Welcome! I too used to live in the Silicon Valley. My family had lived in the area since the mid 1800s, but most of us have been "priced out". It's the great Pacific Northwet for me now. I'm interested in Lutterloh as well. I'd like to see a discussion comparing Lutterloh, Sure-Fit, and Wild Ginger design techniques.
Seawinds
We were not priced out. We purchased our RoseGarden house in 1993. Prices were still depressed after the Loma Prieta EQ. But we could NOT love there now! My $309k house was recently re-sold for over a million! We sold it in 2000 for nearly 3x what we paid!
I purchased the full Sure-Fit Designs (SFD) system and went to Glenda's 5-day and extremely expensive retreat. I likened it to Guantanamo. It was not enjoyable at all.
The system is OK, it is based on the same idea as Lutterloh. But SFD has too much measuring and figuring and fitting involved. And Glenda's designs are frumpy.
I sold the system to a neighbor.
Living off the track, means doing without some consumer goods. Patterns are near impossible to come by. So the ability to make one's own patterns is key to enjoying sewing.
I give Lutterloh my vote for ease of use. On trend and classic designs. And good fit.
I know nothing about Wild Ginger.
I did start a Lutterloh thread here , but it has gone nowhere.
Since my main machine just went to the repair shop and I won't see it for three weeks, I am going to catch up on my blog, and draft some new items. I have my basic Singer 301A that I use for buttonholes. I can sew on it.
I will let you know when I have posted on my blog. I may do very short reviews on PR. Off to siesta.