A New Map for the Sewtopia Journal

 November is one of those months where several holiday preparations converge. Thanksgiving, surely a favorite among many, is a reminder that in this country we are blessed. Sewtopia wants to celebrate that esthetic every day. 

While I have touched on bits of garden, nature, cooking, and home keeping along with quilting and sewing, Sewtopia is changing direction.  Not a dramatic change, more like a changing focus. 

Our homes are more than a haven, more than just shelter, it is a mirror of ourselves, our beliefs, and our work ethic.  

Content will vary depending on what resources are available and/or in season. We will cover Tea Times, sewn Littles, Home and Garden, Quilting, Machine Embroidery, Hand embroidery, Cottage Kitchen, Studio organization, tools, What I am reading, What I am watching, field trips, knitting, crochet, wool work, show and tell, flashbacks, mind-fullness, garment making. Whew! Of course, some of  these categories will overlap. In the American Provincial home, we are capturing the many facets of life in these complicated times.   

I will also share the work of other people, professionals who share their skills via tutorials, and finds that I think may interest you.  

A beautiful piece of lace that will be repurposed soon.

I think I just heard someone ask WHY? Because.  During the pandemic isolation, I found that my focus in life and my time are finite, and I need to be more attuned to that. During my working years a friend and I remarked, almost daily, how we would love to stay at home, decorate, sew, and make  cookies! On our commute, often more than one hour each way from the city, we admired the homes with little candles in the window and would wonder what they were having for dinner or were they able to finish their laundry that day! Lame to many I suppose, but to us, it was the dream. Caught up in our professional responsibilities it seemed we would never have the time to be that person, that housewife! So, this alteration of focus has been a long time coming. I tire easily these days and I want to do the best I can for me and my family.

That means letting go of some things while embracing others.

My Thanksgiving baskets are in their planning stage. I recently found a book from 1983 by Better Homes and Garden in my bookcase full of great ideas. The clothes, wow, Lady Di would fit right in!

• We will celebrate our Thanksgiving as last year. Son and his Girlfriend cook the big stuff. I think we will be having a wedding soon. Yippee! I make the pies, cookies, and often a side of some sort. 
• I try to personalize the baskets but much of the contents are standard fare from embroidered towels for Christmas and/or hot pads and table trivets, maybe a nice themed candle or two, a tea or coffee selection, a special jelly or jam, something pickled, a trinket or two. This year I am thinking of place mats made with the new miter corner tool.   (Share soon on a new tool time.)
• I have a new recipe for candied pecans, they are on the list too.
  

I thoroughly enjoy my journal life on the Sewtopia blog. I am fortunate to not have to make it a source of income. Follow your heart, center your soul, and be well. Some doors have closed, others have opened, everything in its own time I suppose. Never a dull moment.