You asked, we answer! In this episode, we answer questions about lots of different topics, including: Caroline’s wedding dress, Helen’s board game recommendations, impostor syndrome, dealing with negative feedback, and our favourite pizza toppings. When we said ask us anything, we meant it! Plus, we give a personal update on our lives and businesses for the past eight months, play a fun game, and share a WIP organization tip from a drag queen listener.
The transcript for this episode is on this page at the end of the show notes.
From the Listener Feedback Section:
- Jubilee’s Instagram: @JubileeDrag
- Hanging Closet Organizer
Caroline’s Wedding Dress Inspo and Fabric:
Helen’s Christmas Tree Skirt:
Patterns:
Tools:
- Edgestitch Foot (Bernina)
Board Games:
Other Mentions:
Transcript:
Helen: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations.
Hello, and welcome to Love To Sew. I’m Helen, the designer behind Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co.
Caroline: And I’m Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics.
Helen: We’re two sewing buds who love to sew our own clothes and want to encourage you on your sewing journey, too.
Caroline: Join us today for an AMA. That stands for Ask Me Anything and a catch-up.
Hi, Helen.
Helen: Hi, Caroline.
Caroline: How are you?
Helen: I’m doing well. How are you?
Caroline: I’m doing so good. It’s really sunny outside, and it’s our last episode of the season, which makes me sad, but also, I’m excited for this episode. It’s gonna be a really fun one.
Helen: I know! We’ve been saving this one for last because we thought it would be fun to answer a bunch of questions and give a bit of a catch-up on what’s been going on in our lives before we head off for a little summer break. But you can always find us over on Patreon if you are worried about missing us over the summer. We’re gonna continue with our chit chats over there.
Caroline: Oh, yeah. We do really fun chit chats over on Patreon. Like, kind of, informal, friendlier, more raw catch-ups over there.
Helen: More raw. Does it get more informal than this? I dunno.
Caroline: But today we’re gonna do it on the regular show for all of our listeners. I can’t wait. I feel like we should kick it off with some feedback though, ey?
Helen: We got some listener feedback in our inbox with the subject line, “A tip for WIP organization from a drag queen.” We rushed to open it up and read. And this is from Listener Jubilee:
“Hello Helen and Caroline! Y’all’s podcast is my fave late-night sewing companion. I was inspired by the episode about WIPs! I sew for drag shows, which means each of my pieces has a deadline. (A non-performer would emulate this by planning a ‘due date’ to wear their creation, like a vacation, friend’s birthday, first day of the new season, etc.) But I’m always juggling multiple deadlines, and they’re each different levels of work. (Maybe I have to make an entire headpiece for a show in three weeks and only hem a skirt for a show in one week—which means I need to get started on the headpiece before the skirt, even though the skirt is ‘due’ sooner.) To organize this chaos and keep myself from analysis paralysis, I store my WIPs in a hanging closet organizer that I lay on the floor face-up. This transform[s] it into a 5-unit bin, that I can expand or contract like an accordion. It does a few things:
“The open tops keep my priority projects in-sight, so I don’t get distracted and start a new project. It limits my drag WIPs to just five. (If a project isn’t in my top five, then clearly isn’t important enough. I can put it in a bin or decide it’s just not the time to start it.) And it gives me a large, centralized bin to drop everything related to a project, so I can clear my table of one project and pull a different one very quickly.
“I also want to add that sometimes the fastest way to complete a project is to decide not to do it. I remind myself that I’m not ‘abandoning’ it. I’m finishing the project by deciding not to do it anymore. Happy sewing! And thank you again for all the tips and tricks. Y’all have saved me so much time and helped me be bolder.”
Aw, I love that.
Caroline: Ooh. Thank you so much for sharing these tips, Jubilee. I get pulled into analysis paralysis a lot…
Helen: Yeah.
Caroline: …so this is really helpful for me. I love the idea of having this accordion-style storage. I think this hack is so genius, and I agree that choosing a day to debut your project is a good motivator.
I like the idea of picking an event to wear an outfit to, as your deadline, even if it’s just a dinner out with your partner or coffee with a friend. You know, I need a deadline, Helen, to be able to finish a project. But, of course, if you’re a performer like Jubilee, you probably have a lot more events on your calendar than most of us. So good job, Jubilee. Thanks for those tips. And check out Jubilee on Instagram @JubileeDrag. She has some really great me-mades.
Helen: Ooh. Yeah. That was so, such a great email and I can’t believe that we helped them be bolder. We helped a drag queen be bolder.
Caroline: Yes. Oh, my gosh.
Helen: That’s an accomplishment.
Caroline: Yeah. Put that on my resume. Okay, Helen, should we get to the show?
Helen: Yes! I’m so excited to answer these questions.
Caroline: Me, too. Okay. We’re gonna be talking about sewing, patterns, and fabric because that’s a big part of our lives, but we’re gonna start by catching up about our personal lives and businesses. And then we’ll do an Ask Me Anything where we’ll answer questions submitted by our followers on Instagram. And then, at the end, we’re gonna play a game.
Helen: Yeah. Ooh, I love that Lisa always prepares a little game for us. It’s so great.
Caroline: Yeah, it’s so great. We are blessed. Okay, Helen, catch me up on, I don’t know, the last six months of your life. What’s been going on?
Helen: Six months? I went back a year, okay?!
Caroline: You went back a year?
Helen: Well, just generally, I was trying to think about when our last catch-up on the pod was, and I think it was, like, early fall season maybe.
Caroline: Yeah. It was, like, September…
Helen: Yeah.
Caroline: …I think. Yeah.
Helen: So I was thinking back…
Caroline: Mm-hmm.
Helen: …to where I was at that time, and…
Caroline: Me, too. Me, too.
Helen: It’s been, like, a really, really great year. I have to say, like, work has been going very smoothly this past year. I feel like I’ve got a really good rhythm going and a really good work-life balance, which is really nice. And I love all the freelancers that I work with right now, and things are really predictable and, kind of steady, and sales have been steady.
So everything just feel, I feel like I need to, like, knock on wood right now ‘cause I’m like, everything is great, so wonderful. But it really has felt quite smooth, and my stress levels have been good. Like, I used to get really anxious around launch times, and there was a lot of, like, stress around the different events that happen in the business, like sales and launches and stuff, and it’s, kind of, felt, like, a rollercoaster. But lately, I feel like I’ve just been, like, very calm during those periods, even though there’s a lot going on, it’s like I’m getting to the point now where I’m like, I got this. Like, we’ve done this a few times now, it’s gonna be fine.
Caroline: More than a few. How many patterns are in your collection right now?
Helen: That’s a good question. I think we’re around 20, but I’d have to go and actually count.
Caroline: Wow. Dang.
Helen: I know. Can you believe that it’s only been seven years, Caroline?
Caroline: Yeah. 20 patterns in seven years is huge. And I mean, your first few years there wasn’t, like, multiple patterns a year, right?
Helen: No. It was few and far between at first.
Caroline: Then, you amped it up. It’s so great that you’re at this place now where you feel like you have balance and you also are lower stress, and you just feel like you can handle what’s on your plate, which is like, such a great place to be.
Helen: Yeah, it feels really good. And even moments when, like, the website’s not working or, like, something happens that throws me for a bit of a loop, I’m better able to just, like, take a deep breath and be like, it’s fine. Like, it’s gonna be fine. We’re gonna get it fixed, and it’ll be fine.
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: Yeah.
Caroline: It’s all those years of being conditioned to expect the unexpected…
Helen: Yeah.
Caroline: …over the last, like, you know, three or four years that now we’re like, yeah, everything’s fine.
Helen: Yeah. We’ll get through this.
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: But yeah, and more specifically, I mean, we launched jeans last fall. And then, we did a quilted jacket and vests pattern earlier this year. And those were both really big projects, really big patterns, and I’m really proud of both of them. I love them both so much, so that was really fun to do some more complicated designs for the business ‘cause, as you know, we love a wearable basic here at Helen’s Closet. So it was fun to push myself outta my comfort zone and do something a little more complex and create those instruction booklets, which were very challenging. So I’m definitely proud of those patterns that we’ve launched.
Caroline: Oh, yeah. I was gonna say, those are both, like, big beast projects, you know, a quilted jacket and a pair of jeans.
Helen: Yeah.
Caroline: Those are intense.
Helen: And you’ve almost got yourself a whole outfit.
Caroline: Basically. Yeah.
Helen: Yeah, and we’re, it’s very exciting ‘cause we’re about to launch two more patterns in about a week after this episode comes out. I’m planning to launch them on June 5th, so I’m very excited. We’ve got a pair of pants coming that has two different shorts views, as well, so perfect for summer. And then we have a really fun wrap top that I’ve literally been working on for, like, three years. I looked back at when I teased this pattern, originally it was 2020. So…
Caroline: Oh, my gosh.
Helen: …thank you for waiting. It’s finally happening.
Caroline: Did you tease it on Patreon or…?
Helen: No, it was on the main feed. I had just made a sample of this top that I had in mind, and I was really excited about it, and I posted it in stories and people have been asking me about it, like, regularly ever since then. So I’m so sorry it’s taken this long, but it’s, it, it’ll be worth the wait. But yeah, in general, I mean, business is great. I feel like I love my job, and I actually look forward to Mondays, which is such a privilege to be able to say that.
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: Like, so many people do not really look forward to the work week. But on Sunday night, I’m, kind of, like, excited about getting back to it and getting back to work and working on all my projects, and there’s a great variety of tasks and challenges and creativity, so, it’s been a good year. Lots of freedom, being able to create my own schedule and, have a great personal life, too. So the seven years in business is finally, kind of, like, levelling out.
Caroline: Mm-hmm.
Helen: The rollercoaster is on, like, just a nice little, like, upper track where it’s just going smoothly.
Caroline: Wait. No. I feel like that’s not the best analogy. ‘Cause if you’re, like, at the top, then does that mean there’s gonna be a dip at some point?
Helen: That’s true.
Caroline: Like, maybe you’re, like, at the end of the rollercoaster, like, the rollercoasters ending, and you’re, like, whoosh, coming in.
Helen: But the ride is over then. This is no good.
