Well folks, I have decided to jump on board with this whole "blog" phenomena! It seems like everyone has one now and the sharing of information is crazy! I just got the blog set up this morning, so I feel like I have been wading through some mud while trying to figure all of this out. I am sure it is one of those things that will get easier as I go....right now it is a bit foggy.
I should tell you a bit about myself first. I am a designer of sewing patterns for clothing and accessories. I have been operating my company for seven years and it has been such a journey. Before starting the business, I was an elementary school teacher for nine years. While I feel that there were many valuable things I learned from teaching, it was alas, not my true passion in life, but working with my hands (particularly sewing) always has been. I can't tell you the number of times that people I worked with would say,"why don't you sew for a living?".....it is much easier said than done. It did get me to thinking about how I could make my love for sewing into a career and that is when I began thinking about designing patterns....that way I could still design and sew, but not be chained to the sewing maching making the same things over and over again....I tend to get bored with repeating tasks.... : ) After talking to some local shop owners, I discovered there was interest in my design work, and the pattern business was born....so I resigned from teaching school and I never looked back!
As for my love of sewing, it all started many years ago when I was a young girl (maybe 7 or 8) and my mother taught me how to hand sew with needle and thread....from then on I was a true addict! I have dabbled in just about everything with needle and thread.....cross stitch, hand embroidery, punchneedle, beadwork, and just about anything else you can think of. I began working with a sewing machine not too long after starting out with that first needle and thread and was of course again, hooked! I made most of my clothing through high school and even made my wedding dress. It was not uncommon for my sister, mother, and me to all have sewing machines going at the same time with everyone working on a project as I was growing up! Those are fond memories.
I guess in marrying my love of sewing with teaching, I began to realize that maybe I had a special angle to offer with my patterns. I learned from teaching that if you want specific results, you have to be specific about your instructions.....I have brought that skill with me over to pattern writing and do my very best to give detailed instructions and hints to help make the sewing experience a good one.
In getting to design patterns for a living, you get what you want.....a lot of times there were patterns I wished for and now I can just design them! It is a tremendous challenge, but one that is so fun! The very best part of what I do is being able to share my passion and bring excitement for sewing to others.
I have met so many great people in the past seven years....some of whom I have placed links to, as they are designers and other talented people in the industry. We are so lucky to be able share our excitement for design, fabric, and all other things that are "sewing wonderful". I hope that I can be of inspiration through my posts to everyone who decides to visit this blog....and I hope you will inspire me too!
