New art in the house

This is Bingo, by Erk.

This is Sexy black hamburger, by Maya Hayuk.

And if you're wondering where the Hawaiian postcards went to, they're now in the bedroom.

The birthday project

A couple of months ago, I purchased some lovely material on sale at The Fabric Store (and made this top with some of it). In addition to the green-and-white checked fabric, I also got this very lightweight striped cotton.

My intention was to use it for a skirt, but any skirt would need lining (which I've never tackled before). I'd forgotten all about it until today, when a lovely friend gave me some spare tulle she had in her garage. Now, my plan is to make myself a spectacular gathered skirt lined with a tulle underskirt in time for my birthday!

After trawling through my patterns, I've decided that the best design to use would be the tried-and-true gathered skirt that I've made a few times (including for my first ever sewing project).

I don't want the tulle lining to go all the way up to the waistband (because it will be bulky to sew into the band, and probably scratchy to wear), so I'm planning to sew some black cotton lining the same as the main skirt piece, but at half the length. I'll then sew gathered tulle to the bottom of the lining so that it will show around 10 to 15 centimetres below the main skirt.

I'll then tack the top of the cotton lining fabric to the outer skirt piece, gather both layers and sew them into the waistband together. The bottom of the skirt should, when hemmed, look something like this.

The question I now have for others now is: will this work? Or is there a better way I should go about adding a tulle underskirt? Maybe I should use a different skirt pattern altogether! If you have any thoughts, please leave a comment. I'm not planning to sew this skirt in a day like I normally do. I'm going to chip away at it a little bit at a time over the next couple of months in the hope of having a finished piece for my 30th birthday. 

Hurrah!

Declaring my intentions

I've debated over the last few weeks whether I should say something about my lack of blogging activity over the last few months. This morning I've decided that I will 'declare my intentions'.

I started this blog a couple of years ago. It was intended to serve as a record of the changes my husband and I made to our apartment, and also provide some sort of 'creative release' for me. I had been breaking my balls in the same job for almost a decade, and, although it was in a creative industry, I was getting very little back from it (besides a mediocre pay cheque to pay the bills). Having Flying Ducks helped me to feel that I was 'taking control' in some small way. I didn't expect anyone to read, but many of you did (for which I am very grateful).

Eventually, I was blogging several times a week. It was a few months ago that I realised that I didn't understand why I was doing this. It seemed to be mostly just to show off that I'd bought some new kitchen utensil, and not that I'd done something creative in the form of renovating or making. This, it dawned on me, was quite shallow. As many of you know, I also started a new job in the middle of 2011. I have felt much happier as a result, and have no longer felt compelled to force myself to write blog posts in order to feel like I am doing something (however shallow) to fulfil myself.

[I must also point out that I have no problem with those who DO choose to blog on a regular basis, and I am in no way calling your activities shallow. Many of you have a lot of great things to say or show, and many of you blog as an important part of your business promotion. That is something I respect.]

So, what's my plan? Well, I don't plan on closing this blog down. I'll still be using it whenever I feel that I have done something that I am proud of and that I'd like to show off. That might be something we've done to the apartment, or something I've made. What I won't be doing is blogging to show you a new tea towel or fruit bowl or ornament. There will be no giveaways. Ever. I can't say if I'll be blogging on a regular basis or not. That will depend on whether I've done something that I feel is worthy of a post. I may also start to again post on my other blog (which is intended to be largely political in nature), but I won't be forcing that either.

I realise that some of you like regular posts on blogs in order to justify following them, and that's cool. I don't expect everyone to be into it, so I understand if you unfollow. I've already had a couple do this, and that's fine. I'm not going to be paying any attention to my follower numbers or stats in the future. I've never made a cent from this blog and never intend to, so those things are irrelevant. As long as the people who ARE visiting my blog enjoy it, that's what I care about.

Thanks to everyone who's supported Flying Ducks over the last couple of years. I've met so many people (online and in person), and many of you I count as real friends. This has been the best part of it all.