Starting fresh
I did something a little wild.
After 10 years at my dream job with a local sewing pattern company, I quit. With no plan. No next gig. Just a quiet voice inside saying: it’s time.
Motherhood changed how I wanted to spend my time. So did burn-out. The 9-to-5 , Monday through Friday, just didn’t fit anymore. I wanted to spend more time with my kid, to feel more present, to stop thinking about work when I was doing dishes or reading bedtime stories.
So I leapt.
A week later, I had a chain stitch embroidery machine in my house (my incredible little sister loaned me the money for it—more on that later). I had no idea how to use it, but I was completely hooked. I started from scratch, one wobbly letter at a time.
And oh gosh, was I wobbly.
I spent months learning the machine inside and out, tinkering with settings, and practicing writing cursive with thread.
It felt so weird to be a total beginner again. But I loved it.
I also started teaching private sewing lessons and group classes at some studios here in Portland. After teaching people how to sew online for 10 years, teaching people in-person is SO. MUCH. FUN.
These sewing lessons have been packed with creative conversations, about burn-out, trying to sew when you have cats, and how the world really needs more spaces to connect with each other.
Oh, and after a decade of writing in the voice of a comapny, I also wrote and illustrated a sewing zine and a mending zine, using my very own voice.
(You can find my sewing zine at a few Portland libraries, and going to the library has become my new weekly routine.)
And now I am launching this website. My first website! And I’m going back to blogging, which was the first thing that connected me to an amazing worldwide network of people who sew.
You’re never too old to try new things.
If you’ve ever totally started over from scratch, you probably know how I’m feeling. It’s scary, mysterious, and at the end of each day, I am usually wondering what the hell happened.
I’d love for you to stay and follow my journey! I’ll share my sewing projects, chain stitching progress, and any creative sewing moments that might help you feel inspired.
Meg
