I have been sewing since I was nine years old when I started doing 4-H projects (1st project was a pair of spectacularly ugly, florescent orange culottes...it was the 80's) and absolutely hated it. I didn't help that the judges were incredibly picky and would knock of points if the bobbin thread didn't match the needle thread. Silly....nowadays, since I'm not being judged (except by my peers), I actually enjoy sewing. I tend to gravitate towards vintage patterns, Burda WOF magazine/Burda Easy Fashion, and of course burdastyle.com. When I lived in Indonesia, I was absolutely floored by the seamstresses. They could draft anything from just a picture, and sew it up for less than $10. I am personally pants at drafting but have had quite good luck mashing several patterns together to make my creations.