Art Class Has Started

Even photographing my art supplies for my professor's review looks artistic. 

At first I bought the crappy crapht acrylic paint from an online retailer. What was I thinking? I already had the required colors in higher-end paint for the upcoming project. 

We also needed brushes and pencils, both of which I had on hand in my amazing crapht cabinet. 

Some years ago, I fancied myself as a landscape painter and worked with oil or acrylic paint. I kept maybe 10% of what I created during that time period and burned the rest in an artist's fit. 

Design Fundamentals is described as an introduction to understanding the underlying structure of all two-dimensional art forms. There are 40 students taking this online course. The professor noted that the community college district added more remote classes and upped the class size (previously 25-30 students) this semester. 

Segueing to the subject of food. I have been trying to branch out making breads and other dishes. Here was my first Quiche Lorraine and I recently made homemade pizza. 

What Sewing Actually Is and the Antique Pattern Find

I am figuring out this new hobby of sewing clothing. I've come to the realization you can be just as creative in garment creation as anything else. There is the base pattern, then you can add your own touches with stitches and other details. 

One comment on this FB post was "they forgot the cursing percentage." I would add seam ripping involves ASR "angry seam ripping." Pressing and ironing aren't even included in the graphic. 

I visited an estate sale liquidator up country and spent $10 on antique sewing patterns. Antique is considered over 100 years old. I never imagined I would be able to obtain such patterns. 

Butterick No. 424 and 426 doll clothes patterns are from 1923. 

Dating back even further to 1899 Butterick 337 Doll's Play Suit pattern

Butterick 4314 Baby Dress, also from 1899

The last bit of ephemera is undated but around the same time period as the others. The Pictorial 2224 child's dress size 1/2 - 6. 

I never imagined I would find patterns this old. Hoping against hope I will find a treasure trove of antique ladies dress patterns to create modern clothes from vintage sewing patterns. 

Watermelon Dress and some crafty patterns

I. Just. Can't. Help. Myself. I traveled downstairs to my sewing pattern repository and pulled yet another pattern. This is why I keep random bits of specialty print fabric - for projects just like this! 

This pattern is child size 2, 1992 Simplicity 7784 with collar and pocket variations.  

Other patterns I pulled were crafty in nature. 1996 McCall's Crafts Sewing Doll with Quilt.

And 1993 Simplicity Decorative Pull Toy in 5 styles. Neither one of these patterns are scheduled for completion, just retained in the keeper category. 

1998 Pieces from My Heart #183 The Chosen Ones. Cutest of the cute holiday patterns. 

Ending with a bit of randomness - I have encouraged people to buy stocks, especially dividend stocks for investment. I received an offer from eTrade to sell an odd lot of 50 FedEx stock. I accepted and wasn't really paying attention to how much that trade was worth. Let's just say I made more than a few thousand and paid off my debt from 2025. Don't be afraid to buy dividend-producing stocks! 

Female Sefiroth Cosplay Part 3

Sally Stand-in models the bodice and skirt portion version of the female Sefiroth cosplay patterned from Simplicity 8074. The arm bands, etc. are cut but not sewn at this stage. 

My first attempt at the bodice was a disaster. Had to recut the fabric and try again. Sewing is not all wine and roses, especially when you are a rank beginner. I went with the second attempt, a mushroom print with a solid center, with the backing in an MCM-inspired print. Going with that solid center inset made it look more Star Trek than Sefiroth.

Working with remnants meant I had to piece the fabric together to fit the pattern piece. In a way it became a Happy Mistake. That is when you intend to go a certain direction in a project and something happens, ok, mistakes happen, then it becomes a Happy Mistake. 

The pattern instructions note to line the skirt with bias tape but I chose to fully line it with cotton. The beige fabric needed to be stiffer to drape correctly. I like the skirt and it fits, unlike the bodice. Even it is too small for Sally Stand-In, I barely got it on her to model it. 

The jacket was made to wear with the dress female-sefiroth-cosplay-jacket. Because of my frustration with the pattern, I am going to put it away for now and move on to the next project.  

Here, I am making the marks with the tailor's chalk. This is the most complex garment I have tackled so far. 

Next up is Simplicity 4807. Fabric is cut and marked, ready to sew. Let's see how a vintage pattern stacks up to a modern one for instructions and easy-to-follow ability. 

My Name is Tami and I have a Sewing Pattern Obsession

This week's sewing patterns purchased at thrift (4 for $1) fuel my obsession. These have landed in my vintage sewing pattern tub of wonderfulness. 

It is an automatic keeper when there is a cat in the pattern graphic! 1965 Simplicity 5080 child pajama, nightgown and cap. 

Another from 1965 Butterick 3656 Misses Evening Length Dress. 

I picked out this Style 2513 pattern from 1994 for the patchwork drawstring bag. 

Jumping back to an early Vogue 6564 skirt pattern from 1965. 

And the rarest of rare, a pattern maker unknown to me until now, Spadea Boutique Patterns Y-1012-2 from 1969. Being sized at 12, this will be a dress I will attempt in the months to come. 

Joining in Again - Grandfluencer Style

https://www.ebay.com/itm/187941766962

Leading off with the embroidered piece scored at an estate sale of a lady who lived in a mobile home park. I made it to the second day late morning. That piece was in a crafter's box, where I purchased a couple of sewing patterns, and a couple of books all for $10. The books were listed for sale on eBay from my iPhone. My $10 should turn into $40. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/187941099947

https://www.ebay.com/itm/187941661574

And what am I joining in again with? I am already prepping posts for the April Blogging from a-to-zchallenge. Admittedly, one of my favorite parts of the challenge is the Theme Reveal. 2025 Theme Reveal is another of my popular posts from that year theme-reveal-for-2025-april-blogging. I've got the gown, I've got the wig, I'm good to go for the theme reveal post scheduled for March 9. 

