Recent searches
Search options
Administered by:
My friends, Mark and Yvonne have finally moved into a house they love. It’s small but it has a lovely surrounding terrace. I wanted to get them a housewarming present, but I’m a bit allergic to ‘things’. So I thought about the two of them sitting on their terrace, having coffee on a warm summer morning… that’s why I made them the yukatas.
I didn’t learn how to sew like this until very late in life. Although I did dabble with tailoring in my early 20s.
But there is something that makes me feel so exhilarated when I sew these things. The steps are logical. There is no waste. All the sizing is in the seams.
And it is a project that always has an end and the thing produced is useful. I don’t know why, but it makes my soul very happy. #sewing
@Remittancegirl my personal theory is that meeting one’s own needs in a hands-on way is inherently satisfying, but we don’t tend to experience that much because buying (relying on others to actually make the thing) is so normalized. We routinely do ourselves out of a sense of self efficacy. Relying on others to meet basic needs is, in some ways, very juvenile.
@Remittancegirl Tailoring is a skill I sometimes think I wish I had. I had a girlfriend years ago who simply awed me by making her own clothes and occasionally, a shirt for me.
I mean, how freaking cool is that?!
@NickSchwanck There is a kind of meticulousness to tailoring that is a very good way of channeling one’s superego into nicely limited areas.
@Remittancegirl What a great way to describe that.
Historically, I've done the same thing making art.
This is .05 fine liner.
@NickSchwanck Wow, Nick… this is amazing work!
@Remittancegirl Thank you. Your description of "meticulous focus" has really resonated with me. I'm late diagnosed autistic (I'm 56) and have been interested in these kinds of pursuits all my life. I think this is why the idea of tailoringcreally appeals. Here's another thing I do for the same end...
@NickSchwanck I think a lot of neurodivergent people really find a sense of calm and stability in being able to focus intensely on something.
But I don’t get the sense that many austistic people suffer from a monstrous super-ego.
@Remittancegirl I don't think I do.
@Remittancegirl How long have you been sewing?
@NickSchwanck I did it quite seriously for a while in my early 20s, but then stopped for 40 years. I just took it up again at the age of 60. I’m finding hand sewing really nice and rhythmic and calming. And I love that there is always a definite end to the project.
@Remittancegirl I'll bet it's mindful-amazing.
@NickSchwanck It is. I can see why it might bore some people to death, but I find it deeply satisfying.
@Remittancegirl Ah yeah, those folks who can't abide their own minds? 
@NickSchwanck There are many, many people who can’t abide their own minds. If you look around at the desperate way people distract themselves from having a quiet sit and a think…
And to be fair, as my analyst says, most of the stuff in our minds is like snot. Some people learn to love their snot. But most people just avoid looking at it.
@Remittancegirl Yeah, you're right.
I'm into martial arts and through that, have been a meditator for a long time.
Most of it is noise.
It's great to learn how to ignore it. I find myself doing so for periods throughout the day. My work also affords some Zen opportunities.