One of the great things about blogging is that I have had the opportunity to meet wonderful, creative people! I have enjoyed watching Liz of Living My Sweet Life grow as a sewist in the little time that I have known her. I forgot how we met (via blogging) but she reminds me of me back in the day when my kids were young. She is a young mother that enjoys sewing as a hobby. I remember learning to sew – mostly on my own – when I got my first machine – which was when my oldest son was born. I loved the long nap times and early bed times. They were productive times! (And then the teen years arrived….but you all know that story.) It seems that Liz is always creating fun and new things. She inspired me to try mug rugs and pin cushions – just a few of the adorable things she has been cranking out.
I turned to Liz to test-sew my “Daddy Quilt”. She did a superb job and I am so appreciative!
How long have you been sewing? blogging?
I’ve only been sewing for a little over a year! I always wanted to learn how to sew and I have always been very into crafting. Christmas 2009 I wanted a Kindle and my husband (who knows me so well!) asked if I wanted something else since he knows I love to collect real books and a kindle probably would rarely get used with me. So I asked for a sewing machine because I thought he could get a good one for under $150 (d’oh, wrong!) and I would finally get to learn how to sew! My husband went to a local quilt shop and got talked into spending way too much money on a Christmas present BUT he got me a wonderful machine that I will own for a long time! (It’s a Babylock Grace if you’re wondering!)
Who taught you?
I am 100% self taught!! I read MANY blogs, and watched 100’s of youtube videos. In the beginning I made so many mistakes! I was afraid of threading my machine, I was positive I was going to sew my finger, I thought a needle lasted forever… I should have taken a class, but we don’t have much disposable income and classes in New York are expensive, so I have been teaching myself and learning so much a long the way. I don’t know anyone who sews, so I can’t even have a friend or family member sit down and help me thru a difficult project. I have to rely on the internet to help me out, so far so good!
What’s your favorite thing to sew?
Bags and Quilts. I have made about 20 bags (just for myself!) I love making quilts! There is something so wonderful about looking at a finished quilt and thinking “WOW I made that!”
Did you take classes?
Nope, see above!
What are your favorite sewing books and blogs from which you learn?
S.E.W. Everything Workshop is one of the books that made me a more confident sewer in the beginning. I also loved my One Yard Wonders book (I still do!)
Now my 2 favorite books are The Practical Guide to Patchwork and I <3 Patchwork. I am constantly flipping through them!
What sewn item are you most proud of making?
My first quilt. I made everyone admire it. I was SO excited when I finished it. I even free motion quilted it myself (yikes!) I gave it away to a dear friend for her lovely little girl. I am very happy it went to a good home!
What kind of sewing machine do you have?
I have a BabyLock Grace, A-line Series. I haven’t had any problems with my machine and I use is A LOT! (almost every day!)
Why do you blog?
Honestly, I was a very lonely SAHM and I needed an outlet. I live in New York City (one of the burroughs 😉 ) where it is considered very young to get married at 22 and have your first kid at 23. I was the only one of my friends with kids, even my friends in their mid 30’s had no children. I am turning 27 in 2 weeks and believe it or not I’m the youngest at nursery school drop off. So making mom friends that I have a lot in common with has been tough! Blogging was a great way for me to connect with others who have similar interests as me!
Do you enjoy other hobbies?
I like to read and I like to dabble in paper crafts… I DO NOT like to scrapbook. I don’t have the patience!
Tell us about your Etsy Shop.
It’s very small! lol I have big plans for it and by this summer I hope to have it running as a full blown shop with lots of goodies. Life kind of got in the way of etsy shop plans for a while, I spent a while fighting for my youngest son to get into a speech therapy program (he got in, yay!) and now I have 2 weddings that I am a bridesmaid in and a craft fair coming up. So after I finishing hosting the next shower I am hoping to fill up my shop!
Do you work and/or study outside the home?
No, but I do have plans on working again once my youngest goes to kindergarten. (Or maybe I’ll go back to school)
Are you a small town or big city girl?
