Allow Me to Introduce Myself

My name is Melissa and I have been sewing for 3 years. Some of you may have seen me and my adorable kids (Mostly my adorable kids, but I’m biased) around the millions of sewing and fabric groups on Facebook (They really are very incestuous).   I want to tell you a little about myself and how I got started sewing.  I went out to dinner for my birthday and my friend Rachel had on a dress.  The print was sugar skulls in different colors.  I thought it was the cutest thing I’d ever seen.  I asked her where she got it.  Her response was, “I made it.” MIND. BLOWN. Say what now? You did what?!?! Two months and two weeks later, I had my own machine.  I jumped right in.  I made a couple of dresses.  They have since been turned into clothes for my daughter.  No one wants to see that.  I promise.  They were awful, but at the time I thought I did a hell of a job. Then one day I was on Facebook and I came across a tester call for Whimsy Couture.  Pattern testers? Never heard of such a thing.  I signed up anyway.  Never thinking I’d get chosen. Not even fully understanding what I was getting in to.  Lo and behold I was chosen. Denise sent the pattern out and I ran straight to Joann’s to buy fabric.  I read through the pattern looked at the pictures and froze.  I had no idea what I was doing.  This was my first pdf. Up to that point I had only ever sewn the big 4. When I say up to that point I mean 2 weeks, but I digress.  I dove right in.  Ready to tackle this pattern and sew something for my son.  Well, let me tell you what ensued.  I started texting Rachel. “HELP!! What does this mean? I have no idea what she’s talking about.  This sewing machine is eating my fabric.  How do I get it to stop that?” Poor Rachel.  She was a saint though.  Helped where she could, but it came to the point that she needed to SEE what I was doing.  So she and her boys made the trek to me and she helped me sew my son his first outfit and my first tester project. I made it through that one semi-unscathed and my sewing machine…  well that’s another story for another time.  Then there was another call by WC.  This time for an apron. It took me all day to make that apron, but it came out great and we still use it to this day.  I have since made the apron many times. After those 2 testers I did small projects here and there.  I didn’t have the room to sew consistently without taking over my entire living room/kitchen, so I didn’t sew as much as I would have liked. October 2013 we had #2.  A diva.  By this time we purchased a house and I had my own designated sewing space.  I was once again lurking on WC’s Facebook page and there was a tester call for a dress.  She needed baby sizes.  Hmmmm…  I haven’t done one of those in awhile.  So I signed up.  Well folks.  That was the beginning of the end. You may have seen my Darling Diva on a couple of covers and in many advertisements for patterns.  Then I started branching out. Who knew there were so many Indie pattern designers? I didn’t.  My mind was blown again. Since then I have been introduced to A LOT of great designers and a lot of great people. So this is how we’ve arrived here.  I’ve been toying with starting a blog since the beginning of the year.  What am I going to write about? Nobody wants to read what I have to say.  Then one day Anne from Sofilantjes wanted to do a blog tour for her very first pattern, the Summer Surprise.  I mentioned to her and the other ladies that I wanted to start a blog and they all told me to go for it.  I still didn’t jump.  Essence said she would hold my virtual hand and help me when she could.  I’m very thankful for the help and encouraging words.  This is surprisingly easier than I anticipated (Much like sewing knit, but again I digress). Testing and blogging seem to go hand in hand.  I’m not sure what I want this blog to be, but I do test a lot of patterns.  So I felt like this was the next logical step.  I sew mainly for my children, but I also cook, knit, crochet, garden, read, parent, be a wife and pull my hair out.  I don’t want this blog to be exclusive to sewing though.  I test so much more than pdf patterns.  I test LIFE.