Seams Like a Story

September 17, 2021January 21, 2023

September in the City

West Ridge Nature Park

Chicago, Illinois

I had some time to myself on a recent trip to Chicago. My sister, who was working from home that morning, suggested I take a walk to the West Ridge Nature Park, less than a mile from her home. I’m not an urban dweller. Big cities make me nervous and to make matters worse, I am directionally challenged.

“The route is simple,” she assured me. “Take your cell phone, but you’ll be fine.”

Curiosity conquered fear. I ventured out from my sister’s neighborhood of quaint 1930s bungalows, cozy yards, and shaded streets and headed east for several blocks.

City Sidewalks

The traffic noise increased as I approached the busy intersection and turned towards the park. Picturesque family homes gave way to commercial buildings interspersed with rickety apartment buildings. The air was hot and sticky. City buses rushed by, spewing diesel fumes my way.

My pace quickened as I continued past sidewalk debris that showed evidence of late-night parties or early morning breakfasts. Cars parked along the street seemed to be forgotten. I checked my pocket to make sure my cell phone was at the ready.

Nature to the Rescue

I was relived to see the park gates. West Ridge Nature Park is a twenty-one acre park that was dedicated in 2015. Once a never-used, neglected section of Rosehill Cemetery, the planners removed invasive plants and filled the space with native vegetation and designed paved pathways that meander through the grounds and around a pond. As I stepped through the gate into the lush forest, the busy urban streetscape disappeared behind me.

The path was welcoming, and I was delighted to see the storywalk, pages of a children’s book, posted along the trail.

Wildflowers waved their late summer petals as I passed by. Cicada chirps and bird song replaced the city sounds. A church bell rang in the distance.

A group of birdwatchers approached as I was examining a walnut that had fallen on the path.

“People used to put walnuts in their driveways and run over them with their cars to get the tough outer skin off,,” a lady with binoculars around her neck said.

“My great-grandmother told me she used to do that!” I examined the walnut, avoiding the brown stain oozing from its green, leathery skin.

A flash of crimson caught my eye, heralding the beginning of fall. Was it my imagination, or did the air feel different here? Cooler. Cleaner.

The gaggle of geese I had been observing honked in alarm as I got too close. They ran across the pond before taking flight, leaving a trail of splashes on the surface of the water.

All too soon, the path brought me back to where I’d started. I left the park and began walking back along the busy city sidewalk, the urban oasis safely tucked away behind its sturdy, chain-link fence.

Yet, now and then, nature reaches out to touch the city.

Threads of Thought

Are you an urban dweller? Small town? Rural?

September ushers in the fall season. What signs do you see in your area?

September 3, 2021January 21, 2023

Sew Write Teach

Same passion, different focus

One of the first things I did when I retired from teaching three years ago (after sleeping for about a month) was to convert a spare room in my home from a teacher’s office to a writing/sewing studio. https://seamslikeastory.com/creating-a-space-to-sew-and-write/ After thirty-seven years of teaching, I needed a different way to occupy my time and engage my mind. I rekindled passions I had put on the back burner and began to sew and write again.

A Different Type of Work

http://seamslikeastory.com/melanies-tutu/

I find the work to be satisfying and inherently different from teaching. After spending a morning working on a poem, story, or sewing project, I have something tangible to show for my efforts. In my teaching profession, though the goals were noble and the rewards great, it often took weeks, months, or even years to see progress.

Simpler Solutions

http://seamslikeastory.com/the-simply-complicated-dress/

If I make a mistake sewing a garment or am not happy with the way a story is going, I can rip out seams and rewrite paragraphs. Struggling students were much harder to figure out. Many times solutions weren’t obvious, and it took many tries to succeed. There were times I wasn’t able to unravel their tangled threads or smooth out their life stories.

The Mindfulness corner in my room was a place where students could go to collect their thoughts, reflect, calm themselves.

Reap what you sew

So why did I stick with teaching for all those years? Because sometimes, sometimes, a spark ignites, a plan works, a struggling student smiles and succeeds, I made a difference; I reaped what I’d sewn.

These moments, brief as they may be, are the rocket fuel that drives those of us who were, and are fortunate enough to be educators. That passion drives me still. I’m finding new ways to channel it.

Threads of Thought

Transitioning to retirement has been a three-year journey for me.

What are some of your retirement passions?

What do you look forward to when your retire?

August 28, 2021January 21, 2023

A Week in the Life

of a (lesser-known)writer

I retired from teaching three years ago. During that time, I’ve rediscovered a passion for writing. I joined a local writing forum and published a few stories and poems in their anthologies “Monsoon Madness” and “Desert Muses”. https://www.amazon.com/Debra-VanDeventer/e/B08GZS67GS. I am fortunate to be part of a writer’s critique group as well. This January, I ventured into the art of blogging and Seams Like a Story was born.

