'Round the World Blog Hop - from South Florida

Age 17, Crescent Beach, South Carolina 

Blog hop, be bop. Can't help myself. Dear friend Angela at Collected Yarns passed the baton to me this week. This is such fun! On to the particulars...

1. What am I working on?

My usual odd assortment! Cotton pillowcases for my daughter, PJ tops (I think of this as utility sewing, I seem to 'lose' PJ tops like others lose socks), fall pants and tunics, and a couple dress patterns. I'm also reconsidering a piece of faux fur that has bested me in the past. To overcome my apprehension of all that pesky fur, I'm considering cutting and sewing the whole thing in the garage.

I don't sew with a plan - I'm a joyfully retired technologies project manager. After 30 years of working to requirements, schedules, and expectations, I'm not going there! I'm enjoying my unfinished projects.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I live in south Florida, so I primarily sew garments that are comfortable in a perpetually warm climate.

I have skin sensitivity issues, so I focus on fabrics, designs, techniques, and finishes that take them into consideration. E.g., I can't wear hardware, fitted waists or close cuffs, so I'll alter a pattern with an alternative. I favor cotton, cotton blends, and polyester blends, anything with a long fiber. No animal fibers, because they always manage to work out of a weave.

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

I sew because I love to create in my head and with my hands. For me the entire process is calming, peaceful, and rewarding. And I blog about it because blogging is an interactive form of writing. My pen pals in the blogger community add incredible dimension, knowledge, and happiness to my life. They are creative, spontaneous, sharing, and charming people. Honestly, when I approached retirement, I had no idea that I would find this community and enjoy such enrichment in my life. Happy surprise.

With sister Susie and Mom

4. How does my writing/creating process work? Ok, here comes my project manager side...

Visuals: I take photos from the time I open a pattern through completion and modeling of the garment.

Background: I also take notes the whole time (I keep them in my Evernote pattern file).

Workup: I evaluate my photos in Photoscape and discard the ones the hundreds I don't think I'll use. I generally end up with a basic set of views, including the pattern line art. Photoscape and Picasa, both of which are free software, are the only editing tools I use.

Writing: I don't write a blog post until a garment is done, and then it just seems to flow. I try for a natural voice that's easy to read, so I break a lot of punctuation rules. I do try to be mindful of guidelines for reading level, use of white space, etc. I spell-check!

And I am truly bothered by the number of times I've used the word 'I' in this blog post!! 

I'm delighted to pass the baton to a talented sewist, writer, artist, and friend, who's been an inspiration ever since I started blogging in early 2012 - Mary at Biblioblog. Over to you, Mary. 

Ciao! Coco