actually figured out my bust cup size for sewing and how that relates to my high bust and full bust and blah blah blah, anyway assuming I have in fact figured it out, fitting new blouse/dress patterns is maybe going to be less stressful? We’ll see. I’ve already made two Patinas and I know the pattern fits me, so at least I’ll have one (hopefully) easy thing to sew. I’m using a blue and white floral top sheet, as we never use top sheets and the fabric is a very drapey cotton sateen. (I also don’t totally trust that I figured out the fit, so using a topsheet feels safer than cutting into ‘real’ fabric.)

As always, I am working on far too many things at once. I’m also trying to finish the Tank tank for Daniel this week, I’m making a hat from knit scraps for my niece to send along with the quilt, I should start making scrunchies for the winter craft sale I’m participating in, I want to make a new wall-hanging, I want to make a cardigan from this very pretty gray knit fabric, the list goes on and onnn. I’ll start with the Patina and the Samson and then go from there.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON #1

After a great deal of thought (lie), I’ve decided that I should try using this space to record my thoughts and progress on sewing. We’ll see how this goes? It doesn’t make sense to me that four years have passed since the last time I thought about this. Almost everything is different, but I’m still here sewing. (Here is not Hawaii though, I suppose.)

This week I’m working on a Grainline Reed skirt. I really desperately wanted to finish that yesterday, but that turned out to be unrealistic. And then I wanted to finish it today, but I ended up staying an extra hour after teaching my class today so that my students could get a little closer to finishing their projects. So I finished hand-sewing the waistband facing down, and that feels good. I just have buttonholes and the hem left for tomorrow. I’ve unfortunately decided I don’t really love the fabric I used. It’s a stretch twill I bought years ago at Treadle Yard Goods, and it has this sort of sheen from whatever makes it stretchy, and it just looks… I don’t know, like boring business casual nonsense from Anne Klein? That’s probably not fair, but I really don’t like stretch wovens, and I’m glad I don’t buy them anymore.

After I finish the Reed skirt, I’m going to make a short-sleeved Patina from this very old plaid shirting that I bought at SR Harris at least ten years ago. It’s honestly horrifying, there’s this silvery thread that makes it look like something a Disney Channel star wore to a daytime awards show in 2002. I think it’ll be fine if I just use the wrong side as the right side; the silvery nonsense isn’t really visible. I’ve made two long-sleeved Patinas already, and thanks to a ton of help from my coworkers, they fit really well, so I’m psyched to see if the pattern will work with short sleeves and strange plaid.

I’ve obviously got many other projects going, but I’m trying very hard to reorient my brain to actually also finish projects too. I’m going to finish quilting a quilt for my niece as soon as the Reed skirt is done, and then I’ve got several baby quilts and friend quilts to make. I’m making an apron for a friend who’s been going through it lately, so maybe I’ll splurge on some good quality linen? Oh and I bought some absolutely amazing cat knit fabric to make a tank top for my partner (because our cat’s name is Tank, it’s a Tank tank, DO YOU GET IT), and the practice tank I made for him is maybe the best I’ve ever done at sewing knits, so I’m excited to make the real version.

Writing here might actually be a good idea. I thought I had a good sense of where I’m at in terms of projects, but rereading all that makes me think I could stand to be more realistic about how much one person can get done. We’ll see what I’ve accomplished by next week I suppose.

the best Instant Pot pinto bean recipe ever

Okay, in addition to sewing, I am kind of really into cooking. I have been a little frustrated with sewing lately, or rather frustrated by slow progress on my current projects, so I'm going to talk about food! I got an Instant Pot last year, and it has definitely changed the way I cook. I use my Instant Pot to make honestly the best brown rice I've ever made, and I make a pot of beans every week to eat with whatever else I make. Having those two things available all the time makes it so easy to eat most/all of our meals at home and save so much money. So yeah, if you are trying to save some money and eat a little healthier, start making beans in your Instant Pot! 

I started out making this recipe with black beans, but I switched to pinto beans when we moved to Hawaii and Costco had a 25 pound bag of pinto beans for $14. Both worked well, and this recipe could easily be adjusted for basically any other dried beans. I would just use the same amounts of salt and water/stock and switch up the seasonings. 

Instant Pot Beans Recipe

1 lb pinto beans or black beans
veg stock + water to 6 cup line
1 tbls salt
2 bay leaves
1 tbls cumin
1 tbls Mexican oregano
1 tbls chili powder
1 tbls smoked paprika
1 tbls garlic

Cook on Manual Pressure for 25 minutes and let naturally release. 

