Sunday, January 10, 2016

It's been ten years...

I started my blog on January 8, 2006 because I wanted to say what I wanted to say without sewing board restrictions.  At that time sewing boards were huge! The social media spot to go to meet other sewists. I wanted a home computer just to be able to keep up with my favorite sewing board, Stitchers Guild, on the weekends.

It seemed like the best things were posted on the weekends and since I accessed the board from my work computer (and they actually expected me to work) it seemed like it took at least 2-3 days to catch up on the weekend going ons. I did get my first home computer but I inherited it after my Dad died. He said I should write and told my Mom to give it to me.

So hardly anyone was blogging then. I was striking out on a path that I didn't realize would last a decade. Hey I didn't know if I would still be doing it the following year. But I got hooked on blogging...writing and sharing about sewing...sharing photos of garments I made...the discussions about sewing...meeting other sewists...and in the process I learned that I like to write and I'm a blogger. So here I am 1,777 posts later.

I know that there are other forms of social media (loads of them now) where we can share our love of sewing but I love the written word alongside some pretty pictures. I will probably blog until blogger closes down or my fingers lose the ability to type.

In the beginning, I had no idea what I was doing. When I went to look at my very first post (OMG the horridness of it!) I had to clean it up before I would link it to this post. I didn't have a digital camera. I was using disposable throwaways at the time, never having been a photography buff, they always worked for me. I had no printer. Couldn't work a photo editing program if you paid me...my computer skills were based on the things I learned & needed for work. I really just wanted to talk about sewing.

So over the last decade I've learned a few things! *LOL*
  • I now know the best time to take a picture outside and that natural light is best.
  • My sister says I always know the best way to stand to get the skinniest picture. hahahahaha!
  • I think more about layouts and what story I want to tell with my pictures.
  • I know not to link to a website for fabric or patterns, especially if I don't want to have broken links in my posts years later. BTW, over the course of this year I will be going in and fixing all of the broken links in the older posts. 
  • I've learned not to discard a good picture if things can be cropped out. 
  • Most importantly I've learned to take loads and loads of pictures so that I can end up with 4-5 good ones for the blog and for Instagram.
Honestly, I love my little piece of the internet with the sewing friends and opportunities it's introduced me to.  This blog has enhanced and enriched my life. It was something to hold onto when times were hard in my professional life. It was a place of refuge amongst like-minded friends when tragedies occurred in my personal life - even if they weren't shared here - it was a place to escape to. I've learned to rise above, to respect, to cherish, to admire and to wanna be some of my fellow sewists. I've learned that a fat, middle-aged black woman could be cared for, loved and hated by thousands of other sewists I will probably never meet...and I've enjoyed almost all of it! *LOL*

So thank you to those who have been following along since the beginning! Thank you to those of you who have become friends!  Thank you to those who passed in or out of my life during this time...I'm glad that we had that time together. Thank you to those who hated on me, because it made me develop character. And thank you to those who've just started following along. I appreciate each and every one of you!

Here's to the future and whatever lies ahead!

...as always more later!


101 comments:

  1. Cheers! I enjoy your blog very much. As a beginner sewist, I get my inspiration and a good deal of my education from blogs just like yours. Thank you!

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  2. Wow! Congratulations! I've been following you for a long time but don't remember if I go back 10 years. I love reading your blog. I get inspired and have learned so much about choosing fabrics and altering patterns. I love the peeks you give us into your lovely family too. Those grandbabies are so adorable! Wishing you many more years of inspiring and sharing with us. Happy New Year!

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  3. Congratulations - your blog is magic to me. I had almost given up sewing when I found you. Please never stop :). You are a constant source of inspiration and thank you for being you. Well done.

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  4. Carolyn, your's was the blog that introduced me to the world of sewing on the internet, so thank you for being there, for writing, for being a fellow stitcher and for linking me to others. I still catch up on the internets by reading your blog roll. Congratulations on ten years.
    Theresa in Tucson

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  5. Thank you for your generous sharing of your successes and failures. Your blog is always my go to blog. I look forward to many more years of following your blog.

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  6. I met you at the Sew Expo in Puallup last year and did not have time to tell you how much I have enjoyed your blog. I wish we lived closer. Something just tells me we would be great friends. And you are not fat lady. With the weight you have lost you are looking good!

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  7. Your sewing techniques, your ability to choose fabrics and patterns that suit you are part of the pleasure of following your blog--but mostly your grace and character shine through. Many thanks!

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  8. Blogs give a voice to people who would usually be ignored by mainstream media. You don't have to be a model or a celebrity or a sewing professional to have a blog.

