The seeds were planted long ago!

by Lynne of Cozy Cottage Creations

I recently found this old photo of myself holding the very first pillow I ever made. That's me 16 years ago! I had already been out of college a few years and decided that if I wanted to use my major - I had studied film at Emerson - NYC was where I needed to be. It was an exhilarating time for me, and a bit terrifying, too, I'll admit. I had this gnawing notion that I needed to make something to give to my closest friends before I moved. If anything horrible happened to me, I wanted them to have something tangible to remember me by. (it's true - that was my motivation - it makes me laugh now!)

So I spent the summer of '92 rummaging through fabric, arranging paper triangles, and teaching myself to sew. The result was four pillows, each a different pattern and my very own design. Even a few of the corners met! But they were more than pillows. I'll never forget while I was using the rotary cutter one day - a simple little thought entered my mind that I'd like to make more of these and see if I could do that for a living. My brain just kept rolling and rolling that idea around, and I don't think it's ever stopped.

I went to NYC, got busy with my career, and had a great time. I was there for five years and during that time was able to rise through the ranks to become an editor/associate producer for Eye On People at CBSNews. But every time I went to a craft fair - and I went to every one I could - that little thought came back. I'd like to do this someday! One weekend, I decided I'd go for it and make the prototype for a quilted handbag. I got out my machine and all my fabric. I had visions of cranking out 20 of them. Hmmm - if I can make one in two hours, how much could I sell them for? The math kept running through my head. After two hours passed, I was still working on it. The day went by - fast - and there was still more to do. I spent the next day with more sewing. Then the next weekend. At the end of the 3rd weekend, I was thrilled to have my little bag (it even has a zipper!), but a wee bit disappointed at the realization it would not be profitable to spend 3 weekends making one bag. I loved that little bag, and got a lot of good use out of it. Every time someone admired it, I'd say "Thanks, I made it, and someday I'm going to figure out how to make them faster and sell them. That's my dream."

Fast forward to today - I finally found something I love to create that I can make in a timely way! I can't go as far as to say I'm making a living at it. But who knows what lies ahead!