Hello! My name is Sandra. Welcome to my blog.
My story begins with a teenaged girl learning how to sew, cook, and plan meals in her high school home economics class. I realize now that it was called home economics for a good reason; 
the more you can do and make for yourself, the more you will have of exactly what you need and want, without lessening your abundance. I still have the sewing books my mother bought me then. The books have instructions for handicrafts, which I did not attempt to try until more than a decade later.
“Take what you want and pay for it, says God. You can have anything you want, as long as you accept that there is a price and you will have to pay it.”
Tana French
Later in life, working five days a week in downtown Chicago, I found that I just did not have enough clothes. I spent countless evenings searching racks in department stores looking for something that: (1) fit me (2) looked good on me (3) I could afford to buy. Eventually, I remembered that I knew how to sew.
I returned to sewing, starting with simple patterns and worked my way up to tailored suits. The suits were all for me. Around this time, my daughter had earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Fashion Design and Fashion Marketing. She was not pursuing fashion design as a career and as a result, she gave me one of her books. By reading the book and with her tutelage, I was able to make patterns for myself.
When I was nearing the pinnacle of my sewing efforts, a life change happened; I retired from working downtown. I didn’t need to make tailored suits anymore. I put about half of my clothes in bins for charity.
The goal of retirement is to live off your assets-not on them.
Frank Eberhart
During my work years, I crocheted and knitted a few items. Since it takes a lot longer using these methods to make wearable garments, I had not done many. I did do enough to know that I loved working with yarn. Post retirement was the time I began making all sorts of crocheted and knitted items. This was also the time when I discovered 3D printing.
My interest in 3D printing morphed from Blender open software. I began using/learning Blender in 2010. A couple of years later, I wanted something to fit in a tub drain that was red (for Black Hat Feng Shui) and did not interfere with the flow of water. Catching a few drain clogging things would make it even more useful. I modeled a simple drain filter and took it to the Chicago Public library for printing. After that, I was hooked on 3D printing like a chain link necklace snagged on a sweater.
I have other stories to tell about my past experience with DIY and crafting. Perhaps those stories will be told on Clever Crafts posts in the future.
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Other blogs: Ingressus, Desktop AM, Kaye James.
Other social links:
YouTube – Desktop AM, Hydrogen Ink
3d Design – Printables, MyMiniFactory, Thingiverse, Tinkercad.
Shop: cSandra.
Clever Crafts 