Ugh. January.

I am already stressing about keeping this blog updated and super stressed and we are at like, what, day 8 of the new year?

So what am I stressed out about?  Will it help to write this all down?

1.  Whisky.  Every walk with him is leaving me in tears lately.  He pulls so hard and I have been trying to train him with words but it isn't working.  He cowers at me when I say "no" and it makes going on a walk = the last thing I want to do.  But we need to help him get exercise because his puppy-ness leaves us tired.

2.  School.  I will be teaching in person in another week.  I have no idea when I will get a vaccination and I am terrified of catching COVID after we have been so careful for the past 9 months. I always feel a little nervous before a new semester (I so desperately want to be a "good" teacher, not just an "okay" teacher).

3.  Hemorrhoids.  I hate them and I need to see a doc soon because I am experiencing the worst problem with them that I have ever had. The big issue with this is that I no longer have a primary care physician and so I am not sure how I go about getting one.

4.  Our old place.  We want to put it on the market by Feb 1 but it is taking so long to get things done -- like painting, dealing with the floors, installing new appliances, etc.  I am terrified that we won't be able to sell it and will always be paying two mortgages.

5.  No sewing.  I just seem to have lost my mojo on this one.  I start a project and then never get past the second step.

Ugh.  This won't help with any of the above, but I need a glass of wine now.

New Year's Eve 2021

 I saw an advertisement back in November for a virtual sewing party on New Year's Eve and I thought ... why the hell not?  Perhaps this will help me get some of my "mojo" back in terms of motivation (especially in terms of sewing for myself and it being a pleasurable activity).  This was a joint party held by Sulky (a long-established machine embroidery company) and Sallie Tomato (a sewing pattern company by a young designer who has really taken off the last few years!).    It started at 8 PM EST and went to midnight EST (so an hour earlier for me here in the Central Time Zone!).

What got my attention was that this party was focused on creating a bag in about 3-4 hours called "The Zelda Bag" named after the infamous and seriously brilliant  Zelda Fitzgerald (the whole event had a 1920's theme to it!).  I also pre-ordered the kit so I didn't have to cut anything out.  Access to the event was $5.99 and then the kits itself was $39.99 (link here).  With the choice of color -- beige or charcoal -- I went for the charcoal and the machine embroidery option.  And I am a bit of a sucker for fringe!

So now that the event is over (welcome to the first morning of 2021!), what is my assessment of this whole event?  Though I said a ton of bad words (why did I think sewing late at night was a good idea?) and the pacing was fast to make sure completion happened before midnight, it was a great experience (and, luckily, my admission to the event includes the video that I can watch over and over again).  

Of course, being New Year's Eve, I had to start with a drink (and the pre-purchased kit came with some 1920's themed party favors).  My computer and desk area are a part of my new sewing studio so I was perfectly set up to watch and sew:

Thankfully, there were plenty of guests (as you can see from the picture above, there is apparently a "Sewing Cowboy"!).  I was glad for this because I needed to the time to catch up several times (and, yes, the seam ripper made a few appearances!).  I didn't win one of the awesome door prizes but fun was still had during the entire event.

Sure, I definitely made a few mistakes (I am always struggling with zipper tabs and how they fit into a bag's side seam) but I like the overall look.  Here is what I ended up with:

I am not crazy about the embroidery design that came with the bag but I like the overall design and this was the first time I ever added a fringe to something.  My machine struggled a little but I didn't have time to look for a plastic foot or tissue paper (two suggestions from the host to make this part easier).  The instructions was going so fast that I am curious to make another without the time pressure.

So there we go!  I ended 2020 with a crafty project!