The thought “oh my god, this is so nerdy” crosses my mind quite often in the course of sewing. I want to share those experiences. It’s not nerdy like Star Wars or video games or math, but it is a specialization, an art, a craft, that deserves the label “nerdy.”

Clearly, I wear that label proudly. Any negative connotations associated with the word must be forgotten when reading this blog.

This nerdiness started more than a decade ago, when I learned knitting to while away the Maine winters. I picked it up again after moving to Colorado, and then I added embroidery too.

Big nerd moment: the first Christmas when all my presents were hand-embroidered. Big, proud nerd moment.

I also used embroidery to get through some times of loneliness, times of grief, and I’ve come to think of it as meditative.

Then one Colorado summer, my sister handed down her sewing machine, meaning all bets were off. Ever since, all I’m interested in is learning how to create more things for the world around me. Housewares, clothing, stuff, you name it.

I love that feeling of creating and completing a project. I love the color and creativity it’s brought to my daily life. Again, it’s meditative. And I’ve so let it consume me that I’m pretty sure I’ve earned the badge: Nerdy Sewist.