On Monday while sitting at the pattern table at JoAnn's, I overheard a woman interrogating the sales clerk about the store's sewing machines. She railed on about how complicated the new machines are. She said she was an excellent seamstress and all she wanted was a sewing machine without a computer. Then she exclaimed she was too old to learn how to use these new machines...
Over the last few months I've lost 10 pounds. That means several clothes from the past fit once more, and there's nothing like an easy refashion to make my day :) It's true, I wore my dresses this long around the turn of the century - LOL. Above is a dress from Talbots made from Irish Linen. I've hung onto it all these years hoping to wear it again one day. While longer dresses look great on many women, I feel dwarfed by the longer length of a slim silhouette. The lines in the dress are spot so I kept the refashion simple. After removing approximately...
In my next life I'd like to live in a historic house in Charleston with a decorative gate and creeping fig wall. Perhaps you follow Teggy French, one of my favorite fashion bloggers. Last fall her social media led me to Shein, a website of inexpensive clothing where I purchased a ruffled bell sleeve top. When it arrived I hated everything about it...
It's been a while since I've refashioned, and I don't know why. The deconstruction process is always informative, no instructions = freedom to be creative, and since I've got nothing invested in the project I'm generally game to try new styles and techniques. Who knows how long this old Banana Republic bias cut linen skirt has been stashed in a closet. I think my mother found it at a thrift shop. After washing and drying the skirt to shrink it, I fit the skirt to my waist and removed the waistband starting at the back zipper to 2.5 inches past each side seam....
For the third weekend in a row, I am away from home. All good but each weekend has involved planning a suitable wardrobe and packing a suitcase. Greetings from the lovely Montage Palmetto Bluff resort in Bluffton, SC, an outstanding resort nestled along the May River and home to numerous sunbathing alligators ;) Hubby is working and I am playing, but the weekend is full of activities that require thoughtful dressing. I panicked as I started packing my suitcase since my sewing has been off track and a new season has arrived. Looking at this dress in my closet evoked an unpleasant reaction since...
"Why don't you wear something you made?" Was Hub's comment a compliment or criticism? "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" "It's just so drab." "We're going to a funeral visitation...
Blogging has expanded my life unlike any other undertaking due to the many connections I've made - real life and virtual. Goodbye Valentino links to nearly two hundred sewing blogs through the Mood Sewing Network, the RTW Fasters' Page, the BurdaStyle 2014 Bloggers, and now my new Blogroll located at the top of the page. In addition to filling in the gaps with a new Blogroll, I'm writing today to introduce you to two bloggers - one very new, and one new to me ;) Maybe you already read Featherstitch Avenue. If not, read it. The blog was created in February 2015 by Tracey Hogan, one of my...
During the last ten days I've been on a learning curve, the crux being: Like it or not PDF patterns are here to stay, and I better get on board before I'm left behind! No, I haven't lost weight. I downloaded Grainline Studio's Maritime's Shorts pattern and this was my result. I've sewn four different PDF patterns with mediocre to moderately acceptable success. Being inept disturbs me, so instead of moving on I committed myself to addressing my ongoing PDF issues. I knew it was me not the PDFs ;) Fortunately, my commitment eventually led to a successful result. To date I've learned: It is absolutely...
Perhaps you've read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up subtitled the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing by Marie Kondo. Recently I reached my breaking point of being disorganized.The only area in my home remotely organized was my sewing room. I got a taste of the book on my flight to Scottsdale inspiring me to keep my suitcase organized while there, but I read the book in its entirety on the flight home and have been tidying up for the last four days...
Dear Readers, You must meet Andrea Birkan, a 2014 and 2015 RTW Faster! Andrea's garments display such inspirational creativity that I asked her to write a guest post. I'm writing very little to avoid spoiling the lovely text and photos to follow. Read on to learn more about Andrea, and visit her blog at: http://sewbusy.weebly.com Enjoy! _________________________________________ I discovered Sarah’s blog while searching for some fabric off the Mood Fabrics website one morning, and have been an avid reader of the blog ever since. I’ve always had a love for sewing, but she really inspired me to get back to sewing on a daily basis. By doing...