Love Affairs

As women, we have many love affairs in our lives.

What?!
You haven't?

Oh but you have, my friends!

Let's not limit ourselves to love affairs with people in this conversation, shall we?
Think of all that you love - reading, drawing, painting, sewing, gardening, writing, our female friends...we have a multitude of things that we love, that we share a passion for.

One of mine is sewing.
I have sewn since I was a young girl. My mom taught me to sew when I was, oh maybe 7 or 8.
I did create a few doll dresses by hand before that (albeit crude ones).
I loved them though.
They actually laid the foundation for a fire that has burned for decades (she said demurely) and is still flaming today.

The love of creating something beautiful.
The love of creating with my hands.
The love of creating.
Period.

It is difficult for me to allow a couple of days to pass without puttering around in my studio.
It may be on seemingly mundane tasks but they fall within the realm of "creating".
Making.
Doing.


I have made a few pieces of apparel through the years and always had the desire to make more.
What held me back, you ask?
Skill, single-mindedness, level of desire....to name a few.
The biggest one was an early failure.


But I have continued to purchase patterns in a sporadic manner throughout the years, fantasizing about the next shirt I sew or the beautiful lines of a dress.
Just to have the pattern sit there, collecting dust (and my guilt).

The last few weeks have changed all of that!
I signed up for a FANTASTIC Craftsy class that reset my brain in regards to making clothing.

If you have any interest in  making a shirt for yourself (a knit one) you MUST take this class!
(I do not receive any compensation from Craftsy)

Katheryn and Marcy Tilton are such wonderful teachers!
You receive a pattern with your class fee and they walk you through, step by step, the entire project.
You can ask questions in the class format and they answer them within a day or two.
Their instruction assisted me in creating a sample tee (I used the first shirt as a sample to learn new techniques and not worry about making it "perfect")
(who am I kidding - none of my projects will be "perfect" but they will be close enough for me!)

I found a Groupon deal for the Craftsy site.
You can purchase up to three classes for $45.
Again, I do not receive and compensation if you purchase anything. I'm just passing on a good deal.
Which, by the way, does not last much longer.
The regular retail price is $50 for the class, so this is a great deal.

I don't have any photos of my finished shirts but I do have a sketchbook page showing how I decided which fabrics to use.

The Tilton sisters often use three (or more) fabrics on each shirt. I love this idea and fully embraced it when making my shirts.
But I couldn't decide which fabrics to use (or remember them after I auditioned numerous ones) so this way worked great for me.

The pattern is for a shirt length top but I added more length to one of mine making it tunic length. The one on my machine now is long enough to be a dress.

I am really enjoying making a few items of clothing this time around thanks to Marcy and Katherine Tilton (and Craftsy).