Tips from Stina The Renegade Seamstress

Blue Ridge Sassenach

Wandering along the Blue Ridge Parkway I came upon a most beautiful unsuspecting creature. The Blue Ridge Sassenach cloaked in yellow brocade clothe brighter then the sun. She had appeared suddenly above the Haw Creek Overlook as the fullness of the sun broke over the valley. I asked her how she came to be in 2021 and she looked down at the Amethyst Point in her hand.

The story she relayed to me was eerie and enthralling. The crystal had apparently transported her through space and time... I love time travelogues and this fashionista seemed not a stranger but a familiar sentient being. She collided with the landscape, and was one with the natural world; she was  a mother from the universe appearing to heal the landscape’s vibrations.

We have all experienced some type of time warp over the last year. The first year  of the pandemic shifted our previous timelines.   Netflix and Hulu inundated our subconscious and dream states. The storyline that enchanted me was that of Claire the English Sassenach who came to be living in Scotland 200 years before her original timeline. I had became #outlanderobsessed sometime in the Fall of 2019. My bestie and I started watching the Outlander STARZ television series based on the historical fantasy novels by American author Diana Gabaldon. The pandemic gave pause to the recording of the 6th season; sew after a dramatic 5th season cliffhanger, we were left in #droughtlander mode. After watching the series three times sequentially; I began reading the books to satiate my #outlanderobession  The only way to quench my Outlander thirst was to capture in photographs the beautiful world that Diana’s story helped me create during the worst of times.

The words of Diana Gabaldon are concise and mysterious, her style  is driven by her passion for historical and contemporary fusion of dialogue.  Excerpts from Outlander Chapter II Standing Stones are presented as captions to our Blue Ridge Sassenach story. Enjoy!

“I thought there might be a beehive lodged in some crevice of the rock, and placed a hand on the stone in order to lean into the cleft.”

“I could say that my field of vision contracted to a single dark spot, then disappeared altogether, leaving not darkness, but a bright void.”

“I could say that I felt as though I were spinning, or as though I were being pulled inside out.”

“All these things are true, yet none of them conveys the sense I had of the complete disruption of being slammed very hard against something that wasn’t there.”

“I was in the heart of chaos, and no power of mind or body was of use against it.”

“I cannot really say I lost consciousness, but I was certainly not aware of myself for sometime.” 

“I “woke, “if that’s the word, when I stumbled on a rock near the bottom of the hill.”
 The Blue Ridge Sassenach climbed aboard ARTeries Mobile Boutique thanks to model Cindy Bowen and photographer Morgan Ford.

Focus Pocus and Goal Sewing!

Alright Amigas! Time to start setting intentions for 2016, you know creating unrealistic expectations for your superhumanself that will drop off the radar in a few weeks. Then again-  perhaps you want to focus on a few possible resolutions - that you will be able to maintain and love working to achieve!

Throughout the past year  due to the business of life and the combined stress of working a 3/4 time job, sewing my clothing line, launching ARTeries Mobile Boutique, and being a single parent, while remaining social and healthy; I lost track of some of my  goals! That's not to say I didn't achieve a lot of my goals- because I rocked 2015 and did a H-E-double hockeysticks of an amazing job. (Back patting sound effects.)

In fact 2015 was sew successful because I  learned a new tactic for setting myself up for success from my business consultant Tonya Snider of tenBiz.She assured me that SMART goals were going to get me where I wanted to go!

She was sew right! I happen to love acronyms and alliteration as different words may work better for some people when making goals. My favorites are in bold!

S - Specific, or significant, stretching, stimulating, simple, self owned, strategic, sensible...

M. - Measurable, or meaningful, motivating, manageable, maintainable...

A. – Achievable, or attainable, action-oriented, appropriate, agreed, assignable, ambitious, accepted, audacious...

R. - Relevant, or rewarding, results-oriented, resourced, recorded, reviewable, robust...

T. – Time based or time-bound, time- lined, track-able...

Lists are a great way to start planning. From there you can create an outline or a "How to" for yourself. Like a road map you can consult to make sure your on the right track along the way. There are samples of SMART Goals and free downloadable forms if you need that structure Get it Girl! 

Sew, try to carve some downtime for yourself this holidaze to do some SMART planning for the year ahead. Maybe if this concept is new just start with a short term goal that can be met fairly easily with a two or three steps before launching into I want to change my life mode!

 For example:

Strategy: I am going to run a New Years Resolution 5k on January first.

Measurable: I run the race at 10am and am having a celebratory brunch at noon.

Action Steps: I found a couple of friends to support this goal and run with me. I registered for the event, step three  put on my running shoes...

Rewarding: I am going to  feel like a superstar for the start of 2016.

Time-based: The date is set, I just have to show up and participate.

This is one girlboss who wants success and happiness in 2016! Stay SMART benchmark those goals!

Sew it up,

Stina

Foam & Fabrics Closes... Sew What's a Local Sewer to do?

Foam and Fabrics on Biltmore Ave, In Asheville, NC, may not have been filled with the most amazing fabrics you have ever seen liken to that of Mood in NYC, but what they did have was great customer service, and a commitment to local sewers.

Read more →

Bride Del Muerte

Read more →