Patterns to give away

I've been packing and purging lately...  I am planning on moving from Alexandria, VA to the Shenandoah Valley area.  I'm fortunate - as a CPA I can pretty much work from anywhere - only need a computer and an internet connection.   As much as I love the DC area (I am a DC native), I'm tired of the rat race and the high cost of living....

Which leads to the purging/packing.  I've discovered that my pattern addiction means that I have purchased duplicates...plus, I have a bunch that I purchased as part of bulk sales on ebay that aren't my style or size.  I am not going to try and sell them.  I will even ship them, but only within the U.S. (sorry).  I will be posting pics of the patterns as I get organized, so check back.  Most of the patterns will be in larger sizes.

Please pass this on to anyone who might be interested..... Thanks!!!

Knits Class

I took a Sewing with Knits class today at G Street Fabrics, taught by Connie Long. It was wonderful, she is a good teacher and so talented.  She's teaching Part 2 next Sunday, which I'm also taking although because of work, I'll miss the first couple of hours of the class.  That won't be too bad as we get to choose our own project.  I have a knit dress cut out that I never got around to sewing, so I'll be taking that one with me.  For today's class, I used the Perfect T-Shirt Pattern by Pamela's Patterns.  I recommend the pattern - it has 2 versions - darted and non-darted.  Those of us who are more endowed on top will benefit from the dart.  I have one more adjustment to make to the dart placement and then I will have a T-shirt that actually fits me!!!!!  The pattern comes with 3 different neck lines and different sleeve lengths - my first TNT pattern!

Happy sewing!!!

-Bad Karen....

I'm a really bad blogger...Cannot believe my last post was in July... Being self-employed is taking up more time (and energy) than I had expected. Not that I'm complaining - I am loving life!!! I am now busy enough that I'm not taking on new clients!!

I am trying to get back into the swing of sewing and knitting again. I signed up for both of Connie Long's "Sewing with Knits" at G Street Fabrics, plus 2 knitting classes at Fibre Space. Doing accounting all day with no time for creative pursuits is turning me into one of those boring accountants that I have tried my entire career not to become.... So, hopefully there will be more posting of things I actually get made on this blog.

The one thing I did accomplish is the last 6 months is to start exercising again. I found a great fitness studio nearby and have made this a part of my routine. I feel much better. The women who run this studio are fantastic - they've modified the exercises for my knees so I don't do any more damage to them....

Happy 2012 to all!!

Yet another non-sewing blog post...

...no pics either.... I've been so busy with starting up my new business that I've had little time for anything else. No sewing, no knitting, limited social life. I had so much work that I re-scheduled Saturday date night to tomorrow afternoon. I've spent over 20 hours since Wednesday afternoon on just one client, plus I have another one that is in crisis that I need to get to. VERY happy to be busy, wish I had time to do something creative... I've been living vicariously through all of you via Google Reader..... I also deperately need to organize my 2nd bedroom into my home office and sewing room...have been working on my dining room table, but that's getting old..

New fall patterns-a fat chick's perspective

I just finished looking at McCall's and Simplicity's new fall patterns. Besides the fact that it's June and hotter than hades here in lovely DC, they just didn't do it for me. First, McCalls. I saw a couple I thought were ok, but they didn't go above an 18. Am I going to do major grading up on a pattern I barely like? I don't think so!!! Next, Simplicity. I found one pattern I might buy if/when it goes on sale. They did a better job at sizing, but not by much. I sew because I have a hard time finding RTW to fit. Now, my choice of patterns is limited. Glad I already have a stockpile of them and don't care about wearing the latest trends! I know this topic has gone around blog-land a million times, but I'm mentioning it again in the hopes that someone from the pattern companies read sewing blogs...

This starting a new business is taking up lots of my time, so no sewing is happening.. Eventually I'll find balance...

Happy Birthday to me!!!

Yes, another non-sewing post. I am 50 today. Still having trouble wrapping my brain around that number. I can now join AARP and you know they sent me info already. Yet I don't "feel" 50....what is 50 supposed to feel like anyhow? I've already had one birthday celebration, when my mom, another sister and nephew were in town a couple of weeks ago. Another one today, with local family and the BF...someone better bring cake!!

In other non-sewing news, my business is now up and sorta running. I formed an LLC, will start working with one client next week, have another one in the pipeline and have let my contacts know so hopefully will get some business that way. Exciting and scary at the same time... But hell, if I can't take a chance at 50 to do something I've wanted to do for a long time, when will I take it? In case you're interested, I'm a cpa and I will be doing financial/accounting work for nonprofits. The nonprofit world is my passion, and I will get to work in it full-time!!

I'm hopefully going to get some sewing done this weekend....

They're like crack.....

These simple skirts are just addicting. I made another one last night, and I still have more panels.... On this one, I just made a simple casing for the elastic. It literally took 20 minutes to make, including pressing. The nice thing about being tall and fat is that I don't need to trim anything off the panels, so only had to sew one seam up the back and make the casing... Wore it to the dentist today, where I spent most of my day...sigh....didn't really want to spend close to $2,000 on my damn teeth while still unemployed..Will not be unemployed much longer - will save that for another post as the details are still being worked out, but I'm pretty excited about the next phase in my career! Now, onto the eye candy, front and back views on a hanger since I have no live-in photographer....



The front view



The back view


Happy sewing!!