Because of my disabilities I work on different media. I have a smartphone, laptop and 2 desktops. It depends on my physical abilities where I work.
And now it is a complete mess. Yes I have bookmarks, yes I synchronize, but, because of my undiagnosed ASD even my bookmarks are a chaos :-D. Now at 46 I know that my brain works differently so I can organize my life around how my brain works.
So now I thought that I would make a website for myself to help me keep an overview and can find the free patterns I want to try or I have already tried or which inspire me.
First it makes it easy to access it from everywhere (I also travel, because my family lives in very different places, from Australia via Europe to the Caribbean).
Second, I can add different categories, so I keep it organised (yeah I tried Pinterest, but because of all the boards, that also got out of hand and yes I even reorganized it). Now I have bookmarks in different categories, have pinterest pages and sections and….. and I downloaded a lot…. in 1 directory….. aka CHAOS.
It is a dedicated site for my sewing “hobby”. Yes, it is a hobby in the definition, but I am a professional trained seamstress and yes I can draw every pattern I want. The problem is in my mental and physical health (ASD, CPTSD mentally, EDS physically). Sometimes the pain is too much so my thinking is effected also because of the painkillers, so I do not want to draw my own patterns and there are days (if I forgot to keep in mind that I am autistic or life just happens) that I am overstimulated and that I just want to create with fabric and need it to keep my sanity.
There is a youtube channel called The Quilting Marine (https://www.youtube.com/@TheQuiltingMarine) who also started quilting to cope with PTSD. And yes it works. It helps with ASD and with PTSD. It helps to clear my head and to charge my battery. So for me sewing is way more than a hobby. It is my lifeline. Creating makes me happy.
Fourth it is visible. I see the pictures per category. I do not have to search (and yes, I like searching, but organizing………….)
So it is a sort of database for me, organized in a way that is made for me. But I will make it public so somebody else might be helped with it, if it is because you can find the right pattern for you or it is the pattern company that is helped, because it generates new people who will try their patterns. Or beautiful YouTube channels that are worth looking at. Please be nice to them. It is a lot of work to make a pattern and publish it and if you can, support them if you use their pattern. The same for the youtube channel. If you only like that upload, please like or comment. It helps them and it helpt other sewist to find quality content.
But please be aware, I speak different languages. In the schoolsystem in the country I was brought up in, and on the school level I graduates from I had 6 languages at school during my school carreer and at the moment I am learning Danish. So I have patterns in different languages. If you use them, please do not ask me for a translation. Use google translate or any other site that is specialized in helping people with patterns in other languages.
Further there will be tutorials that I find great, that are done by people who really now how to sew. I always look for a better way of doing things and there are really gems to find and I want to keep them as reference for myself, because some I use rarely.
Let us spread te love, the love for sewing 😀
The Crooked Seamstress 