Friday, August 21, 2015

Do More Of the Things You Love

Friends, do you know who Casey Neistat is?  If you are not familiar, without being too wordy I will just say that Casey is an inspirational guy who has risen from adversity to accomplish great things.  He really is living life in a big way.

The Engineer and I watch Casey's daily VLOG post on YouTube every night right before we head off to bed.  See Casey is a film maker, and because of this he has started publishing a daily VLOG on YouTube (though he has had a YouTube channel for quite a while).  In one of his recent posts, he explained why he does this.  Since film making is his craft, he makes himself publish a VLOG everyday to stay in practice and keep working at his craft.

I had a real light bulb moment as he was talking about that.  Sewing is my passion right now.  Though I don't make money doing it, I see some validity to just making yourself do something you are passionate about every day, even on days that you maybe think you aren't in the mood for it (que the bah chicky wah wah music).

Casey's mantra is DO MORE.  He even has those very words tatooed on his forearm.  Something about that has just really been resonating with me lately.

How does all this relate back to me?  You all already know that I love to sew.  I also am passionate about photography.  You don't really get to see that side of me on the blog, because I am not the one behind the camera.  I have been a shutter bug since I was four years old.  I can't even begin to tell you how many rolls of film were sent off in the mail to one of those mail order film developers before I was even out of elementary school.  Do you remember those places?  The third thing that I am passionate about is writing.  Honestly, the writing that do here on the blog doesn't come naturally to me.  It keeps me in practice with (almost) proper grammar and punctuation, but I LOVE to write fiction.  In high school I had so many stories, poems and other creative writings published.  Then college rolled around, and I stopped writing for pleasure.  I want to get back to writing fiction.  I have a ton of material floating around in my head.

As I approach the blog's 1st Anniversary next month, I am starting to analyze things.  There are many questions in my head.  Do I want to continue to do this?  What am I bringing to the conversation?  Am I being my authentic self?  What can I do to make a difference?  Should I change the blog to a new format?  Do I want to continue to sew my own clothes?  Maybe I should just be an InstaBlogger.  Chalk this up to soul searching.  Don't worry friends, it's not that I think that I am going anywhere, but I just don't feel like I am giving you all my best.  You take the time to read this little blog, and you deserve the best!

Friends, tell me what inspires you (be it related to sewing or any other aspect)!  Whose work do you always read?  Where do you get your daily giggle?

6 comments:

  1. In sewing I am inspired by beautiful prints, colour, how colours make me feel, and the blogs I read. I love seeing patterns used by bloggers - it helps me determine whether a pattern tickles my fancy, and whether its worth buying or not. I am not a die hard fashion follower, yet sometimes will I be inspired by a trend, and then enjoy the challenge of incorporating into my style. I enjoy Happily Caffeinated's "Week in Patterns" posts, I enjoy reading Lladybird for a giggle especially when she starts tearing apart the latest seasonal pattern collections of the huge pattern companies and there are many others on my blogroll with whom I simply can identify, or I like their style, or they always have great photos etc.

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    1. I am really with you on how colors make me feel. I was just discussing this with a lady at the fabric store yesterday! Those are two great blogs that offer great inspiration. Both lady's have great senses of humor. Speaking of blogrolls, I need to add you to mine! That Kimono Tee you just sewed is a great start to getting your wardrobe back up to par.

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  2. I have been thinking about my blog too. I need to up the ante with both my sewing and my pics. Going to be moving again though so life is on hold until after then. At the moment I am really being inspired by art and fine photography. I am trying to soak up stuff like a sponge as I am a bit jaded. Do you think that being more *thoughtful* about what you present will inform what you make? Xx

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    1. Hmmm, I hope that the move is for a good reason. I do think being more thoughtful is necessary, thank you for that insight!

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  3. I really like the DO MORE mantra! My own approach to sewing is inspired by "I haven't done this yet!"...I really like variety and challenges, I guess. I do make stuff I've made before, too, but more for the challenge of mixing up something I've tackled previously. My blog is pretty unfocused because of that (which is A-OK by me...it's got everything from cooking to sewing to minor homeowner construction projects because I see the blog as a project journal of sorts). I do like to make the sewing blog rounds for inspiration, too, though--it's great to see how different people embellish and tweak patterns to make them their own unique creations!

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    1. Shannon, I just hopped over and checked out your blog...lot's of great stuff happening there. I think it is good to not necessarily be solely focused on sewing on the blog. Sometimes it stifles my personality and creativity. Kuddos to you for using your blog as a project journal. That is a great way to think of it!

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