 Hi, you guys. I am getting ready to go to dinner, but I thought I would film this video really quickly to kind of share a few things. I know that I have been pretty much MIA for like, I don't know, like a month. I've been trying to keep up with a few things here and there, but definitely not my usual posting schedule. So I just wanted to come on and sort of like fill you in on what's been going on. It's nothing serious, nothing dramatic, but just been busy doing other things, which is really exciting. And I want to share it with you and hopefully you can share in the excitement as well. First of all, I have been really trying to like branch out a little bit, I guess, and like, figure out other ways that I can utilize my skill set as a garment sewist. And when I moved to Charlotte, we were, I guess we moved at the end of 2018 and then, right, so then we had that year and a couple of months right before the pandemic hit. And I was really just kind of trying to like get my footing here. Then the pandemic shut everything down and everything got kind of crazy. So now I'm just now starting to like do what I thought I would have been doing in 2020. I happen to literally stumble across a fabric shop that was in one part of town and they moved over near closer to where I live. And I was like, what is this place? And I walked in and I was like, this place is really cool. So I set up a meeting with the owner and I'm now teaching classes there, like in person classes. Right now I'm doing private lessons. But we're also trying to launch like a weekly drop in kind of thing where you can bring whatever project you're working on, whether it's garments or quilts or bags or baby clothes or whatever it is. And everybody kind of sews together and there's a bit of community there and, you know, kind of that whole thing. So we need to get a few people interested in it first before we can officially launch it. But I've been doing private lessons. I have two students and I'm so excited for them. I'll share more about them sort of as their journey progresses. So yeah, the place I'm teaching is called Stash Charlotte. If you're in the area, live near here, looking to learn more about garment sewing or sewing in general, wherever you are, if you wanted to lessons either privately with me or like a small group situation, check the link in the description box. It'll take you to Stash's website where you can sign up for either one of those classes. So that has been really, really fun and something kind of very different for me. I mean, I've done a lot of virtual consultations with you guys. I've done like big conferences where I teach a whole bunch of people at once, but having like the one on one and truly teaching people like, I don't know how to sew. It's just it's a lot of fun to see to see them kind of like light up learning something new. So that's been a lot of fun. I have also launched a brand new planner. Remember at the beginning of the year, I did the 2022 project planner. Same thing. It just got like a whole cute little revamp. I'm going to be showing you through it like doing a flip through maybe tomorrow. Yeah, probably tomorrow. So you guys will learn a lot more about that. But if you want to go ahead and check it out now again, link in the description box. It got a cover design. The interior pages all got a revamp and also took in a lot of suggestions and advice that you guys gave me after the first version. I'm sorry. I have a hair that is like super tickling to that. So that took in a lot of suggestions that you guys gave that would make it more user friendly, making more likely to buy it and implemented those things into this planner as well. It's like a phantom fuzz or something. I don't know what it is. So check the link in the description box for that or look out for tomorrow's video where we're gonna do a flip through and I'll show you all the pages and kind of see to see the design and all of that kind of stuff. So super excited about that. Speaking of like this week, we have our second quarter sew along. We are making McCall's 8522, which is a really cute woven tulip hem top definitely has like a bit of a vintage vibe to it, but also very, very current. Like I can see you wearing it with high rise mom jeans, skinny jeans, leggings, if you're comfortable showing, you know, it's not very long. It's not a tunic or anything. I mean, obviously shorts, I can see it with like those trouser shorts that are super popular. It's a really, really cute top. So we're gonna be working on that. I do have the sew along workbook that's available for free again, to kind of help you along the process day on track stay organized and all of that. So if you're participating in the sew along this week and you haven't grabbed the workbook yet, go ahead and do that. Tuesday's video will be fabric sizing alterations, cutting the pattern, all of that kind of stuff. So you are definitely not behind by any means. We are just gonna get started on Tuesday. You don't even necessarily have to have your fabric. You'd probably want it Tuesday. Actually, you have like, you know, today tomorrow and most of Tuesday to to get it another super cool thing that I am doing with this so along is I was brainstorming, you know, we did all the sew alongs last year. I did the one earlier this year and I'm just trying to rack my brain to figure out how I can give you guys even more with these sew alongs. I know you love a sew along. I get it. I love them too. And they are a great, great way to learn but how can I give you even more through the platforms that I have available? So I started a kind of like a membership subscription type thing through my website. I had the Patreon and I still have it. You can certainly support me there. That's