    Sewing can be a solitary activity, so to be able to get advice and comment from people around the world is amazing and is the Internet at its best.

    Blogging opens the writer up to having their sewing, fitting or fabric choice come under scrutiny and comment that can help them to improve upon their creations. Sometimes praise will cause them feel surprised and increase confidence in their abilities. As a commenter, it's an opportunity to contact a complete stranger whom you might ordinarily never have had the chance to meet.

    I am always so pleased and thankful when someone takes the time out to comment or follow my little corner of the Internet.

    Carolyn, you have posted photographs of yourself and shared happenings in your life with your readers many of whom are strangers in reality, but feel as if they know you. That's a great skill.




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  9. Congratulations on ten years! That's huge! Just hit five years, and it feels like forever. It's crazy to think you've been blogging twice that amount of time!!! I hope you have many more decades of blogging ahead of you!

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  10. Congratulations Caroyln, I truly enjoy reading your blog. Your blog is definitely one of my favorites.

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  11. Wow, congrats! I love reading your blog and have learned a great deal from you - long may it continue!

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  12. Wow-10 years! Congratulations! Yours was one of the first blogs I began following when I discovered the world of sewing blogs about 4 years ago. It's always interesting and inspiring. Thank you for sharing.

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  13. Congratulations to your blogging milestone. Your blog is amazing. Thanks for sharing your work. Total fan over here. You are like a celebrity.

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  14. Congratulations Carolyn. I enjoy your blog so much, following what you make, and recently seeing you change to a different style and body shape. Your work is always beautifully made and I have used many of your tutorials and sewing hints. Thank-you.

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  15. I began reading sewing blogs about 8 or 9 years ago, and yours was one of the first I started reading regularly. Pins and Needles, Miss Celie's Pants, The Slapdash Sewist, and Communing With Fabric were a few of the others. In fact, I "won" one of your duplicate Burda magazines long ago and made a dress or two from it! I started my own sewing blog (Sewing Up the Neighbourhood), but found it difficult to keep up so I quit about 4 years ago.

    I have enjoyed continuing to follow your work. Thank you for keeping your blog a private hobby rather than turning it into a business or a book deal. I still follow a few of those blogs, but not many, as it is difficult to take advice from someone whose workspace is always pristine and matchy.

    But no sour grapes! I look forward to the next years of your blogging! Peace to you.

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  16. Thank YOU Carolyn. Thank you for being the poster girl for all us middle-aged fat women. I've been following your blog for quite a few years now...maybe 5? I used to post way way back in the day at Sewing World, the pre-curser to Stitchers Guild. I'm talking the late 90s when my DD was a pre-schooler. Wow! Gotta love the internet. How else would I have ever seen your work? Wow. Just wow. It's an amazing thing.

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  17. 10 years is a fantastic achievement, well done. Your blog constantly inspires and interests me - thank you very much. In fact, whenever I read your blog I'm tempted to start blogging again, but I've come to realise it's not for me (I can't work out what the point of it is for me so I can't stick to it!).
    Out of curiosity, I followed your link and went back to your first few posts. I really like how your "voice" hasn't changed in all these years - shows how genuine it must be. Thank you again, and here's to many more posts to come.

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    1. P.S. I really appreciate your magnanimity towards differing opinions and seeing that even "the haters" have provided you with something. Such a classy, graceful attitude.

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    2. Craftytraveller - thank you for your kind words. I can only be me and I'm thrilled to realize that my voice has continued to be the same over the last decade.

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  18. My first sewing blog was The Sew Weekly, but due to the high volume of recommendations yours was another early one 😊 your blog is one I always enjoy - thank you. X

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  19. Congratulations Carolyn. I don't think I've been there all of the 10 years but must be 8 or 9. It's always a pleasure to read your post, especially the ones where you use a pattern to make something you've seen and were inspired by. cheers and look forward to the next 10 years.

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  20. Congratulations on your first decade! May there be more as we move forward. This time does seem to fly, doesn't it?

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  21. Congratulations on 10 years! I am glad you started this blog. I've probably been following along for a large part of that. Always so inspiring. Best wishes for many, many more years :)

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    1. Vicki - I know you've been following my adventures since almost the beginning and I so appreciate it that you've stuck around that long!

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  22. Warmest congratulations on reaching 10 years of blogging Carolyn. Your blog is always so inspiring and your lovely personality shines through every post.

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  23. Hip! Hip! Hooray! Congrats on your 10 year blogiversary! I've loved sharing your journey and I love blogging as well. It's also nice to have such a well captured capsule of your sewing history! Looking forward to many more posts!

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  24. I'm so glad that you started this blog. You are such an inspiration for sewing and for blogging! Congratulations for sticking with it all these years.