That's it! This is a really solid starting point for great beans in the Instant Pot. You can totally just follow that recipe and you should end up with great beans. HOWEVER, if you want more information, here are so many notes. I promise they're all related to the recipe. 

Instant Pot Beans Recipe with SO MANY NOTES

First off, I highly recommend using an app like Google Notes to track what you use each time you make Instant Pot beans, or anything really. I tend to change up my recipe a little based on what spices I have available or what I'm going to be eating the beans with. It's a super easy way to think more about what you're cooking and how to improve it over time. 

1 lb pinto beans - you can basically use this recipe for any kind of beans, obviously changing up seasonings a little based on the bean. 

veg stock + water to 6 cup line - I use a mix of homemade veg stock and water, maybe 50/50, but you can do whatever. If you use all stock, you'll want to reduce the amount of salt, and if you use all water, you'll want to add more salt. I usually do 1.5 tbls salt if I use all water. Oh also, I always call it the 6 cup line, but because the Instant Pot is made in Canada, I think it's a weird metric equivalent of 6 cups or something? I dunno, just fill it to the line that says 6. 

1 tbls salt - I'm a fan of salt, so I would guess 1 tbls would be the upper limit of salt you'll want to use. And again, If you use just vegetable stock and no water, you should reduce the salt (maybe 1/2 tablespoon?) and likewise you should go up to 1.5 tbls if you don't use any vegetable stock. 

2 bay leaves - This is for good sized bay leaves you get from bulk bins; if you have tiny little bay leaves, maybe throw in four. Whatever, it'll be fine. 

1 tbls cumin
1 tbls chili powder
1 tbls smoked paprika
1 tbls garlic
1 tbls Mexican oregano
- All of these are super flexible, based on preference or just what you have in your pantry. You can definitely add more chili powder if you're short on cumin, or vice versa. If you're short on chili powder, in addition to adding more cumin, you can add more garlic powder, oregano, cayenne, onion powder and/or paprika, as that's generally what's included in chili powder, but don't stress it too much. I've never actually used regular oregano in this recipe, but it would probably work nearly as well. You can also throw in a bunch of cloves of garlic in lieu of garlic powder; this worked really well with black beans. I used nearly a whole head of garlic cloves and skipped most of the other spices, and it turned out amazing. I'm honestly not sure how it would taste with pinto beans; I would probably still include a little bit of cumin and chili powder, but that's mostly because I love cumin and chili powder. 

Cook on Manual Pressure for 25 minutes and let naturally release. - 25 minutes will give you well-cooked whole beans; I've recently gone up to 30 minutes, which results in even softer beans. The time will also vary a bit (probably just by a few minutes) based on the age of your beans. If you do 25 minutes and your beans still seem a bit undercooked, just throw them back in the Instant Pot for another couple minutes. If you don't have time to do natural release, add a few minutes to the cook time and just release the pressure immediately after cooking. The main reason to use natural release when cooking beans is it keeps the beans intact; sometimes when you use quick release, the change in pressure causes the beans to split open. Natural release can take 45 minutes, so if you're in a hurry, just use quick release and enjoy your still-delicious but possibly split-open beans. 

Okay! If you follow this recipe, you will end up with really great beans! If you use this recipe to make beans in your Instant Pot, please let me know how it turned out!

so i live in hawaii now

So there's a longer story that I may at some point share--it's not that interesting, I'm just tired at the end of a long work day--but my partner and I moved to Hawaii in January! It has been a really intense transition, but I'm finding my equilibrium here, and after a frustrating hiatus, I'm also rebuilding my sewing practice. 

I have a pretty amazing studio space that I'm letting myself organize slowly. I've been working mostly on a quilt I started working on at least two years ago. 

A post shared by marina! (@chapmanhandmade) on May 28, 2018 at 5:57pm PDT

I cut and sewed about half of the half square triangles for this quilt back in Oakland (and Wisconsin, actually--most of the fabric is my dad's old work shirts). I tried to work on the design as a whole quilt and kept changing my mind. I couldn't decide on an approach, so I just put it all away. When I finally got my studio set up here in Kona, I pulled out all my works in progress to try to find things I could actually finish, and this immediately felt like the quilt I needed to finish. I started assembling individual blocks and just decided to trust that all of those blocks would eventually fit together somehow, and it's gone so well. I decided to handquilt this one, so it may be awhile before it's finished, but it feels amazing to actually make steady progress on such a huge project. 

