August Update! | Patreon

And I am wishing you all the best and hope you have now the correct medication. Sending you big hugs

Wow, the butterfly dress is sooo beautiful 💙

Hey Angela, I also have Bi Polar type 1 disorder and have been diagnosed for many years. for me it took ages and a lot of specialists to find the correct meds and isn't not easy, but I'm here to say there is light at the end of the tunnel! i work full time in the film industry as a wig maker and recently as a costume designer. if you need any help dealing with working through the episodes i'm more then happy to give you some of my tips. <3

I am new to watching your channel and I have to say it is so wonderful! I am a quilter mostly but have made a couple of ballgowns from the 1800's and I love vintage clothes. I wanted to say how much you have inspired me to make clothes again. I have a grown daughter who is a seamstress too and she makes amazing costumes for theater productions. You would not believe how much you guys look alike too! My husband was blown away, when I played one of your video's for him, at the resemblance. I hope that you are doing well and let me just say you are a wonderful seamstress and a blessing to watch.

The 1860s project is GORGEOUS!

I love your mental health updates!! I was recently diagnosed with ADD ( which I recognize is super different) and I totally relate to what you said about feeling lazy and not wanting to use a mental silliness as an excuse but also feeling comfort in diagnosis and treatment. You’re doing fantastically!

As someone with autism, let me just say, Angela you're such an inspiration. I've been struggling with depression, because lately I feel very much like a lazy excuse of a human. I've been on anti-depressants and gained weight, which made me feel like more of a failure. And only recently we found a medication that actually seems to be helping. 22 now, diagnosed when I was 19. But during my depression I'd frequently turn to your videos. They're so motivating, even when stuff messes up. And even more so now. Thank you for taking us on this journey.

So very brave to be so open and candid! I bet everyone who watches you has first or second hand experience with some sort of mental illness--a friend, family member or coworker. All your viewers will testify to your incredible talent as an artist and I'm always truly amazed at how productive you are. Please don't be hard on yourself because you can't go a zillion miles an hour all the time! When you're feeling good, maybe try writing some notes to your future self for when your future self isn't feeling at all positive so you can hopefully mitigate the low spell. I hope you have a great doctor who is talking to you about the importance of diet and exercise for both mental and physical health, in addition to the meds. Looking forward to your upcoming projects!

This is an awful thing - Bipolar disorder. It used to be called manic depression, which is kind of an a scary name. However it can feel exactly like mania and then bedridden down down down. There are tons of medications marketed for this condition, so you and your doctor will be able to find the one that your body and mind will respond to. I'm in my seventies so I have a few decades to look back on regarding this mental disease. It hurts everything until the right medication is found and kicks in. And you WILL rediscover the self that you remember and can finally function within. By the way, and I know you are way too young to be thinking about this, but for me when I went through menopause the symptoms stopped, ended, gone, poof! Went through a number of months, maybe a year, after the onset with some anxiety (panic) but that too passed, and may be something that was personal to me and you may not experience. So three cheers for the ending of the menses cycle. You are a courageous woman, and by talking about this you are lessening the stigma for yourself and encouraging others to come forward with honesty. Thinking of you, Eileen

Thanks for the update! I am excited to see these projects come to life. I'm also glad you have a diagnosis and with that, some answers. I struggle with mental health issues also and have always found it more helpful to know things than to be in the dark. Thankfully my doctors are always open to answer my questions honestly. I will be thinking of you and hope your medication will only do good for you.

Great video! You inspire me every day (and you should see the piles of fabric I bought on my trip to Lancaster!). Off to my sewing room for some late-night seaming. Feel better soon and try to love all of yourself.

Thank you so much for sharing your mental health update. It does help to be able to put a name to what you're experiencing. I also think it helps to know there are other people that are going through the same thing.

Fabulous update, so much beautiful stuff!! I'm excited about all of it... Also I'm glad you have an official diagnosis - what a difference it makes, I know. I feel very much the same, accusing myself of laziness - it's an ongoing acceptance process, but a real relief to have a real diagnosis. All the best with the new meds, and thanks for sharing. Can't wait for the upcoming videos!

