Tomorrow (well... today in about 8 hours to be exact) will be my first time as a vendor at a craft show. Lots of yarn and baby hats and knick knacks of sorts. So I'm home for the weekend.
There's been a lot of changes in the past month. Alex has decided he's probably going to join the army this summer, as school and the working world isn't panning out in this economy. I've never been a military fan (don't get me wrong, I appreciate what they do... it's just not the lifestyle I want to partake in), so this has been especially rough on me to accept that. Which means that not only will he be away most of the time soon, but that there will be other lifestyle changes. Like whether or not we'll (I'll?) keep living in the same apartment or move, since it would be possible to step up a bit financially.
Currently our living room is tiny and serves both as a home to the GINORMOUS (and amazing) couch Alex's parents got us and pseudo-study/office for his desk and my yarn winding/knitting/etc. It's pretty crowded. It would be nice to even have a dining room area just to shove the desk in. Unfortunately, ours seems to be the only apartment that offers a front garden space. I don't know if I can give up my plants.
It'll be incredibly hard for me when he goes away. I'm already going through quite a round of depression, I can't force myself to go out and socialize like I used to. I sit at home a lot, and knitting has helped keep me busy. Though I'm not sure if it has in a good way or just as an enabler. I'm leaning toward the latter.
My mother mentioned awhile ago that she was debating getting me a sewing machine for Christmas. I haven't attempted sewing in a long time, since the beginning of high school when I made skirts and such for my Renaissance Faire outfits. It's something I've always wanted to dabble in but just never fully gotten into.
While I didn't get a sewing machine for Christmas -- we got a vacuum instead along with other items, and boy do I fricken love that vacuum especially now that we have Sakura -- my mother brought it up again this weekend. She wants to go shopping tomorrow to pick one out as my Easter gift.
And it's made me consider. Should I take up another hobby?
I'll either get sucked into it and love it, or try quilting or sewing simple garments and end up getting frustrated at how few patterns out there exist for my body shape and size.
And while I already do get frustrated at knitted patterns that don't fit my size, I'm experienced enough to be able to fix this with modifications. Sewing... well, I haven't worked with a machine in ages. And I'm kind of afraid to alter things because the construction of sewn garments is still a bit of a mystery to me. There is no frogging in sewing. There's just lots and lots of wasted fabric scraps sitting in a pile on the floor.
I suppose I'm going to give it a go. If nothing else, I can use the machine to fix the horrible holes that Alex gets in the seams of his shirts and I'm too lazy to hand-sew. And make quilted potholders and the like for craft shows. I have faith I can figure that much out.
It's a little late to ask for recommendations on machines since we're shopping either tomorrow (technically later today) or Sunday. But I've read some reviews and compared features on a lot of the cheaper machines and I really don't have a leaning yet. I know I want a Brother or Singer because of how long the companies have been operating and their cooperation in fixing and getting parts.
The budget I was told seems like a lot to me, but after looking at machines and realizing that the "basic" machines go all the way up to $500... geez. I thought "basic" meant it sewed a line. There you go, have at that straight seam. Basic machines these days make an automatic buttonhole and have 30 decorative stitches. How horridly primitive.
Still going to lean toward the lower end of the budget, may try to get a cheap rotary tool to go with it for some quilting experience. I think that's what always bothered me as a kid when I was trying to sew. All those horribly choppy scissory edges.
On another note... I feel like such a spoiled brat when I come home. Buying underwear and Styrofoam heads and not feeling bad about picking up a few things at the dollar store that weren't absolutely necessary is baffling to me after living so long wondering if I should buy groceries or wait another two weeks.
Sometimes I love being 19. Live the "adult" life when I'm away from home, but for now I can still always come home.
Having a military guy has its perks, though. You get discounts EVERYWHERE. When you vacation you can lodge in naval hotels which are super cheap and have kitchens. You can hop a lift on an airplane going to Italy for like nothing. Health care is awesome (they just hand you drugs for free!). They pay for housing and food and education.... As long as you can stand the work, the benefits are so phenomenal that I think it's totally worth it. If I could stand the psuedo-personality-stripping that happens, I would join in a heartbeat. I'm terrified of getting too old to be my father's dependent and having to learn how civilian hospitals and insurance works.
ReplyDeleteYeah, most of my neighbors back home are navy families and they go to the doctor for everything.
ReplyDeleteI know there's a benefit. But for me to get any of that, I'd have to be married to him.