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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 and BF Patterns.

Helen: We’re two sewing buds who love to sew, and it’s literally all we want to talk about.

Caroline: Today we’re interviewing Larrie King, also known as Mister Larrie. We chat with him about nurturing creativity, improv quilting, and trying all the things. Is there a craft Larrie hasn’t attempted? Let’s find out.

Helen: If you love to sew, this is your show. Hello, Larrie. Thank you so much for coming on the show today.

Larrie: Thank you for having me.

Helen: We’re so excited to chat with you about all the things, the many, many things that you do, but to kick us off, can you please introduce yourself to our listeners?

Larrie: Well, I am Larrie King, better known as Mister Larrie. My pronouns are he/him/his, and I’m originally from Louisiana. I lived in Ohio for several years, but now I’m based in Florida.

Helen: Yeah. We saw that you recently moved and went to Disney World. Very exciting.

Larrie: It’s been great for all of the self-care that I’ve needed this past couple of years.

Caroline: Amazing

Helen: Oh, I bet, I bet.

Caroline: So this is a podcast all about sewing. So our first question needs to be how and when did you learn to sew?

Larrie: I think I first started sewing by using a fusible weft because I didn’t have a sewing machine. And I think I tried making some shirts for myself in, like, the ninth grade or so. They did not come out well. The first time I touched an actual sewing machine was probably senior year or around freshman year when I started taking costuming classes as part of my theatre degree. And I liked it, but I, I wasn’t good at it, so I, kind of, put it away for a while, and it didn’t really come back for another 10 years or so, and that’s when I, kind of, took it seriously. And all of it was, sort of, self-taught for the most part.

Helen: That’s so cool. I like that. you jumped to fusible weft interfacing rather than, like, a

needle and thread.

Larrie: I, yeah, I did a little of that, but I, I don’t have… As much patience as I think I have, I don’t have the patience for that.

Helen: You’re like, gimme that hot glue gun. I got this.

Larrie: Right, exactly.

Helen: Well, you have an amazing online presence. We’ve really been enjoying devouring all of your videos. So can you tell our listeners what a new follower could expect to see from you?

Larrie: Oh, wow. First, thank you for that. I typically am trying to put my happiest goofiest self out there so that people can see that as an adult, as a person who maybe you might not expect to be fully engrossed in all things creative, you too could be a part of that. There’s, I think, a generation or two or three of people who didn’t get to really embrace those creative arts and, and making things and playing with colour and textures and, you know, doing all those sorts of arts and crafts things that some of us took for granted because we had access to them.

And so now I’m hopefully out there saying, it’s okay to start now, or whenever you like, and you can do exactly the kinds of projects you’d like to do, but also, check out some of these other cool things that people have been doing, you know, sometimes for, hundreds of years. There’s just so much around us and so many ways to enrich your life through arts and crafts and being creative and just creative practice.

And so that’s typically what my content is always focused on. You know, how can you add a little spark of something to your day that can help to tell the world who you are from the inside out. And a lot of people feel a barrier for that because it’s art or because it’s creative and, and, you know, I wasn’t trained in this or I’m not good at this naturally or I was never praised for my drawing skills or whatever. And a lot of times those things just don’t matter. So yeah, I’m just trying to be the big, the big art teacher for the world that many of us didn’t get to have.

Caroline: Oh, my gosh. We love to see it. And your goofy, funny, playful personality really comes out in your videos. You are so fun to watch, and you do so many different types of crafts, like sewing, painting, tie dye, perler beads, scrapbooking, baking. Like, we could go on, we could basically spend a whole episode just listing all of the cool, crafty things you do and share on your YouTube and TikTok and Instagram. One of the things we were wondering about though, is just how you decide what medium to work in when you’re starting a new project.

Larrie: A lot of times the projects that I intend to work on is almost decided for me. I have a somewhat planned system of where I’d like to jump, you know, from project to project. I like to do maybe a soft craft one week, and then, the next week I’ll do something that maybe involves more chemistry, you know, maybe it’s resin pour or something.

And then maybe from there I’ll go to a sewing projects and then, the next week, a painting. And I just, kind of, like to switch it up because that allows me to have multiple projects in progress at once. And so I’m never bored. I never get tired of the project I’m working on. Or if I do, I can always switch to the other thing, and then, I’m still able to keep being creative, but it gives me a break that I might need.

So a lot of times it’s projects that I either have sponsorships for, maybe sometimes people will send me supplies that they’d like me to try out or things that they know I’m interested in. Sometimes personal friends will leave me a bag of fabric and say, can you use this for something?

But other times it’s, you know, me trying to just explore something I’ve heard about or seen my life, you know, and, and maybe wanted to finally take a crack at things like crochet and knitting and embroidery and tapestry. Those are things that I, I don’t normally gravitate toward. So sometimes doing a project in them helps me to get the, the fears out and just, you know, take it head on and see if maybe all that fear is warranted.

Helen: I love that you like to take on new things, things you haven’t tried before, and you mentioned having multiple projects in the go at once. Do you have good follow through or do you just have a room full of partially finished projects?

Larrie: You know, I, this is definitely part of our culture is having the, the big pile of unfinished things. I think that as a busybody and as an advocate for creative activity I have to do my job of finishing things. So sometimes I, you know, I’ll, I’ll come up with a project you know, maybe there’s a timeline that’s not established by me.

Maybe it’s a brand partner or an artist partner or something. And so then I do feel like, let’s, let’s go ahead and finish this and give the priority it needs. I think personally though, I just, I, I know that some people really feel rewarded by starting a project. I really feel rewarded by finishing it up.

So I usually have, no matter what the project is, at least some drive to see it all the way through. I definitely have my little stack of in progress things. I have some things… I’m staring at one sewing project right now that I started four years ago, and I will finish it one day. I just can’t get back to it right now.

But sometimes that’s the way it is. And, you know, sometimes some projects are more timely than others, you know, the weather changes and then suddenly, oh, I need to get, you know, some tie dye out or something because now it’s summer and then, you turn around and then, it’s fall, and it’s October, you know…

Helen: Totally.

Larrie: …so, so I, it, it happens circumstantially, but I, I usually try to be a, a good example.

Helen: Yeah. Well, you recently did a painting, kind of, mixed media painting project where you were talking about the ugly phase of the project. Can you tell our listeners about that?

Larrie: Yes! I am a painter that likes to use a lot of bright colour. I like to pair things together that maybe don’t always seem like they would go together right away. ‘Cause I like to create these fantastical, like, skyscapes and stuff and you know, like, uh, nebulas and whatnot. And so sometimes when those colours are all clashing together and I’m starting to, like, try to put in clouds or whatever, it just looks like a mess.

And as you add shadow and light and, like, give it form, then it starts to come to the surface. And I think a lot of creative art is like that. I think writing is like that. I think making music can be like that. There’s just always this phase where it’s like you can see it, and you, you know, that it’s coming together. But anyone else who looked at it would be like, what is that?

Helen: I don’t know. In sewing, it’s often, like a, what is that situation? Until the very end.

Caroline: Yeah.

Larrie: Yes, absolutely. I have a couple of projects like that that I’ve just, oh, I’m so ashamed of, I don’t know where they went wrong ‘cause I’m usually pretty, I usually take my time with something, especially if it’s a sewing project that I’m really excited about. You know, I’ll rip the seams out and do it two, three times. But every now and then, there’s just one in there that I just cannot, I just, I can’t navigate it.

