What do you hope to learn?

What skill or task do you really want to learn or greatly improve? I really hope to be able to make a really beautiful quilt. I browse & look & read about it. I keep saying that I really will do it!!

A nice shirt collar. I am scared of them. I tried one and failed miserably. I think I need someone to write an image heavy tutorial for me.

Great question.
For me and for this summer season coming up, I would love to learn how to shirr and smock with confidence.  Be able to know how much fabric I need and maybe even draw up a pattern or two.  Summer dresses are my new passion.

I would really like to learn how to fit a pattern to my body--specifically tailored shirts and dresses.  I've read a lot on people's blogs about this, but I feel like I need some hands on help.  There's a wonderful sewing teacher in my area, so I think I might sign up with some lessons with her.

Good question!  I really want to learn to make clothes that fit - I've learned to make some adjustments to bought patterns, but not enough for the perfect fit that I'm looking for.  I've bought a couple of books on how to draft my own patterns (my first attempt wasn't too bad!) and also hope to get my mother-in-law to help (the only article of clothing she ever buys at a store is a t-shirt - so she has lots of knowledge to share!). 

I'd like to try shirring. I have some fabric to make some dress-up dresses and I think shirring would be a good way to make them last several years or fit bigger playmates as well as my DD.

I can draft most any simple thing and get it to fit myself or one of my kids but more complicated things like cowl necklines I need to turn to a book for help so I guess I should work on pattern drafting as well.

I need to learn about pattern grading. I want to be able to take a pattern I've made for DD and scale it correctly to several different standard sizes so that I can share the pattern with others. I've only ever done this with my soft shoe pattern and it involved a lot of math and a lot of comparisons to shoe size charts and it was only three pattern pieces! But it was worth it so I figure if I can buckle down and do some studying I can do the same with dresses and such.

It would be nice to find a good book on pattern grading. And drafting. Everything I know about drafting I learned from my mom who is Japanese so her books are in Japanese and I can't read them.

How to adjust clothes I've bought....

I've got 2 items that were beautiful (and cheap!) that haven't been quite right - one dress that is too low at the front, and one top with a neckline I don't like - I'm sure they would be easy to fix, if I had the confidence to do it...

Maybe someone knows of a book/website that shows quick fixes like these?

I want to greatly improve my machine quilting skills.

I'd also like to learn how to fit clothes that I make for myself better.

Same here! Anybody have any places I can turn to for help?

I'd love to learn to tailor store-bought clothes to fit me correctly.  I have strange proportions, evidently, clothes I buy are always a bit off...

I'd also like to learn to make patterns to fit my friends and family.  It can't be so hard...right? 

I would really like to learn how to machine quilt my small projects.  I send actually quilts off to the quilter, but I am scared to try my hand at other things.  I just need to get out my scraps and practice.

I would like to first make a dress form that is my size (ie packing tape on an old t-shirt method). Then I would like to learn how to make my own patterns and sew my own clothes. I want to hone my skills in clothing reconstruction.

Good luck to everyone else on your goals!

I want to learn both machine quilting and hand quilting. Also how to stop cursing out loud in front of the children when I screw something up!

For me, its the basics, and doing them better....also, finishing things better. I am completely self taught, and it makes things more challenging all around. I think the answer can be found in old textbooks and books from generations before us...just today I found my Grandmother's sewing book, a how to on everything! Now if only I could flip the old green singer out of its table and fire it up, it might have something more to offer me than my new but less than basic machine...a little extra vintage inspiration!

For random charm - when I read your post, I had to comment.  The current issue of Sew Stylish magazine (Spring 2009) has a nice article about expanding the bustline of a pattern; page 39 if you want or get a chance to check it out.  I have the opposite problem, personally,  but read this article because of better endowed ladies in my family.  

This magazine may be below your level of sewing, but may inspire you or give you an idea of where to start.

I'd love to learn to make apparel fairly quickly, hassle free, minimal use of the seam ripper and have the piece turn out and people ask "where did you get that?".  I lo-o-o-ve it!