Why I love to sew

Most of the blogs on this site tend to be rather factual in nature. They may be a simple "how to" tutorial, or ideas of how you can use your sewing skills in new and interesting ways. I tend not to talk too much about myself, and anyone who's met me at the shop will tell you that's quite out of character :) This blog is slightly more personal in nature, but I hope you find it useful. In past blogs I may have hinted at an interest in performing magic as well as a few physical difficulties which I face. This blog is about the latter. I'm lucky, I'm disabled but managed to land a job (with a great boss and great co-workers who help adapt things to my needs). I'm also lucky in that I sew.

  Sewing for me is incredibly therapeutic. On days when my back is good I can sit by my sewing machine and spend a day happily being creative. On other days when I'm not so well I can  lay back in a support chair and hand sew, or design new creations. Then on days when even that is too much I can read books on fashion as well as books on sewing techniques and patter drafting. Finally when I'm feeling so bad that I can not even hold a book I can look at my collection of hand crafted waistcoats and feel a sense of pride and knowledge that even if I feel bad on this one day, there are other days I can make beautiful things. The sense of achievement when finishing a garment is something I think we all can  share. However to a disabled person that sense of achievement can be tenfold.

An example of this was yesterday. I really wanted to be productive, however my back didn't want me to move much. So I picked up some medieval trousers I happened to have hanging around that needed altering. They were completely  closed at the front. I have to put a front opening and fly in, because some of the stitching as on show and this  is a medieval re-enactment garment I had to do some hand sewing.  And thus a day where I would normally have accomplished  little actually became I day when I did a fiddly little job i'd been putting off for a while.   So if you or your friends have any sort of injury or disability  have a long think. With jut a little help and adaptation you can get them involved  in our wonderfully creative craft.

Please use the comment if You can think of other ways we can help people to sew, knit or craft