Helen: Yeah. Well, you’ve come to the right place. Everyone listening can relate to that.

Caroline: You mentioned it, kind of, being your job to finish projects and share them, but I’m curious, do you also have a full-time job or is this what you do all day?

Larrie: I do have a full-time job. I’m an art director at a marketing agency in Orlando. I started out there as a senior graphic designer, and so a lot of my work was doing social media postings for our clients, which included, you know, hospitals, clinics, geriatric facilities, and things like that. So very different from the Mister Larrie content. But making the content was, was almost just as fulfilling. You know, you have your audience in mind, you find the right images and words to say and stuff, and that’s a lot of fun.

My role in art director now is, is similar. I’m doing a lot of the same kind of work with a little bit more responsibility, but it also gives me the flexibility to do Mister Larrie and have time reserved for that so that I can keep making content and stuff. So it’s been, it’s been, kind of, the perfect scenario. It took a little bit to get here, but, but now I’m feeling really good about the whole thing.

Caroline: That’s amazing.

Helen: Oh, that’s, yeah. That’s awesome. I’m glad to hear it. We were gonna ask you how you find the balance, but I, it sounds like you found it.

Larrie: Yeah. I, you know, for now, right now I’m moving into a new house and so that is also forcing me to look at balance and, and make sure that I’m not overwhelming myself with crafty stuff at home when I should be focusing on work and vice versa. You know, so I’m, like, looking at my physical space and things like that and just let me just keep all of these things in balance.

It’s a nice time to, sort of, check in and, and, and make sure that this is what I want to keep doing and, you know, that it’s going the right way because it’s all, kind of, and I’m sure if you talk to any other influencer, content creator types, a lot of it’s just, kind of, a wild, wild west. You just kinda, you’re just kinda out here, and you’re just doing the thing that you like to do, and you hope that someone will pay you for it sometimes.

Helen: Yeah. Well, you have been doing quite a few collaborations from the looks of it, so congratulations on making a go at, at making it work. It’s really interesting to watch people in the crafting and sewing space getting these partnerships and things like that. I really love seeing it, so yeah. Congrats.

Larrie: Thank you.

Caroline: Okay. I wanna circle back to your amazing creativity and all of the different projects that you do. And we really found looking at all of your work and your videos, that your artistic voice just really comes through in each of them. And I wonder how you found your voice and your aesthetic.

Larrie: I think it was channelled through the right set of animated shows through the eighties and nineties. A deep love of the Power Rangers and anime and toys and I, I just, I’m such a nineties kid. And I think that a lot of the bright colour that I like to use and gravitate toward comes from that era.

Things like Lisa Frank, you know, Punky Brewster, all that sort of stuff. And because of how I grew up, which was really disenfranchised and, you know, really poor family situation with a single parent, a lot of those things were just not reality for me. Travelling, seeing Disney World, even that was something I just never thought was ever gonna be actual, you know, a thing because of the way we grew up.

And I just was aware of that. I was always encouraged to be creative and to, you know, be artistic and stuff, but those are things that you can do with paper and crayons. Ultimately, anything more than that that I wanted to do, I just, kind of, put out of my mind. So as I got older and, you know, I was able to sculpt the world around me a little bit more and, and seek out those creative avenues through school, through work, et cetera.

I, kind of, started to pick back up on those things that I really was jazzed by as a kid. And so now as an adult approaching 40, I feel like I’ve reverted to, like, my 10 year old self in a way where I’m inspired by a lot of the same types of things, a lot of the same colours. I’d like to go back and visit that period creatively because there’s so much there that now as an adult I can appreciate more and see the connections to, you know, design history and art history and all these other things that I am also interested in now.

So it’s this big, like, I don’t know if that’s just a part of getting older, approaching midlife, but I feel like all of those things that I may have missed out on or wanted to really explore as a kid but couldn’t are giving me all of that inspiration now. And so I think part of my mission is just to let everybody else know that they can maybe do that, too.

Helen: You could be a kid again, too.

Larrie: Yeah. Exactly.

Helen: Oh, that’s amazing. And we were wondering on that note, what advice you might give to people out there who wanna branch out and try new crafts? We have a lot of sewers obviously, but maybe branching out and trying something completely out of our comfort zones.

Larrie: I found that a lot of the crafts that I did early on were based on my budget. You know, what did I have on hand? What could I afford to buy supplies wise, et cetera. Do I have equipment for these things? And so for a lot of stuff, early, early on, sewing was just, kind of, not in my frame of vision because I didn’t have a good sewing machine. I couldn’t afford to have it fixed, you know, et cetera.

So I think that’s an okay place to start is with what you have. There’s a lot of paper crafting out there. There’s a lot of fibre crafts that don’t take a lot of money at all, and that’s always a good place to start. If you know that you can work within this little window, there’s probably a craft for that. I think if you want to explore more or, you know, really like work on a skill, YouTube is what really got me through a lot of the biggest humps in my sewing journey. You know, you just search for the thing that you’re trying to do. I found the right people. And it was when I didn’t find the people that could explain the things that I needed to have explained. That’s when I started to making the videos myself or, thought maybe there’s a way for me to put the information out there if I can learn it. And that’s, kind of, how the tutorial started.

So I, you know, I think that if you have even the slightest interest in something, a quick YouTube video search, a Google search, you talk with a friend who you know is interested in it, can never hurt. And if you learn something new about something you don’t wanna explore, that’s okay, too. There’s a lot of, there’s a lot of great knowledge out there that connects to other things, you know, so maybe you don’t like sewing so much, but maybe you’re really into draping, you know, or, or, or maybe you don’t like tie dye, but you really love origami, and you’ll be surprised to know that there are correlations there. You know, so I, I think that you can explore for the sake of exploration, especially in a crafty or artistic space, where it can often be inexpensive, low risk.

Helen: Low stakes.

Larrie: Yes, exactly. Try it with your children or your younger family members. You know, that’s always a good excuse to try something if you’re a little nervous about feeling goofy as an adult who wants to try something that feels juvenile. But it’s also okay to remember that you, you, you can do whatever you want because you’re an adult.

Helen: Yeah. And it’s also okay if it doesn’t work out, right? Like…

Larrie: Exactly. And I think that’s a, that’s a part of my content that I try to consciously include is that not everything works out. Some projects you finish them and you just don’t like ’em, you know? That’s okay, too. Some projects you can’t finish ‘cause you did it wrong the whole time. And that’s just a very real part of things. But hopefully showing that process myself can help people to, to not feel so ashamed of that and to embrace it. Because then once you embrace that you might mess this up, then it’s easier to just try it out.

Caroline: Sounds like people just need to find your channel.

Larrie: I mean, I wasn’t gonna say…

Helen: You really have done pretty much everything, so…

Larrie: Yeah, I, I really try to cater to those who are exploring things maybe for the first time. And there are a lot of different things to explore. So I’ve got, I think currently on YouTube, like, 35 different tutorials on, you know, all kinds of different arts and crafts and things. So if you just wanna know about it, you can start there.

If you want to try your first project, you could try, you could probably start there, too. And then the wonderful thing is if you’re already online, you can find tons and tons of people who are, you know, leagues ahead and their knowledge about these things and different ways to approach it.