Why do I write? I’m not sure really, but it is a creative outlet. It keeps my brain active, and forces me to keep up with technology. Writing also helped me process the complex feelings I was having when I retired from a thirty-seven-year teaching career. I started writing about the challenges I faced as a new retiree and some anecdotes from my teaching past. Sometimes when I’m on a writing roll, I lose track of time and my husband has to drag me away from the computer for meals. Other times, I’m distracted, uninspired, in a creative slump.

My writing life has its ups and downs and my writer’s ego is fragile. Take last week, for example:

MONDAY : Girl dreams of fame and success

After three years, I had finished what I hoped would be the final draft of my “transition from teaching” memoir. Eager to test the waters, it was in the hands of three trusted critique buddies. I opened my morning journal and mapped out my road to success: publishing and marketing strategies, blog posts, Etsy shop? Pinterest? The possibilities were endless.

TUESDAY: Girl’s dreams are dashed

The critiques came in:

“Good job, this part is great, loved this section, so funny here, it’s going to be a great book that many can relate to. But… this part reads slow, move this chapter to the front, watch verb tense here, you have some comma issues, eliminate this part -it doesn’t add to the story.”

WEDNESDAY: Girl struggles with self-doubt

Maybe I don’t want to be a writer. It’s too hard. I don’t want to put in the work. No one would want to read this, anyway. My life is boring. Blah. I’m going to sit on the couch for the rest of my life and binge-watch Netflix.

THURSDAY: Girl receives a glimmer of hope

Text from a friend: “Just saw your story in the Desert Leaf magazine. Loved it!!”

I had submitted my 300 word short story six months ago, and they had accepted it for publication. After being rescheduled once, it was to appear in the September issue. It was in the back of my mind, almost forgotten, until I got the text. The next day, I received my copy in the mail. There it was on page six: Stir Crazy by Debra VanDeventer. A writer’s high, a glimmer of hope arrived just when I needed it most.

FRIDAY: Girl gets back to work

Maybe I’ll take another look at my teacher-retirement manuscript. It has potential. Let me take out this part…. move this to the front… add comma here… work on the flow… add more details to this section…

(to be continued)

Threads of thought

If you live in the Tucson area, check out the September issue of Desert Leaf Magazine.

If not, you can view Stir-Crazy and some of my other published stories and poems at https://vandeventerd.journoportfolio.com/

For the writers in the audience: How do you conquer writer’s block and/or self doubts? What are you writing about?

August 20, 2021January 21, 2023

Men’s Shirt Upcycle

How to Upcycle a Men’s shirt to a Woman’s Jacket

In a former life, this women’s jacket was a pin-striped, button-down men’s shirt.

Inspiration for this men’s shirt upcycle

How did a men’s shirt upcycle to a woman’s jacket? It had been several months since I’d sewn and the creativity bug was nudging me. Though still blazing hot where I live, cooler days would be coming. I wanted to make a lightweight wrap, cardigan, or jacket to wear over a T-shirt and jeans. My initial inspiration came from the All Well Cardigan Coat pattern https://allwellworkshop.com/cardigan-coat

Materials

The All Well Cardigan can be made in a variety of fabrics. The pattern guide also suggested experimenting with vintage or recycled fabrics for a unique look. I was about to head to the local thrift shop when I remembered I had a sack of clothing recently purged from the closet. Here I found two pin-striped, button down shirts my husband was discarding. They were in good shape and made from a sturdy, wrinkle-resistant oxford cloth. Could I use these? Searching through my sewing closet, I found this unusual print and some antique buttons my sister had sent me. Could I make this work?

http://seamslikeastory.com/the-simply-complicated-dress/

Button down shirts, fabric remnant, and antique buttons. Hmm…

The Process:

I decided to upcycle the blue pin-striped shirt into a woman’s jacket. At first I was planning to cut the shirt apart and try to salvage enough fabric for the pattern. On second thought, I decided to keep the existing structure in tact. The sleeves, side seams, and front placket remained unchanged. I removed parts that made it look like a man’s shirt…the chest pocket, collar, and buttons.

This pocket could be used on another project.

I carefully cut off the collar, leaving the band. The attached band was later turned under and stitched to make the neck facing.

Next, I used the All Well Cardigan pattern to mark the cropped hemline on the shirt. This cut off enough fabric from the bottom of the men’s large-tall-sized shirt to turn the short sleeves into long sleeves. I pieced them together, then stitched the pieces onto the existing short sleeves. This took some starts and stops, as I was making it up as I went along. The stripes for the “added on ” part of the sleeve runs opposite to the stripes on the existing sleeve, but I like the effect!

