31 Aug HERE GOES……………..
We women who enjoy clothes and can usually justify a new purchase, and I have had lots of reasons to shop during the past year. Whether is was my best friend’s daughter’s wedding or my daughter’s best friend’s wedding I was buying a Milly dress here, a Lilly dress there and then came the Valentino. How I have loved my first Valentino dress!
Did I mention I have two daughters? Shopping, shopping, shopping……………..
Last week I was at a clothes show in a friend’s home and there she was ~ a cute sales rep wearing a skirt made from the same fabric as the window treatments in my family room.
What was she selling? SKIRTS!
A clever concept, the show offered three styles of skirts and hundreds of fabric samples, allowing customers to design their own skirts deliverable in two weeks. I sew but it didn’t stop me from spending $561.00 on three skirts.
After one more round of shopping a few days later at yet another home show, I had a new fall dress on order along with a $350.00 white cotton shirt. I have spent $1,500 on a few items of clothing this month and wondered where the monthly paycheck was going.
Then my youngest daughter, a new college graduate, announced she had landed her first job and needed a working wardrobe …….
I QUIT. PLEASE – STOP THE MADNESS! I know there is a better way to live and dress oneself and I plan to find it.
As far as I’m concerned I am finished buying myself clothes for a while – for a year.
I can sew.
I will sew.
I will sew clothes.
I will sew nice clothes for myself.
No more Valentinos.
Sandy
Posted at 13:52h, 21 SeptemberI just came to your blog after seeing the blouse you put up on Pattern Review. The former maternity dress turned into a skirt was especially cute…a really great “save.” I’ve gotten a kick over the last year or two of taking things that are past their prime and turning them into something else….removing the lapel from a jacket, turning it into a V-neck jacket…removing the collar of a top, leaving the collar stand, turning it into a mandarin collar (I seem to do a lot of collar/neckline changes!) What I really want to do is sew fabulous things, but I’ve had more success taking things that would normally be going out the door to whatever charity and turning them into something else (my wants and standards exceed my sewing abilities.) I’ll enjoy following your blog to see the outcome of sewing your own wardrobe for a year!
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 15:56h, 21 SeptemberThank you!
I’ve only remade a few clothes because I often find I don’t have enough fabric to completely restyle an old garment. In April I bought this sweater set at J McLaughlin (in links below). The front of the camisole is silk and the back is the same knit as the sweater. I’m hoping to try something similar with existing sweaters sets that have been around a while. I’d love to see some of your remakes!
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6161/6169847049_5dc05cc9fe_m.jpg
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6158/6170382490_2c1101fc96_m.jpg
Sandy
Posted at 18:03h, 21 SeptemberYes, it’s true that you can only do so much with an existing garment; only a certain few qualify. I guess that’s why my adventures in that regard have been limited to removing things around the collar area! In fact, that’s why I was so impressed with the good fortune you had of having the expanse of fabric from your maternity dress! Alas, I have no pictures of my remakes, but maybe I can remedy that some time. Now that you’re resuming sewing, do you have access to good fabrics (i.e. something other than JoAnn’s and Hancock’s)? I haven’t ventured too far into ordering fabric off the web. Your sweater set idea looks like a very nice idea.
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 07:19h, 22 SeptemberSubmitted on 2011/09/22 at 7:16 am | In reply to Sandy.
I live in the South which was once the textile capital of the US, and I still have access to a few unique fabric stores and outlets in the area. I have only ordered online from two stores and have had great success. Quilt Home has a very nice selection of Amy Butler fabrics. Waechter’s Silk Shop in Asheville, NC carries beautiful fabrics and has an online store. I have shopped at the store and ordered online, and they are very accommodating. Good luck and please share any fabric sites you find!
Sandy
Posted at 13:40h, 24 SeptemberI would like to see more of the South someday. I was in Asheville for one afternoon some years ago, but my time was spent in a furniture store! I would LOVE to be near good fabric. JoAnn’s and Hancock’s just don’t thrill. I really do need to be more aggressive about shopping online.
Carola
Posted at 21:33h, 16 AugustI’ve recently stumbled across your blog mainly because I am doing the Couture Dress course at Craftsy.com and your floral dress is what finally gave me the kick up the butt to dive straight in and just do it!! Still waiting for my pattern to arrive though but in the mean time I am madly sewing all sorts of other things and wanting to share them with the world via a blog rather than boring all my facebook friends with photos only. Gosh, how overwhelming… a blog!! Where do I start? Hence why I am at the start of your blog to find out how you started! You’ve certainly inspired me and I love how you set yourself yourself a challenge like this. I’d like to do something similar but don’t want to come across as a copy-cat.
So what happens to this blog once you’ve completed your 12 month challenge?
OK, enough for now. I’m going to find out how to set up a blog! LOL I need to overcome my fear of what people are going to think and hope that the types of people that will be attracted to my sewing blog are good, positive, supportive people who will help me to grow!
Congratulations and thank you for your inspiring blog. 🙂
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 07:51h, 17 AugustHi Carola,
Thank you so much for writing! I identify with all of your concerns in starting a blog. As a matter of fact, I didn’t show my husband for 4 months or my daughters for 5 or my parents for 6!!!! I wanted to know I could maintain a successful blog before sharing it with those close to me. I only wanted people who were interested in sewing and what I was doing to read the blog and not be pesty to my friends.
I will never believe I started a blog with one skirt 🙂
Once you establish a comfort level you will love blogging. Good luck and let me know when it’s up and running!