Upon reading my first entry, I thought I should give a little bit more information on where I'm at in this process. As I was saying, I had to create a portfolio in order to apply to Philadelphia. Because of my experiences in biology, I decided to create a portfolio of drawn designs based on nature. With this, I was able to attach a nice letter explaining my situation and what I thought I could bring to the table at that point in my life.
I attached a small, dark image to this post to give an idea of what my portfolio consisted of. (This one based on sunflowers, though lacking in the details department due to poor phone photography.)
From then on, I've been continuing sketching designs into a little black book that I received from someone special, and began to create a book in itself of designs categorized into sections based on the type of garments being drawn up.
As for fabric, let's just say, Northeast Pennsylvania is probably not a mecca for fabrics and it's hard to find. After MANY visits to a general store, Joann Fabrics, and a venture into center city Scranton's, Sew Smart, I couldn't find a thing. So, I decided that possibly buying fabrics online may be the best idea for me at this point. (That is, until I move to Philadelphia, or able to take a trip down.) After scoring a sweet deal with Fabric.com, I decided I'd try out their services. The shipping was very, very fast (I placed an order on a Saturday, and was at my house on that Tuesday), and I figure I'll be using them for at least my first few projects.
Also, I should mention Sewvacdirect.com has also been a great source for sewing resources.
The next post, I will announce my first project.