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  25. Love, love, love your blog. My favorite. Have learned from you and been inspired so much. Thank you and congratulations on this special anniversary.

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  26. Thank you so much for sharing your love of sewing! I enjoy reading about your sewing journey. I love your talent of being inspired by runway fashions & making them your own.
    Congratulations!

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  27. Happy Anniversary. I don't know how long I have been lurking your blog but I am so glad I found it. Here's to many more years of enjoyment for all of us!

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  28. Happy Anniversary! I learn so much from you.

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    1. Toni - I know that you've been following along for quite a few years and I appreciate your support!

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  29. Congratulations on the anniversary! Love your blog, it's one of my favorites, love to see how you modify patterns and your fabric combinations. Thanks for all your hard work!

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  30. Congrats! So glad I found your blog. I learn so much and look forward to many more years.

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  31. I've been reading your blog since about 2006. I remember thinking that it was one of the few that posted clothes sewing as if it wasn't a huge mystery. After I found you, I found other sewing bloggers who posted clothes sewing as well, but your blog has always been "real". You talk about your figure and fitting issues as if they are normal, everyday issues, which they ARE! Since I'm a plus size as well, that is inspiring.

    Congrats on your first ten years! I'll be here as long as you're willing to keep blogging.

    BTW, I recently added piping to an easy jacket pattern, mostly because I loved the way yours came out. I love it and I thank you for being generous about sharing techniques!

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  32. Congrats on your blogaversary !!! You are always so honest about your sewing & generous with your tips,hints info - thank you ,thank you, thank you !!!

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  33. Congratulations Carolyn on your milestone! I've been reading your blog for 8 years and always look forward to your informative posts. You are a natural writer and through your blog I feel like I know you. Our sewing styles are very similar now but I could easily relate to your earlier professional style. You are definitely one of my favorite bloggers and I look forward to hearing from you in the coming years. Thank you! Karen

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  34. I truly enjoy your blog. I "discovered" you about 2 months ago and now reading your blog is one of the things I do for fun. I am relieved that you have 1777 entries-That means my new hobby will remain fresh for a long time. Your Dad was right about your writing skill. Am trying to get back into sewing for the first time in 20 years. Wish me luck. Thank you
    Pam Everhart

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    1. Pam - please continue to sew. Many things have changed and gotten a lot easier in the last couple of years. You will face some disappointments and make some unwearable garments but that's all part of the learning process. Hey I've been sewing for over 40+ years and I've made a wadder or two myself. Mainly I just want to encourage you to keep going because it's worth it in the end!

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  35. I've been following you since the beginning. I wanted to find other Black women that sewed. I can't believe how difficult that was back then! It's been a joy watching you evolve!

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    1. Thanks Erica! I think I've been following you as long. All of your children lived at home and were grade school children then and now you're an empty nester! The decade of blogging has been good to us both!

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  36. Congratulations on your 10 year anniversary!

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  37. I love your blog. I don't comment much. My sewing blogs and SG are the first things I go to - read off my tablet as I drink my coffee. I feel like I'm a better sewist because of blogs like yours. It's amazing the tips I've garnered from you. Thank you. See you in the morning over coffee.
    Marcia

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  38. Your blog is one of a handful I still read. I had no idea sewists blogged until my sister began a different kind of blog and I started looking around at other blogs. Your blog is thoughtful, educational and you allow me to step into your life as a friend. Thank you. I hope you don't ever stop blogging. You inspire me.

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  39. Congratulations! I love your blog. I have learned and been inspired so much by you and your writings.

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  40. Carolyn, I do not know how many years ago I started following your blog, but I will say again what I said then, I enjoy reading your blog and learn from it and you are as cute as a bug.

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  41. Congratulations on 10 years! I have been reading your blog for a long time. You are a positive inspiration to me. You unashamedly and joyfully buy lots of fabric. You use big 4 patterns, like I do. Most of all , when I thought my sewing life was over because I could not longer buy a size 10 pattern and sew it as it came out of the envelope, your blog showed me how to alter my patterns. Thank you for being you.

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  42. Thank you for sharing! You are awesome!!!!

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  43. And I love you! Your posts are always so informative, positive, inspiring. I like to think that you have helped me improve my sewing skills.

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  44. It's been a pleasure following along with you on your journey. Thanks so much for sharing.

    I started my blog over 10 years ago, too. There were fewer blogs then, but your blog was and remains among my faves.

    Back then, I was on medical leave and my husband bought me a fancy Bernina to keep my distracted while at home. Here's to being alive and well (and sewing!) into middle age!