Big city girl… I grew up in tiny apartments, I live in a tiny apartment now… BUT I have a backyard. It’s about 8×10” and my kids can run teeny tiny circles all over it. I tried to garden last year and I did a great job at killing 75% of what I grew. Oh and whenever I see a bird that is not a pigeon I get excited “OMG DO YOU SEE THAT BLUE BIRD?!” If we are taking a drive upstate and I see a farm I get all excited also “Look!!! Cows!! Horses!!! SHEEP!”
Favorite vacation spot.
Disney World, my husband and I spent 10 days there on our honeymoon and it was amazing. I don’t think I will every grow up!
Fondest childhood memory.
When I was 9 years old my mom threw a birthday party for me in our apartment. She NEVER let me have friends over (she was embarrassed about how small her apartment was, we lived in an area where a lot of kids had nice houses) So it was such a big deal for me to have friends over! We hot glued plastic jewels onto barrettes and had pizza and cake. It was awesome.
Who would you like to be for a day?
Anne Boleyn (just not the day she died, that would suck.) I have a crazy fascination with her life.
Best advice on raising kids (or boys).
Mommy time outs. Sometimes I need to close my eyes and walk away… Like right now my 3 year old is standing next to me repeating over and over “ Mommy, I want to brush my teeth” very Loudly. And he brushed his teeth THREE times already and it’s only 8:30AM!! He likes to brush his teeth… lol
What’s your favorite chain type restaurant?
Outback Steakhouse… mmmmmmm cheese-fries.
What things are unique to where you live? As in special customs, favorite restaurants, slang, etc. (I love to find the unique things of an area when I travel. So much of the US is homogenized – Anywhere USA).
I live in Queens, NY. It’s a burrough of NYC. Queens is the home of the NY Mets, we are the most diverse burrough and we have some of the best restaurants. I live in a section of queens that is definitely more suburban then the rest of the city. Where I live we have a very large Italian/Irish, Greek and Asian population. So the restaurants where I am are pretty awesome. My oldest son attends a Catholic pre-school (and at drop off you hear a lot of parents speaking Italian) When he gets into the older grades instead of learning spanish like most other schools he learns Italian. I definitely have a queens accent (Remember the TV show the Nanny? Like her only I don’t sound nasally and it’s not as exaggerated lol)
Favorite candy.
Hershey Kisses, I am a sucker for them.
Your scariest moment?
When my little guy was 7 months old I was taking him to my moms house so she could babysit him. It was raining and I was walking up a slate walkway and a slipped. I will never forget the sound his head made when he hit the ground. I had to call an ambulance and I was panicking. He ended up being OK and we were released a few hours later. I guess I am lucky that that was my scariest moment!
What helps you when you are in a bad mood?
Chocolate… more specifically hershey kisses!
Use one word that best describes yourself.
lazy? 😉 lol ok, maybe indecisive… It takes me forever to make a decision, I have to make sure I am making the perfect one. And then I 2nd guess it.
Thanks, Liz, for giving us the opportunity to get to know you a little better! Keep on sewing!
Only sewing for a year?! Liz is doing some incredible stuff. I keep saying I’ll break out my sewing machine one day and really teach myself how to use it, and amazing bloggers like you two are a big inspiration for me.
Great interview. I’m going to check out her blog right now.
What a fun interview. It was interesting to learn about Liz and see her sewing projects. Love the bags and quilt.
Lovely article! Thanks for introducing us to Liz! I loved your fun questions! And I agree with her about chocolate!
Great interview! She sounds a lot like me in some areas 🙂
Holy Cow, that’s me!
How exciting! Thank you for all the lovely comments!
And THANK YOU Jane for being so wonderful!!
Great interview! I love Liz and glad that we have become bloggy buddies. We have alot in common and she is a amazing at here craft!
Great interview and great blog Liz – thanks for giving us an insight into life in New York
wow, Liz is absolutely amazing! There’s hope for me yet as a sewer. I just need to make the time to do it. 🙂