Caroline: Or it’s just beginning? No…
Helen: Maybe it’s like when you take off on a plane, and it’s, kind of, scary, and maybe there’s, like, a bit of turbulence and, like, you feel, kind of, sick, and you’re like, oh God, I’m gonna be on this flight for, like, six hours, and you’re just, like, not excited. And then, now I’m at, like, the cruising point where I’ve got a good movie on, and I’m like, this is fun. Somebody bring me some pop.
Caroline: I’m into this. Yeah. Someone get her a ginger ale. Come on.
Helen: I like that one.
Caroline: I love it. That’s perfect.
Helen: Yeah. And then, personally, I mean, summer is here, and I’m so stoked for another summer of paddle boarding and swimming, and we’re gonna try to go swimming every day. We did that last year, too. It was so fun. Different locations we have like beaches and rivers and lakes around us, so there’s lots of variety, and we both love to swim, so that’s a priority for us in the summer is just to do it as much as possible. And right now my whole life is pretty much gardening ‘cause May and April and into June is just, like, full on gardening months where you’re trying to get everything in the ground and get everything all set up, and, and then, you can just enjoy it all summer long. So…
Caroline: Mm-hmm.
Helen: I’m, like, just trying to balance work and gardening and, like, getting out every once in a while for an hour to, like, plant some annuals and go back inside.
Caroline: Yeah. Oh, my gosh. Well, that sounds really idyllic and lovely. And I’m very jealous of your daily swim. We’re coming to visit in, like, a month. Are we gonna get to go swimming every day that we’re visiting?
Helen: I hope so.
Caroline: I really wanna see this watering hole that you’ve told me about.
Helen: Oh my gosh. I really need to take you there. Yeah, I really hope that the weather is hot enough. I think it will be…
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: …if, if this is any indication.
Caroline: Yeah, it’s extremely hot today.
Helen: Yeah. Yeah. And then also this summer, four of my close friends are getting married and tying the knot…
Caroline: Oh, my gosh.
Helen: …so I’m very much looking forward to attending four excellent parties…
Caroline: Yes!
Helen: …and eating four delicious meals and watching four beautiful ceremonies and all that good stuff.
Caroline: Aw.
Helen: It’s gonna be fun.
Caroline: That is awesome. Yeah. Yeah. I’m excited, too. I have a lot of weddings, as well, including my own.
Helen: I know. And I do plan on sewing for all of them. I wanna make a different outfit for all the weddings. So we’ll see if I can pull that off, and no, I have not started.
Caroline: Hey, you know, I support this, and you’ve got plenty of time in my book.
Helen: Plenty of time. I’m just gonna make, like, rayon dresses and stuff, like, nothing crazy.
Caroline: Perfect.
Helen: Yeah. One little update I have that’s, sort of, random is that I’m participating in a weightlifting event next month.
Caroline: Oh, my gosh. What? Wait, what? That’s amazing.
Helen: I’m really excited. I’ve been working out, like, pretty intensely, especially this last year. I’ve upped my, my time spent at the gymm and it’s been really amazing and awesome to, like, work on my fitness and build my strength, specifically. I’ve gotten, kind of, into weightlifting, and so I’m participating in a deadlift event. It’s not a competition, it’s for charity, but you can sponsor the participants. So basically for every pound I lift, people can sponsor me per pound. So it’ll be a few, it’s, like, 10 cents a pound.
And then at the end of it, I do one final lift as heavy as I possibly can. And then you donate based on the amount that I was able to lift. And it’s called Pull for Pride and all the proceeds go to the Vancouver Island Queer Athletics Association. So I’m very excited. I’m a little bit nervous ‘cause there’s, like, pro lifters participating in this event, but then there’s also lots of just like folks from my gym who are just there to have a good time and support the cause and all that stuff. So yeah, it’s gonna be interesting.
Caroline: Oh, my gosh. Hit me up with this link. I wanna sponsor this. I’m so excited for you.
Helen: I know I’m gonna be sending out a link. It’s gonna be good. I’m like, yeah, I think it’s gonna be really fun. I didn’t actually get to attend last year because we were out of town, so this will be my first time going to the event. But it looked really fun on Instagram. I was so jealous that I wasn’t there.
And I just love my gym so much. Such a great community. And everyone’s gonna be there, like, cheering each other on. And currently I’m deadlifting 205 pounds, and I’m hoping I can hit 220 for the event. And I, they say that, like, the crowd really amps you up, too, and so you’re able to lift heavier, but over the next like month, I’m gonna be really pushing myself. So it’ll be interesting.
Caroline: Oh, my gosh. I cannot wait to hear how this goes. You’re gonna kill it.
Helen: There will definitely be photos and stuff, so we’ll share that.
Caroline: Yeah. Ah, so exciting. Oh my gosh. Okay. When is this happening?
Helen: It’s, uh, June, like, 17th or 18th, I think. Pretty soon. Yeah.
Caroline: Okay, okay, okay. Okay. Okay. Keep us updated.
Helen: I will, yes. I definitely can’t wait to, like, see the pictures and videos where I look very serious and, like…
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: …but just, like, putting all of those weights on the end of the bar is so satisfying. Like, you feel like a superhero.
Caroline: Oh, my gosh. You are a superhero. You are. That’s so cool. You’re so strong.
Helen: I mean, aside from that and all the weddings, of course we really don’t have any plans, like, past September. And I was thinking about this, I’m like, what is coming up in my life? And I’m like, all these weddings and everything in summer, and that’s gonna be great. And then beyond that, like, I have no idea. Like, we have no trips planned. We have no, like, ideas or things we wanna do in the next, like, five years. Like, literally it’s just, like, wide open baby. So who knows?
Caroline: Yeah, I love that. I mean, it’s good. You’re gonna have a really busy summer, and then, I’m sure it’ll fill up knowing you and Sam. You always love to have lots of plans. But it’s kind of fun to not know what’s coming up.
Helen: Yeah. I know, and I’m excited to, like, work more on the quilt company, too. I forgot to mention that earlier. I also launched a quilt pattern company.
Caroline: Yeah. You also launched a whole other business.
Helen: I know, and that has been so fun. Like, I’m having fun over on the Cedar Quilt Co. Instagram connecting with people, and I am still working on the patterns. We have another one coming out in June. I have another one slotted for this summer. So we’re definitely gonna be launching them with some regularity, which is really cool. And possibly, yeah, over the next year or two, I’m gonna be focusing on that quite a bit, as well. So that will be really fun.
Caroline: Awesome. And for, I’m sure listeners are wondering, like, Helen’s Closet, you’re still continuing to launch patterns with Helen’s Closet too, right?
Helen: Oh, yes. Definitely. Yeah, we have lots on the go, and I have no plans to dial it back at all. I think we’re still gonna aim for, like, four or five patterns a year. So I have so many ideas for fall. It’s fun to think about, like, next year and think so far in advance for patterns. Like, sometimes I’m designing, like, for next summer, you know?
Caroline: Mm-hmm.
Helen: Or for next winter, which is also quite challenging when it’s 30 degrees outside and you’re like, but I don’t really want a sweater right now.
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: Yeah.
Caroline: Yup, yup, yup.
Helen: Okay.
Caroline: That’s how it goes.
Helen: I have rambled a lot. Caroline, what’s going on?
Caroline: Oh, my gosh. I also went back and looked at when our last, like, big catch-up episode was because I feel like so much has changed in the last, like, six to eight months for me, especially at Blackbird. And it was, it was, like, before a bunch of things changed.
So basically back in September, around mid-September, I started managing our warehouse fulfilment team, and I haven’t really looked back since then. We just needed somebody, and I stepped in, and I, kind of, made a decision in that moment, like, I am going to take this on. This is something I really want to do. Previously, we had had different folks managing our warehouse team. And yeah, we just needed a manager, and I wanted to do it because I had felt, kind of, disconnected from, like, that hands-on aspect of the business and spending a lot of time behind a computer, and I was like, I’m ready for a challenge.
And so yeah, that’s, kind of, what I’ve been doing at Blackbird for the last six, seven months now. So you’re probably seeing me a lot more on the floor in, like, content and stuff, cutting fabric because I am. I’m cutting, and I’m working with that team really closely, which means that my job is a lot more hands-on and physical, but it also, kind of, made me prioritise my tasks and let go of some things that maybe weren’t as important that were taking up some of my time.
I definitely have more on my plate right now, for sure, but. I don’t know, it’s just made me really, really happy to take on this role. It’s definitely not something that I’ll do forever. I don’t think it’s sustainable for me to do forever, but for right now, it’s working really well, and I’m really loving it. And it, kind of, takes me back to a time when I used to do everything myself when I was, like, cutting fabric, shipping orders. And there was also a stretch of time where I wasn’t doing that at all, and now I’m, kind of, back to being in that part of the business again. So it feels really good to be doing that.
Helen: Mm. Oh, I love this. I’m so excited that it’s worked out. I know you were apprehensive because of the workload, obviously, primarily, right? Like, how are you supposed to be the CEO of the business and also the warehouse manager? Those are both full-time jobs…
Caroline: Yeah, yeah.
Helen: Like, it seemed like a lot, but you have totally managed to make it work, and it seems like you’re having a lot of fun with it, and you moved your office downstairs…
Caroline: Yes.
Helen: …so that you could be closer to your team which is cool.
Caroline: Yeah, yeah.
Helen: It just seems like you guys have a lot of fun. It certainly looks like it on Instagram. I’m loving all the reels.
Caroline: We do. We do have a lot of fun, and I’m loving having my own office. It’s funny, I think at the beginning of 2022, I, like, manifested having my own office ‘cause I originally was like, I’m gonna make myself an office upstairs. And then that didn’t happen. But then I ended up getting to move into this little office on, on the warehouse floor. It’s been really, really positive. And we do have so much fun. So, yes.
Helen: That’s awesome.
Caroline: And then a big pattern company update. So some of you may know that Blackbird is working on our own sewing patterns, and the company is gonna be called BF Patterns, kinda, like a sister company. And yeah, we were hoping to launch earlier this year, but we had some challenges.
We had some setbacks. Basically, just the pattern that we were working on when we were working on grading it, we were having some fit issues, and we just really weren’t happy with how things were working out. So we, sort of, put that pattern on hold and took 10 steps backwards basically and rethought our whole workflow and process.