A post shared by marina! (@chapmanhandmade) on May 26, 2018 at 4:01pm PDT

Thinking of what I'm doing as a practice has been a shift in approach, I think for the better. I can be a pretty intense perfectionist if I don't keep myself in check, and thinking of what I'm doing as a daily effort to work on, refine, and improve my skills as an artist has been really freeing. 

this past week or two

pink and white quilted shoulder bag that i made last week, maybe my current favorite??

my booth at Jack of All Trades! featuring my finally finished pastel baby quilt

button down shirts, thrifted and washed and ready to be made into something new

recent work

in an attempt to actually be able to make enough stuff to have a viable business, i'm trying to make multiple shoulder bags using the same pattern. it feels weird so far, but more efficient. 

this is such a bad photo, but i'm so proud of this quilt block. the point even matches up. improv half square quilt blocks are my new thing, i think. 

my perfect angel boyfriend is building me a light box. it's almost done, and assuming i figure out the whole photography piece, i'm about to have some amazing photos like this. imagine how much better that red quilt block would look if it were photographed more like this. 

all i want to do is make shoulder bags all day

A post shared by marina! (@chapmanhandmade) on Oct 6, 2017 at 9:34pm PDT

I finished three new shoulder bags, out of a set of 10. I wanted to finish all 10 today; that may have been too ambitious a goal. I would have finished four bags, but I sewed a panel in upside down and then cut extra fabric from a squared off corner before noticing, essentially ruining it. 

Related, I am in love with Instagram stories, which is strange because I don’t get/actively dislike Snapchat. Anyway, I didn’t finish everything I wanted to finish today, and I’m trying to be okay with that. I’m having such a good time with sewing, but I so badly want to be faster and better than I am. I know that will come with time, but I am not a patient person. 

working towards patience

quilt block of the day #work

A post shared by marina! (@chapmanhandmade) on Sep 24, 2017 at 11:41am PDT

In addition to preparing for a craft show next month (Jack of All Trades in Oakland), I've been trying to make a quilt block every day. It has been a process; I think I'm averaging like 2 a week at this point. I'm working towards being okay with that; the idea that wanting to do something and having a goal doesn't mean that I will automatically achieve it. Making a quilt block takes time, obviously, and adjusting my life so I have that time every day isn't something that happens with no effort. I think the biggest challenge in dedicating myself to sewing as a craft is how much comes down to being focused and dedicated. I rarely feel as though I'm focused or dedicated enough, and when I look around at other people who are doing this, it seems so easy for them. Those are thoughts I try to avoid, because comparing yourself to other people (or, to the edited versions of their lives that they present online) is never a productive thing to do. What I try to do is focus my thoughts on sewing as a process, as a daily effort to improve. Approaching sewing with that attitude feels kind of amazing, when I'm able to do it, which isn't constant or easy. 

this is the week that i prepped all the shoulder bags

all of these bags prepped and I've got no matching fabric for linings. time to go thrifting! #fridaynight

A post shared by marina! (@chapmanhandmade) on Sep 15, 2017 at 10:38pm PDT

So a lot has changed for me in the past two months! Amongst other things, I have refocused my energy on sewing. I'm trying to approach it in a more focused and disciplined way. Right now, I'm trying to use up as much of my fabric as possible. I've had so much of it for so long that it's gotten overwhelming to know where to start. This week has been shoulder bag week; I've taken apart nearly all my wool blazers and trousers, which honestly feels amazing. The thing is that I have all of these prepped exterior fabrics to use for shoulder bags, and I've got no fabric to use for linings. I've got a few new thrift stores I'm going to visit to try to find some shirts to use. Men's dress shirts are the absolute best thing to use for linings. The patterns always look natural as linings (stripes and checks), and they're so easy to take apart. Wool blazers are the most time-consuming clothing to take apart, tho getting a look at all the tailoring is quite interesting. 

Harris Tweed (Heart Eyes Emoji)

I'm currently preparing for a craft show next month--it's my first show in over a year, I am excited/terrified, whatevs--so I'm attempting to use up all the clothing I have so I can go to Jack of All Trades with as much product as possible. I have maybe been edging into hoarder territory, so much of what I'm using is semi-new to me. That includes this amazing Harris Tweed. It's not cut especially well, or rather it's just a very old-school dowdy blazer, but that herringbone pattern is maybe my favorite pattern ever. 