Thanks Angela, for a very interesting update and about being open. You shared so many updates and future plans, they all look or sound great in their own right, but the Halloween dress stuck out to me! And I’m definitely looking forward too the Pennsylvania trip vlog, they are always great. On the bipolar diagnosis, I can only say that I feel for you, and really hope the new medication helps. But also, I hope the diagnosis helps in accepting we are all different and should not compare ourselves with others. The unique you can make marvelous creations, but sometimes feels sh$t. Please don’t feel extra bad that in those periods you are not productive. You are brave in sharing your story, beyond that the world should accept you for who you are and what that brings. I’m sure your Patrons will. Thanks for all your great content, looking forward to any new content, whenever it comes out.

Dear Angela, It took me fifty year to get an accurate diagnosis of Bipolar disorder. During that time I saw at least a dozen psychiatrists and tried approximately two dozen medications. There seems to be a much greater awareness of bipolar disorder today than when I first became aware that something wasn't normal about my abrupt mood swings. I'm thrilled that you seemed to have found a helpful medication. I ended up in the psych ward before I found my current psychiatrist who diagnosed me correctly and started me on lithium, the classic drug for bipolar disorder. It changed my life! I hope that whatever you are taking works as well for you. As far as how much you get done in a month, you are a creator, an artist, and no artist works at at he same speed every day. Despite your health challenges, you are extremely productive. Please stop criticizing yourself; encouragement goes a lot farther. Your mental health is precious and must be treated as such. With every video you give us a peek into your incredible imagination. Treat yourself gently as you would your dearest friend. You bring joy to your viewers, something that is in short supply these days. I feel very privileged to be able to share part of your world.

I always love these updates! Seeing all the progress you make on your projects is really motivating and inspiring, and as you've shared your mental health journey with us it just cements my belief that you are an incredibly hard worker, despite what you might feel. To create the incredible works of art that you create whilst also fighting with your bipolar disorder is only testament to how talented and deserving you are of any and all success that comes your way. Even on the days you feel tired, or can't bring yourself to work as hard as you think you should, your videos are inspiring thousands of people all over the world to try their hand at sewing, or allowing them to share in your love for vintage and historical styles. Please take solace in that when you're having a bad day.

Huzzah for meds and black corduroy! And I long to see hat yellow 1830’s gown so much. My side effects are constantly changing (except for two minor ones that stuck around) which makes for a pretty interesting life.

Hi Angie: thank you for all of your candor and honesty. I personally suffer from anxiety. I hope and pray that your meds work for you. I love all of your projects, what beautiful and detailed work you do. And do take your time and pace yourself to what works for you! My August consists of a huge pile of mending and adjusting clothes to fit me right. Take care of yourself and always feel free to talk about your challenges, we care! Mental health is very important and treatable. Take care and happy sewing! ✂️👗✂️

I totally fist pumped into the air because YOU ARE MAKING THAT HAT AND YAS GIRL I AM HERE FOR IT!!!! And it is NOT a ridiculous hat, it is stupendous and glorious. I cannot wait to see it! On a more personal note, ever since I began watching your videos, I knew you acted very much like my husband--who is Bipolar II. I never would say that to anyone unless they were seeking help. As someone who is married to a person with bipolar disorder, please allow me to reassure you on a few things: - People get misdiagnosed with depression when they actually have Bipolar. It happens A LOT for Bipolar II folks, because the symptoms are so very similar to depression. My husband was misdiagnosed and given anti-depressants, which made the depression worse. I cannot tell you how glad I am that you received the right diagnosis. - Bipolar med side effects are scary. I strongly encourage you to ask the prescribing doctor what the major side effects are, and DO NOT seek out any more information. You will only succeed in frightening yourself, Angela. I am speaking from personal experience here. I read all of the medication stuff, and I tell my husband the Top 4 Side Effects. That is all he needs to know, because if I told him every possible side effect, he convinces himself that he has all of them. So please believe me, Angela. The psychiatrist is the one who told me to only look at the Top 4 (or 5) side effects, then to not read any further. - ANY medication you try for Bipolar should only take a month to work, tops. Taking something for 4 months with no change is inexcusable on the part of your doctor. You are being prescribed mood stabilizers; most of them take a week for you to tell something is different, but a month (or 4 weeks) is the MOST amount of time you should give a medication a chance to work. Unless your doctor states otherwise, do not waste your time and energy on a medication that isn't working. - If the new med is kind of working, or it works for a while and then stops, that is COMPLETELY NORMAL for Bipolar. COMPLETELY. My husband is on medication #12 (I think, honestly I lost count) and if it stops working, he will try something else. - You are not lazy, there is nothing wrong with you. Your brain is wired a little differently, that's all. Medication can manage Bipolar, but it cannot cure it or make it go away. I won't pretend to know how you feel once the word "bipolar" came out, but what I do know is my husband had a very difficult time once he was diagnosed in 2012. He struggles with working a regular full-time job, because when you have hypomania and feel great on 3 hours of sleep for 1 week, the body crashes hard. So he has to call out sick because all he does is sleep for 3 days straight. The depressive episodes make it very hard for him to want to show up to the office at all. It is a struggle, and one that will never really stop. - I am glad that you have a passion and talent that allows you to set your own hours and be in charge of your own time. Because of all the things I mentioned above, being your own boss is the best environment because you can work as you please and answer to no one. If you are ever interested in having someone to chat with about bipolar, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. The main thing is you are not alone, there are tons of people with bipolar, and others--like me--who are always ready with an empathetic ear and a shoulder to lean on.

