If you couldn’t tell from my jokes about curing cancer with the same amount of effort, I have felt a little guilty about the time and energy I’ve spent sewing. (Knitting, somehow, gets an exception. Knitting is magic and like therapy; therefore, I should probably spend MORE time doing it. I don’t feel guilty about knitting.) People I know play music, are lawyers for the environment, grow gardens, start families, etc. I spend a lot of time making pretty things to wear.

I started sewing at my current rate about February of this year, which is when the Great Financial Turnaround of 2007 began. I gave up credit cards and was left with cash, which didn’t buy what I was used to buying. But cash could buy fabric. Fast forward to today: I’m now the conductor on the Debt Reduction Train and have become the cheapest person I know, announcing when I can find fabric for $2 a yard or get 12 rolls of toilet paper for $5 (at Target this week! Use a coupon!).

Here’s the scary part: Being the Mayor of Get Out of Debt City, I was paying my bills last night and had to look up some old statements. I found one from last year—June 2006–and first I thought, “Oh, the good times when I had credit cards…I remember those times…I loved those times…let’s see what I bought last June..oh…oh…….oh sweet baby Jesus, how much did I spend in June alone?!” And then I tipped over. And then I hid the statement. It was that scary.

Anyway, my point is that since I have lots of time on my hands (and a deep-seated belief that happiness is just another new item away) (yes, I know; that’s an issue for another day), I am so glad I can sew and spend so much time doing it. Because otherwise, I’d be hitting the mean streets of Anthropologie and online shoe stores. And that can get ugly.