I like the effect of the banded sleeve and directional stripes.

Finishing touches:

Edges and hem

To finish the front edges of the shirt, I folded under the front plackets where the buttons and buttonholes had been and stitched them in place. Remember the collar band that I had NOT cut off of the neck edge of the shirt? That was folded under (after I removed some of the bulk) and stitched down to form the neck edge facing. This resulted in a clean, collarless look in keeping with the All Well Cardigan style. I hemmed the lower edge of the garment with a double-fold-and – stitch.

Pocket and back pleat detail

To add a touch of whimsy, I cut out a panel from the fabric remnant, lined it with a complimentary print from my stash, and sewed it to form a pocket. I cut a small square from the same remnant and stitched it onto the back pleat to make an interesting detail and take away the “men’s shirt” look.

It’s the small details like this pocket that really turn this from a men’s shirt to a unique woman’s jacket.

Coming or going, this jacket makes an impression!

Button and Buttonhole

From the beginning, I knew I wanted to use one of the oversized antique buttons on this project. (Remember, the existing buttonholes had been turned under and no longer visible). The addition of the button was challenging. This one-and-a-half-inch- diameter button needed a buttonhole that was too large for my machine’s buttonhole attachment. I googled “how to make custom buttonholes” and figured out (with a great deal of practice) how to make one using a zig-zag stitch.

I was determined to make this button work even though I needed a custom buttonhole.

The End Result

I’m happy with my new jacket. It was fun to play around with what I already had. I started with a basic idea or plan, but in the end, the materials themselves dictated the final look. I think it looks cute with the gold-linen, wide-legged pants I made this spring.

seamslikeastory.com/how-dare-I/

I think it would be nice with boyfriend jeans as well.

Speaking of boyfriend…my husband walked in as I was cutting off the collar of the shirt. “What are you doing to my shirt?!” he exclaimed. I had to remind him that the shirt had been in the “Goodwill” pile for more than a year. Still he eyed me suspiciously. Now he keeps a close watch on his closet.

Threads of Thought

Upcycling is “creatively repurposing old materials while maintaining some of their original characteristics.”

That perfectly describes this project, but the term doesn’t only apply to sewing. Many things could be upcycled: wood scraps, furniture, jewelry, dishes…the possibilities are endless!

Have you tried your hand at upcycling? I’d love to hear about it!

When I’m not sewing, I’m writing! Look for Out of the Crayon Box: Thoughts on Teaching, Retirement, and Life at amazon.com/author.debravandeventer

August 6, 2021January 21, 2023

Let’s Face It

Cricut printed faces give your plants personality

Let’s face it…who wants boring houseplants, when you can create these adorable personalities? For this project, I had help from my creative daughter-in-law and imaginative granddaughter.

Inspiration Strikes

I began my Seams Like a Story blog eight months ago to explore my creative life and inspire others. I never know when inspiration will strike or where it will take me. Sometimes I write, sometimes I sew. This time my inspiration came from a trip to the local thrift shop where I found these colorful pots.

Browsing through Pinterest, my idea began to take shape. There are lots of ideas out there:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/AUPEoPij4G7PV4ZrtDakl9d_HZ1emhhnjQEBz2cI9mDFa_k3u8l0m_8/

Cricut Printed Faces

DIL Becca designed and cut the faces on her Cricut machine then printed them off on permanent vinyl. Granddaughter Lillian decided which face should go with each pot.

Becca and Lillian worked carefully to peel off the backing and attach the faces to the pots.

Do this step carefully because, like the name says, it’s permanent.

We used a plastic kitchen spatula to rub out the air bubbles.

Getting Our Hands Dirty

Next, we potted baby succulent plants into each pot. Since the pots didn’t have drainage holes, we purchased special potting soil that was formulated for succulents. We used four different varieties of plants. Lillian had fun deciding which “hair” went with each face.

Too Cute!

Our potted plants turned out so cute! Lillian thought the orange one with glasses and spikey hair looked like Grandma, and of course the perky pink one with the fancy hair fit her personality perfectly!

These would make great gifts, but I’m keeping them for now. Their smiles remind me of the fun we had together!

One month later…..

Whoa Lillian! Your “hair” is really growing!

Threads of Thought

If you don’t want to “face” your planter, here are some cute sayings I found:

You Grow Girl

I will survive

Let it Grow

Not Dead…yet

You had me at Aloe

(Pick one or make up your own! )

If you don’t have access to a Cricut machine, you could paint your designs and words on.