Life changes - we adapt

Hiya!

It's been a while, I know. There has been a change in my day-to-day that's affecting the way I approach my sewing and my business, and writing for the blog has taken a way-back seat, as if it were in the back of the old station wagon. This will be a fairly short post for a brief update, and I should be back later with some photos and pattern reviews based on the garments I've sewn recently.

You might remember that I've been working for Sawyer Brook Fabrics the past 12 years.
The business changed hands at the end of September when the owner was ready to retire, and the new owner is running the company very lean - using a family member or two to supplement her own hands. This means that none of us who worked for the previous owner are now involved with the company. The new owner continues to bring in beautiful fabrics, and now scarves as well - you should check out the website www.sawyerbrook.com 

Once I stopped working, life was very busy with previously planned events: the annual ASDP conference in mid-October - in Minneapolis this year; a long weekend sewing retreat in mid-November - very productive, once again this year; and of course, Thanksgiving and the family gathering that brings. It's taken me a while to get down to a 'regular' schedule for a full week or two. I'm still adapting.

My entry in this year's Threads ASDP Design Challenge - "Crown and Spire" sheath dress, inspired by NYC's Chrysler Buidling. It wasn't a finalist, but I'm very pleased with it. My colleague Carrie Emerson modeled it for me at the conference, but it was made for my daughter. (She's got a little more in the hips, so I'll post a photo of her wearing it when I get one!) Photo credit: Rory O'Neill Photo.

A big part of the current situation is that there are now two of us at home all day, most days - my husband has been retired for a few years now. When the weather is good, twice a week he's gone nearly all day on a long bike ride with his club. I love being with him, don't get me wrong, but the days he's out of the house are usually my most productive. I think he'd like nothing better than for me to accept this new lifestyle as my own retirement. But I'm not really ready for that!

On the surface, you may be sad for me that I no longer am employed, and it does leave a hole in my week to not be in that wonderful retail fabric company environment anymore. And I've got to admit, not being in the warehouse 3 days a week has distinct disadvantages - like when I realize I don't have the right color zipper or have just used up my only spool of matching thread. But I've chosen to accept this as a fork in the road, leading me further into my own business with the opportunity to build areas I've neglected up to now. The main focus of my business recently has been alterations, primarily bridal, and having basically a part-time schedule to devote to it has worked very well. I was able to schedule client appointments for the two weekdays I was in the studio, some evenings, and one or two Saturdays a month. Now, back to full-time in the studio, I'm evaluating that schedule - and I'm keeping two days where I'm 'Closed' both to appointments and phone calls.  Right now I'm trying to use that down time to plan my next move down the road.

What direction will I go? Most intriguing for me now is the prospect of teaching sewing. I've been approached through social media to give lessons to local women and children, and I truly think I'd love to do that. So I'm planning projects and lessons, acquiring equipment and supplies for a handful of students to start, and working on outfitting the family room adjacent to my studio to accommodate the classes. Hopefully I'll be ready to begin sometime in January.

So that's the news from me! 6 garments (for me!) have been completed this Fall, between sewing for my conference trip and the 3-day retreat. Haven't got photos of any of them yet, but I'll be posting as they get done and uploaded.

Thanks for reading - more later!