And now we’re getting ready to hopefully launch our first pattern in late summer, early fall. I like to think everything happens for a reason. Because we’re in a really exciting place right now, and I feel like the challenges that we had, sort of, made us, like, completely regroup and realise that we needed to be much more on top of our timelines and planning and working with different freelancers.
And it just, like, was, like, kind of, a wake-up call, and we were like, oh, okay, this is, like, way more time and work needs to go into this than we thought, I guess. And our estimations of timelines, just, like, were not realistic. So it allowed us to do that, like, before launching, which I think was really good.
I will say like when I started working on this pattern company, I never would’ve imagined that it would’ve taken this long to launch. I feel like you and I probably talked about this, like, two years ago…
Helen: Yeah.
Caroline: …like, it’s been a really, really long time coming. But for the first, like, year or so, we were working on it very slowly, kind of, it was in the sidelines, on the back burner. We were, kind of, chipping away at it as, we could. We were at a different stage in our business. So, now we have a little bit more space and time, and yeah, I’m just really proud of how far we’ve come and excited to finally launch this year, even though it’s a little bit later than we were hoping and probably gonna look a little bit different than what we were imagining originally. I think it’s gonna be really great.
Helen: Yeah, it’s gonna be exactly what it’s meant to be. You know, like…
Caroline: Yeah, exactly.
Helen: …like you said, it happens for a reason, and it definitely pays to take the time to get all of those ducks in a row before you launch, of course.
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: And I think people are gonna be excited no matter when it happens. It’s always so hard when things don’t go the way you want, especially with deadlines and timelines and things. You have a vision…
Caroline: Oh, yeah.
Helen: …and it’s not working out. But in the grand scheme of things, like, what’s a few months, you know, like…
Caroline: Oh, yeah. Totally.
Helen: …in five years, you’re gonna be, you’re gonna forget all about the fact that it was delayed a few months. It just won’t matter.
Caroline: For sure. And, like, when things were falling behind, we were all, kind of, freaking out. Like, oh, my God. We were planning on launching. It’s not gonna happen. And then, we all were like, wait, nobody really knows. Like, we teased it a little bit and, kind of, you know, we’ve definitely talked about it, but nobody’s, like, waiting for us to launch, you know, so these timelines are completely self-imposed, and for everybody’s mental health, it made sense for us to just, like, take a step back and prolong things a little bit. So, yeah.
Helen: I’m, I’m constantly having to do that with my own patterns. I’ll be like, I’m, oh, I have to delay it a week. Everyone’s gonna hate me. And then I’m like, wait a minute…
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: Nobody even knows about this.
Caroline: Yeah, sometimes those self-imposed deadlines are good, but sometimes they just cause more stress than they need to, right? But you know what, even with all of these, like, changes to my role in the business and with, like, working on BF patterns and, like, all these big projects that I’m, kind of, working on on the sidelines.
I’m feeling really good about the business and about my own place in that business. And my stress levels right now are, like, an all-time low. I mean, I’ve talked about this a lot on Patreon, but I don’t know if I’ve mentioned on the regular show, like, I just, I’m feeling so, so happy and content and, like, easy breezy lately, and that’s a real win because I’ve gone through some really stressful years, and I know even on the regular show, I’ve talked about it.
If you go back to earlier episodes, you’ll probably hear the stress in my voice, but I don’t know. I mean, I’ll be celebrating nine years in business in September which is also the month that I’m getting married, which is also the month that I’m taking a full month off for the first time ever. And it just feels like, everything’s really good right now.
Helen: Oh, I love hearing that.
Caroline: Yeah. So that’s on the business side. And on the personal side, wedding planning is definitely top of mind for me. I’m getting married mid-September, and my brother’s actually getting married a week after me in the Okanagan, in wine country, in British Columbia, so not too, too far from Vancouver.
And we’re calling it wedding palooza because a bunch of my family’s coming out from Montreal and Toronto and staying in between the weddings. So we’re gonna have lots of fun things happening and family bonding time and all that. So I’m really, really excited. And like I just mentioned, I’m taking a whole month off work, from early September until early October, which is completely unheard of for me.
So I’m nervous, but excited to take that time off. I think it’s much needed. It’s giving me time to, like, prep for the wedding, get married, prep for my brother’s wedding, watch him get married, come home. We’re going on a little five day honeymoon to Tofino and then, back for a few days and then, back to work. So, lots of, like, chill time in between all the craziness, but yeah, I can’t wait.
Helen: That sounds amazing. I mean, it sounds like a whirlwind, but it also sounds like so much fun, and you’ve, kind of, got everything spaced out really well, and you’ve got some buffer days, so I think it’s gonna be such a good month.
Caroline: I think so, too. And, okay, Helen. I finally found the perfect dress fabric for my wedding dress, and I finally have a clear direction I wanna go. I feel so relieved. I was facing some, like, serious dress indecision or decision paralysis, analysis paralysis. It was just, it was a lot. And everyone was like, what’s going on with your dress? And I was like, rah! I dunno. Don’t ask me about it. But now I finally have something to talk about, and I’m really, really sure of my direction, and I’m so excited. Oh, my gosh. I’m making my dress.
Helen: I’m really glad you have your fabric. I’m not gonna lie, I’m starting to get nervous, but…
Caroline: I know you were.
Helen: I didn’t wanna bug you about it, but I mean, I’m sure some of our listeners are also like, okay, but it’s, like, June.
Caroline: I know. We’re T-minus four months.
Helen: No, I know you’re gonna do it. You’re such a last minute sewist, too. So it’s, like, perfect for you.
Caroline: But I promised myself I wouldn’t be that last minute with this.
Helen: I know, but you’re not making, like, a ball gown. Like, you’re making a fancy dress. But I know you can do it. You could do it in a week if you needed to. So it’s gonna be fine.
Caroline: I know. I know. And I’m already, like, prepping and getting ready to start muslining. So yeah, it’s, it’s gonna be fine. My goal is to get my dress done by July, or in the month of July, so that starting August, I don’t have to worry about it. So, yeah, it’s gonna be great. I’m so excited. We’re gonna, I think, talk about it a little bit later ‘cause someone asked about the dress. So I’ll hold off on giving more details until then.
Helen: Okay. Perfect.
Caroline: But yeah, with wedding planning, like, we’ve figured out so many things, but we also, I feel like, still have a lot of planning and, kind of, organising and sourcing little bits and bobs and buying little things, booking little things. So there’s just so many things to think about.
So I’ve got my big list going and working away on checking things off. And Shea and I are also taking dance classes together, which was my birthday gift this year. And we started back in February, and we’ve been going every couple weeks or so to take classes, which has been so fun and, kind of, surprising.
I, I think part of the gift was that Shea was willing to take dance classes, and I wasn’t expecting to receive that gift or for him to want to do that. But yeah, we’ve both been having a really fun time with it, and we’re, kind of, practising a little bit of light choreography for our first dance.
Helen: Oh, I love a choreographed dance. Like, I know it’s light, so you’re not, probably not gonna, like, stick to it a hundred percent or anything, but I just think it’s so cute when people prepare something like that. Like, whether it’s the, the people getting married or, like, their wedding parties or whatever. It’s just, I love that at weddings.
Caroline: Yeah. No, it’s, it’s gonna be, it’s gonna be great, so… Nervous about having all eyes on us, for sure. We’re both like, just when we think about the, like, reality of getting married and having like, you know, 50 to 60 people basically just there to look at us all day. We’re like, oh, my God. Why are we doing this?
But also, it’s gonna be, like, probably one of the only days in our whole lives that we’re gonna have all of our favourite people under one roof and get to have a fun party with them. So that’s what I’m trying to remember when I think about the wedding is, like, it’s gonna be a really special day. I’m sure things are gonna go wrong, but either way it’s gonna be really fun and special to have everyone together, so…
Helen: And those moments will go by faster than you think. You’re not gonna be out there dancing forever, you know, like, it’s probably gonna fly by. You can just gaze into Shea’s eyes and think about how much you love him, and yeah, I can’t wait.
Caroline: Yeah. Yeah, it’s gonna be sweet. I do love him a lot, so, you know.
Helen: Well, that’s good.
Caroline: But yeah, my sewjo is, like, on fire lately. I have so many things I wanna sew. I’m just, like, dreaming about sewing. I’m thinking about sewing. I’m sewing every weekend pretty much. I have to make a dress for my brother’s wedding. I wanna make a dress for my welcome party. I wanna make a dress for our friend’s wedding that we’re both going to. I have other outfits for, like, wedding week stuff that I wanna make.
I’m also just, like, wanting to make our different patterns that we’re designing for BF patterns to be able to, like, test them. And there’s just a lot, a lot of sewing in my life right now, and I’m loving it. Yeah, it’s great.
But yeah, this summer’s gonna be exciting. My brother’s actually moving to Vancouver. He currently lives in Toronto with his fiancé, and they’re making their way out here in August, which is huge to be able to have my brother living here on the west coast with me. So that’s exciting.
And we’re also just, like, doing lots of home projects and improvements, just getting ready for wedding time. Everything’s all about the wedding right now, so it’s gonna be a fun summer dreaming, planning and hopefully, enjoying some sunshine and some of our garden and some swimming, as well.
Helen: Oh, yeah. You will. There will be lots of time for all that good stuff and all the wedding planning. And it’s so exciting your brother’s moving there. I mean, finally another member of your family coming to join you on the west coast.
Caroline: Yes. Oh, my gosh. Yes. He’s excited. I’m excited. It’s gonna be great. I’m so happy. More reasons for other family members to come visit us, too. And he’s moving, we live out on the North Shore and he’s also moving to the North Shore, so we’re only, like, a 15 minute drive away from each other.
Helen: Oh, nice.
Caroline: Amazing.
Helen: That’s great.
Caroline: So that’s our catch-up. I mean,
Helen: Pretty positive overall.
Caroline: Yeah. I’d say pretty positive. Yeah.
Helen: I’m sure some, like, less good things happen, but I don’t remember them, so that’s great.
Caroline: There you go.
Helen: Nothing’s coming to mind.
