Author: goodbyevalentino

01 Oct An Unwelcome Surprise

Posted at 17:31h in Uncategorized by goodbyevalentino 90 Comments

Greetings, Dear Readers, On March 1, 2019 our third grandchild, James was born to our younger daughter, Mimi. How wonderful! Three days later on March 4, our older daughter, Katie was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Katie, is 34 years old with two young children. Her son, Billy was 5 months old at the time of her diagnosis and Katie was 33. With Katie's permission, I'm writing this post during Breast Cancer Awareness Month hoping it will serve as a lifesaving measure to young mothers and women at large. _____________________________________ In November 2018, Katie was nursing her son when she discovered a lump in her breast. Her...

27 Jul New Look Pattern 6372

Posted at 06:15h in Mood Fabrics, New Look Sewing Patterns, Sewing Tops, Uncategorized by goodbyevalentino 41 Comments

I love silk and wear it for almost any occasion, other than feeding babies ;) I was especially thrilled to recently find the Karen Kane Riviera and White Abstract Silk Crepe de Chine on the Mood Fabrics website - a silk crepe de chine featuring a casual print. With its gorgeous shades of blue and soft drape of textured silk, this fabric was right up my alley for the project I had in mind; a breezy summer top that could go anywhere. No agenda, no deadline, no pattern matching, no tricky fitting ...

24 Jul It’s Sew Easy – Lights, Camera, Action!

Posted at 14:58h in Fashion Sewing by goodbyevalentino 32 Comments

The hardest part of filming for television is the preparation. Several days ago I traveled to Cleveland and completed three episodes for the PBS show, It's Sew Easy. TV is a lot of fun but it's not so easy 😉 My segments featured ribbon skirts, petal skirts and tunics. One of the things I truly love about traveling is learning from others. In April, Julie and I spent four days in the Tampa area presenting trunk shows and conducting Tunic Bible Workshops. In one of the workshops this lovely lady wanted to embellish her tunic with mini green pom-poms. Easy enough around the placket...

23 Jun Petal Skirts

Posted at 07:52h in A Stylish Guide to Classic Sewing, Sewing Skirts by goodbyevalentino 33 Comments

There's nothing better than a spontaneous afternoon of shopping and tea with friends. Several weeks ago I had the pleasure to do just that in Charleston with my dear friend and literary publicist Kathie, and my partner in crime, Julie. Kathie wanted to shop which gave Julie and me a legitimate reason to be in the retail stores on King Street. In our presentations, Julie and I often discuss the etiquette of Snoop Shopping which in polite society should be referred to as Inspiration Shopping. I draw much of my sewing inspiration from Ready-to-Wear clothing and have become quite adept at sneaking...

11 Jun Pfaff Metal Embroidery Hoops

Posted at 07:16h in Napkins and Table Linens by goodbyevalentino 27 Comments

Greetings! On July 11th I will tape three more episodes in Cleveland for the PBS series, It's Sew Easy, and I'm hard at work preparing garment projects and scripts. The scripts are certainly the more difficult of the two since there is no teleprompter and retakes are not encouraged. Plus I want to sound natural...

02 Jun Butterick 6333

Posted at 18:24h in Fashion Sewing by goodbyevalentino 58 Comments

We have a home at Edisto Beach 40 miles south of Charleston, SC. It is a simple and quaint beachfront house which is ideal for R&R or quality time with family and friends. We rent the house when we’re not there which requires us remove all personal items, so I must travel with sewing items if I plan to sew...

21 May Burda 7044 – Party Dress!

Posted at 07:28h in Fashion Sewing by goodbyevalentino 55 Comments

Nearly 10 years ago I invested in a 'Chakra Portrait'. I visited with a Median who drew a pot of cascading flowers during our chat. It was nothing like I expected, and at the conclusion of our 90 minutes together I ask her to explain the drawing of my Chakra energies...

14 May French Jacket Guest Post – Dorcas Ross

Posted at 06:38h in Fashion Sewing by goodbyevalentino 15 Comments

In March, Julie Starr wrote a beautiful guest post featuring her latest classic French Jacket. This post features her partner in crime, Dorcas Ross, creator of lonestarcouture.com and popular Instagramer (go HERE). Though Dorcas lives in Houston and Julie in Charleston, they sew French Jackets together each January and invite others to join in and sew along for the #januaryjacket project. It's always a good time to sew a classic French Jacket, no matter the weather or time of year. Since the jackets take up to 100 hours to complete, sewists often break the intensity with quick and easy projects during the process....

19 Apr The James’ Tunic

Posted at 06:28h in Classic Clothing, Fashion Sewing, Sewing Tunics, The Tunic Bible, Tunic by goodbyevalentino 50 Comments

Dear Readers, Life happens. (Birdie, Billy and James) Since I last published a post nearly two months ago, we welcomed Baby James into our family on March 1. Three days later a family member was diagnosed with an illness which has taken me away from home, as well as sewing for extended periods of time. My new embroidered tunic is in celebration of Baby James who will be here for Easter 😊 I purchased my fabric, a reversible rayon at the Children's Corner store in Nashville last year. This lovely store is loaded with beautiful fabrics ideal for both children and adults. After selecting my design...

01 Mar The French Jacket Experience: Julie Starr

Posted at 07:08h in A Stylish Guide to Classic Sewing, Classic Clothing, Fashion Sewing, French Jacket by goodbyevalentino 49 Comments

QUESTION: What's effortlessly chic, always appropriate and lasts forever? ANSWER: The French Jacket: It's a Classic. I've made one French Jacket six years and as stated in the last post, it's time for another. My friend Julie Starr has made six and they are all stunning. Julie, Dorcas and other dedicated sewists have mastered creating these couture garments requiring 100+hours to assemble. I've watched several of Julie's jackets come together and though I can't say she makes it look easy, I will say the process is intriguing. Over the next several months, I'll be sharing French Jacket posts created by my sewing friends and I'm beginning...