Hello, And Welcome.

"Black is modest and arrogant 

at the same time. 

Black is lazy and easy - but mysterious.

Above all black says this: 

'I don't bother you - don't bother me'." 

           Yohji Yamomoto

This is one of my favourite quotes - I'm not one of those people who go crazy for the inspirational, life affirming, nauseating bullshit quotes littering Pinterest. "She believed she could, so she did" well cross your fingers "she" didn't have the ambitions of Icarus....*rolls eyes*.

If by some miracle you have stumbled here, and obviously ended up reading this, I would like to go off on a tangent about my previous blog before I get back to the quote above. I would apologise, but I'm a tangenty person, so you'll just have to deal with it or leave ;)

My last blog was active in fits and starts for over 5 years. I desperately wanted to have a blog with a decent amount of readers so I could interact with other sewing people, and also do fun things like swaps and giveaways. I upped traffic by posting patterns linked up to free pattern sites, did a tutorial that led in considerable traffic from pinterest each month, but never really got people to hang around beyond the page they clicked on. Clearly my crafty hodge-podge was lacking in some way or another, and it frustrated me. I eventually worked it out - it was just rubbish! A collection of crap. However the SBC is way too polite, and people I talked to about my frustrations were never brave enough to even hint that it was the terrible content. I was urged to make an effort to comment loads on other peoples blogs, and that people would start to check out my blog from there. Well sorry to say but I tried, and it was exhausting and pointless. It never gained me followers, it just wasted my time leaving the same generic comments which whilst nice and ego boosting for the recipients ("beautiful dress, that colour looks fab on you" etc etc) made me feel like a massive fraud and really fake. Don't get me wrong, they weren't normally lies, and I'm not an overly horrid person, but I never did much care for the whole lets hug and compliment each other routine.

So anyhow, I packed up that nonsense, and felt like I must be some kind of cretin because I wasn't able to fit in and be liked. I found another part of the online sewing community (GOMI craft) much more appealing, and lurking there made me feel like less of a freak. Constructive criticism is good. It is how we learn and grow. People call it snarking when it is aimed at themselves, or their friends, as it is accepted we will all do the "we're all so nice" thing. I have gleaned so many useful things from the guys over there, and found some new blogs to follow too. If my admission to this puts you off reading then that is your choice. I also do not wish to debate the merit/flaws of it, everyone is free to have their own opinion.

On this blog, please don't be afraid to say when things are sub par. You do not need to be rude, or criticise things like my weight/unphotogenic face as I am mean enough about myself without any additional grenades launched. If you can see something I have made a mistake with, or know of an easier way to do something I have struggled with, then for goodness sakes say so!

If you just don't like something I have made then you may keep it to yourself, I have a very narrow range of styles I like, and I probably don't like things you make either. So thems are the rules mmkay?

Back to that quote. I love black. It makes me feel comforable. I like to stay co-ordinated, black aids this. I'm not so hot for bright colours and crazy prints, or anything too wild. It is like a soothing security blanket that lets me feel inconspicuous when out and about, not attracting attention to that which I do not like about myself. In order to keep this blog true to myself I am only going to make what I like, and chances are it will be dark coloured and difficult to photograph. I am not a sweatshop, I produce items on a basis of needs, and the proverbial cake wins out over frosting. This blog therefore may not be the most active in terms of clothing, and I won't apologise for it.

I intend to also discuss things I am reading, that may or may not be to do with sewing/knitting. I hope to include posts about how I use up my scraps, sew with recycled materials, and my wardrobe policy. I like to do philanthropic crafting, and will talk about it if only for the hope that it inspires one person to do something themselves. Obviously cat photos at opportune moments too.

I would be lying if I said I don't care if nobody reads this, I still after all want to have some kind of exchange with others - I don't really have any friends into garment sewing, or even sewing regularly.

I am telling the truth when I say I will not ass-kiss, post things explicitly for the intention of gaining followers, or post things that are not true to myself just to keep to a schedule. I accept this will probably be a lonely place, but as they say, quality over quantity.