[Maggie]

Hi, I’m Maggie. I started quilting about 15 years ago and just started sewing other things a few months ago. Buying LTTS was a big part of the inspiration.

I have two daughters who are 3 and 5 and a niece who is 2 months.

I am slowly stepping away from the quilting cotton and learning about twill, knits and broadcloth. Oh my!

I grew up in the East Village of NYC (hi, Liesl!) and now live in the NY suburbs.

[Lightning McStitch]

I realise I’ve been hanging around this party making small talk and never introduced myself

I’m Shelley from Melbourne, Australia, part time veterinarian, full time mother to a 4 year old boy and an almost 2 year old girl, former mountain bike racer and still an avid road cyclist (when I ever get the time to escape).

I remember using my mum’s sewing machine when I was a kid but then only bought my own when I was pregnant with my son. It’s a very basic Janome, but four years on it’s doing fine. Starting with some toys and play mats lead to sewing kids clothing, The real change has been in the last two years since discovering the Oliver+S patterns. My confidence and skills have increased enormously.

I love the technical aspect of sewing. Just like surgery only nothing ever dies, and if it does, you can quietly bin it and don’t have to explain to anyone what happened!

[Nicole]

”I love the technical aspect of sewing. Just like surgery only nothing ever dies, and if it does, you can quietly bin it and don’t have to explain to anyone what happened!”

Okay,I just laughed tea out my nose!

That is awesome!

[Nicole]

I thought I would bump this for newbies.

Please introduce yourselves.

~Nicole~

[Jane]

How did I miss this? I’ve got some reading to do but before I do, I guess I will introduce myself.

I have been sewing since my son was 4 and he’s 13 now (yikes!). I started sewing things like Halloween costumes because we lived overseas at the time and it was difficult to get decent costumes. Now, I sew mostly for my daughter who is 3 (I started sewing O+S about a year ago and was hooked immediately). My husband recently retired from the U.S. Navy and now we have put down roots in Huntingtown, MD. Before little one was born, I was an elementary school librarian but right now I’m a stay at home mom.

Now, off to read about everyone else! 🙂

Jane

http://www.NotSewPlain.blogspot.com

[mcholley1]

Just seeing this for the first time too…. Can’t wait to read through them all as time allows. 🙂

I grew up with a grandmother and mother that sewed. My mother had a tiny fabric shop and did custom heirloom sewing for people. (think the U.S. deep south in the 80s) I have vivid memories of lace, swiss batiste, smocking, and all things frilly as a child. I was a tiny child and teenager, so my mother made most of my special occasion clothes just to get a proper fit. And, like I’m sure my daughter will be…by the time I was an early teen I was such a “fabric snob” that I just about wouldn’t wear cheap clothes from the mall anyway. Yet, I never sat down in front of a machine until my daughter (now 5) was around a year old. I’m also a veterinarian and had just gone from working 70+hour weeks to being home with my daughter 4 days a week and thought it would be a nice past time. The obsession kind of rolled down hill from there….

Now I make most of what my daughter and son (he’s almost 3) wear. It is nice to have a hobby with an actual finished product. 🙂 I too have learned a lot from o+s patterns, but mostly the garments are just so wearable for our everyday life. A few of these patterns and a little creativity can really make an entire wardrobe.

[wendy]

I’ve never in introduced myself but I’ve been around on the forum and Flickr group for about two years, since I started to learn to sew.

My name is Wendy, and I live on Gabriola Island on the West Coast of Canada. My partner and I transplanted ourselves here from Montreal nearly six years ago and have since become three. Our daughter, Henna, will be four this summer and it thrills us to no end to see her living the childhood of our dreams, having full run of the beaches and woods on our beautiful little island.

I started to sew when Henna was about 18 months old. It’s filled a big need in me to make things and to be honing a craft. Before I had her I was a woodworker (I actually moved here to attend a traditional wooden boatbuilding school on the island). Despite my efforts to acclimatize her to the sounds of power tools in utero (here you can picture a moderately pregnant lady installing hardwood flooring and chuckle if you’d like), I had to come to terms with the fact that babies and woodworking were not a great mix! Sewing, however, worked beautifully for us and it’s something that I’d always wanted to learn. Making the effort to learn was the first big thing that I did for myself after a pretty intensive year and a half with a very hands on baby, and it remains the area where I put all of my creative energy. As someone who is mainly a stay at home parent at this point in time, it’s an immensely important part of my life.

