Sewing Patterns for Sale

Edited to add:  My pattern sales have been modified, so the links below no longer work.  Here is a post (dated November 1, 2012) which describes the updated list of patterns for sale.

I have cleaned out my sewing patterns, and they are now for sale in the classifieds section of Pattern Review (Look for seller "Mary in FL").

Here are the links to my Picasa photo albums where you can see the patterns that are for sale.  All prices are in US Dollars and include shipping to USA addresses only.

burda OOP $7.50 each

Butterick OOP $4.00 each

Butterick (current) $3.00 each

KwikSew OOP $7.50 each

McCall's OOP $4.00 each

McCall's (current) $3.00 each

New Look OOP $4.00 each

New Look (current) $3.00 each

Stretch&Sew OOP $5.00 each

Simplicity OOP $3.00 each

Simplicity (current) $2.00 each

Vogue (current) $7.50 each

If you want to buy one of these patterns, please email me at marysews at gmail dot com - of course, remove the spaces and replace the at with an "at" sign and the dot with an actual dot.

For all the patterns I have for sale, I even have more.  I just have to get around to getting them ready to sell.  Each pattern must be scanned front and back, which includes making sure the scanner includes the entire picture and rotating the pictures as necessary.  Then I have to add each picture to the correct folder in Picasa.

The technical part of this task starts with moving the pattern description to the correct spreadsheet, then verifying the description and adding the sizes to the description.  Then I have to copy that information into the listing that will appear in the Pattern Review classified ad.  Fortunately, I can do this while the pattern envelopes are being scanned.  Thank goodness for multitasking abilities!

Stick around for the next round of pattern sales.  Yes, there will be more, and fabric, too!

Here's one of the patterns that I have for sale (click on the picture to enlarge):

Rearranged Stuff, etc. (picture heavy)

I have "after" pictures because I forgot to take "before" pictures.  Isn't that just how it goes sometimes?

There was a row of rolling storage carts in the sewing room, but they were piled with junk.  There was a row of boxes and containers in the cutting room, likewise piled high with stuff.  Yesterday afternoon I cleared off these piles and swapped the row of boxes with the row of storage carts.  Here's how it now looks:

Ah, yes, I did manage to do one other sewing-related thing over the weekend.  I organized and scanned the fronts and backs of 82 patterns I no longer need.  They are for sale in the Classified section at Pattern Review.  If you cannot see my listings (at lower left on the site), please let me know.  Of course, what would a little reorganization be without finding more fabric that I don't need?  I may have to list it on ebay; if so, I will let you know.

I also "got" to help DH while he prepped, primed, and painted parts of the exterior of the house.  Here are some pictures which include the use of boards to stabilize the step ladder, and the addition of another board to the top of the ladder on which to rest the paint tray:

Spring in Florida - Pictorial

Spring in Florida means orange blossoms.  Oh, they smell so good!

Spring in Florida also means new growth:

Sewing and Eating, More of it

Yesterday I made a sample napkin holder.  I had intended to make it in the style of these baskets on Debbie's blog, and I drew the pattern here:

After thinking about it and discussing it with my cousin, who I invited into the creative process, I changed how I wanted to do it.  The calculations are shown here:

The sides are made from the long strip which is folded at the top.  This strip encloses plastic canvas pieces.  The bottom is a double layer square of fabric which is attached to the bottom of the sides.  The bottom encloses a piece of craft foam.  I cut the fabric pieces and did the sewing, while my cousin cut all the plastic pieces.  Here is my first napkin holder for the kitchen:

Even though St Patrick's day was yesterday, we had a very St Paddie's day breakfast today.  The crust of the quiche was nut meal and egg.  The quiche filling was eggs, spinach leaves, and sea salt, blended.  There was cheese sprinkled on top, but it got cooked into the quiche.


The biscuits were made from this recipe.  They are made with mostly eggs and coconut flour, and they are very good.  This was a mostly paleo meal, except for the little bit of cheese:

Today, I went out with DH to buy a step ladder, and we had burgers at Steak n Shake - no fries, no bread, no cheese, but all the other condiments!  Then we went to JA's to get buttons and a zipper.  We got a small pack of very sturdy buttons for the next time I need to replace buttons on his shorts.  We got a 30" light-weight nylon zipper so I can make a cover for the wedge pillow I bought last weekend.

After that, cousin and I laid out in the sun to get our natural Vitamin D and to sweat out the toxins.  The day is not yet over!