There’s so many different ways to do all of these things that I usually talk about, which is part of what makes it wonderful for such a diverse group of people to try out. Because maybe my method isn’t the method for you, but, you know, there’s 20 other channels that have different methods.

Helen: Yeah, it’s true. I like that you take sometimes more complex crafts and do a simpler, more approachable version of it. For example, you were talking about stained glass, and you did a version of stained glass that involved some, like, lead sticky tape and paint, and it honestly turned out so good. And I have always wanted to try stained glass. And I thought maybe I never would ‘cause I don’t know how to do that. But I was like, I could do that though. I could do the craft store version. It’d be so…

Larrie: You totally can. I, I still have those pieces. Both of them have held up really nicely. But I, I feel just like you, I feel like sometimes I watch that video and I’m like, oh yeah, I made that. I, that means I could probably make another one that’s even cooler by now. It’s weirdly enough, that’s probably my most popular video on YouTube that, that tutorial.

Caroline: Oh, cool.

Larrie: You know, and, and for me it’s just one of many, so I don’t quite understand why that one specifically, but I think people just inherently love stain glass on some level and…

Helen: Yeah. And it is like, there’s a lot of barriers to entry in that craft…

Larrie: Yes, yes.

Helen: So…

Larrie: Absolutely.

Helen: Yeah. Do you have a favourite craft?

Larrie: You know, I wrestled with this question. I think my favourite craft is sewing. You know, if we’re, including sewing in the, in the realm of crafts I, I think it, there’s just something about taking this flat piece of whatever it is, curtain, bedsheet, you know, actual yardage and transforming it into something that can hold things or hold your body or you can get married in it. You can, the transformative nature of fabric through sewing. Just gives me a lot of joy, and I am nowhere near where I would like to be skill-wise. But I just enjoy it so much ‘cause I know there’s so much I can learn about it.

Whereas with painting, which I always say is my second favourite or my other favourite area, I feel like that’s more internal in that whatever I paint is usually just coming from in me. You know, I, I’ll learn some things from other people. I’ll observe practices and things. I know the basics, but ultimately I just, kind of, paint whatever I feel like painting. Sewing, I’m trying to replicate the work of so many before me and learn their techniques and do these precise things. And so that’s just a whole different kind of creative exercise, I think, and, and that challenges me, and I really enjoy that.

Caroline: Well, we would have to agree with you. We love sewing, as well.

Helen: Yeah, you’re not just saying that ‘cause you’re on Love to Sew, right?

Larrie: Right.

Caroline: Oh, my gosh. It is funny that you mentioned getting married in something you made ‘cause I’m currently working on my wedding dress and questioning everything.

Larrie: Right? Yes.

Caroline: I will get there.

Larrie: I I, I, made a, you know, a silly little jacket to wear to work the other day, and that was just like a, oh, my God, am I doing this? Am I wearing this to work? I have to stop at the gas station first. Are they gonna laugh at me? Like, that was a panic attack, so I can’t imagine what you must be going through.

Caroline: Oh, yeah. No, it’s, it’s fun and it will be, I’m sure, so rewarding when it all gets done. We were wondering if you have a plan, like, do you go with a plan for your projects for the future? Do you have a big list of things you wanna do or do you just, like, wake up and go to Jo-Ann’s and just decide on a whim every day, see what happens? Yeah.

Larrie: It, it, it, really is the latter. I, I just, like…

Helen: I knew it. I knew it.

Larrie: Everyone who knows me personally knows I just, like, pop out of bed like a groundhog. I just boop, and then, like, I’m awake, and I’m ready to go do whatever. So yeah, a lot of times I wake up with an idea, and I just start on it immediately. Sometimes I’m watching Project Runway or something, and I’ll just, like, hear a prompt and I’m like, what if I did that?

And then I’ll, I’ll play Project Runway by myself. I’ll give myself, like, you know, 48 hours in the craft room to make something that I can wear to work the next week or something like that. Sometimes it’s because I’ve gone out to Goodwill. I found a fabric or, like, a curtain or something that I wanna turn into something, and I’ll just, like, get the idea then.

I’ll sketch it out really fast and then, just start on it to see if I can finish it, if it could happen. I have tried planning things before, you know, more advanced. I have a couple of longer term projects in mind now, using some I bought some Tula Pink fabric that I just cannot cut into, but I, I have these grand plans for it. So, like, I just, sometimes I, I wanna work on something and with a real plan and a purpose and stuff, but more often than not, it’s oh, my gosh, it’s 3:30 AM, and I have the greatest idea.

Helen: Oh, my gosh. That definitely fits the vibe of your videos, so…

Larrie: Which are often recorded at that time, so…

Caroline: Yeah. No, I love the, the, like, the playfulness. Again, coming back to that with the gamifying of sewing a little bit, where you watch Project Runway and then, you take on that challenge. I think that’s such a great idea for someone maybe who’s looking for a creative project, but not sure where to go with it or where to start. Like, just watch some Project Runway and try one of the challenges. Why not?

Larrie: So I was a graphic design professor for 12 years and, you know, I taught levels of different students, you know, from undergrad to graduate students. And the most common problem they would have when they were working on their portfolios is, I don’t know what projects to do or I don’t, I don’t have any work to do because I’m trying to get a job. So what do I put in my portfolio?

So there was this whole, you know, culture of giving yourself assignments or, you know, borrowing assignments from other people or other, you know, whatever. Just giving yourself work to do so that you can exercise that creative muscle. And so, for me, a lot of times it comes from television shows, like Project Runway and, like, competition shows and stuff where those people are in that constraint, and they have to deliver. And I think that can be so much fun. So, I, I, I try to tease myself with that sometimes.

Helen: One day I would just love it if somebody would like, set me loose, loose in a dollar store and be like, you have to make an unconventional materials dress in three hours…

Larrie: Yeah!

Helen: …and you get, like, $50, and you have 10 minutes to shop. Like, I wanna be, I’m, like, the contestant on Drag Race that’s excited about that challenge, not like…

Larrie: Oh, I never understand when they’re like, oh no, I have to make something like…

Helen: Yeah, yeah. I, I would love that.

Caroline: I don’t know, Helen, I think I can do that for you if you want.

Helen: We can make this happen.

Caroline: We can make this happen. Oh…

Helen: I haven’t heard you mention patterns yet. When you’re talking about sewing, do you mostly self-draft your stuff?

Larrie: I have this wicked fear of patterns. I don’t know where it came from, but, like, lately, it’s just been stronger than ever. I’ve never successfully used a pattern that I’ve purchased. You know, I’ve, I’ve patterned off myself or off of my clothing. But yeah, a commercial pattern or like a, you know, a legit pattern, I’ve never been able to use one.

And I think it’s because I look at the lines and the numbers and the marks and my brain just goes into overload, and it just feels like an impossibility for me. So, yeah, I’ll usually just end up draping things on myself. I used to have a mannequin that I made of myself.

Helen: Oh, fun.

Larrie: So that made life a little bit easier. But I have not yet used a pattern to make anything for myself, you know, garment or anything like that. But I do have a vintage Care Bear plush pattern that I bought at a thrift store a couple weeks ago.

Helen: Oh, cool.

Larrie: And I think I want to try to work on that as, like, you know, my way for learning through it all.

Helen: Yeah, exactly. Break the seal a little bit.

