FEATURED SHOP - Come See Come Sew

My Passion for Patterns

by Tricia King, from ComeSeeComeSew

I am a wife, mother, and high school English teacher by day and small business owner by night.  I needed an outlet for my crafty creative side and this is my story.

 My husband Shane and I have been married 6 years and we have two beautiful daughters.  Zoe is four and already loves to create and sing, just like her mommy.  Piper is twelve months old and has just started to show her loving personality to us.  We live in the beautiful state of West Virginia and even though we live “in town” in the busy little city of Parkersburg, we still make time to get the girls out in the fresh air to enjoy everything our naturally beautiful state has to offer. 

 Shane and I love all things vintage, retro, and antique.  When I met Shane, I was in awe of all his collections.  His small “bachelor pad” was full of antique fans, vintage Coke advertising, antique cameras, and miles of music on vinyl. 

When I asked how he began collecting history, he turned me on to auctions and “thrifting” and I have never had more fun shopping and collecting. 

It was during a regular weekend thrifting excursion that I stumbled across a large box of vintage 60's and 70's sewing patterns.  My mother sewed constantly when I was growing up.  My younger sister Allyson and I were always among the best dressed each Sunday at church, thanks to her crafty talents. I desperately wanted to learn to sew for my girls and my mom was more than willing to teach me.   I bought the box for five dollars and went home thinking I would pick out a few dresses my mother and I could bond over sewing.  What happened next still astonishes me. 

I started looking for patterns anywhere I could and I became obsessed!  I have a small craft room in my attic and it was slowly being swallowed up by patterns.  It became clear to me that I was on my way to becoming a professional hoarder!  

Then it hit me.  I could turn my obsession into a lucrative business opportunity and that's exactly what I did. 

I began to research my patterns, collect more, and learn how the fabulous professional pattern sellers on Etsy made their dreams a reality.  I wanted to follow in their footsteps and I opened my store Come See Come Sew in December of 2013. The store has been hard, but rewarding work.  When I sell a pattern, I not only feel a sense of accomplishment, but also know I have had a hand in preserving history.  Too often these beautiful patterns are ignored and discarded.  My goal is to take a small step to ensuring their life continues to bring beautiful vintage clothing to life.  Balancing a full time job, two small children, and a business is difficult, but entirely worth it!  I am so excited to see what this business has in store for my family and me in the future.  

Come See what I have for you to Sew! 
Use Code: BLOG20 for 20% OFF! 

 FEATURED SHOP

Lynda Slade, from allthepreciousthings  

For those of you who don’t know me, this will be an introduction, and for those that have known me online (or met me in person), it’s a little bit more about my world.

My name is Lynda, and I live in Sydney, Australia. I started selling vintage sewing patterns here on Etsy in 2009, but my dual love affair with all things Vintage and Sewing has been going on for as long as I can remember.

Puttering around my Great Grandparent’s home in the Blue Mountains (near Sydney) was one of my earliest memories. To a small child, it seemed like the house was filled with beautiful antiques and vintage curiosities – some of  which, I’ve inherited. My Grandmother’s sewing room was a favourite place to spend the day, watching her sew, and playing with her buttons, fabrics and ric rac. My mother taught me to sew as a child, and I still sew most of my own wardrobe.

Just before I started here on Etsy, I discovered the thrill of “Op Shopping”, or “thrifting” as those in the US refer to it. Since then, I’ve started buying PILES of vintage patterns, most of which I sell through my shop, allthepreciousthings

What started as a hobby has now become a small business, which has actually worked out very well for my unusual family situation.

My husband and I have been married for 28 years, and we have a son, 21 and a daughter, 19. Our daughter is severely autistic, has virtually no spoken language and has Epilepsy and a myriad of behaviour issues. I work part time in Sydney’s CBD at a breast cancer clinic, but my hours there are getting shorter and shorter because of my carer responsibilities at home. In 2011, my husband was diagnosed with Leukaemia, and has had months in and out of hospital with treatment including chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant. He is currently in remission, 1 year after his transplant.

Working from home, therefore, has become more and more important, as I snatch little pockets of “free” time when things are quiet.

Visits to the op shops are necessary for the shop, but also therapeutic.

Part of that therapy involves vintage collections.

Current collections:  (See photos below)

-vintage patterns

-vintage sewing books

-vintage Australian Home Journal magazines

-vintage buttons

-vintage fabric

-depression glass (clear, pink and green).

-vintage Pyrex (1950s-1970s)

-vintage sewing machines

I love admiring the things in my collection, but I also USE them!

Thanks for reading about me :)