Since you asked . . .

What did you want to be when you grew up?
A race car diver.

How did you become interested in sewing?
As a kid, my mother couldn’t find clothes to fit me so she made all my clothes.  By the age of 10 or so she had gotten tired of that so she sent me to the Girl Scouts. Of all the badge failures I endured, sewing I inexplicably excelled at. I loved it. I raced through one project after another like a mad badger (with hair to match I might add), revving that poor old Singer. My teacher hated me for obvious reasons. [See above.]

Is there someone who motivates you in your sewing?
Great movie heroines. Heroines are always wearing the right thing. Me, not so much.

What is your favorite season/time to dress for?
I like sun and summer.

What gets you excited to get out of bed in the morning?
Espresso and cigarettes.

What is your “daily drive?”
Paying the rent.

What was your first proudest sewing moment?
Seeing a wedding dress I designed for a friend sewn by dressmaker.  The dressmaker thought I was brilliant. I was 19.

What do you like most/least about sewing?
Sewing has a Zen elegance to it, a bit like a puzzle. When I’m in the Zone, there is a fluid calm in the process of the pieces coming together. On the flip side, I’m not crazy about making sample garments. I sometimes procrastinate a bit leading up to cutting out projects.

How did you get started sewing your own clothes?
I made outfits for my Barbie gleaned from pages of old Vogues. It was the 60s, my Babs had lots of matching Go Go boots to go with her ball gowns.  

What do you like to do when not sewing?
Eat cheeseburgers. Dance to Motown. Smoke and drink in bars. Well dressed, of course.

If you had an extra $1M how would you spend it?
I’d fully option out my sewing studio with a pool and swim-up Palomba bar. Oh, and my own jet.

What are your strengths?
I have an excellent eye for proportion and fit. When I see people on the street, I have to stop myself from asking them, “Who told you it would be OK to go out of the house like that?”

What are your weaknesses?
I have absurdly clumsy fingers. I know all the traditional hand stitches but execution is a trial for me.

Who are you when you wear one of your garments inspired from a favorite film?
I am always wearing the right thing at the right time and, never a wrinkled mess.

How has sewing contributed to your life?
Well, now that you can’t smoke in bars anymore, sewing keeps me home and out of trouble. I have a renewed confidence I won’t leave the house without pants.