Larrie: Of course it seems like the most complicated thing I could start with, but…

Helen: You know, sewing plushies is actually pretty challenging ‘cause the pieces are so small.

Larrie: Yeah, yeah. Maybe that’s, maybe that won’t be the first.

Helen: No, no I think it’s good ‘cause it takes the pressure off. You’re not putting the garment on your body, so there’s not that, like…

Larrie: That’s true.

Helen: …the pressure of finding the right fit with the pattern pieces. So I think that, I think it’s good. Well, we wanted to talk specifically about a very incredible jacket that you made that was inspired by Dorothy from the Golden Girls and Memphis Design and Lisa from Saved By the Bell. And oh, my gosh. It’s so, so, so good. So can you describe that jacket for our listeners?

Larrie: So this jacket is made out of a teal bed sheet mostly. It’s lined with black and white striped fabric of two different sizes. So there’s, like, a thick black and white stripe, and then a very thin one, which is murder on the eyes. I don’t know why I used it. But then the outside has these panels that are, sort of, like, angular, geometric, multicoloured pieced panels that I sewed on top of it.

And the colours are pretty bright and vibrant but also ugly. I tried to describe to a friend, I, you know, this era of, of Memphis Design Studio from Italy and, you know, the Golden Girls and all that stuff. Everything was very colourful, but the colours didn’t always go together. There were a lot of beiges and browns and tans, like, thrown into the mix for some reason.

And I just love it. It is atrocious. And so I just needed to make a garment version of this thing that I could, like, throw over whatever I was wearing and go to work or whatever. Mind you, I live in Florida so it is way too hot to be layering up like that almost at any time. So I made this thing and if I do wear it, I think it looks pretty hot, but I also look pretty hot ‘cause I’m sweating in it.

So, so, yeah, it’s, I need to find a version of that, that is weather appropriate. Although, it is pretty lightweight. Like I said, it’s, it’s bedsheets and, and very thin, you know, broadcloth essentially. So it’s, it’s a really thin reversible jacket, but I just, kind of, I patterned it on a shirt that I had and just, you know, extended the sleeves a little bit and held my fingers crossed through the whole time.

Helen: Well, it really turned out, and I loved the stripe-y inside. I love black and white. And you did say that you might wear it inside out sometimes. So I wanna know, do you wear it inside out?

Larrie: I have not yet. I think it’s so, it’s so much, which is, which is funny to say. It’s teal and so colourful on the other side, but the black and white, I think it just does not flatter me.

Helen: It’s an optical illusion almost.

Larrie: It is.

Helen: It’s hard to look at.

Larrie: I don’t wanna scare children away when I’m walking up, you know? It’s, like, the worst you could imagine happening in real life, in front. It’s like an invisibility cloak, but I probably will eventually try to do it for something.

Helen: Did you design those patchwork panels in advance or did you do improv for that?

Larrie: I, I sketched them out, and then, they’re pretty close to the sketches, but they’re largely improv. I, and I’ve been trying to do more of that as of late. I like a improv quilts exercise. I think a little bit of structure, a little sketching ahead of time gives me more flexibility.

Helen: Do you tend to always, like, sketch out a little bit or do, you ever just go right for it?

Larrie: I. I think that if I want to take it seriously, I’ll find myself sketching it out first, or I’ll sketch it really fast, and then, I’ll sketch it again really nice, and then, I’ll start on it. It’s funny ‘cause I think internally that’s how I know it’s gonna come out. Okay. ‘Cause I’ve, like, considered it really closely through the sketching part.

‘Cause I used to do a lot of drawing, you know, and art school and stuff and, and drawing was, kind of, my first major creative vein. So I think, I think coming back to that just, kind of, gives me a sense of solidness with the idea. And then, I can pursue sewing or whatever it’s gonna be.

Caroline: There’s something to be said about, like, getting an idea out of your brain and onto paper. Like, just for the sake of it, not living only in your head when you’re working on a creative project, right?

Larrie: As a design instructor, one of the classes I taught was a, a beginning drawing course for graphic designers who thought they would be bypassing all of that. But it’s really just about interpreting your idea for the greatest usage and for the greatest number of people to understand.

And so oftentimes sketching something out and being able to translate that idea to paper is crucial. And so we spend a lot of time talking about that and just ideating and stuff. And I think that I try to again, be a good example and, and lead by my own, you know, lessons. And I find that it works really well for me, especially.

When it’s so easy to just forget the idea and move on to something else. Now once it’s sketched down, then it’s real. And, and whether I finish it or not, you know, I’ve got, fashion sketches from 15 years ago that I find every now and then, and I still think these could still work.

Caroline: Mhm.

Larrie: And I feel like as long as they’re there, the idea can still eventually happen. But if I hadn’t sketched them out, I wouldn’t remember those now.

Helen: No, that’s true.

Caroline: That’s so true.

Helen: Now you mentioned improv quilting, and I’m wondering if you follow a plan when you’re doing that, or is that more freeform?

Larrie: So far, I have completed just a small number of, of improv quilts that were, I’d say more organised than not in that I didn’t know what I was doing while I was making it, but I was trying to make a plan along the way so it felt improv, but really I’d stuck to a very close colour system or sometimes even a very close shape system.

As of late, I’m trying to do more scrap-based things that just, kind of, go a little crazier. I went to QuiltCon this past year and, and that was just very eye opening in terms of what people can do with not only so many pieces of small pieces of fabric, but such small pieces of fabric I don’t necessarily wanna meet that challenge, but I do, it did give me a sense of freedom. You know, it, it doesn’t even have to be square or rectilinear. It can be any shape. And, and that’s, that’s fun to explore. That gives you a lot of room in your playground.

Helen: Yeah. Some of the pieces you worked with on your little improv quilts were pretty small. Like, some of those half square triangles looked like maybe an inch or less.

Larrie: Yeah. Yeah. That’s the smallest I think I’ve ever tried.

Caroline: How.

Helen: How? I’ll just leave it at that. How?

Larrie: Honestly, luck. I use a, I, I use a lot of spray starch in my quilting, especially because I think it, the stiffness of the fabric makes it easier to handle. I do a lot of pressing along the way, so I don’t know if that helps to, sort of, lock in things, but you know, I, I really should be paper piecing at this point, but I’m, that’s another thing I’m scared to try, so…

Helen: Me, too.

Larrie: I’ve been encouraged by a lot of people recently that it’s not that bad.

Helen: I think in some ways it’s easier ‘cause you literally have a plan to follow.

Larrie: Yeah. So I really, this is one of those instances where I just have to do it. For years and years in design, I, I refused to dive into animation and working with, like, you know, After Effects and stuff. And my students were all doing it, and I was like, that’s great. I support you. Let me know if I can find you any resources that are not me. And, you know, here we are now, I, sort of, was forced to learn it in my job last year, like, through circumstances. So now I feel very confident in it, and I’m like, oh, my God, I waited all this time.

I could have learned this thing a long time ago and been way better at it by now. So I’m trying to take the same approach to more of these crafting things, but paper piecing I really feel like it’s a whole ‘nother world of, quilting and sewing and, and I want to be able to do more pictographic things or, or representative things in my sewing. And I feel like that might be the way to do it.

Helen: I mean, I look forward to your next video about paper piecing. I know it’s coming.