Caroline: Nothing’s coming to mind. No, it’s been, it’s been a really good year, and it’s fun to end the season in May because I feel like I always feel really excited and hopeful in May. It’s, like, after all of the rain in Vancouver, we’re, like, looking at a really sunny, sunshine-y, hot summer
Helen: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Caroline: And lots of, I don’t know, fun summer activities.
Helen: Yeah. It is such a great time. I just think about, like, dialling back my workload so that I can spend more time outside.
Caroline: Yeah, totally.
Helen: Slowly but surely.
Caroline: Okay. Helen, should we get into some of these questions because our listeners asked us some fun questions. I’m excited.
Helen: They did. Okay. First up, what is the oldest piece of fabric in your stash? Go.
Caroline: Okay. Caveat is I just destashed, like, I just purged my whole fabric stash and minimised it majorly, majorly. I talked about this on Patreon. So I think the oldest piece of fabric in my stash is some linen that we picked up on a trip to New York City. Don’t remember which trip. It’s gotta be at least five years old.
Helen: Oh, yeah. Is it the pink one with, like, the embroidery, kind of, lines on it?
Caroline: Yes.
Helen: Yes. I also have that fabric in my stash.
Caroline: Yes.
Helen: I have a piece of fabric that I picked up in Indonesia after I graduated high school. I really wanted to go travelling, and I wanted to go by myself because I thought that would be really cool. And so I had took all the money that I saved up from my job. I worked at the real Canadian Superstore.
Caroline: Stellar. Love that.
Helen: I saved up all my money from that job and then I booked my trip to Indonesia, and I stayed for a month, and I travelled around, and I did all sorts of cool stuff, met lots of people. It was really great. But I bought a piece of fabric one day, and it’s still in my stash because it’s one of those things where I’m like, it’s hard to choose what to make with it ‘cause it feels so precious and special, you know?
And I don’t wanna mess it up. I wanna make something I’m gonna love forever ‘cause I love this fabric so much. So it’s been languishing a little bit and I, I look at it often. It’s definitely not, like, buried in the depths of the closet or anything. It’s, it’s very much in the pile with all the prized fabrics. But yeah, I just can’t, I have indecision about that one to this day. That was fully 15 years ago, so…
Caroline: Wow.
Helen: Yeah.
Caroline: Well, no rush. No rush. You’ve waited this long.
Helen: It’s an, it’s a nice piece of, like, stable cotton, too, so it’s, like, it could be so many things.
Caroline: Yeah, yeah.
Helen: It’s tough. Maybe I should just make a pillow cover or something.
Caroline: Yeah, that’s not a bad idea.
Helen: I could enjoy it every day on my couch.
Caroline: One day this fabric will meet its fate and in a good way.
Helen: Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Okay.
Caroline: Okay, Helen, which season do you enjoy sewing for the most?
Helen: Oh, summer a hundred percent. Give me the linen dress. Gimme the swimsuit. I, like, just get so excited this time of year to sew for summer.
Caroline: Me too. Dresses, dresses, dresses, dress dresses. I love sewing summer dresses so much.
Helen: Yeah. They’re fun, easy.
Caroline: I am on the same page.
Helen: I have lots of fabric in my stash for them. It’s just great.
Caroline: Yes! Okay. What is your favourite sewing task and your least favourite?
Helen: My favourite is a bit broad. I enjoy the construction part of sewing…
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: …which is basically anytime you’re sewing two pieces of fabric together, I’m happy. And my least favourite is cutting out interfacing. Like, bleep, that. Honestly, it is the worst.
Caroline: Yeah, bleep it.
Helen: Nobody likes cutting out interfacing, do they?
Caroline: No.
Helen: If you do, let us know.
Caroline: Yeah. Like, what are you doing right?
Okay. My favourite sewing task would have to be, like, top stitching or edge stitching, especially when I get to use my edge stitch foot on my Bernina, and it looks perfect. I find that so, so satisfying. And then my least favourite, I, kind of, use, like, a blanket answer, which is just the prep. So, like, washing the fabric and then, ironing. Like, who likes ironing, like, four metres of fabric, you know? It’s not fun, so… And then cutting out patterns, like, cutting out a PDF pattern. Ugh.
Helen: Oh yeah. I don’t like cutting out the paper, but I quite like cutting out the fabric. That, I, that was almost gonna be my answer for favourite sewing task.
Caroline: No, I, I always feel like I wanna rush through it, like I wanna get to the sewing, you know?
Helen: Fair. I, I think there’s something satisfying about laying out the pattern pieces and, like, it’s, like, a little puzzle you’re trying to do, and, like, I have a really big cutting table that’s at the right height, so it’s, like, actually quite pleasant. That makes a huge difference.
Caroline: It does. Oh, my gosh. Yes. Absolutely. If you were cutting on the floor, it would not be your favourite.
Helen: No, definitely not. Okay, Caroline, where are you getting inspiration or tips for planning your wedding dress?
Caroline: Okay. Nowhere. I don’t know. Pinterest is where I’m getting inspiration. Tips for planning my wedding dress, I don’t know her. I don’t know. I…
Helen: I think, like…
Caroline: I’m just doing it.
Helen: You’re not going super traditional, so maybe you don’t need quite as many, like, pieces of advice about linings and various things like that. I don’t know.
Caroline: Totally. Yeah. Okay. These next couple questions are also about my wedding dress, so maybe we can get into more details.
Helen: Yes. Tell us: have you started sewing your wedding dress and do you have any advice for other people out there?
Caroline: Okay, so we’ve already covered this. No, I have not started sewing my wedding dress. I don’t think anyone is actually surprised about that. I have made huge progress though, with planning, so I’m, like, I’m getting ready. I’m, it’s happening. It’s, yes, I’ve, I would say I’ve started my dress, but I haven’t started sewing my dress. Does that make sense?
Helen: Yeah. Yeah. And what advice would you tell somebody? To start sooner? Or what…?
Caroline: Start sooner than I am starting. Start sooner than four months before the wedding. Start a year before. Yeah. Don’t take my advice to begin with, so there we go.
Helen: The wrong person to ask. Okay, this next person wants to know if you’re gonna be wearing white to your wedding or if you’re gonna break with tradition. And also, is the gown structured and tailored? Or is it more flowy or clean silhouette, kind of, style?
Caroline: Okay, so I’m wearing white-ish. So the fabric that I found is this really beautiful cotton rayon blend, but to be honest, it looks like silk in person. And it’s embroidered, sort of, eyelet. And it’s two-toned. So the base fabric is like a white, it’s not like a bright white, I would say it’s like a slightly off-white.
And then the embroidery is almost, like, a golden beige-y colour. So this is one of the reasons why I have waited so long to start my dress is because I have this dress that has been on my mind ever since I started looking at dress inspiration on Pinterest. I found this dress, and I have not been able to get it out of my head.
I’ve always loved this dress, but I’ve never been able to find the right fabric. And I just couldn’t get over it. I couldn’t move on. And recently, I did another deep dive, and I found the perfect fabric that just perfectly emulates the dress. So I put a picture in here, Helen. I wanna know what you think ‘cause I’m not even sure how to describe it. Like, it’s a little bit structured in the bodice, but it also is definitely flowy. I wouldn’t say it’s a clean silhouette. Would you?
Helen: No.
Caroline: I don’t know, like, how would you describe the dress?
Helen: It has a plunging V-neck, first of all. The cleavage is gonna be for real.
Caroline: Yeah, I think I’m gonna bring that up a little. I will.
Helen: Okay.
Caroline: I’m gonna bring that one up a little. It’s not gonna be quite so plunging. Yeah, it’s, not gonna be down to my belly
Helen: But this person in this picture has no boobs.
Caroline: Yeah. Yes. So yeah, I’m gonna adjust that for my chest for sure.
Helen: But yeah, it has a nice, beautiful V-neck. It’s more structured in the top. It, kind of, like, fits over the bust and onto the waist with, like, structure. And then there’s a gathered skirt and gathered poofy sleeves. So it definitely has cottage core undertones. And the eyelet lace in this picture is very similar to the one you picked out, so I can totally see why you love that fabric. It’s pretty much bang on. And then the mo-, model is also wearing, like, funky sunglasses and holding a cocktail, which really sells it for me. Like, she’s having a great time.
Caroline: I just wanna be her basically on my wedding day, she has a cute little, like, mini-veil, which I’m a big fan of. Totally wanna wear, like, a small, little veil. The dress also has a big tie in the back and buttons down the front, all the way down. So I’m, I’m gonna be pulling a lot of these elements for my dress. It probably won’t be identical ‘cause I wanna change the neckline a little bit. But it’s gonna be really, really similar…
Helen: Yeah. I love the buttons down the front. It’s the style with, like, fabric covered buttons from the look of it, and then, like, a little rouleau loop that you, like, hook on. Are you gonna cover your own little fabric buttons or are you gonna source those?
Caroline: Oh, no. I might cover them.
Helen: Oh, cool. I love that.
Caroline: Yeah, those are fun to do. You can buy the little kits.
Helen: Oh, I’ve never made one, to be honest, so…
Caroline: Oh, really? Okay. Yeah. Yeah. You can buy little kits, and then, you cut a circle of fabric and you, like, put the metal button thing on top and then, there’s, like, a backing thing. They’re actually really finicky…
Helen: Okay.
Caroline: …to make, but it’s possible.
Helen: You’re like, they’re so fun and easy. I’m totally gonna make, like, 20 of them.
Caroline: Yeah. They’re fun… looking.
Helen: I mean, you can probably buy them pre-covered, too, just in case you get down to the wire.
Caroline: Yes. Totally. Yes. Totally. I’m not, yeah. That’s not something that I’m gonna be super committed to. I’ll figure out the buttons later.
Helen: So are you using a pattern for this? What’s, what’s happening?
Caroline: So I’m mashing up two patterns. If all goes well, my plan right now is to mash up two Deer and Doe patterns. The Deer and Doe Magnolia and the Deer and Doe Orchidée Dress. And it, kind of, each of those dresses has elements of this dress. So I’m gonna do some pattern hacking. It’s very on-brand for me…
Helen: I love that.
