Since you know about Pinot’s obsession with bags and Lokie’s obsession with Jim, it’s only fair I tell you about my own obsession with sewing.

I took my first sewing class in 2008 and from the first stitch, was hooked.  My mom is an expert seamstress (she worked as a tailor for Macy’s for years), and I’ve always wanted to learn how to sew.  She never taught me though, because she knows we would end up fighting like cats and dogs and never speak to each other again.

Sewing was my calm after a stressful day.  I would come home from a full day of work and sew well into the night.  I made clothes, curtains, placemats, runners and eventually bags and purses from the leftover fabrics.  That’s how my etsy shop Pinot by Lyn was born, and how my obsession with sewing started.

One of the first dresses I made for myself was for my bridal shower.  Here I am with my friend Eng Kian, one of the only boys allowed at my shower.

From that red and white fabric, I made the first purse for my etsy shop.

I then got really ambitious (or maybe I should say insane) and decided to make all the dresses for my bridal party.  That may have been a good idea if I only had 1 or 2 bridesmaids but I had 7 bridesmaids and a flower girl.  The only thing I can say in my defense was that I REALLY didn’t want them to spend money on a dress they’ll never wear again.

So instead, I turned the leftover fabric (and some of the dresses) into purses and clutches.

Wouldn’t you rather use one of these purses than wear the dress again?

When my mom got married, she had 3 qi paos (gold, red and pink) that she changed into throughout the reception.  I wanted to incorporate them in my wedding so I took all 3 and shortened them into a style to fit me.

I wore this one for our rehearsal dinner.  Here I am “walking” down the aisle with my dad (who, if you read my previous post, is home from the hospital!).

The leftover fabric was turned into this purse.

I wore the red one during the wedding when my friends and I did an Irish jig with a bit of Asian girl hip-hop mixed in, in honor of my new Irish family (more on that in another post).

And I wore this pink one (pictured here with my cousins) for the family brunch the day after the wedding.

The leftover pink brocade got turned into this clutch.

I made this dress to wear to my friend Erica’s wedding.

It wasn’t my finest piece (in fact I think it turned out down right strange) so after that wedding, the dress was transformed into a clutch.  Much better.

From there, there was no stopping me.   I learned how to make roman shades.

And the leftover fabric became one of my best-selling shoulder bags.

I made curtains for our sliding doors.

And with the rest of the fabric, designed a wristlet.

I made placemats for our table.

And decided this chevron fabric would look great as a shoulder bag too.

And my obsession with sewing has only grown from there.  I’ve made clothes for Pinot and Lokie (they didn’t appreciate it since they like to be naked).  I still continue to make a lot of my own clothes, and my Pinot by Lyn etsy shop has grown.

I don’t need chemical substances to get a natural high and a sense of calm.  I get that from sewing and creating (Notice I didn’t say wine.  Wine while sewing is good.  Wine while sewing is yummy.  Wine while sewing gets the creative juices going.  But wine while sewing sometimes creates crooked seams).

If I had to be obsessed with anything, I think an obsession with sewing is not only healthy, but also productive and now a source of income.  But I won’t be making 7 bridesmaids dresses and remaking a flower girl dress in 3 months (while planning the rest of the wedding) again any time soon.  I’m not that obsessed.