Meet the Maker - Andie

I live in Toronto, Canada, the biggest city in Canada and have lived there for 7 years now. I moved here for love! My husband and I met through facebook and then 6 months later I moved in with him. This is the longest I've ever lived in one location in my life. We just got married last July (Andie made her wedding dress!) and I have two wonderful teenage stepkids.

I've been creative my entire life and was always known for my handmade Christmas gifts to my Nana and other family members. I've had lots of creative pursuits: embroidery, needlepoint, cross stitch, knitting, crochet, drawing, sculpting, painting, performance arts (dancing, burlesque, improv comedy, dramatic plays, musicals), set painting, prop creation, dollhouse & miniatures, etc. The list is really long. Currently, though, my focus is on sewing and improv comedy, with some prop creation and costuming mixed in for my shows.

I've been handsewing since I was very young. I sewed little Barbie outfits or pillows and things for my dollhouse. I have only been sewing on a machine since 2008. My mother put a sewing machine needle through her finger twice in front of me at a young age and it gave me a fear of sewing machines. I did briefly use a sewing machine in my home economics class and liked the more modern machine, but was still pretty afraid.

I got into sewing because of burlesque dancing. I needed a costume and, since I was a student at the time, I needed something that wasn't $100s of dollars. This is incidentally also the reason for my first conversation with my husband. I had just added him on facebook because of a mutual friend and we talked about Halloween costume dilemmas. I bought a cheap little pink Kenmore sewing machine and never looked back. I really got even more into sewing in 2013 when I started my blog. The online sewing community really fuels my creativity and inspires me so much. 

I find it amusing that I've been sewing as long as I've known my husband. My sewiversary is the same as the time I met my husband. How cute!

Tell us about your style. What do you like to make and wear?

I love wearing skirts with blazers or cardigans and mixing and matching prints with solids. I like pencil skirts, dirndl skirts, and circle skirts. For tops, I either go really elaborate with sequins and ruffles and lace or just wear a plain top. I love layers and often wear leggings even in the middle of summer. They are just so comfortable!

Which Muse pattern(s) have you tried so far?

I've made them all! Except for the Tahi shrug, but it's on my list since I love shrugs. 

I've been a Muse Pattern tester since the Gillian Wrap Dress was released and have loved all my Muse Patterns creations. Unfortunately, my Natalie dress never made it because of a poor choice of fabric, but I want to make another someday because the style is very flattering on any bust. It's really refreshing that Muse can design patterns that are pretty flattering on any body type.

I've made 6 Jenna Cardis, 2 Sophie Cardis, 1 Tahi Skirt, 1 Natalie dress, 1 Gillian wrap top, and 1 Melissa dress. I've also made a Jenna top using the tutorial on the Muse blog.

 

 

Which of your Muse creations do you like the most? Tell us about it!

My favourite is hands down my Gryffindor cardigan made with the Sophie cardi pattern. I love it so much and get compliments every time I wear it from fellow nerdy people. A close friend got super excited when she saw it and I had to make her a twin. I made her one for her birthday, which also happens to be Christmas day. I also sent her a Hogwart's letter and the Marauder's Map, because that's what best friends do!

A big goal of mine is to focus on sewing pants and blazers. 

I made my first pair of pants last year and really love them. I've not worn pants in several years, because they just aren't comfortable in RTW for me. Making my own means I can make them comfortable and they will reflect my own style. 

I have two RTW blazers that are slowly coming to the end of their life because I wear them so frequently. I'm surprised it's taken me so long to sew a blazer, but I've not been a slow sewer in the past and tend to gravitate toward quick projects. Since making a coat in 2014, I have been wanting to try out a blazer pattern. I'm starting with a  simpler pattern and then will work myself up to the couture Vogue 8333 pattern with lots of ridiculous pad stitching and beautiful details. I have tons of wool suiting stashed and it screams to be made into a million blazers every day. 

2016 is the year of pants and blazers for me!