Larrie: Yeah, yeah. It’s, it’s formulating.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: We’ve seen you use thrifted fabric in a few projects. You’ve made jackets and lounge pants and more. I’m wondering when you’re thrifting, what qualities you look for in a textile.

Larrie: I’m very in tune with the, oh, that sounds so weird to say. I’m very in tune, but I, I, I really I don’t, I don’t know how to really say the quality of being old and used and, prepossessed by someone else, I like to take things that have history or that feel that they have history.

So sometimes that means a fabric that has a texture that I haven’t felt before. Even if it’s one that might be on the thinner side or more difficult to work with. Like, a lot of vintage fabric is, you know, especially if it gets more and more thread bear things like sheets and curtains and things that I tend to gravitate toward because they’re large pieces of fabric, are not always in great condition.

Uh, there’s lots of dust and sun bleaching and stuff. So sometimes I might fall in love with a pattern and then look at the whole thing and I can’t use that. Other times it’s just, you know, I’m looking for something, this specific colour that I don’t see produced as often today, maybe not even in a fabric store. So sometimes a bed sheet will have a pattern that just is gone now, and that’s a fun way to make something that’s unique that no one else will have as a wearable or whatever.

But yeah, I like to just, kind of, use my sense of feel. There’s maybe, like, an emotional quality to it. I get really into my fabric. I just, um, I like old things. I like to think of the energy that we pass along through things. And um, a lot of the things that, the soft things that we use, fabrics and stuff get neglected so much, but they’re there for so many things, you know? They’re, they’re there with us in some of the most intimate parts of our lives. And so getting the chance to repurpose them and give them a new life feels like a really cool thing.

Helen: Oh, I love that we often give the advice when you’re shopping for thrifted fabric to avoid wear and tear and make sure you look closely at the piece to make sure it’s in good condition, but this new approach, actually, no, I’m serious, it’s really interesting, and it made me think of a couple of tablecloths that I kept from my childhood that we used to eat out on our, like, outdoor table. We used to have dinner out there and, and they’re sun bleached and they’re stained. But I kept them because they have this cool ombre effect where the top is bleached, but the sides that hang off the table are not, and I’ve always wanted to make a shirt or something out of them

Larrie: Yeah, I think, I think if you can carry on the emotional quality of that fabric by repurposing it and, you know, maybe it’s not even something that anyone else ever knows about, but you know about it. And so there’s, like, a, there’s a really cool, I think if it gives you the good vibes, if you feel the good energy in it, then that will multiply.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: I was also thinking when you said prepossessed, my mind immediately went to, like, ghosts or, like…

Larrie: The Shroud of Turin.

Caroline: You know.

Larrie: I, and I think, you know, this is how I feel about my paintings and, and I use a lot of ephemera in those. And sometimes those are like actual handwritten letters and things. I’ve got some papers that are 150 years old that I’ve used in paintings before. So I approach fabric in a similar way, but there is something interesting about just, like, the idea of somebody else owned this thing. Yeah.

Helen: The stories.

Larrie: Could be kinda creepy. I dunno.

Helen: If you wanted to be, I mean, if that’s your vibe. Yeah. We wanted to know what’s on your sewing table right now. What’s up next for you?

Larrie: Oh, my goodness. So I just did a fundraiser to help me move into a new location where the rent is not gouging me every month so that I can not be homeless. And a part of that fundraiser was creating some zipper pouches and tote bags for people. All based on that jacket actually, so I’m using the same fabrics. I have a bunch of it left over.

And I’m just turning that idea that, that colour scheme into tote bags because I’m really into this, like, black and white fabric part right now. But I think paired with that bold little set of colours, I don’t know. I feel like I’m on a new colour journey, and it’s a lot of fun ‘cause I, I, I often get, I don’t wanna say the word pigeonholed, but people know my content because of the colour system that I use, which is usually pretty vibrant and rainbow-y and stuff.

But that’s, that’s not what I usually, that’s not what I always work in, certainly not what I’m sewing. So it’s, it’s nice to show different parts of my creative library to people. And I think the black and white era is coming in strong, especially because of all the salt and pepper hair that I have now. My beard is fully black and white, and I’m noticing that when I wear black and white, it looks, kind of, cool together.

Helen: Yeah. Nice.

Larrie: So, yeah, I’ve got, I’ve got those bags up and then next I wanna make another jacket of some kind, another garment of some kind. I have no idea what, but something ostentatious.

Helen: Of course. Something very, Mister Larrie.

Larrie: Yes.

Caroline: And do you have, like, a dream sewing project that you’d like to make one day?

Larrie: I am really enamoured with costume design as, as an industry. Gersha Phillips, who does costumes for Star Trek Discovery, a lot of other science fiction properties and stuff, I just, I would love to, like, sit with her for a day and just, be her lackey and, and do work with her. So working in costumes I think would be really wonderful.

You know, I’m right outside Disney, so there’s, there’s always a need for that sort of thing around here, but also just, you know, an outlet for me to look at all the wonderful work that goes into costuming and not just costuming for performance, but also just the, you know, the people who work at Disney.

Not that I’m plugging Disney here, but they all have uniforms and stuff. Whether they look good or not, they all have a reasoning and I love that about it. So I’d love to do any kind of, like, strategic fashion collaboration.

Helen: Ooh, you putting it out there. You never know.

Larrie: Fashion branding, that type of… Yeah.

Caroline: Very cool.

Helen: That’s awesome.

Caroline: Okay, it’s time for a quick break. We will be right back.

Love to Sew is made possible by listeners like you. We are so grateful for the support of our amazing patrons and subscribers. If you love Love to Sew and you want to help support the pod, we have a new option for you.

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And we’re back. Okay. We’ve chatted about all the fun things you do, but we also wanted to talk to you just generally about creativity, because you are so creative, and it’s very boundless from watching your videos. And I feel like my creativity always gets a boost when I’m watching you. And so we’d like to ask you a few questions about fostering creativity, if that’s all right.

Larrie: Absolutely.

Helen: We know you have a history of working in education and we can definitely tell from watching your content. You’re so good at teaching and being positive and encouraging, and we were wondering if you always had that sort of innately or was that something that you learned?

Larrie: I think it was there innately. I remember as far back as first or second grade knowing that I wanted to be a teacher. And I think it’s because the people that I admired the most in my life at that point were my teachers. I had my first art teacher in sixth grade, and that blew my mind.

It was a Black man, my first Black teacher and my first male teacher, in sixth grade, and my first art teacher. So I just thought that could be, that could literally be me. And so I went through school and everything, and I eventually found my way into it through doing art camps for children while I was in graduate school.

And then teaching, you know, at the collegiate level. I taught a couple of high school courses, and I just, kind of, always had that path in front of me, you know, as being an instructor or teacher of some sort. And I’ve always really admired those people who have that nurturing spirit, especially in an academic scenario where it’s not always easy. I know that it wasn’t easy for me as a kid even as a gifted and talented kid, quote unquote. So I think that I wanted to try and, and give that back. And I, I, I think that, luckily that was, kind of, built into me.

When I got into grad school for the second time, there was a college teaching course with a professor that I really, really admired. And after the first few weeks of class, he was like, yeah, you’re really, you’re really a natural at this. You know? And I was just like, that is the greatest validation I could have ever hoped for ‘cause I taught for six years, you know, just hoping I was doing things right because we were in a situation where we just didn’t have the time to really do all of the guidance and the stuff, and it was a very small staff.

