My name is Monica and I have always loved being creative. Growing up I loved decorating my bedroom, changing it around constantly. Playing with makeup, always pushing the envelope with my clothing combinations and hairstyles was an embarrassing, everyday occurance. I loved art class and still remember making an oversized, pink, furry floor pillow in Junior High School's Home Economics Class. Moving into college I was constantly decorating and redecorating my dorm rooms and college apartment. Puffy paint and picture collages took precidence over homework. As an adult I have fully embraced all things creative. Cooking, Beading, Crafting, Paper Crafts, Tole Painting and of course Sewing. My reintroduction into sewing began with a Christmas Present from Mom and Dad. My simple and sweet Kenmore helped me whip up new pillows and curtains for every apartment and home that I inhabited. By the time I was married and expecting our first child I had decorating every room in the home with one of a kind pillows, accessories, artwork, comforter covers and bedding.After staying at home for 2 1/2 years with my daughter, redecorating our new home in West Seattle, I was inspired to open a local fabric store. After years of sewing I still felt intimated to go into a traditional quilt shop to find fabrics because the shops didn't represent the things I was interested in. As beautiful as the fabrics were and as talented and kind as the staff people were I didn't feel like I fit in. I wanted to create a place for my community that was unitimidating, inspiring for all sewing ethusiasts and a comfortable place to make mistakes and ask for help. As it turns out, I am not alone. There are a couple of generations of people who felt the same as me. Those of us who didn't learn because mom started working outside of the home, never passing down the tradition of sewing. Those of us who didn't get more than one quarter of Home Economics because our schools cut it from the curriculum. Those of us who were intimidated because we thought sewing meant you had to do it perfectly and were terrified to fail. OK, so I fit the first of those two but for some reason didn't care about perfection. That's what seam rippers are for.
So that's what brought me to writing a blog. Along with the women I work with at our store, we want to encourage, inspire and support a new generation of fearless sewing. Through clothing, home decorating, projects, aprons, bags, quilts and maybe some unrelated sewing projects, we will inspire everyone to live Abundantly Creative and Happily Imperfect.
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