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  45. Hi, happy anniversary! I'm a recent follower, and look forward to your future posts! Linda

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  46. THANK YOU! You have reintroduced me to sewing because you sew(ed) plus size clothing and showed me how to do it, too. As for the pics, we were told in my job back in the day to take a whole roll of film for one good picture!!!

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  47. Thank you for keeping at it, it has been a pleasure and a learning experience to follow your blog...and congratulation for making it this long, keep it up.

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  48. Happy Anniversary Carolyn! I started following you about four years ago and I was so enthused by your love of sewing AND creating plus sized garments that surpassed rtw offerings. You are well known in sewing blog-land and it's not by accident. Keep posting -- I'll keep reading.

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  49. Congratulations! I love your blog. I love your writing style, your sense of humour and honesty and your style journey. Yours was one of the first blogs I read, once I'd heard of blogs. I always read your posts right through and really appreciat3e the time and effort you put into sharing with us all. Best wishes.

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  50. ps I'm in New Zealand - 8,750 miles from you (approx). Not as far away as your Aussie readers but still safe to say your blog is read far and wide!

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  51. Carolyn, I know I started blogging close to the time you did. I am thinking, October-November 2005. I just was hearing about blogging and sent some questions out on Pattern Review discussion and got a brief, very brief, tutorial on what blogging was all about. I started using Blogger, cause it is free! I remember searching through Blogger and found someone else using Diary in the title of their blog. It was YOU! I became a fan/follower and always enjoy reading your posts. Like you I have learned a lot about blogging and still find room for improving mine. I too have had haters and those anonymous commentators who attack and run. I am still blogging, still enjoying it and would like more time to do so. Looking forward to continue to follow you in years to come.

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  52. And we love your little corner of the internet too. Thank you for giving and sharing so generously. You are appreciated.

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  53. congrats on the 10 year mark and I hope you continue as long as you find it rewarding, I know I enjoy reading your posts and you were one of the very first I found when I first discovered sewing blogs.

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    1. Beth - you are one of my wanna be like sewists. I admire your talent so much and love reading your blog for the sewing knowledge you impart! Thanks for following my sewing journey!

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  54. Ten years of good work. Congratulations. Look forward to many more great posts.

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  55. Love you, Carolyn! People like you make me so thankful for the blogging community and what it's blossomed into - a vast resource of sewing help, inspiration and chatter, all run by some of the most amazing people I have ever met! Here's to 10 more years! <3

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    1. Lauren - meeting you and being one of your Mood sisters is one of the highlights of the last 10 years. I love your passion for sewing and how important it is in your life. I've followed your doings since I stumbled across your blog a few years ago and was so impressed with your sewing room and how important it was to you at such a young age! Hopefully we'll be blogging alongside each other for years to come!

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  56. I had been following your blog for about a month or so when your basement flooded. I was devastated for you. I found sewing blogs by accident and started reading a few. Your blog is the only one I continue to read daily, unless you refer to someone's in your post. Congratulations on 10 years of blogging, and I hope you will continue. I'm an amateur sewing person, but I love to read your expert constructions and see your lovely pictures. Thank you for posting so often.

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  57. Congratulations on 10 years of blogging! Thanks for sharing your sewing and life with us!!!

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  58. Congratulations! Glad to be a regular since 2008!

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  59. Congratulations on your 10 years of blogging! And thanks for sharing those blogging tips.

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  60. Thank you so much for all your work, sharing and talent. Your blog inspired mine and your sewing motivates and inspires me every time I sit down at my machine. You have influenced so many of us and we are better for it. What a contribution.

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  61. Congrats on your decade of accomplishments. You have a wonderful voice that is utterly unique. You make the world a better place and not just the sewing world. Best wishes for your next steps into the future.

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  62. I'm a relatively late comer but you and male pattern boldness are the two blogs I check regularly.
    I freaked a bit, this sounded like a goodbye post. Argh!
    I'm so glad you'll still be here.

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  63. Congratulations on 10 great years! I really enjoy your blog. :-)

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  64. great post! happy anniversary!

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  65. WOW so much scrolling to get to the comment box :)!!!!! i love this post, and obviously i'm not alone ;)

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    1. Getting to know you and become your friend is another one of those highlights from the past 10 years! I am honored to call you friend.

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  66. Congratulations on 10 years, I started following you in 2008. Wow, I didn't even think about it until now. I really love your blog. You have helped me so much.

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  67. Congratulations on ten years of this wonderful blog, and allowing so many to follow your sewing journey. You have wonderful insight and a sparkling personality. I believe I have been following you almost as long as you have been blogging. Isn't the growth in social media amazing? And, aren't you glad blogging is still around and thriving? I am. Thank you Carolyn!

