Wadder; from the noun wad. Slightly vulgar.
Some apt definitions:
- Informal. a comparatively large stock or quantity of something, especially money:
He’s got a healthy wad salted away.
- A plug of cloth, tow, paper, or the like, used to hold the powder or shot, or both, in place in a gun or cartridge.
- British Dialect. a bundle, especially a small one, of hay, straw, etc.
From the urban dictionary. Very vulgar:
Wadder
Short for “panty wadder” – someone who is a sissy and likes to bitch and moan about everything.
From the sewing blogosphere:
A project that is a failure.
Life for me lately has been about removing the many wadders in my life. This post itself is a bit of a wadder.
All this purging started after reading the book The Magical Art Of Tidying Up last spring. I know you’re probably tired of hearing about it, but something just clicked in me while reading it. In typical fashion, I started out all gung ho on purging. I got through Gigi’s wardrobe and half of mine. I even rolled up her clothes in the dresser as recommended in the book . Then somehow I lost the book. Maybe I accidentally threw it in my giveaway bag! So I bought another one the other day when I was helping my cousin shop for his monthly groceries at Costco. I’ve read it again and have been since making lots of progress. It’s certainly is difficult sometimes, letting things go . All I can say is finding things to wear is so much easier now that I don’t have all that emotional baggage in my closet. Things I’m going to wear when I’m five pounds thinner. Things I sewed but that I actually can’t stand to wear because they just aren’t me, and I don’t know why I even sewed them in the first place. Things that are cute, but don’t fit well or aren’t my personal style. Wadders. The air in there just feels lighter now.
First World Problems, I know.
Maybe someone else will enjoy my handmade clothes. Or maybe the thrift shop will decide they aren’t even worthy to be sold there. I can’t worry about it!
But of course the road to self enlightenment is never a straight one. Like this past weekend I went to downtown LA and bought seven pounds of fabric for three dollars a pound at The Micheal Levine Loft. My reasoning? The fabric was totally cute, and since I had recently given away all the fabrics I knew I didn’t love anymore, I deserved to treat myself.
And then the last project I sewed with my new fabric. A total wadder so I threw it away. What was I thinking making elastic waist pants? They just looked so homemade and frumpy. I could find better looking pants at Wal Mart for half the cost of what I paid for the fabric. Not to mention the hours wasted unpicking seams and resewing . But then, that’s not really the point of sewing. Only the very organized really save money when sewing a handmade wardrobe. Once you count all the patterns and fabrics bought thoughtlessly and without a plan, it’s a very expensive hobby. Sewing blogs don’t often mention how discouraging and frustrating and expensive sewing can be at times.
But still. I can’t even bear looking at those elastic waist pants. A waste of some nice rayon challis. Maybe my sewing season is over. I just keep making the same dumb mistakes. It all seems so hard sometimes. All the projects I have planned in my head sometimes feel more like a burden than an inspiration. Kind of like my burgeoning linen closet felt before I cleaned it out today. Maybe I will love it again tomorrow. It’s a bit of a love hate relationship right now.
If I were my child I would tell me to stop comparing myself to other people’s successes. Maybe I’ll never get to making a pair of fantastically fitting jeans, or a well tailored jacket. Maybe that’s OK.
There’s a big sign in my gym that says something like ,
I do not try to better than anyone else. I only try to be better than myself.
I need to paste it on my forehead.
I went through that for several weeks and just sewed for the first time in weeks. I do it at least once a year and take a month off until I itch to sew again. I only like to make things that get worn, and I hate sewing to sell. That means lots of Tshirts and cardigans, and sadly not much else. I think blogging creates an additional pressure. I decided last year to only sew the things I want and not stress about blog projects. Removing the pressure makes it easier for me to sew guilt free. Switch to something else for a while; cooking or working out; whatever you can get yourself engrossed in. No stress:) I think we’ve all been there!
I love your style Amy. While I enjoy the bloggers who make lots of fancy clothes and wear sky high heels, I just don’t end up wearing that kind of thing out here out of the city and I almost never wear fancy dresses. I think we are on the same page! Buy making everyday clothes is a bit more of a challenge than it seems,isn’t it. It’s all about the right cut, and figuring out how to hack a pattern to get it.
I felt so good reading this post, even if it is tough stuff for you. Thank you for your honesty, because it doesn’t happen often to read that in a sewing blog. I think we just have to remove the pressure, and yes: have that sentence from your gym printed in our forehead and in our actions! One mistake doesn’t make it all bad, one “wasted” length of fabric doesn’t change the purpose behind your actions. And you blog and your projects are amazing, and they have inspired me a lot, so please don’t feel sad about it. New motivation will come again, and one little bump on the road doesn’t change the fact that your life is much more wadder-free now and you feel better 🙂 Keep it up!
