I also have to learn to stitch straighter!

Buy a magnetic seam guide for your machine. I just bought one and it's amazing. I bought the one made by Dritz on Joann.com and it was only $3.99. All you have to do is put your fabric in place and decide on your seam allowance, measure the fabric that will touch the seam guide to make sure it's all even (otherwise the seam guide would be crooked and be useless), then put the seam guide right on the metal plate and keep the edge of your fabric against it as you sew. The magnets are really powerful so you don't have to worry about it slipping or anything & it can't harm your machine (well, i know it can't harm my machine for sure. I called Brother cause I was paranoid and they gave me the OK. Haha). It's wayyyyyy worth the $4.

I exist!! I'm 23, I live in Wallingford, and I predominately make jewelry.

You're so far though! Isn't Wallingford just over an hour from here?

I don't have any crafty friends and it's beginning to drive me insane. Seriously. Haha. I want somebody to craft with! My friends will come over when I say I'm working (working=sewing/crafting) but they say it's fine and come over anyways and all they do is complain about how they're bored, even if I offer to teach them how to make something. I want some crafting company!

Obviously I'm not going to be like, "Nice to meet you, here's my address!" if somebody actually exists in this area that's crafty, but if we chat online for a while and get along it would be awesome to have somebody near here to craft with. Even if someone reading this just knows of a crafting group that meets up weekly/monthly, I'd be more than happy with that.

As far as location goes, I'm in Fairfield County (Norwalk).

I feel like I just wrote a classified ad. Haha.

EDIT: I just realized it would probably be a good idea to give some more info about me. I've been sewing/crafting for almost 10 years. I predominately sew apparel, bags/purses, accessories, and stuffed animals. I dabble in almost every craft (my room is like a craft store...it's ridiculous) but probably spend the most time crocheting, embroidering, and making jewelry & paper goods. I've been going to school online since my sophomore year in high school. Hmm...what else? I'm a little hesitant to say my age because 99% of the people I have encountered who are the same age as me have appalling behavior and do and say the things that I did when I was 12 or 13, so please don't judge me based off of my age. Now that I've given my disclaimer (haha), I'm sixteen. Lastly, something completely random...I have a fat pug named Nala who snorts and is an adorable chubby pig. Hahaha. Ok, I'm done.

I haven't found any thrift stores as amazing as the ones you would find in the city and I've done more than my fair share of searching. There isn't anywhere that always has good stuff. I've found some awesome stuff at Goodwill (either the one in Westport or the one in Norwalk). There's also a place called Trash in Danbury that's pretty sweet depending on what you're looking for. Let me know if you discover any hidden gems. =)

Ah this is amazing. Thank you for posting this!

Also, I was thinking the same thing as ksew in regards to the closure flap. It would probably make the topstitching easier because you wouldn't have to worry about the flap.

Again, thank you so much for the wrist cuff animegirlie. It's even more beautiful on. The first thing I thought was, "Wow! It's gorgeous and so well made!" Big compliments to your design and sewing skills. <3

your wrists are soooo much smaller than mine - I couldn't do an action shot. I'm happy you liked it.

haha yeah...i have insanely small wrists. i'm just really tiny in general so the wrists match the package. haha. the only downside is that it's impossible to find bracelets, even the adjustable ones, that fit my wrists. they're always so big that they fall off. the fact that i now have the beautiful cuff that you made me makes me happy. i can finally have something on my wrists other than a hair tie. =P i wore it yesterday and got a ton of compliments. thank you again! i absolutely love it. <3

thisisserious has received the pet toys i sent her:

denim tug-of-war toy for the dogs, food-themed catnip toys (egg, bacon, toast, fortune cookie), cat body pillow, sparkly pom-poms, and a monster toy.

she said she'd post some action shots soon

I'm happy you posted pictures! All of the animals are so so happy with their stuff. The dogs couldn't decide which toy they wanted to play with and fought over them and the cat is going crazy over his pillow. I haven't given him the other stuff yet because he loses toys all of the time so I only give him a few at a time. Once he loses one of the small toys he currently is playing with I'll give him one of the ones you sent. I'm sure he'll love them like he does the pillow. Thank you again!

Rainbow_art received the earrings I sent:

<<<Edited to remove pictures from quote.  Please remember to remove pictures when quoting - thanks!>>>

Those are absolutely gorgeous.

