Hi! My name is Roxanne, and I have been sewing since 1983! I’m a freelance sewist who finds joy every day in sewing and creating. Making is my favorite thing to do, and it also brings me joy to be able to share that love with others. I hope that you can join me in my fun, and create something you love or just find inspiration here!
A little background…
I’ve LOVED to sew and create since I was a little girl. I guess you could say that I came from a family of makers. My dad is an amazing fine jeweler, and so are several of my uncles and cousins. They take beautiful raw materials like gold and platinum, and sparkling diamonds and gemstones, and work with their tools and hands until they have created the most intricate and refined creations! My mom’s creativity is expressed through the endless, amazingly delicious meals she creates from scratch and without recipes. She also liked to sew when I was a little girl, and I was drawn to her Kenmore sewing machine and all the pretty fabrics involved. I remember her making a black satin dress to go to a disco party for New Year’s Eve with my dad, and with the leftover black satin I made a disco dress for my Barbie doll. I was hooked!
I have always loved the creative outlet that sewing provided. I graduated from hand-sewing doll clothes to making pillowcases on the sewing machine. I continued sewing with the skills she taught me and my library-book self-taught skills into my teenage years, making first a top, and then a dress. I was hooked and knew I wanted to learn more, so I took an after-school job to work with and learn from a talented local tailor named Shirley. She expanded my skill set and gave me the confidence to sew more complicated garments. I worked on commercial machines and fine-tuned my skills. As a side-gig, I made and sold hats, wedding dresses, curtains, table skirts for wedding planners, and altered thrifted clothes to my grunge-loving 90’s heart’s desire! I also got to flex my creative skills designing the window displays of my parents’ jewelry store for my other after-school job!
Into my twenties, though, the sewing fun would be put on hold, as I had gone to school to study what I thought was a practical choice – chemical engineering. I had thought “if I could do the math and chemistry, then why shouldn’t I?” Short of sewing a few epic Halloween costumes, painting a couple of acrylic paintings, and sewing up some quick home decor projects, the studying didn’t leave much time for hobbies. In my twenties, I was busy finishing school, getting married, and raising my beautiful daughter, then starting my career…. sewing would just have to wait…
Next, I put my career on hold to raise my two sweet sons. I sewed when and what they would let me! I made blackout roman shades for their nurseries to encourage their sleep, and dressed them in cute and furry Halloween costumes as long as they would allow it! Once they hit a certain age, Spiderman was more appealing than a teddy bear costume, and the costume sewing was more for my daughter, husband and I than my sons! I satisfied my sewing and creative itch by sewing up lots of curtains and painting their rooms to their hearts’ desires!
Fast-forward a few more years, and all three of my children are a little older and self-sufficient, and I have taken more years to fine-tune my skills. I have learned to sew with all kinds of fabrics and make all kinds of projects – from swimsuits to jeans to home decor, from faux fur to stretch knits. I have taken courses, read books on pattern drafting and draping, and surrounded myself with anyone that had talent and time to share, and I have been a sponge to learn and improve. I have watched fellow sewists online, and been inspired to push my sewing skills to the limit! I love to tackle complicated sewing challenges, and nothing feels better than getting to share the tips and tricks I have learned along the way. Thank you for letting me share with you my adventures in sewing and creativity! I hope I can help inspire you to keep making and sewing!