I had a terrific set of French curves and rulers for pattern drafting in the USA. Most were by Fairgate and were metal. What is a good brand to buy here and where can you buy them? I know it pays to buy good quality rulers. I don't mean the substance they are made of so much as the curves themselves.

Maybe it's because I browse patterns and fabrics on an iPad while sitting on the sofa but i am having trouble keeping track of the patterns I find that I would like to make, how much fabric they take, and the fabrics themselves. I've found patterns over a number of websites - mostly indie - and fabrics from a number of different sites. My mind is a jumble when it comes to keeping track of it all! I have link icons on my desktop - lots of them, intermingled with ones for duvets and bed linens!

Of course, this is the first year in the UK where I've actually been at a point that I can sew - not having sewn for 10+ years! I'm getting familiar with new stores/sites that I hadn't heard of before so that confusion is probably adding to the mix.

I downloaded Evernote which is quite good but you reach the free monthly memory max FAST and I refuse to take out monthly subscription.

How do you all keep track of what you want to sew, whether it's garments or quilts? Maybe I just need a notebook to keep track of the pattern number, amount of fabric and type of fabric that I can take with me when I go shopping. Or, keep it in Notes on my phone, but that means moving it over from my iPad to iPhone and I don't sync between the two.

Has anyone seen any? Such as Liesl & Co., Closet Patterns, Sew Over It and others? I don't see any.

Does anyone know of any yarn shops in the Edinburgh area that sells good quality wool? I am thinking it's time I returned to knitting/crocheting cardigans and tunic-length cardigans (not sure what they are called). Living in Scotland I am realising you need warmth and my American winter clothes are nowhere near warm enough. I do have long down coats and short puffer jackets but I think I still need undergarments that are warm. I have some British countrywear catalogues that have some lovely ones but I can make them myself for a little less! £100-£250 for a lovely cardigan is just a bit much!

I have done more crochet over the years, usually afghan blankets but no garments. I used to knit and crochet clothing years ago, though, and I still remember how!

As I read various sewing forums and articles, I have inevitably come across articles I would like to keep or notes I would like to make. Of course, I can save links on an iPad but I don't find them nearly as easy to navigate as on a computer. I started saving articles such as those on body shape as pdfs but I'm afraid I will use all the memory on my iPad in iBooks which is what I use to read them. So I got thinking about ways I could organise everything about sewing - sewing techniques, style, patterns I'm interested in, etc.  I used Onenote at work  but it doesn't work that well on an iPad and Evernote (very similar) is better, so I downloaded the app and set up a notebook for Sewing. (Imagine a paper notebook with different sections for subtopics). You can also add notes and images.

I was getting myself in a tizzy about how to save these wonderful articles and write down my sewing plans as well. I haven't played with many of its features yet but you can also add tags which is really useful for finding things.

There is a free version and a subscription version and both allow you so much space per month. I'm using the free version.

What I don't know is if the articles I have saved to Evernote are actually now pdfs on my iPad or simply links to the original articles on the web which makes me wonder what would happen if the articles disappeared from the Internet. Would my saved articles disappear, too?

Also, I have still to find out if you can make tables in it because you can in Onenote.

Anyway, thought I'd share my efforts to try to organise all the goodies I come across. Do any of you have any other methods?

I could simply use my 27" iMac but I can't very well carry it downstairs and put that on my lap! Besides I use it mainly for making videos. I do have an older 17" MacBook Pro but it's heavy and the iPad is just the right size for browsing at the moment.

Even though I can't sew yet, I can certainly start looking for patterns to make tops, tunics, pants and leggings. there isn't a single store with the big pattern catalogues near me. I'd have to go the other side of the city. I seem to remember there was a website that had all commercial patterns on view but I can't remember it's name. Does anyone know?

In addition, is there a website that has all the independent pattern companies' patterns?

Once I've chosen/bought some patterns I can do the good part - shop for fabric!! 

PS. I've just noticed the child board for patterns and fitting. Please move this post if it belongs there.

This must be a UK trend and I love it! Heavier winter tights in different colours - or leggings worn beneath a dress. I'd love to be able to wear these thicker tights in colours in the winter but I haven't worn tights for about a decade. In the USA you can get by with no hose at all in summer and in winter - trousers. I stopped wearing them because the waistline was always too small and I had to snip it with scissors to fit. In earlier years, of course, they were fine - until I got sick and lost my waistline for good. (Carried 7-month size fibroid tumour for two years - no health insurance!!) Anyway that was 12 years ago but I had too much excess skin to shrink back by the time I had surgery - along with hysterectomy. Time to sew again and try to get around the waist issue

Karen Ball, a former blogger with the Guardian and also children's author and publisher, writes one of the best sewing blogs and I see her wearing colored tights or leggings all the time and she looks really nice! Here's a link:

https://didyoumakethat.com/2017/09/28/moving-on/

Note: She also often wears trainers in coordinating colours with the tights - comfy!

When I attended a quilt show recently I decided I had a new hobby.  I bought some fabric in a precut  set, stabiliser, gluing tool, thread, narrow ruler with quarter inch marking on it on one edge, small rotary cutter and a plastic hexagon template. Is there anything else I need? I'd hate to get started and find out I don't have a key piece of equipment! 

I thought about Omnigrid rulers but I don't know what size(s) to get - and/or more plastic templates?