Caroline: …for us, I guess, for the podcast. And obviously, make a muslin or five and hope that it all works out.
Helen: Yeah. Ooh, okay. Well maybe we can share a little picture of the fabric or something so people can, or this inspo pic.
Caroline: I think we can totally share an ins-, maybe an inspo pic and a picture of the fabric. That, that could be fun.
Helen: Yeah. Totally.
Caroline: Okay. Alright. Helen, what is the project that surprised you in the end?
Helen: I was thinking about this, and the one that came to mind was my Christmas tree skirt because it was the first quilting project that I did, and I wasn’t even really thinking of it as a quilting project. I was just like, I want a Christmas tree skirt. And I just Googled it and found a free pattern, and it was like, yeah, I’ll just get some fabrics and, like, throw it together. And I expected to, like, the finished result, but I wasn’t expecting to, like, the actual process so much. Like, that was the moment when I was like, oh wow, this is really fun. Maybe I like quilting now.
Caroline: I love that. I couldn’t even think of anything for this one, so apparently sewing doesn’t surprise me very much.
Helen: I mean, that’s fair. You put a lot of, like, thought and process into making things, so by the end it’s like, is it that surprising? Maybe if you don’t like it, that’s, kind of, surprising.
Caroline: That’s true. Yeah.
Helen: Are you planning on sewing for any kids anytime soon?
Caroline: No.
Helen: Straight no. I love making stuff for my niece Zoya because she is, like, a total fashionista, and her style is always evolving, which is so fun to see. And her birthday is in July, so I’ll probably make her something for her birthday, and she’s really into dancewear right now. So I was thinking I might check out Jalie because they have a ton of, like, dancewear style patterns. She likes bodysuits and, like, kind of, like, sports bra-y tops and stuff like that, and short shorts. So that would be fun, like, getting some athletic wear, some fun shiny fabrics and making her some dancewear stuff.
Caroline: Cute!
Helen: And then at Christmas, I like to make, like, a lounge set for all four of my nieces and nephews. So I keep in mind, like, all year looking for, like, the right knit fabric for this ‘cause I want them all to match. So I can buy, like, six yards or so. And last year I got, like, all this tie dye fabric from Riley Blake, and it was so fun, and they were all, like, decked out in this really fun, like, rainbow tie dye fabric. So I’m looking for something at least that good, you know? Gotta keep my eyes peeled.
Caroline: Yay. Oh my gosh. Those are fun. You do inspire me to sew for my niece and nephew.
Helen: Just don’t do it.
Caroline: But I don’t. Maybe next year I’ve got a lot of sew in to do this year
Helen: I think once you give it a try, you’ll find it’s very fast.
Caroline: I know. I, like…
Helen: Making a t-shirt for a kid, it’s so quick.
Caroline: I do want to, I do want to, I just haven’t.
Helen: Do you though? No, it’s fair. It’s not, like, the highest priority item for me, but I find once I get into it, it’s really fun. And then seeing them wear it, like, the other day I saw my nephew in person ‘cause my sister came to visit, and he was wearing the t-shirt I made him at Christmas, and it was, he looks so cute. It was, like, it’s special. Yeah, it feels really good.
Caroline: Yeah, Okay. Any app recommendations or puppy dog stories?
Helen: Ooh, I like this. I would recommend the Wingspan app. Wingspan is a board game. It’s all about birds and their nesting habitats. It’s absolutely amazing. I love that board game so much. And the app version of the board game is so good. It’s one of the best, like, board game to app conversions I’ve ever experienced. And Sam and I play it when we go travelling, like, we go on planes and stuff because it’s, like, pass and play. So you, like, play your turn, and then, you pass the phone to the next person, and they play their turn. So anytime you have to wait for something, it’s just the best. It’s the perfect distraction.
Caroline: Fun. Okay, love that. Any puppy dog stories for us?
Helen: Ooh, we got a fence this past fall around our house, and so now we can go out in the front yard with Emma and just let her run loose, and she is loving it. She’s so cute. We go out there and sit on the lawn, and she just rolls around in the grass and runs around and barks, and, and she’s not gonna run away, and it’s just so good.
Caroline: Yeah. That’s awesome. I love that that, like, fence is, like, news. Like, this is 30. Like, we got a fence, and I’m like, woo.
Helen: Aside from my house, it was the most expensive thing I’ve ever purchased, so this is legit. Yeah. How about you? Do you have any app or dog stories for us?
Caroline: Okay. I don’t have any app recs, but I do have a puppy story. So Pepper turned five just last week, which was really, really cute. But I wanted to mention, like, do you guys find that your animal’s habits change over the years? I don’t know if you’ve found this, Helen, but Pepper’s doing this new thing that we call frogging. Like, when she’s really, really happy or excited, she lays on her belly and she, like, extends her hind legs backwards and wags her tail like crazy. And I looked it up. I think some people call it splootting.
Helen: Yes. I’ve heard of splootting.
Caroline: But she only does it when she’s really happy, and it’s so cute. And, like, she used to do it once in awhile, but now she does it every single day, and, like, she’ll do it almost on command. Like, if we go, are you gonna frog? She’ll get, like, excited, and she’ll like put her little paws back. And sometimes when she’s really, really excited, she’ll, sort of, launch into it. Like, she’ll, kind of, like, lay down and put her legs back at the same time, so it’s like, boing, and her little paws go back, and it’s just the cutest thing ever, and I just love it so much.
Helen: Oh, that sounds amazing. I have known dogs that sploot often, and it is pretty much the cutest thing a dog can do, I think.
Caroline: Basically, yeah, I’ll see if I can get a picture of it. It’s very, very cute.
Helen: Alright. Next question is, would you do a meet and greet in Montreal?
Caroline: Okay, so we’ve done this.
Helen: It’s the only meet and greet we’ve ever had, I think, was in Montreal.
Caroline: It’s actually the only meet and greet. Yeah, this would’ve been back in, like, 2018.
Helen: It was ages ago.
Caroline: I wanna say summer 2018. Yeah. So five years ago. I would love to someday do more travel for the podcast with you, Helen, and meet more listeners in person. I don’t know if this right now is the season, quote, unquote season for that in our lives.
Helen: Yeah.
Caroline: But maybe in the next few years I can convince you to do a little, little podcast tour. Maybe a little meetup in Montreal or Toronto. I don’t know.
Helen: That would be really fun. I do want to go back to Quebec real bad. I really wanna go to Quebec City. I’d love to go back to Montreal, of course, and spend more time in that area of Canada. So, I mean, I, it’s not gonna take much convincing for me.
Caroline: Yeah. Okay, perfect. Well, maybe we’ll start talking about it in 2024.
Helen: Right. Also, I wanna go to QuiltCon. I’m sure we could meet listeners at QuiltCon.
Caroline: Yes. We talked about going to QuiltCon. Maybe that will happen.
Helen: Maybe
Caroline: Who knows? TBD.
Helen: It’s in Raleigh this year.
Caroline: Okay. Helen, is there anything that you feel too intimidated to try to sew?
Helen: I couldn’t think of anything, like, that I wouldn’t try to tackle, but this question reminded me that somebody once asked me if I could sew a cover for their boat.
Caroline: Oh, gosh.
Helen: Like, like, a full-on sailboat, and I was like, what? No. Like, so I would be intimidated to sew a cover for a boat, I guess. Like, that’s too much.
Caroline: Okay. I also couldn’t think of anything, but your answer made me think of this time that I was at a dinner party and a complete stranger, like, seriously spent the entire dinner trying to convince me to start a business selling silk boxers marketed towards motorcyclists. He thought it was the best idea in the whole world, and he was like, you’re gonna make a mint selling these.
Helen: Oh, my gosh.
Caroline: Like, silk boxers. And I was like, mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Okay. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Nope.
Helen: That is, sort of, weird. Do they need silk boxers? Like, what’s the connection?
Caroline: There was, like, something with the chaffing and the, I don’t know, the slippiness of the boxers with the leather. I don’t know.
Helen: But silk boxers exist though. It’s not like you need special motorcycle ones, right? Or am I missing something.
Caroline: Apparently, it’s, there’s a hole in the market.
Helen: It’s a hole in the market.
Caroline: Yeah. This was years ago, so maybe someone has swooped in by now, but…
Helen: For sure.
Caroline: This next one’s for you, Helen. What is your biggest advice for a new pattern maker?
Helen: I mean, Caroline, you can answer this one, too.
Caroline: Yeah, everything takes longer than you think it will.
Helen: Yeah, there is that. I always like to tell people to sew lots of different patterns from different companies, different countries even, different price points, different styles, because you’ll learn so much from that experience. And you can take notes on what you like and what you dislike, and you can build your, kind of, perfect experience for your customers with the patterns.
And then my next piece of advice is gonna sound like it’s directed at Caroline, but it’s not, it’s directed at me because I do this all the time. It’s just don’t put your launch on the calendar until you’re actually ready to launch. Because timing has honestly been one of my biggest struggles over the years.
It’s, like, my biggest source of stress is thinking, oh, that, that would be so cute for spring. I’m gonna launch that in April. And then the months start going by, and the deadline starts getting closer and closer and closer, and I’m, like, no closer to finishing the pattern. I start getting really stressed out and down on myself and just feeling like I’m failing at creating this thing that I said I was gonna do at this time. So you definitely do not need to schedule things until they’re ready to be launched into the world. It’s okay.
Caroline: Yeah, you did give me that advice. Like, you did.
Helen: It was one of the first things I told you, but you know what? You have to learn by doing.
Caroline: Yeah, totally. Okay. Somebody said, personally, I’d like more board game recommendations from Helen, especially good two-player ones.
Helen: Oh! I’ve been waiting for this question my whole life.
Caroline: I know you’re like cracking your knuckles like, yeah.
Helen: Oh, okay. Sam and I are huge board gamers. We play games all the time. We love board games so much. So if you are also a board gamer and you have suggestions for me, I would love to hear them. Three of our favourite multiplayer games are actually also great two-player games, so I’m gonna recommend these three: Wingspan, which I already mentioned, has a great app version.
