Hey friends! I'm Kyema - as a rough translation it means spontaneous female, or a cry out to the heavens, it's an exclamation of sorrow or maybe one of great joy. Oh! Either is fine with me.

I suppose this blog is about making. As the internet would call it these days, i'm a maker, a sewer.... no, no, no.... let me clarify. A sew-er, a sewist, a seamstress, and maybe one day a tailor and dressmaker. I'm working on cultivating my craft, whatever craft that it may be at any particular moment.

I received my first sewing machine at twenty. It was a birthday/associate graduation present from my mom after I had asked and asked, she bought it for me, fully expecting it to never be used. I sewed up a few projects in the Summer of 2012 but when school started again, sewing got tossed on the back burner and I've only seriously started sewing in September of 2014 - that puts me at about nine months at present! I could have grown an entire baby in the time I've been sewing. To summarize, not very long. Though I've accomplished a ton in my mind! My first indie pattern was purchased from Violette Field Threads back in October and by April I was sewing up a test pattern for them and my photographs even made it into the pattern! Since, I've taken sewing lessons from the acclaimed Lladybird, purchased and learned to use a serger, tackled French seams, tricky knits, neck bands, and successfully tested for multiple pattern designers, and most recently sewn a pair of pants! (not jeans yet, calm down.) ... and other things that seemed hard at first, but with tons of internet help and tutorials, I've been able to tackle. I hope that one day my blog can serve the same purpose, to help and inspire, or at least be an entertaining scroll for some bored sewist at work.

In any case, I've had blogger burn out before (separate hobby) - so this blog is literally just for fun and to document my personal journey of sewing/making (I include making, because i'm naturally crafty-inclined and feel the need to try new things often, so from time to time you will be seeing other crafts on here!). When I am so close to something that I see it everyday, it's so hard for me to see improvements. It's easier if I have a visual reference to see which techniques are improving and which need work and to identify my overall sewing progress. Though the blog is still under construction, so bear with me as I work on some technical difficulties. :)

So this is it - This is me. Kyema! And the Art of Oh is born.