Tell Yourself You Can Teach Yourself Patternmaking No Matter What

Improvise, Compromise and Keep Thinking and Working

I was working on my patternmaking studies on the kitchen table, a couple months went by and the surface of the table never saw the light of day. Was my husband happy about it, no way, he didn't say anything if he seen me working on the patterns, but not having a place to comfortably eat is not okay.

So my patternmaking came to a dead stop more or less, learning how to do it was left up to the desire in my head while I struggled with my article writing. Quite frankly making me more depressed as time goes on. I would love just to focus on learning patternmaking and make oodles more money from that later on. That's my hope and part of my dream, but not convenient reality.

I had this little motto running around in my head, echoing at me through lost time, "you make time for the things that are important to you..." and Shawn Connery's line from the Rock, "Losers always whine about their best..." Don't you just hate that? But it's true I guess. So what did I do, took me a couple more painful sad months to think of the idea. I took 4 boxes and an about 3.5' x 3.5' piece of laminate board and laid it on top, viola! I've got my worktable. Than I thought I might be able to get started getting serious with my patternmaking studies. No more having to set it all up and then putting it all away.

It didn't work out, I still had no time, I needed another table for my patternmaking supplies as well as my art supplies so I stacked another 2 boxes and laid my brother's framed Chinese painting over it, voila! Another table. This spare bedroom is now my studio too. I still had no luck with my time though, so another few months went by and I hadn't yet been able to get back to my patternmaking.

This is basically what I've got to deal with, regular family housework, keeping up with appointments so I can take care of my little sister, feeding (including breastfeeding my daughter at any time of day or night), changing, dressing and consoling my two little kids, taking care of my 4 cats, shopping, article writing (not so great source of income) and then find the time to do other things, like reading or patternmaking.... "NOT" happening, especially with 5 hrs average sleep...However, a solution did come to me a little while ago (just a few weeks ago actually), but that's for another post on my blog. Till my next post....

Have a wonderful day,

Ayisha

Seemingly Repetitive Pattern Practice

With over 250 pattern blocks to draft in Connie Amaden Crawfords book "Patternmaking Made Easy" and a desire to start work as a fully trained patternmaker, I was tempted to skip doing the pattern blocks that looked a lot like the previous ones I'd already drafted from earlier in the manual. My recommendation, don't skip anything. I felt a little bad about the temptation to skip these seemingly repetitive practice pieces so I did them anyway and I have to say, there's something very important about doing this, a few things actually. They are:

1. it helps to crystallize techniques in their different forms and usages
2. this helps you to remember them better
3. this also creates more confidence in your abilities to a degree of almost comfort

So no matter what comes my way with Connie's book, I'm going to do it because it's all for the best.

Now the bad thing here is that I started this blog post almost a month ago, I get times like that because I've been in the middle of having to make some cash while struggling to learn patternmaking. Unfortunately, my cash cow (a skinny, anorexic thing it is) is my freelance article writing and it's been soaking up my time like a dry sponge on a hot day. So I've had to hang onto my hopes and dreams with a mere thread of perseverance. (I always do that, I'm working toward better days)I do wish I could get paid to teach myself patternmaking though, anybody know how that can happen?? Any way, I've just opened up my first facebook shop this morning, where I'm selling the first of my free to sell ebooks on art and craft related subjects. Check it out: "28 Fashion Templates" The-Free-To-Sell-Renaissance-Arts-Crafts-Shop

Or if you'd like to order Connie's book to learn pattern making (I highly recommend this over all other patternmaking books) you can get it through my fashion squidoo lens at: Budget Online Fashion Design Schools and Resources