Hi Sweet Community,
I am not promising lightning bolts of wonder or life-altering how-to’s in this space. The older I get, the less comfortable I am with dishing out advice. (The best parenting article I ever wrote was published before my first child was even born! Snortlaugh!)
I am promising a collection of heartfelt essays about my experiences as a multi-passionate, creative mom just trying her best to notice a little more beauty in this world and leave a little more beauty in her wake. Sometimes I will lean into finding humor in life circumstances. Sometimes I will dive deep, honoring melancholy and feelings of interconnectedness. I am both playful and serious, so my writing will be as well.
Expect explorations of the following, all through the lens of creativity: community building, surviving life logistics, raising teens and tweens, elder caregiving, grief, humor, philosophy, art making, marriage, slow fashion, parenting a kid with a heart condition, general and specific complaints, general and specific moments of awe, music, friendship, and the occasional cute animal photo.
Who Am I?
I don’t really know how to be an adult without writing. I wrote my way through a Great Books major in college, and within a year of graduating, found myself on the vanguard of the blogging era. Two decades later, here I am, doing my best to evolve with the technology without selling my soul to the demonic algorithms.
You may know me from my years as a Montessori teacher in rural northern Mexico, during which I wrote an early childhood education blog. Or perhaps you’ve been around since the craft/slow-living blogging era. The other day, I got an email from Flickr, letting me know they’re celebrating their 20th anniversary. I was on there back then, too, along with all the other OG craft bloggers, fiddling around with our brand-new DSLR cameras while taking avant-garde, off-kilter photos:
I suppose I’m best known for stumbling on a career as a sewing pattern designer, a skill I taught myself thanks to my abundance of free time while living in Mexico. I started Sew Liberated back in 2007, and it has evolved beyond just sewing patterns. (If you want to learn how to sew, we have some pretty awesome online sewing courses, as well as a slow fashion style course and patternmaking course.) I’ve also taught creative workshops with Squam Art Workshops, Katrina Rodabaugh, and Craftsy. A lifetime ago, I authored two sewing books.
If you’re into podcasts, you might enjoy this interview about my Mindful Wardrobe Project, and this one about the intermingling of creativity and parenting.
Most of my time since 2009 has been spent raising three legitimately amazing, creative kids. I’m at that point in parenting where the kids would survive fairly well if left on their own for a week, but the house would be a total mess upon my return. Exciting progress!
My greatest joy is my wicked smart and drink-spitting-out-hilarious husband, Patrick. We started dating at 19, which was hands down the best decision I made in my teens.
My writing and art have been featured in Taproot Magazine and on my mom’s fridge.
My Halloween costumes have won the prestigious “Best Costume” award at the senior community down the road where my grandmother lives. She probably voted twice.
Subscribe to Walk in Beauty
When you subscribe, you receive an email with my most recent post directly in your inbox, as soon as I publish it. You can also read new posts and archives on your computer or the Substack app. It feels a little like Google Reader (RIP) used to feel - all your favorite blog feeds in one place.
The benefits of a paid subscription
If you’d like to show your support through a paid subscription, I would be so, so grateful! While anyone is more than welcome to read my writing, paid subscribers get the following perks:
The heartwarming feeling of supporting creativity
The ability to leave comments and interact with me on posts
My time is not abundant, and I value thoughtful human connection, so keeping the comments to a more intimate circle makes the most sense right now.
