"When I was employed by a major pattern company years ago, I learned a very important piece of information that I never forgot. Pattern companies don't sell patterns; they sell dreams. 75% of patterns purchased never even get opened by the person who purchased them. Look in your own storage, and tell me I'm not wrong on this... right?" ....by Mimi of Shop the Garment District
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Thanks for all the well wishes, prayers, cares and concerns. I am gradually getting ahead of the pain and should be well enough to go back to work Monday. It's been pretty discomforting but I'm managing. The short simple story is that I , who have always had very bad peripheral vision, misjudged and hit the kitchen island with the full force of my body while making an animated conversational point. Yes, I was attacked by a kitchen island and lived to talk about it. You had to be there! It sounds so silly and implausible but wasn't at the time. No dancing on the island or crazy drunkenness, just a bunch of friends laughing and having a good time and good conversation. You just never know! Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers. Now back to sewing! Do you not open 75% of the patterns you buy?
OK, I did a big cull this past fall. I would say I've made 50% of what remains. But if you consider how many patterns I have made in my head, we're rockin' 100%! I guess I'm one of Mimi's dreamers!
ReplyDeleteI plead the 5th.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely a dreamer, with sewing patterns and knitting patterns. I have all kinds of versions of each pattern made in my head. I will never make 90 percent of what I dream up :)
ReplyDeleteSorry about your mishap. Sounds like me. They say my vision is great, but let me tell you...I can sure run into some stuff randomly. I hit my head on a huge pipe at my children's fencing tournament a few months back. I just ran right into it. I thought I was going to have a concussion. Who knows...I probably did :(
Glad you're feeling better. Re patterns, I open most of them, but I don't have the enormous cache of some. I long ago realized that I'm attracted to (look good in) the same basic shapes, so what's the point of buying the same pattern again and again? In addition, I have to put so much work into fitting a pattern, I tend to make it up several times.
ReplyDeleteI should add that my sewing compulsiveness comes out in other ways. I've never met a sewing notion I didn't like.
DeleteI hope you are mending perfectly Bunny! Concerning the patterns - I'm guilty! I call all my unused patterns POSSIBILITIES!
ReplyDeleteThat accident could have happened to anyone who knows how to have a good time. Feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteI open and read all my patterns. I've sewn with less than 25% of them. However, I have made more than 25% as many items as the pattern count because of repeated use of TNTs. I customize TNTs, informed by what I learned from reading other patterns.
My DD doesn't sew, but several of her friends do. They get first dibs when I deaccession. The rest goes to local charities. I also accept stuff from other deaccessioning makers.
About 2010, I started a spreadsheet to keep track of my patterns, makes and how much I spend on sewing/knitting/dyeing. Then I added what our family spends on RTW. The sum is less than what a typical family our size spends, so I feel no guilt about my spending. (Like you, I do a fair bit of thrifting/refashioning.)
http://badmomgoodmom.blogspot.com/search/label/Wardrobe%20Refashion
Pattern companies and fabric/yarn stores need our patronage to stay in business. I am happy to oblige. ;-)
I wrote up a longer and more detailed version of my thoughts on this topic. http://badmomgoodmom.blogspot.com/2016/04/supplies-not-stash.html
DeleteI'm a pattern hoarder. But I'm okay with it. I'm so bad I buy duplicates on purpose and have a complicated system and display. I get great enjoyment from my collection, and I have so many that I like to shop my own patterns when looking for a new project. I like seeing them organized in their photo boxes. And I like adding to them every season. I also have a system of storage for things I've opened. But if a pattern didn't work for me I have no problem throwing it straight into the bin, because the dream has shattered.
ReplyDeleteI'm a pattern collector with as many modern patterns as vintage ones. I at least *open* the pattern to check it out and make sure it's all there! I wish I could sew from all my patterns but it would take many lifetimes for that to happen.
ReplyDeleteLove the comments. Patterns, it seems, can be collected and give joy just like anything else. I like that you call them Possibilities, Faye. I admit to taking them to bed, opening them up and reading the instructions like great literature. I am guilty. So they do all get opened. Like Reader, I have my tried and true shapes I make over and over. I found it really interesting that the pattern makers know their patterns are "Possibilities" or dreams or a wish list and won't get made. There's always been a market for dreams.
ReplyDeleteMe too! I can read a good Claire Schaeffer pattern over and over like it's Jane Austin.
DeleteFeel better soon, Bunny.
I'm glad you're starting to feel better, Bunny. I reckon I match the profile! Like Reader, sewing notions too (fortunately here we don't have the vast range of the US!) I'm working on developing TNTs.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're starting to feel better, Bunny. I reckon I match the profile! Like Reader, sewing notions too (fortunately here we don't have the vast range of the US!) I'm working on developing TNTs.
ReplyDeletePatterns represent potential for me. How can I make this just for me? How can I showcase a special fabric or technique? How can I show the world who I am? What if I want to try showing a different side sometimes? What will I do wearing this garment? Who might I meet?