I don’t generally join discussion forums on-line but it’s been so nice to have this group to glean from, and to see what other people are up to. I’m looking forward to reading back and learning a bit about you all!

Wendy 🙂

[ndeporto]

Hi everyone! I’ve been lurking around the forum for awhile and feel like I know some of you! You’ve been so gracious to lend your expertise and advice. I thought it was time to introduce myself. I was a nurse for a17 years and now am a stay at home mom and started sewing two years ago when I didn’t want to pay 75$ for an apron I fell in love with and a friend suggested I learn to sew. Little did I know how much I would love it I have two boys and honestly didn’t sew for them until I found Oliver and S. I sew for myself, my niece and occasionally my boys who are 5 and 11. I can honestly say Oliver and S patterns have taken my sewing to the next level though instill consider myself a beginner. I have a few garments posted on Flickr and love seeing all your creativity and interpretations of the O and S patterns. I have no friends who sew or who I can indulge my fabric addiction with so it’s been nice to see I have sisters in sewing out there!

Natalie (Southern California)

[Sarah_G]

Thanks Nicole, I had no idea this thread existed, great move to make it a sticky!

I’m a geology post grad student from Melbourne, Australia. I mainly sew Oliver and S for my nieces and friends’ kids (although I do a lot of non O and S sewing for myself and my husband). I spend a lot of time outdoors so a lot of the stuff I sew is designed to save me from having to buy too much expensive gear that doesn’t really fit at hiking stores.

Sarah

[Mel]

I’ve been a lurker-sometimes-poster for quite awhile now :). I took one sewing class in high school and didn’t sew again until my kids were born. In the last couple of years especially it’s become a bit of an obsession for me (in a good way . . . I think!). I work full time from home as a researcher and always have a sewing project going for after work.

I usually sew for for my girls. They are 5 and 7 and I love it when they say “I need something for ____. Mom, can you make it for me?” I’ve also started sewing for myself in the last couple of years and even made a blouse for my mom last fall.

[Jillls]

Hi, I am Jill from Iowa. I am a stay at home mom/ pastor’s wife. I have a boy(9) and two girls(6 and 4). I sewed a bit in high school but just started sewing regularly two years ago. I have a few Lisette patterns I’ve sewn for myself. I jumped into Oliver and S about 6 months ago. I’ve made my girls the Apple picking dress, Book Report Dress, and Firefly jacket. I would love to sew for my son but he will only wear Mario brother T shirts and track pants. I am shy person and having myself and my girls wear a one of a kind creations is a great conversation starter.

[Nicole]

Welcome lovely ladies!

Its so nice to put a ‘face’ with the name.

~Nicole~

[JWo]

I’m (another) Jen from Christchurch, New Zealand. I work full-time as a doctor but away from the hospital I’m obsessed with sewing and all things related to it! I don’t think I’m certifiable although my husband despairs at my extreme hoarding tendencies and my ‘need’ to find craft stores, touch the fabric, and buy mementos wherever we are in the world…. or from the multitude of online stores I have an unhealthy relationship with…

I love sewing children’s clothing but as we don’t have any children ourselves I am constantly giving/inflicting items on my friends’ children. I bought my god-daughter a sewing machine for her 9th birthday and I’m hoping she will catch the bug and move away from clothes that only have labels. In the meantime, I’ll keep myself off the streets and in my sewing room making things for children who aren’t quite so particular.

[mkhs]

I’m Kitty and live in New England. I’m on the cusp of 40 and not sewing much for myself right now as my body is no longer the shape it used to be! Need to figure out new fitting tricks, but that has been difficult with a toddler in the house. My daughter is almost 3, so I’m counting on some longer stretches of sewing this year! I love to sew. I am not a speedy sewist, but I have a lot of patience for hand sewing and things like topstitching. I end up sewing more practical things for my kid because we get a lot of hand-me-down pretty dresses from cousins. I get a lot of satisfaction from reusing/repurposing fabrics. While I enjoy all the lovely prints you can find in quilting cotton these days, I’m more interested in fabric with a lovely hand. I especially enjoy sewing with wool (and grew up on a sheep farm, so I guess that makes sense!). I haven’t posted any pictures on the flickr account, but will get around to that someday. I’ve been sewing since I was a teenager.

[with love Heidi]

Welcome Kitty, please do put some of your pictures int he flicker group.