First of all, thank you VERY much for your lovely comments on my recent denim adventures, and your thoughts on needles. Food for thought indeed. It’s funny, as a self-taught seamstress I get a lot of information online and from random sources, and I seem to have no real evaluative processes for deciding what to take and what to throw away. Like, for example, I once read an online article about pressing which I found via A Fashionable Stitch and it said you should press a seam four times and I was like, yes, of course, and now I do that. EVERY. DAMN. TIME. One side, the other side, wrong side, right side. All my seams. All the time. But then I read something about replacing your needles and I was like, that’s clearly insanity and I will never do such a thing. Totally arbitrary. So anyway, thank you! I obviously should be changing my needle (and, for that matter, my contact lenses, sorry, Dr. Wortman!) more often.
In other news, I really never should have gotten an ebay account. It’s a real bad idea, guys. Don’t do it. Learn from me. Think of me as a drug addict your D.A.R.E officer brought in to teach you about WHY METH IS WRONG. Because people, they’ve got PATTERNS on that thing. PATTERNS. In LOTS. And I may or may not have gone a little crazy and bid on/won a bunch of them. Whole lots. Of patterns. Recently. So, you know, that’s happening.
Want to see them? Yeah, you do.
Shoulder yokes. Delicious.
I love this. It’s like the Sense and Sensibility Swing Dress Pattern, but the REAL DEAL!
The photo is bad. The pattern is lovely.
This is a little insane. I’m totally making it, though.
Check out the cuffs on this bad boy!
The collar is excellent.
Well it’s got pockets, so I’m in.
Simple to make my ass but I love that the collar works 5 ways!
Asian inspired pajamas? Yes, please.
Hmmm. The cover art is so amusing.
The fedora is so jaunty!
Well, obviously I need a house coat. That’s just a give-in.
Oh my god this blouse I love it very much. I would need to resize it but MY GOD it’s the best.
There is something vaguely creepy about all of this. I couldn’t tell you what.
This is my absolute favorite. Right? RIGHT? SO CUTE! Honestly, it was worth the lot of them just for this one gorgeous creature. Did I mention all together it was like 15 dollars? Yeah. It’s okay to be a little jealous of this addict. She’s the crazy person in the corner with ALL THE AWESOMENESS.
But, hey, if you don’t want to get an ebay account that’s cool. Look who just released a free pattern? Salme Patterns, independent designers extraordinaire! The Sonja Dress is a free pattern download on Burda Style and it’s just adorable. Never heard of Salme Patterns? Check out Kelli’s awesome interpretation! Kelli blogs at True Bias, and I would like to be her friend. I would like to be all of your friends. Do you like the ebay? Has it captured your heart and mind? Where do you buy patterns? Which of these is your favorite? Spoiler alert, I will be giving a couple of these away come March. Which one would you like? If you say the last one I will end you.
But to end on a positive note, Cadfael in a bow!
Cat photos. Just one step closer to becoming Miss Marple.
Struggle Sews a Straight Seam 
Lovely patterns. I like them all!! And the kitty is very cute too!!
If you think ebay is adictive don’t get on Esty… same thing with out bidding… one click and you’ve bought it… honestly that is where I get most if not all of my vintage patterns.
Oh dear, i just know i change needles more often than contacts…uh oh!
Oh, man, we are so the opposite…
Haha, oh, I know all about Etsy, Etsy has pretty much ruined my life but I keep going back for more…
“if you say the last one i will end you.”
doing the laughing-so-hard-in-silence-thing-because-it’s-late-over-here thing that i feel like i might be sick.
V4135, for future reference.
you seriously crack me up.
Oh, thank god, because you make me cry with laughter on a daily basis so I’m thrilled I could return the favor. Really? Not the house coat? I was so sure the house coat would be the popular vote. It’s so flattering and modern. Right?
well, this emerald green ‘simple to make’ is my absolute favorite.. but you got yourself one pretty bunch.. i wouldn’t mind having any of those (well, maybe not pajamas one, from simple reason of not wearing pajamas).. i might just open an ebay account (my other addictions have spent all my money already, i’m pretty much safe for next 15 days (that’s when the salary comes.. usually it takes a week before i spend it all.. and i mean all..) i should blog about my unbelievable abilities to live without money for weeks, especially about my meal making miracles)
You should blog about that, I would read that blog. The problem with ebay is that you bid, in theory, but maybe you are secretly hoping to be OUT bid and then no one outbids you and you are stuck with 20 new (vintage) patterns when maybe you only wanted, say, 5? That is what happened to a friend of mine, recently, let’s call her not-Leah.
I can see Simplicity 2792 being a great dress, the combo of the pockets and the neck opening (? built up collar) is so elegant.
