About Me - Sew Sweetness

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My name is Sara, and I live with my husband and children in Chicago, Illinois. My son, William, is 9, and my daughter, Violet, is 7-1/2. I love horses, sewing, reading books, Australian Shepherds, and music. The blog was named for one of my favorite Jimmy Eat World songs that I had on a cute pink 7″ record. It just sounded appropriate with the word ‘sew’ in front of it. 🙂

I started blogging in September of 2010 because I love sewing, and I am really inspired by the sewing community out in blogland. My blog would not exist if it wasn’t for the wonderful blog Amy Lou Who and for my partner in (fabric) crime, Kim.

My grandmother, my mom, and my aunt all sew. My grandmother is very good at making and altering clothing. I learned the basics when I was in 3rd grade, when my mom taught me and my friend a little sewing class once a week. I made a simple dress, which I proudly wore to school (my friend’s mother did not allow her to wear hers). At the time, I loved all sorts of crafty things, and so sewing took a back seat for a long, long time.

As an adult, I began sewing again when my first child was born. I needed something to occupy my time in the evenings while my baby was asleep, and I found sewing. At first it started out as a weekly goal to complete a little sewn project, but soon I was spending every free hour in the evening sewing. I was obsessed. I laugh because I often show my grandmother my finished bags, and she is always quick to point out that I have twisted a strap, or that my topstitching is not perfect.

My love for sewing has truly brought me out of my shell. I have always been a shy person, but now I feel confident in myself and in my sewing abilities, and I can now do things that I never in my life would have imagined that I would be doing. I started designing free bag sewing patterns for Pellon Projects, in late 2011. They include detailed instructions and step-by-step photos. Since then I have written two books, come out with two fabric lines, taught many classes, had two thread collections with Aurifil, and had my work appear in several magazines, including Modern Quilting, Sew News, Stitch, Generation Q, Modern Quilts Unlimited, etc. My class for Craftsy is called Building Better Bags: Interfacing and Structure.

I am proud to say that I use By Annie’s Soft and Stable, Pellon interfacings, and Aurifil Thread (usually 40 wt., but I enjoy 50 wt. as well) in all of my bags. I use a Juki TL-2010Q sewing machine.

My Books

My Fabric Lines

Thanks for checking out my blog! I would love to hear from you! If you are working on one of my bag sewing patterns and have any questions, please feel free to ask!! 🙂