ReplyDeleteI love buying pattern! Usually it's for an element of a pattern, not the whole thing, because I like to construct a garment to suit me/my ideas. And like Rainpatter, I sometimes buy duplicates because I know I'll use them. I use Evernote to manage and enjoy my patterns - it's where I keep all my sewing notes on a pattern (extremely handy), and I have the premium version, which syncs to all my devices. All part of the fun of sewing...
ReplyDeleteLove the fact that they are dreams and possibilities. :) Great description. I can think of worse ways to spend time and money than on a few (or a LOT) of unused patterns! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI hope you continue to heal, and quickly. At least it shows that you know how to have a great time with friends.!
I AM going to make them all! I just need more TIME! lol
ReplyDelete;-)
Continue to feel better!
Make up a good story about the bruises....maybe "you should see the other guy!"
ReplyDeleteNot only am I a sewist but I'm also a pattern collector!
Oh I'm so glad I'm not alone. I've been clearing out stashed patterns and am amazed by how many have never been out of the envelopes. Those are all going to our Textile Centers garage sale fund raiser.
ReplyDeleteAbout the bruises. I slipped on ice a few years ago and face planted on the asphalt. Not hurt too bad but I got a lovely facial bruises. I had four different woman approach me in public and offer assistance. It was after the second one that I realized they thought I'd been a domestic abuse victim! So nice of them to offer, really. But just clumsy.
Soooo true :)
ReplyDeleteHope you are feeling better!
I am glad you are doing better, I really feel for you, I'm such a klutz I was always running into the cubicle walls at work. And I have very good peripheral vision, so no excuse there. I have to plead the 5th on the patterns, I buy and somehow never sew.
ReplyDeleteBunny I am glad you are coming along and feeling a bit better. As far as patterns -yes! When I worked at McCall that was something told to me very early on. During my time there in 2012, it was before the new president came on board and he has done a lot to bring quality back to their patterns. But the previous "administration" scoffed at my suggestion that there were too many mistakes in the patterns, telling me "it doesn't matter, most of these patterns never get sewn anyway". As far as my own pattern collection goes, I so sew most of them and I have a very small collection compared to most others. It is so much work for me to alter a commercial pattern to fit that I learned very early on to stop wasting my money. Nowadays, I am drafting my own patterns and so I buy even fewer commercial patterns. I am pretty sure most others really enjoy collecting patterns, so I don't represent the norm!
ReplyDeleteWow! That was quite the attitude! I am glad the administration changed, better for all of us!
DeleteSO glad to hear you're doing better. Hope you are your old self very soon.
ReplyDeletePatterns: I don't have that many, but sure have quite a few "possibilities" in my collection.
What a terrible, freak accident. I am so sorry! Fancy just having a nice time, chatting in an animated fashion, and then ending up bashed up good and proper. Poor Bunny. Hope you get better soon. In the meantime thanks so much for the quote. It is so true. Maybe our fabrics are dreams too. I certainly have not made up even 25% of my patterns. But I do really enjoy having them and looking at them. The pictures on the cover inspire me and I enjoy planning to make them even if I don't - my fantasy wardrobe....
ReplyDeleteYou bet Bunny. Lots of unused patterns. I am in the process of cleaning and organizing my sewing space. Wow not only mucho patterns but also dupliicates. But it all inspires me to get going and get finished !! Glad you are feeling better. Don't rush back to work because once you go back they will not lot you off again !!! Enjoy at least one day of non-pain and getting inspired by your stack of patterns and fabric.
ReplyDeleteI love patterns too while not as much as fabric, but they do have a place of honor in the sewing cave...which they are presently overflowing. Dreams is the perfect word to describe patterns! I'm so glad that you're feeling better!
ReplyDeleteI do open most, but way more than 75% remain unused in my case. I'm working hard on cutting down on the incoming patterns, but those chain store pattern sales make it awfully hard to pass by yet another pattern for a minor variation. I mean, spend about $2-$5 to have it already done, vs how long to do it myself? And then there are the patterns with a high "how did they do that?" factor. Selling the dream is exactly right!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're on the mend!
Oh dear you poor sausage, glad to hear you're on the mend but don't overdo it!
ReplyDeleteWe were talking about this very thing this morning a sewing friend and I, at the back of the shop while I rolled lampshades, as you do. I really don't want to open some of my patterns - they are like Schrodinger's Cat when they are new and uncut. Is the pattern going to work on me or is it going to be a wadder? I will never know which if I just enjoy looking at the cover art ;-)
I'm sure I've owned almost every pattern in that photo at some point! My grandmother used to take the train into Manhattan to go fabric shopping, and she'd get so excited about her new patterns that she'd start reading them on the ride home. So for me it's hereditary. Buy all the patterns!
ReplyDeleteGoodness, hope you're feeling better.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more; I am yet to sew at least 70% of the patterns I own.
My pattern and fabric collection is full of dreams!
ReplyDeleteSomehow I missed this - and the tale of your great fall. Actually, I feel better that someone else can be attached by a piece of furniture! I broke my ribs on my rattan footstool last year. LOL. Hope all is well soon and you are back with laughter in the kitchen (with healthy respect for that island)...
ReplyDeleteYou've given me validation, Coco. I am on my healing way, but it will take time. At least now I am at the point where I can work and get things done, just have to be careful. Thanks for your thoughts.
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