fine. But through the website, if you sign up as a hemcider through the website, either the silver or is it gold or platinum? I can't even remember the two highest levels. You will have access to daily live virtual chats with me every single night of the sew along. Well, I say night. For me, it's like 5pm. For you guys, depending on where you live, you could be anytime. But Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, the four days of the sew along, I'm going to be getting on a Zoom with any of the hemciders that show up and are doing the sew along and want to ask questions and can help you guys through that day's video, that day's lesson, that day's steps that we're doing. So for example, on Tuesday, we're going to be doing a lot about fitting. So you can come to the Zoom with your Fast Fit Worksheet already filled out with your questions about fitting and we can kind of talk through it together so that you know that you're on the right track. Then we get to Wednesday. Wednesday, we're going to have the entire bodice sewn and so you can show me your bodice and I can say, yeah, I would nip it in here, let it out there, do this, do that to get like an ideal fit so we can like work together as best we can virtually through the entire sew along. So hopefully a lot of you guys will join me. You'll become a hemcider like ASAP and then those hemciders each day will get a link to the Zoom where we will chat. So depending on how many people show up, I have like 30 minutes set aside if like tons of people show up. Obviously, I'll stay on as long as necessary but I'm excited. I love meeting you guys. I love talking to you guys and I think this sew along is going to be a really great way for us to kind of like for you to learn obviously and for me to kind of like meet you and connect with you and all of that kind of stuff. You're probably wondering, I know you haven't been posting videos Lindsay, but have you been sewing? The answer is yes, ish. What I'm wearing is new. You guys will see this soon the week after the sew along. I've been doing a ton of works in progress. So little side note health wise, I got diagnosed with ADHD a couple of weeks ago. It's something that I feel like I thought I probably knew I had for a while and just started to really impair my life. I felt like I could be a lot more productive, obviously a lot more focused, but it was interesting because when I went and met with, I went to like an actual psychiatrist, like I don't get prescription for brain altering drugs from like just anybody. Like I go to an actual psychiatrist, someone who specializes in the brain and she was asking me, she was like, I can laugh about it now, I guess, but she was like, do you ever start projects and not finish them? And I was like, um, do you watch my videos? Like how do you know that I have a work in progress pile that is so big I had to start like a challenge for it. I think there must be, do I have it near here? Yes. I have this many left. These are all works in progress. I started with like more than 50, 60, 70, something like that. I probably have close to 50 here now. Um so I just looked at her and I was like, yes, yes I do. And that's just, I thought it was just like part of being a psoas. You start things, you don't finish them. Um she did go further and ask me specifically about the sewing projects and why I didn't finish them or she asked to like how far along would I get and then what would keep me from finishing it? And so I told her I would get to like 90% where it just needed a hem or something like that and then would just put it to the side and say I was going to do it later and then would never get to it and sit around and then I'd forget about it and so I thought that that was like a funny story relating to sewing and something that you know we all experience. I don't know to the level that you experience it. Also not to say that if you have a work in progress pile this big that you have ADHD. I don't know. Certainly not an expert in that field but um I'm happy to say I have been working through a lot of the works in progress. I'm documenting them because I joined TikTok last year and for whatever reason the TikTokers even the ones that don't sew really connected with the work in progress challenge and really loved seeing me take something in the beginning of the video that it was either half finished or maybe it was like a um like a refashion that I wanted to work on and then at the end of the three minutes or two minutes whatever however long ends up being they get to see the finished garment. I had a video go viral I think my sixth video or something so I was like okay clearly like this is saying something to the folks that are watching TikTok so I'm going to keep this up but I've also started posting them on my Instagram and people are really loving them there too. So if you want to see sort of some of those projects check out my TikTok or my Instagram as I get around to filming them and posting them on the channel I'll show you kind of the the videos that I have made documenting the process of making them um so you guys can see that too. You can see Biscuit is doing really well she's still very much a puppy about to turn a year but definitely loves to chew on things including my necklace um my shoes um she hasn't gotten into any fabric or patterns or anything well I mostly keep the sewing room door closed too um but honey's still here too but you know she's my little independent girl so she's not you know she doesn't like to be in my lap she always kind of do her own thing but they're excuse me excuse me no um but they are definitely developing their own kind of like special relationship with each other which I think is really sweet and it's been fun to watch that develop