About 18 months ago, I felt a bit lost and discouraged. I remembered someone saying that to find your purpose and direction, you had to go back to your childhood. What did you like to do that held your interest so much that you forgot to eat? What was it that sparked excitement and lots of amazing creative ideas?

For me, that was sewing. I remember hand-sewing little Elizabethan dresses for my barbie dolls, with their big puffy sleeves and huge skirts. After I outgrew my barbie dolls, I didn’t sew, although I did lots of other creative things. But my love of historical dress never faded. Any time a historical drama came on the TV I was soaking up all the beauty of the dress, and trying to work out how it was made. It never occurred to me that I could learn to sew and attempt these amazing outfits myself. Until 18 months ago that is.

I bought myself the cheapest sewing machine I could find (huge mistake!) and here I am, still sewing and still as obsessed as ever. I prefer sewing older styles of clothes as much as my newbie ability will allow, but I also have a weird body shape meaning I have to frequently wear men’s clothing because my arms and legs are too long, and my shoulders too broad. One day I’d like to sew a custom wardrobe for myself with stuff that actually fits.

Recently I’ve gotten into quilting and can’t wait to share more about that.

I’m originally from the Scottish Highlands and now live in North California.