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  68. A huge congratulations to you Carolyn! I love your blog, and I love that it's 'real'. It's so nice to feel like I'm hanging out in the sewing cave with you. I totally agree with the person many posts back who said that it's hard to take sewing advice from someone whose space is immaculate and matchy and whose photos are professionally ethereal and heavily photoshopped. It's like going to someone's house and not being able to sit on the furniture. :)

    Love your blog - I'm glad you've kept up with it. I know I've learned a lot. Though I will still have to blame you for suggesting I visit Kashi when I went to NYC. That was the biggest box of fabric my husband had ever seen. :)

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  69. Happy Blogaversary!! Here's to another 10 years!

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  70. Carolyn it does not seem that long! congratulations on your 10th anniversary. Your blog has been very inspirational for me and also a link to a sewing community that is lacking in my country. I thank you for sharing bits of your life with us and all those wonderful tutorials. Another wonderful thing about your blog is the link to other sewists many an evening was enhanced by reading your post then onto others. A toast to you and long may you continue enjoying and sharing your sewing adventures.

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  71. Congratulations on your 10 year anniversary and looking forward to another ten... keep em' coming.

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  72. Congratulations on 10 years! You're so creative and a great inspiration. I always love reading your posts.

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  73. Thanks Carolyn
    You are an inspiration
    love your Blog :)

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  74. Thanks for sharing this story with us and it is always great to see your sewing projects. I find your projects inspiring and one of my “go to blogs” when I am at a loss what to work on for my next sewing adventure!

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  75. What a fabulous post! So fun to read your story. I'm actually very impressed that you did your first blog photos with a disposable camera - I don't know that I would have been able to figure out how to get them transferred into a blog post!

    Congratulations on 10 fantastic years!

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    1. Gail, they use to put your pictures on a disc. I could insert the disc into the computer and then choose the pictures from the disc. It didn't allow you to take as many as I do now and I had no photography software so I hoped for the best. That's why I bought my first digital camera about a year into blogging!

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  76. I must confess, I am not a regular. There are so many good sewing blogs it's hard to keep up with them all, but I do stop by once in a while to see what lovely things you have made.

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  77. Congratulations Carolyn. That's so fantastic! I'm about 6 years of blogging and I can't imagine life without this fantastic community we have. Always love reading your blog and cooing over the fabric stash! x

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  78. Thank you so much for all of your time, energy, and efforts. I know my sewing has improved thanks to you. You are an amazing model.

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  79. So hard to believe it's been ten years! So glad to have been able to share the journey with you! You've inspired me all along the way! Here's to ten more! :-)

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    1. Yes Lisa we've been following each other for the last decade and we've seen our children grow up and our sewing progress. Thanks for following along!

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  80. I love reading your blog, you're one of my favorite bloggers and I follow a LOT, lol. Unfortunately, you're also to blame for my massive fabric stash as I am sure I discovered Fabric Mart through your blog.

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    1. Levone - well I couldn't keep all that goodness to myself! LOL!

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  81. I love your blog and refer to it everyday---even at work! For me, it's wonderful to see a beautiful, mature, black woman sewing for a body to which I can relate and sewing clothes that are tasteful and professional. I've learned so much about fabric, patterns and fitting from your blog. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and wishing you many more years of blogging!

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  82. Congrats!!! Ten years!!! My blog will be ten year in 2017, so I'm just behind you! Give us ten more!!

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  83. Hi Carolyn-
    Congratulations on ten years!!!!!! I love your blog.
    I’ve returned to sewing for myself after about 20+ years and many (many) pounds later. Your blog came up in a search I did to help with this process. I have learned so much thru your generous sharing: FBAs (who knew?!), re-sizing patterns!, TNTs!, patterns and styles that look could good on me!and so much more!
    You have also introduced me to other inspirational blogs: Oonaballoona; Curvy Sewing Collective; Communing with Fabric to name only a few.
    I am loving following your journey & challenges thru job changes, weight loss, and, of course, your adorable family. (It’s so hard to believe you have haters!)
    Anyway, thank-you, thank-you, thank-you. I’ll keep reading your blog as long as you want to write it.
    -Cathy

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  84. Wow! Ten years! I started my blog about six months after you began yours - I remember how few sewing blogs there were at the time! Although I don't comment often, yours is one of my faves :-)

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  85. Congratulations Carolyn,
    You have been such an inspiration. You are so much like my big sister I slot you right there with her (Lol) I recently became hooked on your blog even though I'm not one to just sit and read blogs yours I really enjoy. I love that you are very informative, open, and fun thank you for taking the time you do to share it is appreciated. Keep doing what YOU do.!

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