Hey, bipolar solidarity! I have to run to work but I just want to say that I'm so excited to see what you're up to!

Hi Angela, I’m a new patron but have loved your videos for years. I so appreciate and am in awe of your openness about your mental health. You are so much more brave than most of us.

Your videos are inspirational. I’m over here struggling on one sewing project at a time and you’re doing several at once. I’m just about done with the chemise from M7915. I’ve also got your black and yellow Edwardian gown pattern and the 1840s blue plaid dress pattern that just came out. Last night McCalls sent an email and your sunflower dress is a new pattern I need!

Angela you are not ordinary or average. With or without your mental health condition you are an extraordinary young woman and you should never compare yourself to everybody else. There's no point to it because you're not everybody else, plus it doesn't serve any purpose. The way you are and who you are has led you to a great passion and the purpose and a talent that's unique and special. Few people want to be ordinary or average. I know that what you go through physically and mentally and emotionally is a burden, unquestionably.

Hooray diagnosis!! I hope your new medication works well for you, it's always such a struggle to find the psych med that plays right with your particular chemistry. I try not to read too far down the list of side effects of my meds ... serotonin syndrome is rare, but I'm working on losing the 50 pounds I gained from 7 years on the med I stopped this spring. I love seeing everything you've done even though you've been struggling! I like to work on hand sewing while watching your updates so I can imagine I'm touching all your lovely fabrics :D Like Kristen, following you has inspired me to get back into sewing at age 32 and really dive into the vintage thing -- over the next several months I've planned projects from a copy of a 1936 pattern, an original 40s pattern, an original 70s pattern, and a couple of recent reproductions of 40s patterns. I am STOKED to see your Halloween projects, I'm already starting a blouse and a dress in spoopy quilting cottons because I can't control myself at JoAnn's ;)

I think it’s awesome that you’re dealing with your mental health issues so openly and you seem to be accepting that it’s a part of you. It took me many years to feel that way about my anxiety. A counselor once told me that if my brain wasn’t the way it is I might not have such severe anxiety but I also wouldn’t experience the world so intensely. It helped me to see it that way so I hope it helps you in the moments where you feel like crap. You’re an amazing artist and have inspired me at age 37 to get back into sewing so thank you!

The room, the vast variety of projects, all the fabric, the fashion plate references, just every monthly update brings me such joy. Seriously anytime I get a notification that you've uploaded something I squeal in delight. So excited for all these future plans! I am so proud of you with how honest you've been with the internet about your mental health and struggles. That is not easy and I applaud you. Fighting your natural brain chemistry when it tries to screw you over so badly is brave. Im rooting for you, even on the dark shitty days when nothing happens except laying in bed, getting up the next day is what counts. Keep up the good fight, I believe in you! Sending alllll the good vibes, thoughts and positive wishes!