they're six months apart if you guys don't know we got them both um in 2020 or like one late 2021 early 2021 something like that um so Biscuit's about to turn one and then honey will turn two later in the year speaking of birthdays guess who has a milestone birthday this year this girl um so with that being such a special birthday um and also kind of all the travel being taken away from me the past couple of years I am going to be taking some really really fun trips uh in July and August um I've got a trip to Bimini Bahamas but not in a way that I think a lot of you have seen before I don't want to give too much away because I'll talk to you about it later like as I go to plan um my outfits and all that kind of stuff I will I will share with you then but um also taking a trip to Europe um specifically to Zurich I am obviously very very excited about that um I am going to be taking a trip to Atlanta to see the um Savannah School of Art and Design uh they always have like a major fashion designer showing some of their stuff in the museum so a bunch of sewing people are friends of mine are going to get together and go to Atlanta I can drive because it's only like four hours from here or something and they are going to be flying in so we'll spend the weekend together that will be fun I have a friend from Charleston coming in um and then I'm gonna might do remember whenever I did the location um with the girls from Charleston where we rented that little like beach house oh was it in Keo, no it wasn't in Keo, uh Savannah maybe I don't remember exactly where it was but we're trying to get that together again um so I have a lot of really fun stuff planned that I think will it was gonna be so nice just to reconnect with everybody again people that you know you were doing your best you're doing the FaceTimes you're doing the phone calls but it's not the same as like getting together getting out exploring something doing something new so I'm I'm super super super excited about um the next few months in that regard as well so um so yeah that's really kind of the gist of what's been going on here like I said nothing dramatic just different things taking my attention away from the channel um really really trying to establish inside to him as something more than just a YouTube channel you know I'm trying to come up with all kinds of different ways that I can support you guys not just on the channel and talking to camera and like showing you things that I've made but also giving you guys resources that are actually truly going to make sewing more enjoyable um make it you know you better at the craft of sewing um and and yeah just really kind of you know use this YouTube as a base platform but really trying to branch out a lot I've done my goal for the last couple of years and I feel like every six months or so I just need to like sit down in front of a computer for like weeks on end and knock out some of these projects and that's what I have been doing lately so I'm going to be back um the video the normal video schedule is going to start back up again we'll have the sew along all next week then I'll get back into plans and make videos and um pattern review videos and yes first impression Friday videos um I've been sort of keeping up with those even during this little hiatus because I know you guys look forward to them so much and I imagine you like on Friday night going to turn it on some of you tell me you fall asleep to them which I'm assuming is a massive compliment I have asked people though do you dream about sewing when you fall asleep to a sewing video I imagine you can have nothing but good dreams um but I imagine you guys going to see the video then it's not there and you be disappointed and I hate disappointing people as like a tried and true quintessential people pleaser working on it but it's just it's just who I am um so yeah I've been trying to keep up with those but I've missed a couple weeks here and there but those going to be back on the regular schedule again too I've also got a whole bunch of new sponsors a whole bunch of new fun products and businesses to tell you guys about um places that you may or may not have heard of before there's a whole bunch that are opening up I also feel like there's a whole bunch that are kind of shutting down um so I don't know what that means for us and the availability of patterns and fabric and notions and things like that but I think when every door closes another one opens right maybe you know five fabric shops closed down but then we all discover a new one that we all absolutely love so um I think there's space for everybody and you know people have to do what's right for them and their families so um so yeah just trying to like connect with many of those businesses as possible so that I can share what they do with you guys so you'll be seeing a lot more of that too but all of that said I hope that you will get super excited about the sew along this week grab the workbook join the membership become a Hemsider so that we can zoom together this week get the planner it starts the calendar portion of the planner starts July so you have plenty of time to get it um and get started you know planning out your July um and then yeah look forward to lots of fun fun videos and trips and traveling and just exciting stuff um leave any questions you have in the comment section below I'd love to know what your summer plans are if you're gonna be traveling I'm sure are your kids going back to summer camps like what's the situation looking like for you guys now that it seems like most of the world is kind of going back to or at least starting their new normal um but yeah I will see you all tomorrow and then the rest of the week with the sew along so I'll see you then