It all began in Bath, Maine
In 1986 I decided to make a pincushion with a blueberry design in counted crosstitch, which I had recently taken up. I couldn’t find a pattern, so I decided to design one on graph paper. After a couple of attempts, I came up with one that I liked. After the blueberries, My next design was for a pincushion with a sailboat on it. With a typewriter I added instructions to the patterns and had a few copies printed. I packaged them in sandwich bags with folded tops with a logo I designed, and went to a few nearby needlework shops in the area to see if they'd be interested in carrying them. I wasn’t much of a salesperson, and remember apologetically saying to a shop owner that this was a ‘fly by night’ business! Despite that, they bought some, and that launched my not so fly-by-night business!
I designed more patterns.... the Maine Sampler was next, and 78 more followed. Maine has about 67 lighthouses, so I decided to design most of them, as well as other Maine motifs. I continued designing the patterns on graph paper, and at a retailer’s suggestion I added photos to the packaging.
The personal computer was a boon to this endeavor. My first computer was a Mac LC with 2MB of RAM and a 40 MB hard drive with Microsoft Works for bookkeeping. Eventually I discovered a program called Stitch Crafts developed by a gentleman in Lincoln, Mass. that was great for designing the patterns.
Initially I used my own name on the patterns, but when I moved to the former Seguin Post in Georgetown, Maine, I came up with the business name ‘Seguin Designs.’ Since starting in 1986, I calculate that I’ve sold over 40,000 patterns and kits to date! If you visit Maine, you'll find my kits in shops throughout the state.
I'm grateful to everyone who has purchased my patterns and kits over the years. Thank you, and Happy Stitching!
