Crafting Body Appreciation

If you have somehow stumbled across my little corner of the internet, welcome. You are probably wondering what exactly I am doing here. That is a great question. The answer is ever evolving.

Let’s start with an introduction. My name is Amber. For most of my adult life I have worked with food. I have been a chef, a food scientist, a test kitchen manager, a nutritionist, a food stylist, a recipe developer, heck, I even worked in a cheese cave for a summer. In the past 7 years or so I have whittled my work down to two focus areas:

1. I am a licensed nutritionist and the sole practitioner at Whole You Nutrition, an anti-diet, weight-neutral private nutrition practice in Minnesota.

2. I am a freelance recipe developer, mostly through a local agency for a major grocery retailer. I also develop and publish recipes on the Whole You Nutrition website.

I love food. Talking about it, thinking about it, making it, and eating it. But this space is not about food (or at least not frequently or directly).

This space is about crafting – mostly sewing, some knitting, plus whatever else catches my fancy. I cut the social media cord a few years ago. Fun fact, I actually first posted this on Substack, but it too felt too much like all those other social media places for my liking. So I ended up here, starting an old school blog where I can share my makes and musings and (hopefully) connect with others. Is it still possible to recreate the heyday of early 2000s blog communities?

Even though I am a nutritionist, this is not a blog about health or wellness. Even though this is a blog about handmade clothes, I wouldn’t consider it a fashion blog. I mean, sure, clothes are fashion…But do you know that thing where people pick three words to describe their style? My first and second words are comfortable and the third is unfussy. Not exactly cutting-edge fashion.

But I am getting ahead of myself (as per usual). My interest in sewing goes back as long as I can remember. My grandma was a seamstress, and I would help her in different ways over the years, but mostly with seam ripping before she made alternations or repairs. I still have scars on my thumbs from removing countless zippers from jeans in my pre-teen years.

I got a sewing machine for Christmas one year in high school and I distinctly remember making clothes for myself at that time (at some point I will try to dig up some pictures). I continued dipping in and out of sewing and knitting over the years including a skirt making frenzy sometime around 2009.

In the past few years as I have been doing my own body image work and the desire to make clothes came up again. I dug out my sewing machine (that very same one from high school, now a cool 30+ years old). I have found that learning how to manipulate a fabric to fit the body that I have is pretty empowering. Most ready-to-wear clothes don’t account for my narrow shoulders, wide rib cage (but relatively small bust), or my perimenopausal waist expansion, but the clothes I make myself sure do (or at least could, I am not always successful!).

I love that making clothes is hands-on. I have often called myself a tactile learner and crafting (and cooking) fits that model. It gets me in a flow state which is a great escape from *flailing arms wildly* whatever this world is right now. Plus, I get to challenge myself and learning new things.

By nature, I am a thrifty person and sewing and knitting can be very expensive hobbies. While I love nice fabric, I have sourced most of my stash from the thrift store. This includes cuts of fabric but also a lot of repurposed household linens. Does my dress make you sleepy? It is probably because it is made out of the same material as your duvet cover at home.

So, what can you expect from this blog?

I want the overall vibe to be lighthearted and fun. The main thing is sharing projects – again, mostly sewing and mostly clothes but I like a little variety every now and again. This will include what I am currently working on, what I have finished, what I am planning next. I am by no means an expert, so expect cries for help from time-to-time. I am also working really hard to break my good-girl perfectionist tendencies and I practice a lot of good-enough sewing.

Currently on my make list are pants (so intimidating), zippers (also intimidating and often on already intimidating pants), self-drafting, figuring out how to use the serger I bought in November but haven’t turned on, patterning off a ready-to-wear dress, a button-up shirt (so many buttonholes!), and knitting socks (I just finished knitting my first sweater – more on that in a future post).

I will also share how sewing clothes has positively impacted my body image work and increased my body appreciation and respect (even if somedays that feels hard).

I am also really interested in the role of crafting as protest and activism. The work I get to do with clients at Whole You Nutrition improving individuals’ relationships with food and their bodies is a small part of a much larger need for social and societal change. I love that crafting can be part of that important work.

There will be some fun and frivolous stuff like fabric finds, a sewing room tour (spoiler, mine is in an unheated basement adjacent to a few litter boxes – so glamourous!), cute cat pictures, and more.

Beyond that I would love this to be a place where other makers can share their makes and their stories. Crafting is a mostly solitary activity, but I know I am not alone in doing it.