Will I Always Be "Becky-Home-Ecky?"

[Maggiedoll]

Fishstix, why don't you start a blog?
Really, even reader comments aside, it's a great way to think about what you've made, explain it to yourself and other people, and consider ways to improve it.  
They always say that to really understand something, you have to teach it.  Blogging is a great way of approaching that.  

Oh, and one more thing.. the other day I was criticizing the envelope photo of one of the new Vogue patterns (1251) and someone commented about how they better be careful about putting their own stuff up since that looked more than fine to them.  But it's a different standard.  It's Vogue's pattern, and it's an advertisement photo, meant to get people to buy the pattern.  And they get to pick the model!  If the company making the pattern can't make it look well fitted and pressed on the model chosen to model the pattern, that says more about the pattern than some imperfections in the final garment made by anybody else.  It's their pattern and their advertisement, their design and all their choices.  They can pick somebody with the perfect body type to make the pattern fit correctly, even if it's a difficult-to-wear pattern that would look right only on an unusual body shape.  That envelope cover should make the pattern look as good as it could possibly look.  If it doesn't look perfect, it makes you wonder if there are just flaws in the pattern.  I wouldn't criticize an individual seamstress in nearly the same way.  

I'd love to hear what sewing blogs other people read.  I'm always looking for new and interesting sewing blogs, but I mostly find them just through blogrolls-- searching never seems to work very well.  Usually I stumble across new blogs by chance.  
I'm especially fond of costuming and corsetry blogs.  (Already follow Bridges on the Body..  and the Corsetmakers LJ group..)

ETA: Oh, and smaller beginner blogs, of course.  Especially blogs of other crazy people who, rather than starting by sewing things that are easier, just dive in and make corsets and jeans and such.
The little blogs that can establish all sorts of fun interblog commenting and referencing..

[lylacfey]

Life is too short to read discouraging blogs. Really, if they upset you, don't read them. Elitism is not nice in any field of endeavour and tends (to me) to smack of insecurity.

I will remember this always. I come across the same blogs in other forms of crafting.

fishstix- I bet your work is beautiful. Don't let those blogs get you down. So many blogs nowadays are about money. Next year those girls could be screaming that couture is out and homemade is in.

Don't let their level of expertise make you nervous. They were newbies at sewing machines too at one time.

[fishstix43]

Maggiedoll- thanks for all those sources!  (Yet another thing to distract me at work... )  And I've always thought that I don't do enough sewing to make a blog interesting at all, but maybe I'll just do it anyway...what's the worst that could happen, right?

Honeythief- I've been over to patternreview once or twice, but had trouble navigating it, but I'll have to give it a better try soon!

[Maggiedoll]

Maggiedoll- thanks for all those sources!  (Yet another thing to distract me at work... )  And I've always thought that I don't do enough sewing to make a blog interesting at all, but maybe I'll just do it anyway...what's the worst that could happen, right?

Worst thing I can think of is that you'd start thinking of it as a popularity contest and get discouraged if you didn't have "enough" followers or post "enough" or generally started making value judgments about your merits as a blogger. 

There are all those "how to blog well" articles that say things like "there are three kinds of bloggers: those who are successful, those who fail, and those who are delusional and think they don't care how many readers they have."  I consider that a supremely awful mindset to have for sewblogging, especially if you're trying to chronicle what you're learning.  I think it's better to approach it from a "publicly-accessible journal/record of your progress" angle and think of it as a method of recording your own progress that also doubles as a method of receiving feedback on your work.  Sew-blogging is a very niche-y thing, there aren't many sewing blogs that are "successful" by the definitions a publisher would use.  I think the sewblogging world is more like a forum bound together by links and blogrolls than it is like published writing. 

[fishstix43]

Well, thanks to your encouragement, here we go.  Shiny new blog: http://sewingforreallife.blogspot.com/ 

Never thought that's where this thread would go, but I think it will be interesting.  And don't worry maggiedoll, I have no illusions about becoming a "successful" blogger, though the idea of people actually reading what I write is kind of exciting.  I can always make my boyfriend read it, so then I have one reader at least.

[Ludi]

I just checked out your blog!   

[mandodeb]

Just checked out the blog - great start!
PS: This is the first blog I've ever joined.

[graceless lady]

I joined, too. I think you're off to a great start. Sometimes with my blog, I ask myself, "Am I just writing to myself?" Maybe, but there's still a value in that. The blog is a chronicle of my projects, my skills, and a reflection of my day-to-day life. That's not such a bad thing, and if i manage to inspire someone else along the way, that's great. Good luck, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you do!

[ScrappySue]

heya.
I get great sewing books from the opshop, fashions may change but lots of techniques don't.
My best tips for making your clothes look great are, iron your seams, as was mentioned before. I can't stess what a differance that makes.
Also topstitch edges, that can really make the differance.
and I hope you have fun!
S