So that’s always, kind of, propelled me forward, just that confidence that I have in my teaching style and ability. But also knowing that I’m dealing with literal people and real lives, and they just need to hear the truth. They need to hear how to improve, and they need to, to hear that you support them.

Helen: Mhm.

Caroline: Yeah. Speaking of supporting your students, have you seen obstacles to creativity in them? And how did you help them overcome that and be free with their creativity?

Larrie: In some instances, you know, in, in higher education there are some degrees that are seen as, as more stable or more lucrative than others. So a lot of times we would have parents who weren’t quite sure if their child would be successful in art or design, and sometimes you had the child who wasn’t quite sure that that’s what they wanted to do.

And, and a lot of what I ended up doing as an instructor was to help usher those students into where they belonged. Sometimes they thought they were a graphic designer when they were really a fine artist. And knowing the difference between the two is part of where I come in. Helping those students to find where their passions actually lie is so much more important than having 300 students graduate in the semester or whatever, you know, kind of, numbers and figures the university systems might rely on.

So I found a lot of my work was there, you know, if a student approached me with some specific goal, my job from then was to help them see that goal come to life through either my program or through a different one at our campus, you know? Sometimes that meant that student was able to leave school and find something else entirely, and that definitely wasn’t the goal.

But not everybody has the same path. And I think that when you come from a background like mine where my education was not guaranteed. It was not even really considered until I was at the doorsteps of it as a senior graduating high school. Your value of it is a little different, and I think it was more in line with what I was seeing a lot of the students feeling and experiencing. And so, yeah, I took a lot of time to be where they were and help them focus on what they actually wanted to do.

Helen: Yeah, I really like this exploratory approach to education, especially after, you know, elementary school and high school and your post-secondary or whatever they call it in the States, I’m not sure but basically, just taking that time to explore, and that can be really overwhelming, especially when you’re spending a lot of money or you have outside pressure from family and, and you have a plan for your life and maybe it starts to take a different turn and you’re not prepared for that. So I’m glad they had you to guide them.

Larrie: Aw, thank you.

Helen: I’m wondering how you personally nurture your creativity when you’re feeling blocked or uninspired.

Larrie: I watch a lot of TV. For me, TV is, is like fuel. I don’t know. I, I grew up on TV, you know? Again, in that single parent household where we didn’t have a lot of money or things, we didn’t even have a car, there’s just a lot of time spent watching TV as a distraction. And so I, I grew to love a lot of different things about it.

And one of the things that I love right now is just, you know, I’m, I’m, I’m bingeing a lot of, like, Gordon Ramsey shows and just watching people be creative in a different way, you know, this is food or watching people do modelling. I dunno, sometimes just getting away from my thing helps me to get that spark from someplace else, you know?

So it’s not always visual art that I need to engross myself with. Sometimes I need to take a break and put my brain in a different place. Because I’m typically inspired by, by most things. I just, I don’t know, I get excited about stuff. I don’t know if it was ‘cause I was sheltered as a kid. Take me to an orange grove, I’m gonna be over the moon.

I just, I feel like there’s inspiration all around us, and sometimes, you do just have to turn back into that child version of yourself and appreciate how wonderful everything is or how different or interesting or scary some things are and let that fuel your creativity, you know, or, or help you to find your voice in that creativity. Sometimes walking away from a project is the thing you need to do because that’s just not the project for you.

Helen: That’s fair.

Larrie: So it really is about listening to yourself and what you actually want, knowing that, you know, maybe I, is this a challenge or is this not right for me? You know that, it takes a lot, but sometimes taking yourself outta the situation entirely, look at someone else’s struggle or, or, or watch the Golden Girls or something to take your mind off of it so that you can see with broader perspective afterwards. That’s usually how I get myself out of it.

Helen: I love that, especially as a fellow reality television fan.

Caroline: Yeah.

Larrie: Yes.

Helen: You’ve given me the permission I needed.

Larrie: Yes. Well, giving yourself permission. I, I say that all the time because I think that’s, what it boils down to so often is people don’t give themselves the permission to explore and fail or to try something new or to, to take a break from something that they’re not enjoying or whatever the case might be. Like, you’re in charge. You really are.

Caroline: Yeah, it’s so true. Like, as creatives, it’s so easy to get tunnel vision and just be so into a project. And then sometimes when you take that step back and do something completely different, like watch TV, you’ll find that creativity in unlikely places. Like, maybe you’re watching a show and you’re like, oh my gosh, I love that outfit. I wanna recreate it or something. Or just, like, find that spark outside of maybe all the things that you’re already working on, and it can really help to, sort of, like, bring it back even if that’s not your intention. And it’s okay if it doesn’t too. It’s okay to just give your brain a break and watch some good TV.

Larrie: Rest is so important and we, like to use it as a, bargaining chip with ourselves sometimes and, and I’m trying to get outta that habit myself. But yeah, sometimes just the act of taking a break is all your brain needs so that it can refuel.

Caroline: Yeah. Okay, next up we wanna talk to you a little bit about some of the content that you make around sewing and crafting and your Mister Larrie’s Craft Show! on YouTube.

Larrie: Yeah.

Caroline: It’s so great. You have four seasons. And we just wanted to ask a little bit about that, and I guess first up, why did you start making that show?

Larrie: I started when, you know, it was right after Covid hit, and so we all went home. I was teaching at the time, so, you know, we just switched to teaching online. So I had all this free time, and I initially started out with the idea that I was gonna audition for Project Runway that season.

Helen: Ooh.

Larrie: So I had, I had sewed a bunch of stuff in my downtime, and I’d, you know, fill out the application. I’d been in contact and stuff and just like making sure I had all the right stuff, sent it in. And I found that I really enjoyed the filming process of that. And then I really enjoyed the sewing process, so I just kept sewing it, and I kept filming.

And in the interim, waiting to hear back from them, I was like, I’m gonna just make some tutorials because I didn’t see anyone who looked like me in that space on YouTube specifically. But really it was the same situation on Instagram, you know, and Pinterest at, at the time when I started, you know, I just, I didn’t see a lot of Black men doing this sort of stuff, so I was like, okay, I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna try and, and let’s just have fun with it.

And that, kind of, picked up speed. And I had a lot of fun, like, learning as I went. But then I was also trying to pay homage to television in general and just, like, all the things about production that I love. And so there’s little goofs and things in there in the first few seasons, references to TV shows that nobody else gets, all sorts of stuff, ‘cause I was just having fun. I was living alone in a house and I was just like, I have a full studio here. I have a camera. Like, this is great.

And I approached some brands about, diversity and just, you know, representation and, you know, and, and they responded positively. And then that, kind of, started the whole snowball of, of followers and, and things. And then TikTok came and I was like, I’m never gonna use that, and here we are now, it being one of my favourite platforms. So it, it, kind of, happened just, out of what I felt was a lack of representation for other people who, who maybe are male or look like me or, you know, lots of different things, but I just felt like maybe I could fill that space.

And then I thought that with my teaching background, like, that would make sense and, like, maybe I could actually teach somebody something. And, and it’s honestly just been my favourite thing in the world to work on. It’s all of my favourite things into one: teaching, art, music, sewing, presenting.

