Mimi is my daughter not my grandmother. For me, life was humming along until the coronavirus brought everything to a screeching halt. I had just finished my French Jacket from the Palm Beach workshop and was preparing to sew for a trip to Aruba this month. Like so many of you I made masks for whoever needed them...
It is a great pleasure to showcase the quality products of Coats & Clark. Headquartered in the Carolinas with a distribution center 30 minutes from my home, I was delighted to say yes to this long-established company, and will be writing a series of posts for its redesigned blog beginning on June 29. Coats and Clark manufactures not only thread, but zippers and knitting accessories. It is also the parent company to Free Spirit Fabrics. The company contacted me because I sew garments...
While patience is a virtue, and a quality I attempt to pursue, I would not consider it to be my best attribute. Many sewists truly enjoy using the PDF patterns. I too love the instant gratification of downloading a pattern, but assembling 30-page patterns is an event in and of itself. I wanted Sewaholic's Granville Shirt enough to download the pattern late one evening. Online access to sewing patterns is certainly advantageous, especially for re-printing purposes, but printing and assembling a pattern adds additional responsibility and time. It takes patience for sure! After assembling and cutting my pattern, I chose to skip out on the muslin...
iPhone cases, napkins, tablecloths, shoe bags, and a hot air balloon represent a small sample of the 576 creative comments submitted for Susan Khalje's new Couture Dress Video and Pattern giveaway! Many of you were on the right track in assuming I was making bridesmaids gifts. If you were one of the twenty-six readers who guessed - R O B E S - you are correct! My daughter, Katie, wanted to give her friends in the wedding party a personal gift they did not already own. How could I refuse? The girls opened the robes at the Bridesmaids' Luncheon on Friday, and wore them on Saturday; a leisurely day...
Many thanks to all who have contacted me either regarding my whereabouts or who have been in my place...
It was time to make a shirt – not a top, not a tunic but a shirt. My Pattern Review friends are making shirts by the dozens while I’ve been acting as the cheerleader. While I’ve always appreciated the flexibility found in sewing my clothes, the precision of shirt-making kept my happy observer status in tact. From my large collection of unmade shirt patterns, I selected Butterick 5526. View D offered princess seams giving me a more controlled fit. After sewing the bodice pieces together of my new off white shirt, it hit me………… precision need not be so rigid. In other words, lighten up! Using...
I hear many people saying they can’t believe summer is almost over. My youngest child graduated from college last spring, and I no longer follow a school calendar. Immersed in summer type activities for the next six weeks, I am in summer mode and that includes sewing! Recently, Irene made several tops from this Kwik Sew pattern inspiring me to give it a try.Determined to challenge myself during the past year, I chose more complicated patterns to sew, but adding five more buttonholes to my repertoire immediately qualified the pattern!Though there’s not much to it, I really like several pattern details...
I started with this Badgley Mischka Vogue pattern.It didn't turn out so I turned to these cute tops by Annebelle LaRoque for inspiration, and I ended up with this. It only took an entire week of sewing...
“You need to be wearing more yellow,” stated the young woman upon handing me my Chakra portrait. S A Y W H A T ? I know what you’re thinking...
“Where do you plan to wear this?” were the first words my husband spoke upon seeing this dress. I have no idea where I plan to wear this dress, but I’m sure something will come up. Does it really matter? Don’t we find ways to wear the clothes we really like? I wasn’t ready to put this Simplicity pattern away and had just enough of this tangerine and lavender fabric from Amy Butler’s L O V E collection to make the dress. I’ve had the fabric for nearly two years just waiting for the right pattern to come along. After finishing the aqua...