insides

A while ago, Meranie asked to see the insides of the skirts I make--to get an idea of how they're made, see the process as well as the product. She knows my skittishness about this, but I agree that the underneath matters--is sometimes as interesting as the outside.

That's the hope, at least, right?

And it's been on my mind to write about why I blog, as per the question posed by Lisa (of the new Underdog Ink shop--have you been there yet? The coral-bell earrings are mine!).

And then Blair went ahead and posted this thoughtful analysis of her own practise.

Dawbis, too, is thinking about what the 'point' to all this is. And it all came together--it's not just about the outsides, after all, this blog.

But that's what I thought, when I began. I thought it would be about my shop, a way to get the word out and very little else. I felt shy of opening up to strangers. I didn't want to presume that my ordinary life would be interesting to anyone. So I blogged, at first, as a sub-action of making a shop.

I generally feel like an outsider, but I compound this by disdaining, in the Groucho-Marxian tradition, the clubs that will have me as a member. So I assumed, from the beginning, that I wasn't part of the circle, that I wasn't going to make friends. And then I began to 'meet' people , and they have been some of the dearest presences in my daily life.

I still blog to show what I've made and to talk, a little, about what I'm thinking. But now I feel much more in conversation with other women, and it's not so lonely. It's more about the insides, if you see what I mean.

I want to write about making by hand and how that fits in with everything but I imagine this is plenty for today.