Then Butterick 7957? Seriously? I thought it was maternity wear. The ladies look very happy wearing them so maybe there’s a message there.
Now Simplicity 4255 has me at terrible terrible pattern envy. The wrap, kimono sleeves and a pointy collar. If you get tired of this, can I have it? I’d take good care of it. Also, the blue Butterick 9796 – the collar is so prim and proper with a little keyhole for contrast. But her hair? What were they thinking?
I don’t see what’s wrong with this sort of pattern buying behavior. Much healthier than so many other addictions! And yeah, follow Lori’s advice, keep away from Etsy. Dangers abound.
I mean, I obviously need a housecoat, I’m really feeling the lack of that in my life. Not a day goes by I don’t think, well, this day is okay, but it would be AMAZING in a housecoat. Not. A. Day.
I love the white hair, I think it’s amazing. So strange. So delightfully strange.
I think I will be hosting a few giveaways with these guys, so stay tuned, because I might give that guy away after I’ve traced and re-sized it. No way I can fit into a 30 inch bust without surgery.
What an awesome lot of patterns – great find! Patterns on eBay are definitely my downfall, especially vintage ones. I avoid the site at all costs unless I’m desperate for something specific, otherwise I’d literally have no money and a sewing room stacked to the ceiling with patterns.
I know, I don’t even know where I’m going to PUT all these patterns. I live in a tiny apartment. This is madness. Sweet vintage madness.
love it…I got some amazing vintage apron patterns on, of all places, amazon…I have patterns from the 80’s that, yes, I bought in the 80’s and I love those shoulder pads! Happy sewing, Leah…hey maybe costume design is calling you…
Haha, I don’t think I could design for other people, Terry, I’m too selfish! Make a shoulder pad garment, I want to see that!
This is probably a bad idea, but I make just challenge Oona to V4135. However, the neckline in S4181 is killing me. The squared off version with clips is how I wear this one t-shirt, um, only with safety pins around my bra straps. Because I’m that badass.
I WOULD THROW DOWN ON THAT CHALLENGE.
This might just have to happen. If you promise to take very good care of this pattern, Oona, I might be persuaded to send it your way to borrow….
Mmm hmmm… watch out for those safety pins. Haha! I “make just” challenge. That’s a special kind of challenge.
Oh, the beginning of an addiction! 🙂
Think the last pattern is my fave too – lovely bodice details.
Right? I just think it’s amazing. Yeah, my pattern addiction isn’t so much beginning as it is getting to large to hide. Thank goodness you people understand…
Oh wow, girl, STEP AWAY FROM THE EBAY! But wait, don’t really, cause these patterns are AWESOME and totally worth eating ramen until payday. How can you ever decide which one to make first???
I know! Well, I will probably make the last one first. Or the Asian pajamas. I love them. They may well be hideous, but I love them.
I want them ALLLLL!
See, so did I, that was the problem!
I have so many things to say about these patterns I don’t even know where to start. Let’s distill it down into a few sentences: 1) I am in love with the cuffs of 4135. Could you be persuaded to show us pics of the pattern pieces on that one? 2) 9796’s hair reminds me of Oscar night Kelly Osbourne. What are the odds that she, too, was bidding on that lot and wanted that pattern to show her hair person as inspiration? 3) CAT IN A BOW. oh why oh why won’t Walnut stand for any kind of dress up?
Also, last year I was really bad at changing my contacts, until a scary visit to my optometrist revealed that extra blood vessels were growing into my eyeballs in an attempt to bring more oxygen to combat my dirty contacts…that definitely scared me into changing my contacts! That may have been TMI, btw. I always change my needles, though, even without the threat of extra blood vessels growing into them.
I will totally show photos of the cuff, that’s a give-in. And I love that white-blueish hair, I hope my hair does that someday, just poof, overnight, gets there. I’m sure Kelly Osbourne is really mad I won this lot. Sorry, Kelly, better luck next time. I don’t think Cadfael enjoys the crap I do to him one bit, but I don’t care, because I feed him, and that gives me rights.
That is terrifying. I try to change them every two weeks but it’s more like three. However now I’m going to worry about that forever. So thank you.
omg, i’ve told my boyfriend that he has to physically restrain me if i ever try to place another ebay bid again. just today i got two boxes in the mail of pattern lots. i think i have nearly the entire women’s Simplicity catalogue from the 1970s. I guess the good part is that at some point you have so many patterns that you can’t buy lots because half of them will just be doubles of what you already own!
Yeah, I’m still kind of waiting for that to happen…
Have you given any consideration at all with translating your main site into Chinese? I know a couple of translaters right here that will would certainly help you do it for free if you wanna get in touch with me.