thepatchworkpress

[thepatchworkpress]

train doodles, to celebrate the fact that my sewing bag is currently stuck in a train station I can't go and collect it from for another three weeks. heed my warning: don't leave your bags unattended

[thepatchworkpress]

An incomplete list of reasons why crafting helps my mental health (and might help yours, too):

It stops me from doom scrolling: can't go on social media if my hands are full of yarn.

It gives me a sense of agency: a lot of things are messed up in a way that's beyond my control, but I can make something that didn't used to exist. It's evidence that I'm alive and I can impact the world, even if the impact is small.

It builds my tolerance for mistakes: I grew up a perfectionist , which is really bad for my wellness and my ability to complete tasks. But crafts are a great source of low-stakes mistakes to help me learn how to handle imperfection. And while there are certainly mistakes I'll always fix, I also have many opportunities to decide a mistake is acceptable and leave it in favor of getting to the finish line.

It interrupts rumination: even if I'm still chewing on some troubling news, it's not front of mind if I need to focus on getting this seam straight or whatever

It helps me meet good people: although there are obvious exceptions, I've found most craft-centered spaces (IRL and online) to be full or supportive, kind, helpful people in all walks of life

It encourages a growth mindset: I'm always learning new things in crafting, and that builds my identity as someone who can grow and improve.

And finally, making your own clothes is empowering: I know this is specific to fiber crafts, but it's important. When you make your own clothes, you flip the notion that you're supposed to "fit into" a certain size and instead remember that clothes are supposed to fit you. You get to learn how to dress the body you have with love and care, instead of allowing manufacturers decide how clothes should look.

[thepatchworkpress]

The back of an embroidered piece is the same creature as the code of a website btw

[thepatchworkpress]

happy Easter lol

[thepatchworkpress]

headcanoning saint sebastian with menstrual cramps

[thepatchworkpress]

one of these days I'm finally gonna make a zine

[thepatchworkpress]

"if tumblr dies you can find me on bluesky" "if tumblr dies you can find me on Instagram" if tumblr dies you cannot find me. It's over. I'm free.

[thepatchworkpress]

in other news I'm making a website using Hugo which involves learning to code :o the stemboyfication of The Patchwork Press? stay tuned.

[thepatchworkpress]

wip update!

I fear I may have bitten off more than I can chew with this one. the idea: to cut up all of my university essays in turn to make them into collage poetry mimicking a university-essay form.

where it's at: the first one I've attempted to do, my first-year exam, has sat in a pile of words on my desk for the past six weeks with the exception of this first page, which is essentially just a rephrasing of what the essay said to begin with ft. an imagined frantz fanon quote.

I think the main thing I'm struggling with is a lack of diversity of words. I did write this one in four hours about a lot of repetitive theory, so I might have better luck with my other essays, which were on novels and set as coursework. I've been looking at other collage-poems for inspiration, and it seems that a lot of people keep a lot fewer full phrases than I have done - maybe that's where I'm going wrong? or maybe I need to throw a few more essays in with this one just so that I have more to work with.

stay tuned...

[thepatchworkpress]

my thing i haven’t made is so good 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[thepatchworkpress]

Trying to sell handmade crafts in this economy is so. Like. Hey guys I know we're all broke as fuck but do you want my silly little things. I'm very good at it. For the time it takes to make them + skill + materials it's gonna be 30$ per silly little thing. But also shipping costs 12$ for reasons outside my control so it's actually 42$ now. Sorry. No I really can't charge less than that. Yeah I know. Ok. Bye

[thepatchworkpress]

do I share my business email on tumblr dot com is that considered normal small artist on tumblr behaviour

[thepatchworkpress]

I FINISHED IT 🎉

thus my first task as a craftsman born anew is in motion: i am, indeed, making patchwork on the sewing machine out of the scraps of fabric i've acquired though the past three years of patch-making. i've been storing these to recycle for ages and i'm really excited to see it coming together! especially since i am NOT super handy on the machine.

[thepatchworkpress]

No, I am not 'hoarding craft supplies.' I am sourcing materials for a very big project that will be revealed to me at a later date- perhaps in a dream.

[thepatchworkpress]

the duality of man

thus my first task as a craftsman born anew is in motion: i am, indeed, making patchwork on the sewing machine out of the scraps of fabric i've acquired though the past three years of patch-making. i've been storing these to recycle for ages and i'm really excited to see it coming together! especially since i am NOT super handy on the machine.

[thepatchworkpress]

I must not abandon my nearly finished projects. abandoning my nearly finished projects is the nearly finished projects killer.

[thepatchworkpress]

printing off every single essay i wrote in first year because i am plagued by creative visions