hi, i'm rowena! i live in nashville, TN--music city, USA!--with my husband rudi and our adorable daughter ella. we also have two dogs--one really good one named coal, and one small, not so good auxilairy dog name sprinkles who is attempting to dig a hole to china in our front yard. we have three cats--lewis, abbey, and bea--all of whom have successfully intimidated coal and sprinkles.
the first part of my life i was a professional ballerina, traveling much of the western world and dancing principal roles in all the traditional classical repertoire. the next part--the part when i was trying to decide if i was getting too old to keep dancing--i become a union stage manager, supervising over four dozen productions in theater, music, dance, and opera, plus home movies of my pets, my husband's golf swing, and numerous nieces and nephews.
eventually my love of sewing lead me to a costume shop, including seven years as the costume designer for the vanderbilt opera theatre. i learned the art of patternmaking from the many talented cutter/drapers i have worked with, and in the process discovered the joys of digital patternmaking. i bought my first computer patternmaking program from wild ginger software and, eight years later, i am an instructor for wild ginger software and for their sister company, fashion design online.
the founder of wild ginger, lisa shanley, and i wrote a book on patternmaking, "digital flat pattern: the apparel designer's handbook". i'm working on another, less textbook-y book, but that labor of love gets pushed aside most days in favor of the labor of love that is homeschooling.
these days i am a stay-at-home, work-at-home mom, making my dream of a homestead come true with the help of rudi and ella.
you can follow my updates on Twitter @RowenaBlogs.
if you'd like to ask me a question or pass along an idea, please email [email protected]. i'm always thrilled to hear from readers, and i read every single message. however, i can't always respond personally to each email--to do so would leave no time for making patterns or writing tutorials. however, keep reading--often the questions you send provide inspiration for the blog.
and feel free to ask questions in the comments section below each post. the many kind and knowledgable readers who read rostitchery can often help you faster than i could!