Lost Ruins of Arnak is super fun. It’s one of our absolute faves. And then recently we got Terraforming Mars, which is an older game. It’s very popular. It’s been popular for years and years, but we’ve never tried it. We just got a copy of it recently, and we’re completely obsessed. I think we’ve played it 30 times since we got it already.
Caroline: Oh, my gosh.
Helen: It’s so fun. It’s, like, the perfect style of board game for us. So those are all really great multiplayer, also really great two player. We play them just the two of us quite frequently. Those are all pretty big and involved games. We’re talking, like, two to three hours for playtime.
But for shorter two player games, we love Race for the Galaxy, a game called Targi, which is great. I think it’s out of print, but if you see it at, like, a thrift store or garage sale or something, definitely pick that one up. And then, That’s So Clever. It’s also called Ganz Schön Clever. I’m not sure if I’m saying that right. I think it’s German. It’s a, a dice rolling game that’s really, really fun. You don’t have to come up with, like, clever quips. It’s not, like, a party game. Definitely sounds like it is, but it’s literally just, like, rolling dice and filling out a form, which is very satisfying.
And then, I wanted to mention Patchwork and Calico because they’re both really cute. They’re both quilting-themed games. And we have both of those, and they’re really a lot of fun. I really enjoy both of them. Calico is extra cute because the whole point of the game is that you’re creating a quilt and then trying to lure cats to come and lie on it.
Caroline: Oh, my gosh.
Helen: There’s little cats that you put on the thing, and there’s, like, a booklet with all the cats, and it’s so cute. So if you love cats and you like sewing, that’s definitely the game for you.
Caroline: Oh, my gosh. Love it.
Helen: And then we play a lot of Crib when we’re like, we just have, like, 10 minutes, and we need to play a game. Crib. Perfect.
Caroline: Just 10 minutes. And just playing a game in 10 minutes. Totally normal.
Helen: Yeah, you got 10 minutes you could play a game.
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: But yeah. Oh, thank you for asking, seriously.
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: I could talk about it all day. I need to have another podcast about board games.
Caroline: Oh, my gosh. You so do.
Helen: I really like Worker Placements and Rollin Rights, and I’m not a huge fan of party games personally, so keep that in mind if you email me about board games.
Caroline: I literally don’t know what any of that means, but okay. Cool. Love that for you. Okay. Our next question is why do I keep trying to sew when it’s so hard for me to do?
Helen: Oh, I love this question. I mean, doing hard things makes us feel accomplished, and I think sewing is a great exercise for our brains. There’s lots of different puzzles to solve, so even though it feels like a struggle, I think there’s also a lot of, like, dopamine firing happening because you’re working things out, and you’re overcoming challenges. So that’s probably really appealing when you think about sewing, something you wanna keep coming back to, even though it’s hard.
Caroline: Yeah. I feel like if you keep trying to come back to it, it’s probably because you have this pull. There’s, like, some, kind of, motivation or interest there that you’re not able to let go of. So my advice would be to explore, like, that hard part. Like, what about it is hard? How can you lower your expectations of yourself and, like, be kinder to yourself in this creative practice, because that is for a lot of people what it is. It’s just a hobby. It’s a creative practice, so it doesn’t have to be so serious. And I think also from personal experience, a simple, easy win project might make you feel a lot better about it. So instead of constantly trying to challenge yourself, maybe do something that you think would be really achievable for yourself. Make a pillowcase or some napkins or an apron or whatever you think would be easy. Do that to get that, like, easy win.
Helen: Yeah, that’s true. I like balancing my easy wins with my hard projects to keep, keep the successes coming.
Caroline: Yeah, totally.
Helen: Alright. This next one is, I’d love to know what’s on your 2023 to-sew list and how do you each deal with critical feedback? As someone who’s planning on opening my own sewing pattern company this year, I’d love any advice on how to constructively handle negative feedback. Thank you so much.
Caroline: Ooh, okay. Maybe we should talk about short term sewing goals first. I feel like I’ve already covered this ‘cause I was talking about all the things I need to sew for wedding, wedding, wedding, wedding, wedding. But what are, what’s on your to-sew list, Helen?
Helen: I have some Cameron button-ups for Sam that I cut out the other day. They’re, like, summer Cameron, the short, one of them is short sleeves, and one of them is just, like, really lightweight. He loves his Cameron, so I’m excited to make him some summer ones. And then I wanna make myself a fresh Sandpiper Suit. I haven’t worn through my last few, but I just feel like every year I just wanna make a new one ‘cause it’s such a fun pattern. It’s a quick sew. I have so much swim fabric in my stash, so I can just throw that together and have another suit to wear.
Caroline: Love it.
Helen: Yeah. Oh, yeah. And in the longer term, I really wanna make a raincoat this fall and maybe also some rain pants. I got some rain fabric from Blackbird, so I’m, like, ready. I just need to actually pick a pattern and, like, do it.
Caroline: I wanna see that. Make it happen, Helen. Okay, so regarding the question on negative feedback, I did have some thoughts. My first thought is just, it’s going to be hard at first. Like, receiving constructive or negative feedback is gonna be challenging. I can promise you that, but know that it gets easier.
Some things that helped me, personally, is just to think about the fact that usually something you can learn from that feedback. So for me, if feedback is delivered respectfully and hopefully with a little air of kindness, and especially if more than one person is sharing that same feedback, there’s usually something that I can take away, like, some piece of learning that I can take away from that feedback. And I think that’s important to do even if you don’t necessarily agree with it. I think it’s important to think about what you can learn.
I also would recommend making sure that you try to separate your self-worth from your business. So a lot of the time people aren’t thinking of, like, the quote unquote person behind the business that’s reading the feedback. So it’s not personal. It’s directed towards your business. So, you know, be kind to yourself and remember to foster that life that you have outside of your business so that you don’t always feel like your business is you, and you are your business. You know, like, those two things are separate, and it’s easier to think of those two things as separate when you’re putting, like, that time and energy into having that work-life balance that I think is so important when you have a business.
And then the last thing I’ll say is that it’s okay to decide to not act on that feedback. I think for every person that wants one thing, there’s gonna be another person who wants the opposite thing, and you will never, ever be able to please everyone. So I wouldn’t even try to please everyone ‘cause that’s a slippery slope. So if you have considered the feedback and you decide that you don’t wanna act on that, that is okay. And you don’t need to make excuses or explain yourself. It’s your business, and you get to make the decisions that you need to make for your business.
Helen: Oh, absolutely. I like that a lot. And also just taking some time with the feedback, too. Like, you don’t need to do something right this second. It really feels like you do sometimes when you get feedback, but it is important to take some time to really think about it and consider and make sure that you’re making the right decision for you.
Caroline: This is something that I learned from my business coach is, like, don’t react to things when you’re at that heightened point. Like, when you receive feedback, sometimes it can feel so intense and so emotional, and it’s so important to take a beat. Like, it’s okay to say, can I think about this? Like, can we circle back to this? If it’s, like, somebody giving you feedback in person. Or if it’s something online, like, taking a step back from it, taking that time that you need to really form your opinion when you’re not in that, like, heightened emotional state. That’s so important.
Helen: A hundred percent. I agree. I agree with everything you said. I mean, negative feedback has definitely helped me grow. So I don’t think it’s all bad. And I do think it’s important that your customers feel comfortable sharing. Is the tone always great? No. And you know, sometimes people are not the most kind, but most people are. And we have a tendency to read, especially written words, more negatively I think, than they are. So I try to, like, read feedback positively when I receive it. Like, as if a friend was delivering it, like, oh, just giving you this piece of feedback rather than being like, oh, you should do this.
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: In my head, you know?
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: But yeah, after processing and getting through the feels, there can often be lots of good stuff in feedback. I recommend keeping an archive of nice comments that you receive. I have a folder of nice emails that we save, and Sam makes sure to pass along all the compliments to me when he’s doing the inbox in the morning. And that can really help when you do get negative feedback. If you need a boost, you can just go and read all the nice things. It really works. It’s very nice.
Caroline: Yeah. I mean, Lisa, our assistant, does that for the podcast, too. She’ll, like, kind of, save really sweet emails and send those to us in our chat. And yeah, I completely agree. It’s so nice to be able to look back on them.
Helen: Yeah. And I promise you the fact that you’re asking this question before you even start your business makes me think you’re feeling nervous about receiving negative feedback. And I promise you that you are going to get more positive feedback than negative feedback. But it’s challenging because the negative stuff always seems to outweigh the positive.
So one of the ways that you can keep that perspective is by hanging onto the positive stuff so that you can go and see all of those nice comments when you need them and remind yourself that, like, no, people are really into what I’m doing, and it’s okay that this one person has some feedback for me. You know?
And then the other thing that I like to do is when you get a negative comment, or maybe just, like, a straight up mean comment online, I like to imagine, like, a stranger walking up to me and telling it to my face. Like, it deflates it so much because people would never do that. Like, imagine if some random person walked up to you and was like, I think your patterns are boring. You’d be like, okay. Like, I don’t, I don’t really care what you think. So bye. Like…
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: It would be so weird. Like, it might still hurt, but it would just be like, why are you telling me this? Like…
Caroline: It’s so
Helen: If you don’t like it, then, like, don’t buy it. I don’t know what to tell you.
Caroline: Yeah. A hundred percent. That’s a really good trick.
Helen: Anyway. We could go on, obviously. And I do wanna just, like, stress again that we get so, so much positive feedback.
Caroline: Oh, yeah.
Helen: Like, the negative comments are few and far between.
Caroline: And it’s natural to think of those. Like, it, those are the things that you think about when you’re laying in bed at night. Like, you think of the negative, right? Which is why all these little tips that we have will, will help you out.
Helen: Yeah, and I mean, shout out to all of the people that send the nice emails. Like, I get stuff in my inbox all the time from people just writing to say, hey Helen, I just wanted to say I love your patterns so much. I think they’re really great. I made seven York Pinafores, and I love it. I made them for me. I made them for my mom. I made them for my cat. And here’s some pictures, and, like, it makes my day. It’s so nice, and it’s so, like, going out of your way to do something like that is so sweet. I love it.
Caroline: Yeah. We have such wonderful and supportive and encouraging customers and listeners of the pod. We’re so, so lucky.
