Your Questions Answered - part 2

Tables—For those who own a home machine and can’t afford an industrial one, both of the following set ups have worked for me. The first one: I have a 1970 Singer Touch and Sew machine that I got for $15 at a garage sale, complete with the built-in table with the side table that folds closed or open to expose the machine. The machine itself does not work anymore and is not worth fixing due to major issues, so I put a thin board over the hole and set my nice Janome machine on top of it. To the left where the table extension is, I put a silicone dish draining board and on top of that a wool pressing mat. My iron lives there. I do so much of my pressing there because I just have to swivel my chair slightly to the side to press and then go back to my machine. It saves a ton of time. My serger is on another table behind me, and I simply swivel my chair the around and use the serger. (This is also my drafting table. I move the serger when I am drafting. All of this fits under a loft bed, btw. My sewing area is under that guest accommodation in a 6.5 wide space. Second set up: We did have to move out of our house temporarily due to a major plumbing disaster, so in the rental house, I had a simple folding table I bought at Walmart with my pressing mat on the left, machine in the middle, and serger to the right. This was quite comfortable. The table did not shake and I sew on the highest speed often.

I thought the noise in the beginning of each installment was the noise of an old school slide projector 📽️🤦‍♀️

i deeply feel that comment about being A Woman of a Certain Age and struggling with structured garments and love that there are so many patterns that accommodate for that :)

Now i want to see Andreas sewing space!!!!!

Absolutely adore the podcast beyond words! Can't wait for season 2. Thank you for doing this! I'm a long-time follower but haven't participated much in the extra media (Crowdcasts, etc.) due to the fact that I'm mostly a podcast listener. So glad to have you and Andrea in my ears on my dog walks! (Also, shout out for the peri-menopause talk this ep—I feel you.) Curious if you have any suggestions on gravity-fed irons—brands, installation, etc. I was thisclose to buying a Reliable Velocity, but after listening (and watching the most recent season of Project Runway), I'm sold on a gravity-fed. I also love ironing so much! Love getting some nice skincare on and letting that extra steam get all up in my face.

Really loved this episode, thanks for sharing so much! I also regret my first tattoo but it's on my rib cage and it hurt like hell to get it so theres no way I'm getting laser removal 🫣 I would also really love more patterns that Gretchen wants to wear. Things that have a little elastic in the waist or shirring but are still vintage and cute. I love the things Gertie wears but I wanna be cute AND comfy.

Such an enjoyable season! Thank you for the new addition. An utter delight! Cannot wait for season 2

This was 1000% times relatable! When you said you didn't like the feeling of things touching your body anymore, YES. This is SO me right now. I started to notice I've worn less dresses and skirts over the last couple of years, so I've been trying to find vintage styles that I'm still really drawn to, and want to wear all the time, feel "me", feel good, etc. Particularly as my body has changed in my late 40s, I'm trying to embrace and cultivate my cropped, boxy 1950s top era, and comfortable stretch bottom weights. On my to do list is an army of ponte knit Audrey cigarette pants! Btw on the tattoo front, one of two of my own early-20s fairy tattoos was covered up, and a big ball of yarn was my version of a sick ass panther. 🤣

Thank you for answering my questions! I would totally fangirl if I saw you in the street 😂 but being in Australia I don’t think that’s likely. Which brings me to my next question - will you please come to Australia again soon!?

For anyone looking for a supportive table for sewing machine use, I recommend going secondhand. I got an old basic mid-century school/lab table that's heavy and super solid!

I absolutely loved your discussion of perimenopause! It is just not talked about enough. Sometimes it feels like I am the only woman in the world experiencing it. I'm glad to know that I'm in good company 😁

Y’all were so real for that tattoo discussion 😂 the tattoo that has “ruined” my life is the huge dark black things on both of my top shoulder area. I’ve had 5 laser removal sessions on them and they have not faded nearly enough for the suffering they have caused lol. Also, even though I recently dyed my silver hair because I couldn’t take one more day of the frizz, I love that you’ve gone natural 🩷

You guys are both beautiful inside and out. You are shapely and gorgeous and you make every day bright and beautiful. Every time you both look in the mirror, you should realize that you’re stunning and everybody thinks so not just me.!!!😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

I've loved listening to the podcast on my way to and from work ! Thank you 💖

I LOVED your pink cowboy boots! That’s so interesting you hated it!