I love being on camera. You know, I, like, all the things that I wish I could just, like, do, eventually became what I did with Mister Larrie, you know? So I would, I, and when I was really in the heart of it, which I would say was probably the beginning of last year, I was just in a really great place creatively, enjoying making the actual tutorials, and that slowed down a lot, unfortunately, as real life has sunken in, but I’m preparing to start season five and get back on track with all of that. So more tutorials coming soon.

Helen: Oh, we look forward to it. And the production value on your videos is really amazing. Like you were saying, those little bits that you do, the references, the editing, and you even include, like, historical information and broader context about artists and makers and history and stuff in your videos, which I haven’t really seen in tutorial videos before. And I was wondering why you decided to put that into your show.

Larrie: I think… That’s a very good question. I think there were two reasons, and one of them is very on brand for me, which is that I’m an educator, I’m a nerd, I’m a geek, and I love learning about the origins of all these things, and I think that they help inform us as to why things are the way they are and maybe help us to better understand our origin point to it.

So, like, knowing why cake mix was made will just maybe give you some, you know, context as to why it works the way it does now. The other reason is because YouTube at that point required videos to be, like, eight to 10 minutes long in order to get any kind of traction on there. And so I was like, how do I turn this craft video that I have so succinctly presented with clear instructions in three minutes into something longer.

Helen: It’s hilarious.

Larrie: So, yeah, so I started out, you know, so I was like, I’m just gonna take the time, then I’m gonna take a full, like, 11 minutes. And, like, we’ll just, we’ll have fun with that. And, and now we’re kind of on the opposite end of that, where things like TikTok and, and even Instagram reels are really preferring shorter content, which I love to make, but it means that the format of my tutorials has to change. So there’s, there’s a little bit of a, a balancing game there that I’ve been trying to play for the last year.

I try not to let the platform dictate too much of what I do because I think that’s when people get really frustrated with content creation in general. But it has pushed me in ways that I didn’t think I would enjoy. And so, like TikTok being one of those things, I love making a 30-second video. It might take me two weeks sometimes. It might take me 20 minutes sometimes, but, you know, the, the reward can be so much fun, and it’s just interesting to see what people pick up on and stuff.

But I do miss making longer, more nerdy, informative tutorials ‘cause I know that there are people out there who will put them on in the background and wash their dishes and have a great time.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Yeah. Well when it comes to finding things, too, like, if you’re Googling how to do this craft, it’s more likely that YouTube’s gonna pop up than a reel from two years ago, right? So,

Larrie: Yeah, exactly.

Helen: Yeah. That’s great. I think there’s space for both things, and we were wondering if you had any advice for those of us out there, especially in our community with this move towards more short form videos.

I think a lot of people are feeling excited, and a lot of people are also feeling frustrated and intimidated that this is now the landscape. So do you have any advice for people out there about making short form videos?

Larrie: I think that you have to consider that this is a big pie, and you can have a piece of it. But if you want to sit at this table and eat this pie, they have some rules, some suggestions, some things they’d like, they’d prefer for you to do, to play in their little thing or whatever. Now I’ve, I’ve switched my metaphor, but yes.

Helen: To play in the pie.

Caroline: Play in the pie.

Larrie: My, my point being, you can have as much or as, or as little of it as you want. You know, if, if you really get caught up on, I don’t have the followers, nobody likes my stuff, whatever. If you’re caught up on the numbers and the metrics, but you don’t want to do the actual work, which a lot of people don’t realise of, like, planning and, and producing content and all that, sort of, stuff, then you’re gonna be disappointed.

You know, if you just wanna put your work out there, and you don’t care who sees it, then you can use your own pace. You don’t have to use any of their rules and tricks or whatever. But if you’re the kind of person who feels like you’re being left out, a little bit of all of that it’s just, it’s, it’s unfortunate that that is the game on the platform.

Ultimately, they’re trying to make money through advertisers and stuff, and they need eyeballs on the app. So they need you to do X, Y, and Z to keep the eyeballs there. It can be fun to play here and there. It can be fun to dabble. But I don’t think anyone should be so stressed about it that they start hating the application.

You know, I hear a lot of people, oh, I hate Instagram ‘cause they want me to make a video of my thing. And my, my thought is, why are you on Instagram then? You know ‘cause ultimately it’s the, the point of the app is to share, you know, whether it’s still photos or video or whatever, but it’s people sharing their stuff.

So if you remember where you are, and then remember that you can participate as much or as little as you like, then it just takes the pressure off of it. You know, someone like me, there is a stream of income that’s attached to all of this. You know, noth-, nothing substantial at all. But every now and then it’s like, oh, that’s a nice little extra, like, bill money that I, you know, and it’s because I choose to play the little game here and there. I choose to, you know, follow the metrics and the rules and all that stuff, but it’s also not that bad.

Helen: I was gonna say like, I was so annoyed at first, but now that I’ve made, you know, several dozen videos or whatever I’ve gotten, it’s gotten a lot easier. And it’s pretty fun.

Larrie: It, it does. It gets a lot easier. You know, a lot of people share tips and things through reels. Just follow those. Like, some of them are so simple. You know, make a seven second video with one word of advice or whatever, you know, and, and, and I think that people get caught up on it needs to be perfect. It needs to be crisp. It needs to look really high def.

It does not. Some of the most popular content produced on these applications are of, you know, seemingly accidental video or just, like, the most random things. You, you’d never know what people will respond to. But I think that for me the takeaway is that someone could respond to it.

And so whether that includes a like or a comment or somebody being inspired to try it themself or, you know, you never know. So if it’s out there, someone has a chance to interact with it. If it’s not, then they don’t. And that, and, you know, if, if that’s what you want, then that’s, that’s fine, too. The other end of that spectrum is not everything needs to be on Instagram.

Caroline: Yeah.

Larrie: And I’ve, I’ve learned that lesson time and time again over the last few years. It’s not everything you make needs to be ‘grammable. Not everything you make needs to be for the purpose of making content. And finding that balance will make you a lot happier at the end of the day. Sometimes doing a project and starting it and, and not breaking out the camera can be hard to do, but it can also fulfill you.

Caroline: It’s so true. It’s so true. It’s important to keep some things for yourself, even in your creative practice. Yeah, and what you were saying earlier, kind of, makes me think of, like, if we’re looking at the positives of, of social media and where it’s at right now. ‘Cause I think it’s easy to complain about how things are on social media and how it’s changed over the years.

But, like, right now we’re in this place where, like, you don’t have to have that polished content, and you also don’t need to have a ton of followers to be discovered and to be found the way that the algorithm is. And I think that is such a, great thing about where we are right now, is, like, you don’t have to rely on that huge following. If you make good content that you love, then you might get discovered and have a video go viral even if you have a hundred followers, so…

Helen: If that’s what you want.

Caroline: If that’s what you want. Yeah, exactly. But the barrier to entry is, is maybe a little bit lower now, which is, kind of, cool.

Larrie: I used to be really obsessed with all of it, especially when YouTube was my main vehicle for everything. And I was just frustrated because it wasn’t working for me, and I felt I was doing everything right. You know, I was getting the right feedback from people and just for some reason I couldn’t crack whatever code to get more followers or more views or whatever.

That really was disheartening, and it, kind of, made me slow down making stuff and made me feel bad about making stuff. And eventually, I had to come to a moment where I decided that this was not the most important aspect because it was bumming me out. And, and once I realised that, and once I, kind of, gave that up, that’s when things started to happen.