Sewing and Eating

We all know that sewing requires food, the nourishment that gives us the strength to sew, right?

Here's what we had for supper tonight -- pork country-style ribs (which DH grilled with his special sauce), steamed asparagus (topped with butter), and a cherry tomato salad (I found the recipe here).  This is a very Paleo meal (at least to my understanding) because it contains only "real food" -- no grains, no processed carbs, and no chemicals:

Here's a light-weight knit I bought on sale at JA's a couple days ago.  I bought 1.5 yards of this sale fabric, and with 40-percent off (plus tax) it cost me approximately $12.50.  I think that's pretty good!  It will become a top of some sort.  Isn't it pretty?  It will go with all my purple and fuchsia pieces, and maybe even some red or black pieces:

I hope to get back to work on my skirt soon.  You believe me, don't you?  Most recent pictures of the skirt are here.

I also plan to make an actual container to hold the paper napkins that sit on my kitchen counter.  I want to make a short basket based on Debbie Cook's Ikea-style bins.  Look here to see what I mean.  DH doesn't know it yet, but he will help me make this.

If DH want another set of custom sheets like you can see here, we have to find a very good price for extra-wide fabric, which is usually called quilt backing.  I still have to write the tutorial for making sheets, but you can click here to see the instructions that are with the pictures.

As if there weren't enough projects in the planning stage around here, we bought a huge wedge pillow at BB&B (with a coupon, of course!).  It comes with a flimsy pillow cover, but we prefer two pillow cases on all our pillows.  When I get around to making this pillow cover, I will share the instructions.

Doggies Gone Paleo

The dogs "went Paleo" before the people did at our house.  Here's Marco:

... and here's Sarge:

We looked for grain-free dog food, and finally found it at our local Ace hardware:

The dogs love it.  Marco Polo, the older dog, gets more energy from this food than he did with grain-filled dog food.  Besides, since when did dogs harvest grains to eat?

"Mommy, why are you just standing there and not letting us inside to see what's cooking?"

Why my Sewing Gets Behind

I love to read!  No, I mean, I really love to read!

I read during lunch time at work.  I read when waiting for long traffic lights.  I have been known to read in avoidance of housework and my bedtime.

I have a huge spreadsheet that shows books and their authors.  That is to say, books I have read and want to read.  I use it to keep track of my library books - when I've requested them and when they are due.  I can sort them by author, title, year, or series name and number; but I usually keep it sorted by due date and whether I currently have them in my possession.

Here's a screen shot of my book list:

If I think I've read everything an author has written, I check it at this really cool web site:

Fantastic Fiction  (OMG, another Mitch Rapp book!)

Something interesting about what I like to read:  My two favorite genres are black ops and bonnet novels.  An understatement would be: "These genres are opposite of each other."  Let's see:  undercover dirty work vs. a peaceful existence.  Yup.  Crazy Mary ...

Bonnet novels are mostly books about Amish girls and women (and sometimes Mennonites).  My favorite authors of this sort are:

Mary Borntrager

W Dale Cramer

Suzanne Woods Fisher

Paul L Gaus

Beverly Lewis

I also happen to like certain other  Christian writers, and they are:
Lynn Austin (historical fiction through many ages)
Terri Blackstock (modern)
Janette Oke (American historical fiction)

Authors I like who write about pioneer or western women are:
Mona Hodgson
Vickie McDonough
Kathleen Morgan
Catherine Palmer

Black ops are secret military-type missions, which may include killing and/or rescue missions.  My favorite authors of this type are:

Vince Flynn

Cindy Gerard

Some of my other favorite authors are:

David Baldacci
C J Box
Gerald A Browne
Carol Clark
Mary Higgins Clark
Robin Cook
Sandra Dallas
Nelson DeMille
Jude Deveraux
Dorothy Gilman
Kristin Hannah
Victoria Holt
Faye Kellerman
Jonathan Kellerman
Jayne Ann Krentz
Johanna Lindsey
John D MacDonald
Michael Palmer
James Patterson
Jodi Picoult
Nora Roberts
Sidney Sheldon
Patrick D Smith
Lowell Teal
Kate Wilhelm

So, what am I currently reading?  "Birthright," by Janette Oke, book 3 of the Song of Acadia series..

What types of books do you like to read?  Do you ever let a hobby (like reading) overrun your life at times?