Thanks for your encouragement Sara. I’m feeling a bit less discouraged today. 🙂
Wow…I can’t believe that with all the many charming, pretty and wearable things you make that are so flattering on you, you feel that you may have come to the end of your sewing season. The advice above is good advice and I hope you take it as a hobby that begins to stress you is a hobby that you need some space and time away from. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said saving money while sewing only happens for a very few. But is that really the reason you started to sew? Isn’t it more about finding an expression for creativity, fulfilling a need to make things with your hands, making clothing that contours better to your curves and shape than RTW? The only time I actually save money when sewing is when I try to make a high end, designer item. Even then, if I look at my investment in terms of stash, equipment, space, time, the savings are probably wiped out. Fortunately, I feel no need to analyze my hobby from this angle. Wadders or misjudgement in terms of pattern selection/fabric etc happen to everyone from what I can see in bloggerland. Don’t get down on yourself just because they happen to you too! And the fact that you got rid of many items from your closet doesn’t mean they were all mistakes, it simply means that your tastes and shape have changed. As I see it, that is a normal aspect to living in a privileged world where our possessions are no longer defined by need, but more by desire. If you feel burdened by your belongings, that is whole other issue unrelated to whether or not you should sew/buy more stash etc. Don’t be so hard on yourself for being aspirational with your hobby – true creativity takes many mistakes and much repetition to hit its stride which, coming back to my first point, I feel you often do in the many lovely and feminine things you sew! 🙂
Thank you for your kind words! I am a bit embarrassed now that I wrote such a Debbie Downer post. I guess we all have those days although most people might not blog about . I know I came off as a bit whiny. The creative path is full of little blocks, though.
My favorite sewing projects are often the ones where I ripped up something I made and was able to re-use the fabric in a new, “no rules” design–after all, the fabric was free now wasn’t it? I made a shirt jacket from a pleated skirt and a sleeveless blouse from a circle skirt. Also some hiking shorts from Ikea twill curtains. Freebies to offset all my sewing wadders!
First of all I think YOU are a wonderful person!It is so kind of you to post this blog for us to enjoy! It takes a lot of time to do this on a daily basis!It is not so much our sewing as it is our bodies are changing! We have more adjustments to make than we use to. Keep up the good work , because you are a Great encouragement to me and so Many others!! God Bless You!
Thank you so much Dara. God bless you, too!
Sew because you feel like it, not because you feel you have to. When I first began sewing clothes, it was primarily to save money – clothes were comparatively more expensive back then and it was cheaper to make them. I had a 20+ year break from sewing when I no longer needed to sew to save money. Now I sew because I really enjoy it. Doesn’t stop the wadders, though. My solution is to walk away till I feel like sewing again. Take a break, Justine, and do something else as a creative outlet. I’m guessing you won’t need 20 years to regain your enthusiasm for designing and sewing; an area you have an obvious talent for.
Thanks for the additon of a new word to my vocabulary today. My life has been full of wadders and I didn’t even know it:-)
I took about fifteen years off sewing, too, Pam. It’s such a humbling hobby because the more we learn the more we realize we didn’t know…. I’m getting my sewing mojo back, though. Thanks for your encouragement!
Justine, I love that you share with us, not just the good stuff but also the frustrations. Otherwise we would wonder if you were real. It makes you so much more relatable. My sister and I both sew clothing and quilts and there have been many times when we have made something only to look at it and wonder “what were we thinking.” Sometimes we take it apart and use it another way and sometimes someone else is blessed with it.
If you still have your elastic waist pants you might try putting a yoga waistband on them instead. They might make some good lounge pants. You are very creative so I know you won’t be able to stay away from your sewing machine for long. I look forward to seeing your next creation.
I really wish I had done that now, Carol. A Yoga style waistband is a great idea. But sadly, I threw the project away in a tantrum. Oh well!
Sorry to hear you have been feeling this way. Your last shirt was so cute, and looking at all those beautiful creations of yours, I did not think you make mistakes! I want to thank you for being honest and sharing your thoughts. It probably was not easy writing this post. Hope you will take your time to refresh, enjoy your time with your family, and do whatever that makes you happy.
BTW, I have been thinking to tidying up around the house too. I have not read that book, but I need to simplify my possessions, and my closet is definitely the first place I need to truckle!
Thanks Annie. I actually make mistakes all the time! I don’t think i have ever made a project without using out my seam ripper at least once! But when a project goes wrong from start to finish, and there is no hope to remedy it, it gets me down. But I’m over it now!
Justine,
I am a few days late reading this post and am sure you are feeling better now, but may I still offer some encouragement? Your blog has literally changed my life! Altering wedding and formal gowns is how I make a living and for years I tried all sorts of frustrating, never professional looking ways of making a baby hem on chiffon. My attempts usually ended in tears, yelling, or hours spent sewing, ripping out and re-sewing hems. Then I found your tutorial on sewing tiny hems and have been using the method ever since. Now baby hems on chiffon are my favorite thing to sew! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Please don’t stop teaching us and thank you for your honesty. P.S. I loved the patterns of Wal-Mart series you did this summer….so practical!
Oh, that is so nice to hear! It makes my day, actually! Sometimes we bloggers wonder if anyone really reading,and I’m not good at checking stats. It’s such an encouragement to hear that some people still enjoy my blog!