Helen: Yeah, a hundred percent. Speaking of the pod, this next question, do you regret turning the podcast into a seasonal one?
Caroline: Okay. You know, we love you all, listeners. I wanna say that first. Because our connection and the relationships that we’ve built with our listeners, the time that we’ve spent doing this podcast has been so special, and we are so, so happy to be doing this. But the answer that I have to this question is: no, I do not regret turning the podcast into a seasonal one because I think that switching to seasons has allowed us to continue making the show while our businesses grew and through different seasons of our lives. And I think it was a really healthy and realistic decision for us. And I’m actually really proud of us for making that decision because, like, it truly did mean that we could keep making the show.
Helen: We were at a crossroads. We were like, we can’t do this anymore because it was taking up too much time and taking away from our time spent on our other businesses, and we are both in really busy seasons with those businesses. So it felt, like, very overwhelming and I’m so glad that we didn’t decide to stop making the show ‘cause that was an option.
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: We were like, well…
Caroline: Totally. That was on the table.
Helen: What if we just make the show half as often? And it totally worked. Like, it’s very manageable now, and we can still have a lot of fun with it, but we get to take breaks, and it has made it continue on. So I’m really glad we didn’t, like, throw the baby out with the bath water, so to speak, you know?
Caroline: Yeah. Yeah. Breaks are healthy. Breaks are healthy. And I think we both agree that that was the right decision for us.
Helen: Yeah. Okay. This next one is, do you ever have complicated body feelings about modelling for your businesses?
Caroline: Oh, my gosh. Yes. For sure. Like, there are so many pictures of me on the internet, you guys, and sometimes it just makes me feel things. Like, I literally am just… Like, anybody could Google my name, and there’s just so much content to consume and judge.
Helen: Yep.
Caroline: But putting those feelings aside, which I think are natural and normal overall, I personally feel that modelling for my business and being quote unquote the face of my business for a lot of years has made me more confident and has made me see myself in a positive way. So yes, the feelings are complicated, but I don’t regret going about things the way that I did ‘cause I think it allowed me to connect with our audience and our customers in a really positive way.
Helen: Yeah, totally. And I feel very similarly. I’m going through this right now because I’m sifting through like a thousand pictures from a recent photo shoot we did, and I, I have to do it in batches. I’ve learned this over the years. I can’t do it all at once, so I’ll, like, narrow it down to a few hundred and then, come back the next day and narrow it down to 50 and come back the next day and pick the final product photos.
And part of that is just, like, having fresh eyes, but part of that is also just that it’s hard to look at yourself that much. I really struggle sometimes going through the pictures, and I’m focused on the clothes for the most part. And I wanna find pictures where the patterns look the best that they can.
But of course, I wanna look good in the picture, too. And sometimes I, like, can’t choose a picture where the clothes look amazing because I don’t like the expression on my face or something. And I have to, like, convince myself that it’s okay that, like, I think my smile is, like, weird in that one or whatever ‘cause no one else is gonna notice.
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: And I also really struggle with my acne, in particular. Like, Sam will take a video of me, and it will be great, and the lighting will be perfect, and the clothes will look great, and I’m smiling, and I look happy. And then, I go to watch it and I’m, all I can see is the big pimple on my face. And I just, like, can’t see anything else.
And I just, like, I have this moment where I’m like, ah. Like, I, why? Why? Why me? Why do I have acne on my face? You know? But I have gotten a lot better at looking past that. I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable sharing pictures of myself with acne, because that’s me. I have acne. Lots of people have acne, too, and I think it’s important to represent ourselves authentically.
So I have gotten better at that, and I’m not bothered by it all the time. But I will say that sometimes it really gets to me. And I do think overall the experience of putting myself out there and putting photos of myself online has been really positive, and it’s definitely improved my self image. I like a lot of the pictures of me. Often when we do photo shoots, I’m like, dang, I look hot.
Caroline: Yeah. Yes you do, Helen. You look great in all your photos.
Helen: Thank you. Well, we do narrow it down from a thousand, so just keep that in mind.
Caroline: True. Yeah, true. Okay. Helen, what are your favourite pizza toppings?
Helen: Ooh, this is an easy one. I’m not like, do you have complicated feelings about pizza toppings? Fresh mozzarella, like, the super soft squooshy kind. Basil leaves, fresh basil. And mushrooms. It’s one of my favourite combos. Or, I love a ham and pineapple so much. I’m such a ham and pineapple girl. Yeah.
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: How about you?
Caroline: Okay. Two. I have, like, two options. So basic option: olives, mushrooms, pepperoni, and extra cheese. Gotta have extra cheese on there. That’s, like, if I’m going the, like, Dominos route. Okay?
Helen: Yeah.
Caroline: If I’m feeling fancy, like, if I’m making a homemade pizza or if I’m, like, at a beautiful pizzeria, I’m going for pear, gorgonzola, prosciutto, and arugula. It’s such a good combo.
Helen: Killer combo. Great on a pizza or in a sandwich.
Caroline: Yes!
Helen: Like, you can’t go wrong.
Caroline: Yeah, the flavours sing.
Helen: Yeah.
Caroline: Okay. Our next question is, I feel like my style is changing, but I have a big stash I’m emotionally attached to. Any tips for destashing or making a cohesive wardrobe when I’m a print magpie.
Helen: I wish I could help with this, but I am in no position to give advice on this front. Like, I, too, am a print magpie. I have such a hard time letting go of me-mades that I don’t wear anymore because I just wanna keep everything. My closet is so full of things I do not wear, so I can’t even on this question. Caroline, what do you think?
Caroline: I don’t know. My, my answer is just let it go. Like, let go. Do the destash. Let go of the things that you’re not attached to anymore. Life is too short to hold on to fabrics that you don’t love or wanna wear. Like, don’t spend the time making something in a fabric that you’re not into anymore. Let it go. Let it go. And yeah, making a cohesive wardrobe when you’re a print magpie, I would say mix in some solids, baby. Mix in some solids that you like, in colours that you like. Pull some of the colours from the prints that you like, and then, you’ll be golden.
Helen: You could have, like, a, a rule for yourself where you have to buy a solid, if you’re buying a print. Like if you’re gonna buy one of the new Blackbird Fabrics summer rayons, you also have to get a basic everyday linen because those go together.
Caroline: Yes.
Helen: You don’t get two prints.
Caroline: Yeah. Yeah.
Helen: I need to hear this. Our next question is, I have been reflecting on a 10 year plan and figured out how to be more efficient with work time in order to get more time sewing. How do you feel about sewing becoming your work? Did it become less interesting?
Caroline: I have no regrets about this. I will say my interest in sewing ebbs and flows. I feel like that’s also been documented on the podcast. Like, there are seasons when I don’t sew as much, and there are seasons when my sewjo is on fire. I think that would happen regardless of whether my business was sewing or not, or fabric, I guess.
But I really love being passionate about what I do. I love that my work can also be my creative outlet. I freaking love fabric. I love being surrounded by it all day long. I love that I get to make new clothes for content, but also for myself. Like, there’s just so many positives to it. I, really, it has not in any way made me, like, not like sewing. So no regrets here.
Helen: Yeah, I feel the same way. Like, I think both of us have businesses where we’re not doing production sewing. Like, we’re not creating goods.
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: So there is still a lot of room for creativity. And I love sewing so much still. I have sample sewers who help with the business sewing now, so I’m even more free to sew for pleasure, and that’s really great.
And yeah, I think just making patterns is a great creative process because you’re always making new things and new designs and playing with fabric, and I really don’t tend to get bored. And now I’m doing a ton of quilting, too, so my sewing workload has increased. I don’t have a sample sewer for the quilting yet, maybe one day, but I’m really enjoying it so far.
And I do spend a decent amount of time every day sewing, like, at least an hour, maybe two a day, working on stuff. I like to take breaks from my desk and go over to my sewing machine and just, like, chip away at things. So it’s always fun.
Caroline: Yeah. Helen, what are three places you’ve never visited but want to someday?
Helen: I would love to go up to Haida Gwaii. It’s in BC. It’s, like, an archipelago of islands on the coast of BC, a little further up north, and I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard it’s absolutely beautiful and a wonderful place to visit, so that’s on my bucket list. I would love to also go to South Korea because I love Korean food so much, and I’d love to travel around. Caroline, I know you’ve been there, so I’m jelly about that.
Caroline: Mm-hmm.
Helen: But it would be so, so much fun. So that’s, like, a bigger trip that I’d love to do one day and then, a little road trip down the coast into the States has always been something that we’ve talked about doing and going down through Oregon. And I’ve down, I’ve gone down to, like, Portland and Seattle before, but I’ve never gone down to San Francisco. So San Francisco is on my bucket list. How about you?
Caroline: Love it. Okay. Mine is, kind of, Europe themed game. I really wanna go to Spain. I’d love to go to Madrid and Barcelona. I actually did, like, a project when I was in high school, all about Spain and, like, kind of, where I would go if I went on a trip to Spain. And my dad used to travel to Spain a lot for work. And I speak Spanish, so I just feel like it would be such a fun trip. And the food, like, the tapas and, like, the scenery and the architecture, like, I just feel like it would be so, so, so fun. So I’d love to go to Spain. My next place is Paris, Paris, France. I…
Helen: You have to be specific.
Caroline: Just, I’m,
Helen: There’s a lot of Parises out there.
Caroline: I am dying to have, like, a croissant in Paris. Like, I just would die. I just, I’ve never been to Paris. I don’t know how I’ve never been to Paris. I want to go, I know it’s basic, but I want to do it.
Helen: I feel like Paris is somewhere that we could go together. You know, we meet up in Paris.
Caroline: Oh, my gosh. Yes. Let’s meet up in Paris. That sounds amazing. Okay. And then I also, Shea and I have talked, we’re going on a honeymoon to Tofino in September right after our wedding, like, a short little, jaunt over to Tofino. But we do wanna go on, like, a longer trip to Europe for our like, real, real, for real, real honeymoon. Probably next year.
And our plan is to do, like, a scenic train trip in Europe. You know, Shea loves trains. and I’ve seen some really beautiful like, itineraries going through Europe, and it seems pretty affordable, and we get to visit a lot of places all in one and just, like, really beautiful. And yeah, the trains will just get me that buy-in from Shea, so we’re, we’re gonna make it happen.