That’s when people started to grow, you know, followers and stuff like that. I started to make connections to other people, digitally or, or in real life. And that just felt a lot better than worrying about some number that I didn’t have the power to change. And now, you know, it’s, it’s nice to see the numbers and stuff, and I’m not prob I’m not where I would like to be, but I also know that there is some real peace in not focusing on it every day, you know?

Helen: Mhm.

Larrie: I, you know, no shame to anybody who does, you know, but I can’t do it.

Helen: Well, we’re glad to hear that you’re bringing back the Craft Show. Do you have anything coming up on this next season that you wanna give our listeners a little sneak peek, audio sneak peek about?

Larrie: Hmm. Well, I definitely plan to do more sewing. Oh, big surprise.

Caroline: Yay!

Larrie: I, I, I did a series of sewing videos for a popular store here a couple of years ago. And I, I’m basically gonna try and, and reproduce that series, which is, you know, Sewing 101 for children and adults, basically. So I’m gonna try and lead with that. I just, I get a lot of questions of, I have a sewing machine, but I don’t know where to start or what do I do?

And I wanna make sure that people get a good, solid footing on that because I, I have a video that I made now, like, four years ago at this point. But now I know so much more about sewing. I was even, I demo-ed something on the machine and somebody in the comments was like, did you know your machine can do this? Oh, no. I did not know that. So, you know, I, I think it’s time for a refresh version of that.

I’m gonna try crochet again. I’ve been wanting to bust out some amigurumi, but I just, that’s one of my final frontiers. So I’m gonna do that.

Helen: Wait, what is that? I don’t know what that is.

Larrie: Oh, the little crochet dolls.

Helen: Oh, cool!

Caroline: Oh, cute!

Larrie: They, I mean they, they have them for every franchise you could imagine. And they’re just, they’re, they’re simple allegedly. They’re, they’re typically one kind of crochet stitch or not. But, but I just have never even dared to approach that kind of project because the most I’ve ever done the crochet is make a really hard beanie. You know, just so I I, that’s probably gonna be a project. There will definitely be more painting. I really enjoy just showing people the painting process and learning about it from myself because sometimes I don’t know what I’m doing until I watch back.

Helen: Yeah.

Larrie: But then I also wanna look into some crafts we haven’t really done before. I’ve, miniatures. I am obsessed with miniatures. I know a couple of artisans who work on them, and I’d love to tackle one myself. I started one a while ago, so I’ll probably be finishing that up.

Helen: Cool.

Larrie: But then otherwise I’m open-minded. I, I honestly feel like I’m gonna start looping around back to my first few initial crafts since it’s been so long. But I’m also just always open-minded and listening for any recommendations that come my way.

Helen: Oh, okay. Our listeners might hit you up.

Larrie: Perfect.

Helen: Well, we love following you online as we’ve expressed too many times already, but we were wondering who you love to follow, if there’s anyone out there that you wanted to give

Larrie: Yeah, so first off, I have to shout out Jasika Nicole, who she goes by @JasikaIsTryCurious on Instagram. She’s a talented, endearing actor. You’ve probably seen her on the Good Doctor or Fringe if you watched that show, by the way. She makes most of her own clothes, shoes, accessories, and she’s just one of the most radiant people I’ve never met. I love her so much. We’ve, sort of, become friends online through crafting and stuff, but really, I started out stalking her over Fringe ‘cause I was a big, big Fringe fan.

Helen: Oh, amazing.

Caroline: Oh, my gosh.

Larrie: My friend @BzyPeach, B-Z-Y Peach on Instagram. Her, her name’s Laverne, and I think of her as my spiritual big sister. She’s one of the warmest people I’ve ever met, and she is one of the first people I met through the Mister Larrie thing. I’ve met her in real life a few times. She’s all about fibre, yarn, crochet embroidery, produces her own fibres. So you can get her hand dyed custom stuff there.

And then last but not least I wanna mention @DML.Paintings. Danielle Lazala, I think is her last name. She’s this young, colourful painter, and she’s just, like, exploding on Instagram right now. I think she just hit a hundred thousand followers this week. And she is an Orlando local. She paints, she does these wonderful, like, murals and stuff. And I’m hoping to do a collab with her later this year if she message me back.

Caroline: Cool.

Larrie: Um, yeah, but those three definitely came to mind when I saw that question ‘cause I just, I love them all for different reasons. They’re all in different areas of crafts, and I’m always trying to promote, you know, that kind of diversity and just like, try a few different things and then see what sticks. So yeah, that’s the, kind of, a nice little round robin of my favourite accounts right now.

Caroline: Fabulous. We will link up those accounts in the show notes as well for any of our listeners who wanna follow along. Okay. Before we wrap up, we have one more question because Helen and I both love food and baking, and we’ve mentioned, kind of, in passing a couple times in this episode, baking, and you do some truly gorgeous, gorgeous baking.

Larrie: Thank you.

Caroline: So I wanted to know if you could share one of your favourite recipes with us.

Larrie: I, yes, I can actually. I, I started out I think when I was teaching the first round, and I was like, I’m an adult now. I need an adult hobby. So I started baking cupcakes. I used the Martha Stewart Cupcake book, and I blogged it. I did a blog of, of each of the cupcakes I made. The one that I used to this day is her one bowl chocolate cupcake recipe. It’s a very, I,

I guess basic is not a derogatory word in this situation, but it’s a basic batter. It’s really chocolate-y. It doesn’t have a whole lot of ingredients, and every time I’ve used it, it’s just come out perfect. So I use it, I used to bake cupcakes all the time for my students when I was teaching, you know, once every couple weeks or so, couple times a month.

And so I would use that one a lot and, and it also just, you know, let me decorate the cupcakes and stuff. It was a lot of fun, but that one, I will use that one for the rest of my days.

Caroline: Love it.

Helen: Amazing. Love a solid Martha Stewart rec.

Larrie: Yeah, I like to of myself as her illegitimate child, so, her and Snoop, I…

Helen: Yeah. You and Snoop.

Caroline: Oh, well, Larrie, thank you so much for joining us today. This was such a fun conversation. Can you tell our listeners where they can find you online?

Larrie: I am on Instagram and TikTok @MisterLarrie. That’s Mister, all spelled out. I’m also on YouTube @Mister Larrie, and I’m on Facebook, too, but you don’t really have to go there.

Caroline: Amazing. Well, again, we’ll link up all of this in the show notes and be sharing lots on social with our listeners. But thank you so much again. It was such a blast.

Larrie: Thank you. This was such a pleasure.

Caroline: Cheers.

Helen: Bye.

That’s it for today’s episode of Love to Sew! You can find me, Helen, at Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co. and Caroline at Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns. We’re recording today in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

Caroline: You can support Love to Sew and get access to bonus content by subscribing on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. You even get access to the back catalogue of bonus episodes. That’s over 75 hours of Love to Sew. Go to patreon.com/LoveToSew or check out our podcast page on Apple Podcasts for more info.

Helen: You can head to LoveToSewPodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with links and pictures from this episode. 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

Caroline: Thanks to our amazing podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant. Jordan Moore of the PodCabin is our editor. Margaret Wakelee is our transcriber. And thank you for listening. We’ll talk to you next week.

Helen: Buh-bye.

Caroline: Bye!

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