Signups for the event are March 24 through April 5. Like my Countdown posts at Christmas, it takes months of preparation. A 3-month lead time is just about right.  

Ending the post with Belle, our German wirehaired pointer splashing around in the pond. We have had a break in the weather so we were able to visit the property. Lots of trees down and the greenery is sprouting fast.

Got the Beads from the Goodwill Bin

In my year-end post I mentioned that I am always on the lookout for seed beads. A pop-in visit to the Goodwill in Rancho Cordova, California, came through for me. 

Goodwill carts items for sale out in rolling bins. I snagged those beads along with a couple of other items from the bins. Is that an artist's palette or what? 

Beginning my online art class Design Fundamentals in a couple of weeks. This is a required course before you can move into upper level courses such as Painting I. As is my habit, I will post intriguing things from my coursework and some of my attempts at artistry. 

Working my way through the Sefiroth sewing project. Had to recut the bodice back because I biffed on the first cut-through. 

Hoping to have this cosplay completed soon.😀

Back to some brrr cold days in Northern California. Keeping the woodstove lit.🔥Here is Belle enjoying the warmth. 

Thrift A Go Go

Thrifting starts to get interesting once the holidays are behind us. This American Girl doll came in a $6.99 bag at thrift with some other toys. Somewhere along the line, she lost her clothes and was found in this poor girl dress not made for her. She did come with crutches and a stethoscope though. Keeping her for the future. At this point, I have gathered so many toys from thrift I could start my own daycare!👶Friday flowers photobomb the image. 

Cashmere sweaters start showing up at the secondhand shops too. I found a yummy baby blue large cashmere sweater - quite holey but since repaired. I hope to find more cashmere sweaters at thrift since the doggy destruction rate is overcoming my inventory.

Best find so far - a yoga mat with carrier $2.99 at thrift, $60 retail. I knew one would show up. The mat was needed for my adult ballet class beginning Monday.🩰

Hospice thrift in my county is filled with baby and kid clothing. I honestly don't know where these donations are coming from. We are a county of mainly retirees. Maybe it is from grandma/grandpa donations. 

Made this meme my FB cover.  

Weather has been a bit wild so time has been spent cutting patterns from the fabric. 

There wasn't enough green fabric chosen for the project so I opted for a pale blue flamingo print. 

 Back to the Sefiroth cosplay Part 3 project. 

Pulling Patterns for Projects

I have the luxury of shopping my downstairs 2,000+ sewing pattern repository. Pulling all fun project patterns for possible 2026 completion. The fairy costume Simplicity (1999) I will hold for a couple of years. Had to pull that one for its extreme cuteness. Fabrics needed for this costume include organza, iridescent sheers and chiffon, none of which I have in stock. 

Butterick B4251 (2004) Teepee and Mat, and McCall's Home Decorating Kid Chairs (1998). Bonus points in the Fun Grandma category? Either one of those fabric furnishings would look great in a kid's room or family room. 

Those last two patterns are sewing way beyond my granddaughter's age level but not this Simplicity Vintage Baby (2019) in the red print. Irresistible! 

All of the patterns above were pulled from those listed for sale by me on eBay. The next pattern showcased is from my tub of vintage sewing pattern wonderfulness. These are patterns I have collected and kept for many years. Simplicity 4807 (1954) is the most vintage of my women's dress patterns. Lo and behold, it is in my size. We will see if this cut pattern matches a present day size 12. 

Fabric from the estate sale haul - pattern cutting begins! ✂

As an aside, I have tried to figure out why sewing pattern sales have fallen off for me. My thoughts:

1.    Because of fast fashion and the glut of garments in the market, why sew your own clothes? The expense of retail fabric means you are $40-$50 in already. 

2.    Why buy an original sewing pattern when you can buy the pdf version online? 

3.    I may have sold all of the patterns of interest in my inventory. 

4.    The cost of patterns continues to drop. Where the average used to be $8 per pattern, it is now $5 per pattern sold.   

Top Post of 2025

Right off, Happy New Year to everyone!👹

I am a big fan of Google Analytics. It revealed this blog's top post for 2025 ai-impacting-quilt-design was from March 2024. There, I entered a prompt in an AI generator of "an abstract quilt depicting food realistic" from the 2024 California State Fair description of "Almost Edible" in the Crafts Special Contests category. My interpretation of a cupcake wasn't selected. Beading and all, I still love it. 💗

I didn't enter the special crafts competition in 2025 because the prompt was "Action Sports."

I will definitely run that prompt again when the Fair posts its 2026 prompt for that category. One reason I enter that category is hoping for less competition. From the time of the posting of the prompt to fair submission is 3 months or less. 

Art quilts are another category I have entered with modest success as honorable mentions. I know enough not to compete against fantastical quilters, these were entered in the fiber art category. Another of my popular posts this year is the-encounter-abstract-in-fabric, an art quilt from 2018. 

If I decide to complete another art quilt, 1950s abstract painting by Ney might be my inspiration. 

There is also the Amador County Fair scheduled in the months to come. A special crafts prompt might be posted for that event. I will keep you posted.