Again, thank you so much for the wrist cuff animegirlie. It's even more beautiful on. The first thing I thought was, "Wow! It's gorgeous and so well made!" Big compliments to your design and sewing skills. <3

[Things That Would Make Me Love You For Eternity]

I know I'm going to end up adding stuff onto this. It is a wishlist after all! Haha.
Please include instructions in the DIY kits. I don’t know if that’s assumed, but I want to make sure.
If you need measurements or more info for anything, just send me a PM.


Things That Would Make Me Love You For Eternity
1. Diamond Knit Dress - I saw this dress at Forever 21 and didn't have money with me, but an employee told me it was for sale online. As soon as I got home I went to buy it, but the color I wanted was sold out in my size. Send me a message if you want more details on the dress prior to committing to make it.

Supplies
1. Scrapbooking Supplies – ephemera; eyelets; brads; embellishments; stuff to put in a pet scrapbook
2. Crochet Hooks – larger than K-10.5 (6.50mm)
3. Coin Purse Frames – not gold colored
4. Magnetic Snaps – any size suitable for making purses
5. Fabric - retro, mod, bright, stripes, polka dots, black & white…really anything.
6. Grosgrain & Satin Ribbon - same as fabric
7. Clothing Sewing Patterns – I’ve always sewn from scratch and only used a pattern once six years ago, but I want to give them a second chance. Please PM me first to make sure the patterns aren’t too big/small for me.
8. Yarn
9. Stuffy Sewing Patterns
10. Cross Stitch Kits
11. Embroidery Kits

Made By You
1. Pet Toys – I have a Pug, a Pekingese, and a 5 month old kitten. They never have enough toys. Please make sure stitches are tight and there are no buttons or anything that they could choke on. I use embroidery thread and/or felt for the features when I make them toys. Thank you to whoever is making something for my kitty! He just got neutered yesterday so I feel bad and want to spoil him. Thank you for helping me with that! =P
2. Headbands – around 2” wide. not knitted or crocheted. fun patterns and colors. stretchy is preferred, but tied is fine. no green, yellow, or brown. 
3. Polaroids - anything that makes you feel. write one emotion the photograph gives you in the bottom white space.
4. Stationery – fun and cutesy designs; black & white elegant designs
5. Throw Pillow – to match the red, white, and black colors of my room. something retro and modern.
6. Pillow Sham – for a standard size pillow. gingham fabric. pastel lavender, blue, or green. no zippers.
7. Wrist Cuff – something really pretty like the ones on cutxpaste.com or the one lady---luck made. no wider than 2”. my wrists are ridiculously tiny. 5 ¾” long would fit me perfectly. snap or velcro closure. pink, black, purple, white, gray, and blue. it doesn’t have to be all of those colors, but please don’t use any other colors.  Thank you so much!

DIY Kits
1. Bookbinding Kit
2. Candle Making Kit
3. Altered Book Kit

Anything To Do With
1. Pugs
2. Pekingese
3. Yoda

Other Things
1. Surprise Me!
2. February/March 2006 issue of BUST magazine
3. My mom went to Hong Kong and brought me back these candies that were individually wrapped marshmallows with a flavored filling. I don't know what they're called. All I know is that she got them in China but the writing on them was Japanese. I want those marshmallow things really badly. You'd be my favorite person in the world if you found them and sent them to me. Any flavor will do, but I liked the ones with the chocolate filling the best.


About Me:  My name is Jade. I’m sixteen. I was born in my favorite place, New York City, but now live in Connecticut. I like every color except green and brown. Seven things I love are photography, sewing, crafting, reading, writing, art, DIY stuff, and music. Six books I love are Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Tithe by Holly Black, Blue Is For Nightmares (the whole series) by Laurie Faria Stolarz, and The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. Five websites I love are kurthalsey.com, postsecret.com, etsy.com, craftster.org, and livejournal.com. Four bands I love are Stellastarr*, Tegan and Sara, Death Cab For Cutie, and Panic! At The Disco. Three artists I love are Kurt Halsey, Ansel Adams, and Diane Arbus. Two designers I love are Marc Jacobs and Betsey Johnson. One food I love is sushi.

Seriously, thank you so so so much in advance to anyone who picks something off of my wish list. <3