Setting Off On the Path of Pins

Greetings, one and all, and welcome to Gathering Pins, a blog documenting my perilous and strange journey through the world of sewing and fashion. As of the writing of this introductory entry, I am a 25-year-old graduate student at Simmons College, studying English and Education.

This is Me. Hey.

As much as I love English and Education, and still probably want to end up as a teacher someday soon, a little something inside of me recently started screaming out that if I don't follow my dreams of creation and visual mischief right away, they might die inside me and harden into painful little stones of Regret. So I decided to give myself a year or more to dive into learning how to sew, being an artist every day, and telling everyone about it. Consider this a bachelor's party before my wedding to a career in education. And who knows? Maybe we'll all get to live together in a big harmonious threesome or something. This metaphor is getting beyond me.

This is also me. I'm kind of a chameleon like that.

So what are you going to see on this blog? Here's the rundown:

1. My Sewing Projects
I'm teaching myself how to sew, and I want you to see what I make! I love clothes. I love fabric. I love thread. And I love sharing. For years, as an art student, I used all the trappings of garment-making in my work without ever learning how to sew. I think my subconscious was trying to tell me something.

Well... Maybe my subconscious was trying to tell me a lot of things.

2. My Fashion Adventures

I have been trying to make myself look better since high school. I even won my class's Best Dressed superlative, despite being an all-around geek! Nowadays, I'm all about freedom in clothing. As good as I look in a button-down suit and a crisp tie, sometimes I just want to wear a skirt and makeup. And sometimes I want to be a fey deer spirit. So I do!

I happen to believe everyone in the world should be able to dress however they want. Style is about expressing your personality in a visual form, and that shouldn't be limited by color palettes, garment types, fabric choices, etc. So I'll be posting photos of myself (and hopefully my friends!) trying all sorts of fashionable options in everyday settings, fancy parties, theater productions, LARPs, etc. I'll be looking for feedback on what works, what looks fierce, and what should probably be tucked back in the closet for a long, long time.

3. My Thoughts on Visual Culture as a Whole

Given how important I think style is in our everyday lives, I'll probably have some thoughts and feelings to share on fashion, art, tv, movies, etc. I love talking about culture, and I'm going to do some of that here. I also happen to have a vested interest in children's culture, given my past (and present) with childcare and my whole future with education and (hopefully someday) parenting. What we show our kids, and how we let them dress, is of utmost importance, so the next time some boy gets yelled at for wearing pink toenail polish in a J.Crew ad, you can bet I'll be ranting about it here.

A TERRIBLE SCOURGE ON OUR SACRED AMERICAN VALUES

So there you have it. Gathering Pins in a nutshell. I hope you like what you see here, and please feel free to offer suggestions, constructive criticism, and respectful argument. I'm here to learn!