I actually second-guessed whether I should even take this blazer apart and make it into a bag, but luckily there was a very large in the lining. That combined with the generally unimpressive cut makes me feel less bad about cutting it up.

It's frustrating that I still haven't gotten over that feeling, the idea that there's something bad about taking apart clothing that is literally one step from the landfill. No matter how beautiful the tailoring, no matter how beautiful Harris Tweed's work is, the reality is that there are literally thousands of wool blazers moldering away in basements and attics and thrift stores all across the country.. I'm not taking apart clothing that someone would otherwise be wearing; I'm making something useful from something that was going to waste. There are certainly some thrift store finds that are worth saving, and if the lining wasn't torn, I may have tried to resell the blazer as is. Ultimately though, this blazer will soon be a shoulder bag that will preserve the beautiful work done in the Outer Hebrides.

all shall be well

Life has been less of a struggle lately! For lack of a less self-indulgent way to put that. I've been focusing on building good routines and habits, and strangely enough, it's been working. 

This might be the best shoulder bag I've ever made. Recycled linen pants for the outer fabric (embroidered with new embroidery floss), recycled flannel lining, and a recycled cotton shirt for the lining.

This will probably be the best zip purse I ever make, once I finish making it.  

I make everything out of reused fabric, which is super rewarding but also frustrating. (Have I typed that exact sentence here before, or does it just seem familiar because I have that thought every time that I sew?) I'm thinking of a small expansion into new fabric, really just new solid color fabric to make it easier to use all my scrap fabric. I'm a little obsessed with scrap quilting at the moment.

recent work

Work has been a struggle, lately. Depression and anxiety are kind of the worst! Ha. I am fighting it though. I bought a new sewing machine today, with encouragement from everyone important in my life. I immediately finished two bags, so I actually feel good about the dumb amount of money I spent.  

hand quilting eff yeah  

My new machine is the Janome Skyline S3. I'll write more about it when I've gotten a real handle on it. So far, it is my favorite thing. 

pink pink pink also white and accidentally reminiscent of the square logo, woops  

It's really overwhelming how much depression and anxiety has influenced and continues to influence my life. I don't really know how to fully explain it to myself. I don't know that I even trust the understanding that I've reached so far. And it feels so self-indulgent and ridiculous to even talk about, but it's so strongly influencing my ability to make Chapman Handmade a real thing that it seems dishonest to not address it. 

That's all I've got, I guess. 

every embroidery should be a Beyoncé embroidery

Or: sometimes I need a break from the sewing machine 

❤️ u Beyoncé  

Embroidery samplers traditionally have inspirational phrases, so Beyoncé lyrics seemed appropriate. I really want to do a new one, I just need to find the right lyric. I'm endlessly impressed by ladies who do original creative work in embroidery, because it's so hard for me to force my brain to work that way. 

Zig zags! 

Embroidery on bags is much easier. Straight lines all the way. 

I'm working on a new flower sampler though. I have high hopes that it'll turn out well. I'm working on large flowers this time. I have yet to find a really great source for embroidery stitches; I just Google different stitches and go for it. Any recommendations welcome. 

future quilts

I've been focused on making shoulder bags lately, and zip pouches, along with setting up this website. I haven't finished a quilt in what feels like ages, tho I have approximately 20 quilts that are in progress. 

ignore the green. the green is gone. it's dead to me now.

These three shirts are going to be a baby quilt. I'm going to finish taking apart the shirts when I'm done with this blog post! I have no idea how much fabric I'll end up with, but I'm hoping to get a 40x40" quilt out of it. We'll see!

This is the current iteration of a quilt I've been working on for a year. There's more of it, of course, but this version includes a lot more sizes of half-square triangles and variations. I keep doing this thing where I start improv quilts with a limited amount of fabric and then halfway through, I can't decide how to finish it and then convince myself I'll run out of fabric. Insert eyeroll emoji here. I'm determined to finish it this year though. 

gonna make this quilt work somehow; go back a few months in my stream to see the first attempts #lolfml #saturdaynightsewing #imcool #👵🏼

See this Instagram post by @chapmanhandmade * 58 likes

I was going to include photos of some more quilts I'm working on, but honestly, all I can think about now is making some progress. It's time to work .