Helen: That’s absolutely brilliant ‘cause, yeah, he’ll love the train parts. And then you don’t have to do a lot of, like, flight hopping, which is, kind of, annoying. You have to go to airports all the time, but you still get to go to lots of different places. Ooh, I love it. Jelly.
Caroline: Yes.
Helen: Which sewing project has taught you the most?
Caroline: I would say sewing a coat. Like, if you’re looking for something that’s going to teach you a lot of, like, new skills or challenge you, sewing a coat is right up there. You’re learning about tailoring, interfacing. Maybe you’ll throw a welt pocket or a lapel in there. Lining techniques, like, there’s so much there. It’s a longer project. Yeah, I think my most teaching moment projects were sewing coats.
Helen: I agree with you. Sew a good coat. Okay, this next one is personal. Can I ask how much each of you make at your current jobs? I know you have an episode about sewing jobs, but I don’t think there’s a lot of transparency in pay when people start their own businesses. Oh, this is true. I totally get the desire to know how much it’s possible to make so that you can try and predict your experience running a business, especially if you’re starting a business in the sewing industry, because there’s not that many of us out there.
Like, it’s pretty small industry and, it seems like maybe some people are making a go of it, and some people are just doing it part-time, and it’s, kind of, hard to suss out what is actually possible. I too had that question when I decided to start my pattern company, and the truth is that it is different for everybody.
Financial needs are also different depending on where you live and whether you have kids and all that stuff. So I’ll say this about myself, personally, that we live on the income from Helen’s Closet, and we know we’re able to save money and have disposable income, too. We do have a sizable mortgage and not that many other big payments, like car payments.
We have no kids. It’s just the two of us, and I pay a lot of people to help out with Helen’s Closet part-time doing various tasks. I’m not doing it all myself, but I certainly do a lot of it myself. And it’s definitely possible to make enough money to live well as an entrepreneur. I mean it depends on so many variables.
So it’s so hard to be like, you can totally do it. You’re totally gonna be successful and make lots of money. There’s no guarantees, right? It really depends on all sorts of different factors. But we have found success in this business, and it’s been amazing, like, more so than I ever would’ve expected when I was getting into selling sewing patterns. So I’m pleasantly surprised that I’m able to live off of this income and grow this business with my partner and, and that he’s able to support me in doing that, too. So that’s great.
Caroline: I second pretty much everything you said. I agree. It’s, I think it’s different for everyone. It took me a few years to be able to pay myself a salary that was, like, enough to live on, but I did get there, and I feel really lucky to be able to do that.
Helen: Yeah. Yeah, same. That’s a really good point. It definitely was not paying the bills right out the gate.
Caroline: Mm-hmm.
Helen: Okay. Last little question here. Do you ever experience imposter syndrome?
Caroline: Yes. I would say a bit less so now after so many years of owning my business, but there are always those moments, like you hear about them, Helen, when I’m like, I have no idea what I’m doing, Helen. How did this happen? But those moments pass, and really, nobody knows. Nobody really knows what they’re doing. Let’s be real, like, you… it’s, it’s fine. I don’t know. Yes. My answer’s yes.
Helen: I know, I feel like the question should be, do you ever not experience imposter syndrome? I totally experience this. I mean, all the time. Not, like, all the time, like, constantly, but frequently. And it has helped me immensely just to connect with my fellow designers in the sewing community to chat and make those connections and commiserate and share knowledge.
And everyone that I’ve connected with, all of the fellow designers out there have all been really open and amazing and supportive. Not, like, cagey and, like, they don’t wanna tell you things. Like, I have contacts with all these other designers, and I can ask them questions, and they get back to me, and everyone is really supportive and kind.
So that definitely has helped it make feel less like everyone else has all the answers and I’m the only one, like, making it up as I go along over here, you know, trying to figure it out. Like, we definitely touch base regularly and talk about things that are happening in the community and stuff, so I really appreciate that about the sewing designer community.
But certainly when I started my business I felt like such an imposter, like, just huge, huge imposter. Especially not having, like, pattern making training, not having gone to fashion design school, like, all that stuff. Really, like, for the first few years I was like, oh my God, nobody look at me. Nobody ask me if I’ve been to fashion school ‘cause the answer’s gonna be no. And then they’re gonna be like, you’re a fraud. But at the end of the day, like…
Caroline: But nobody look, like, nobody look at me. But you’re, like, literally everywhere.
Helen: Nobody look at me, but I’m over here. Yeah. Oh, totally. It’s a weird feeling, and you, like, yeah, it’s hard to shake it, and it’s very illogical, of course, because if you’re making a quality product, it’s a quality product. Like, all that other stuff doesn’t matter. But the answer is yes.
Okay. We’re gonna play a quick game before we wrap up here. And the game we’re gonna play is called Gift Master. How does this work?
Caroline: Okay. This game comes from the podcast I Said No Gifts with Bridger Winegar. There’s even a board game version that you can buy and for each turn you get three gifts and three celebrities, and you have to decide which celebrity you’ll give each gift to and justify it. Okay. So your options for gifts are me-made pajama pants. They’re cozy, they’re cute, and you made them. Second gift: a Bed, Bath, and Beyond Coupon for 20% off, but you can only use it at The Container Store before June 1st,
Helen: Okay.
Caroline: Five yards of Liberty Fabric. Now that’s luxury.
Helen: Wow, there’s a vast variety of gifts here. Some of them are better than others.
Caroline: So celebrities. Your first celebrity is David Schwimmer. He played Ross on Friends.
Helen: Yes, I know.
Caroline: Just FYI for anyone who doesn’t know.
Helen: Okay.
Caroline: Secondly, Flossy Flossy holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest living cat at 27 years old. And Dame Judy Dench.
Helen: Oof. Now, who was she in Friends? Okay. I would give the me-made pajama pants to Flossy because that would be so cute. I mean, cat in pajamas. Yes.
Caroline: Absolutely. I agree with that one.
Helen: I would give the Bed Bath and Beyond coupon for 20% off to Ross, I mean, David, David Schwimmer. Do I have a reason for this? Sort of, just, like, you know, process of elimination, because obviously, the Liberty Fabric’s going to Judy Dench. So David…
Caroline: Okay.
Helen: I’m so sorry. You’re getting a coupon.
Caroline: Yeah. And you need to use it in the next, I don’t know, few days.
Helen: Yeah. Have fun.
Caroline: Oh, my gosh. I, I, would do the same thing. I would agree with you.
Helen: Yeah. Oh, good. Okay. I’m curious to hear if we’re in agreement on the next one. Okay. Your gifts are one: the power to get a perfect fit without ever making a muslin again. This is the dream. Two: a burrito from Chipotle, delicious, filling, and affordable. Number three is three thimbles, none of which fit properly.
Caroline: Okay.
Helen: The round two celebrities are Rumplestiltskin, from the fairytale; Taylor Swift, she’s a really popular musical artist; and Gordon Ramsey
Caroline: Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. So definitely Taylor Swift is getting the power to get a perfect fit without ever making a muslin again.
Helen: A hundred percent. She deserves it.
Caroline: She deserves this. A hundred percent. Yeah. I don’t know a lot about Rumplestiltskin, but I don’t think we like him. So he’s getting three thimbles, none of which fit. And I’m gonna give the burrito from Chipotle to Gordon Ramsey, but only if he can go into a Chipotle and, like, order it like Kitchen Nightmare style where he’s, like, criticizing it and being like, what are you doing? This chicken isn’t fresh, you know?
Helen: Yeah. I also think he would not enjoy it…
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: …in the end either.
Caroline: Totally. Yeah. And, like, do we really like Gordon Ramsey? I don’t know.
Helen: I’m not, I mean, I, I but yeah, Rumplestiltskin, and I also was trying to remember this story, and I, I’m pretty sure he, like, exploited his daughter for personal gain to, like, gain evil power or something. Like, I don’t think we like him.
Caroline: Yeah. I did some light Googling, didn’t retain much of it, except that we don’t like him.
Helen: Perfect.
Caroline: Okay, well everyone, this is the last episode of our Spring 2023 season. We are going to be back with our regular episodes in September, but in the meantime, we will still be releasing fun, chatty, full-length bonus episodes. You can’t stop us for talking for a full hour on these episodes. You will get us for an hour once a month on Patreon, and we also release a mini episode if you’re wanting some sewing technique info. We talk about sewing once a month on Patreon for a little 10 to 15 minute episode. And truly, our patrons are the reason why we’re able to put out our regular episodes without any ads. So thank you all to our patrons.
Helen: Thanks to our patrons so much. It’s such a fun little community. We put lots of fun pictures of ourselves up there, too, doing our everyday lives.
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: So if you are a fan of the show and you can afford it, please consider becoming a patron. And if you’re not able to, that’s totally fine. We love that you listen to the regular show too, so no worries. Thank you so much for listening, and we will see you on the regular feed in the fall.
Caroline: Or on Patreon next month.
Helen: Woohoo. Bye.
That’s it for today’s episode of Love to Sew. You can find me Helen at HelensClosetPatterns.com and CedarQuiltCo.com and Caroline at BlackbirdFabrics.com. And we’re recording in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.
Caroline: Go to LoveToSewPodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with links and pictures from this episode. And if you’d like to get in touch with us, leave us a message at 1-844-SEW-WHAT. That’s 1-844-739-9428. Or send us an email at hello@LoveToSewPodcast.com.
Helen: If you love Love To Sew and want more, you can sign up for our Patreon for $5 a month. You get that full length bonus episode and weekly behind the scenes pictures. And for $10 a month you get all that plus a mini episode focused on sewing techniques and 15% off codes for Helen’s Closet and Blackbird Fabrics. Patreon is the best way to support us so we can keep making quality sewing content. Go to patreon.com/LoveToSew for more info.
Caroline: Thank you to our amazing podcast team for an amazing season. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant. Jordan Moore of the Podcast Cabin is killing it as our editor. And Margaret Wakelee, the lovely Margaret, is our amazing transcriber. And thank you all for listening. We’ll talk to you next season.
Helen: Ooh, see you in the fall.
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