What People Sewed: SHB Sew-Along Round Up

It was so much fun to see what everyone sewed during April for their SHBs (Small Human Beings) or for those tasked with growing and raising them.  If you haven't followed along, you can see all the amazing projects in our flickr group or on Instagram.

I loved seeing so many projects for parents.  Here is a round up of some of the amazing things that everyone sewed up in the "for Parents" category of our sew along....

Babywearing:

Peapod carrier by Ofingleside

Mei Tai of Gondor by Hannah Sadar

And my lovely sew along co-host, Mikhaela...

We're ring sling twins

For Diaper changing in style:

Diaper tote by Nienke

Diaper Clutch by the very productive Ofingleside

A photo posted by Brianne Ramirez (@beeglorious) on Apr 12, 2015 at 1:13am PDT

Maternity and Nursing Clothing and Accessories:

sunnyb64's nursing cover

The Itinerant Seamstress sewed a plethora of fun maternity wear including this Plantain Tee, hacked for maternity

Sunnyb64's green maternity/nursing maxi

A photo posted by Dina (@babyoiscoming) on May 2, 2015 at 4:01pm PDT

I also loved Round-the-world-girl's nightwear!


And, although I don't think it strictly counts as "for the parents sewing," I loved Cindy - my other lovely co-host's - organization basket which she's filled with cute toys.

I'm amazed at how much sewing got done with new babies, soon-to-be babies and sometimes older siblings, too! One thing I've learned is that there are days when sewing one seam is real progress. Check out the round ups of the other two categories - Baby Clothing and Toys/Accessories (up soon!).  Also, Cindy will be announcing our prize winners! Yay, Sew-Along!

Next up: Back to some non-baby sewing for me!!

Sewing Bee!!

Sorry for the silence the last few days. I've fallen behind with photographing and writing posts as the "Raspberry to do list" seems to have grown in length (birthing classes, weekly pre-natal visits, interviewing pediatricians, winding down work, and finishing feathering the nest).  Everything is still going great and I do have some finished things to show you soon.

One thing I haven't blogged about is that I'm part of the Pattern Review Contest Committee. It's been a fun and exciting year, working with my co-committee members to come up with and manage the many sewing contests on PR.  So, I'm super excited to tell you about our biggest and best contest yet...

I know there are a lot of contests out there, but I think this one is going to be pretty stinkin' awesome if I do say so myself! I can't promise any Project Runway style interpersonal drama or Tim Gunn mentor-ship, but there will be Auf Wiedersehens in addition to special guest judges, awesome prizes from Elliot Bermann Fabrics, Reliable (Irons) and Roost Books, and - peeps - the Grand Prize is a Bernina Serger.

One thing I really like is that the contest is open to everyone, as long as you are a PR member/user as of Sept 1 (ie: you can't sign up for PR in order to enter, but if you are already signed up, you are in). You just have to join and submit your Week 1 entry by November 7 (the week 1 challenge will be announced on Nov 1st).

More details about what to expect and how to join are on PR: Surprise Sewing Bee!  I hope to see some of you (bloggers and non) among the contestants!

Join the Sewing Bee!!!  

And on that note, stay tuned for your normally scheduled programming in the next few days...

The Nice List (Giveaway Winners)!

It's been a hectic holiday week, but today we paused to finally draw two winners for our sock yarn giveaway and show off our holiday prezzies.

Dragon and Milkshake were our impartial name pullers, since we do things analog here at Trample Herd HQ.  Our winners, who most definitely were on the nice list this year, are...

In their Christmas scarves.

Lisette and T Sedai Hoosiermama*

(* T.Sedai had meant to leave a comment, and not to enter, so I re-drew for a new winner.)

Ladies, please email me your deets at Clio(dot)Phineas(at)gmail(dot)com and I will get two balls of navy Stroll sock yarn off to each of you asap.

Speaking of the nice list, there was much celebrating on Christmas day when Dragon, Milkshake and the Tramples awoke to find that Santa had indeed come and left them each a new knit scarf. Nothing is more exciting to knit critters than more knits. 

Tramples with scarves that match their ear frills.

I must have been on the super nice list this year, since I received a load of goodies including drape drape, Pattern Magic, a June Tailor pressing board and this...

... a tower of Belding Corticelli silk thread. (See here if you don't know why I'm so psyched about this.)

I also received some excellent cookbooks, including Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese. Yes, it is a cookbook entirely devoted to one thing: the pursuit of mac + cheese.  So, I think another round of my search for the perfect mac and cheese recipe will be taking off in the next week or two. For those of you new to it, here is the most recent version.  Stay tuned!

PR Day Celebration: Little Black Awesomesauce!

Words to live by if you are a NY'er or Emmanuelle Alt

Pattern Review's Little Black Dress party at Elliott Berman Textiles was awesome! If you didn't attend, well, you missed out. Really.

The blogosphere glitterati were out in full force, looking immensely chic in their LBDs.

Carolyn, moi and Deepika

I even met the mythic Sharon. You know Sharon. TailorChick Sharon. Right! That Sharon. The one that taught Gertie. She's not a blogosphere myth, people! She's real and in about 8 seconds she analyzed my figure and fitting issues to a tee. Oh, and she asked if I had given any thought to corsets. I have. So, naturally, I woke up this morning thinking of corsets. Oy vay.  This is how an obsession begins.


Oh! And there were contests and prizes, courtesy of Elliott Berman!

Oh boy, oh boy! Silk for meeeee!!! 
(Edited to add that the far left and right are DKNY  97% silk 3% lycra Crepe de Chine)

Can you tell that a great time was had by all?  Happy Birthday, PR!!!

More pics on FB - Elliott Berman or Deepika or Pattern Review's pages

And now I am off to the Craft Lounge after a long morning of puttering, feeling much more inspired.  Happy sewing, peeps!

Hotcake Winner

When our usual giveaway impartial judge decided to sleep in on Saturday, Milkshake happily offered to step in to do the drawing for us.
  

We used the clutch I made back in June to hold all the entries. 

Milkshake dove right in

And picked...

The winner!

Claire Quimby

Claire, shoot me an email so I can send this hotcake off to you!

Thanks to everyone who entered and said what they would do with this fabric. I love how everyone imagines it in a different way - blouses, lingerie, to line a jacket, kimonos...

Happy sewing, everyone. More on my skirt this week.

"Hotcake" Giveaway

A party without cake is just a meeting, as they say. So, as promised, here is a small birthday "hotcakes" giveaway.

Silk charm

You know by now that I like luxe.  This is a generous 2 yard cut of silk charmeuse that I bought as one of the possible candidates to line my leather jacket. I eventually chose a turquoise version of the same fabric - this one is a mix of hot pink and orange. I figured that it would become lingerie if I didn't pick it for the jacket. Phin's kind of surprized I'm willing to part with it, but it's too pretty to languish in my stash any longer. So, I'm hoping to find it a good home.

Also, as the temperature starts to drop, perhaps you would also like a pattern to, um,  help heat up the night.

More accurate color on this picture

Hotcakes? I think so. 

It's just one of many things you could do with this silk - obviously, make what you will love. (BTW, did you know there is a lingerie sewing contest happening at PR right now? Details here.)


Anyway, here's the small print for my giveaway: Just yell "Hotcakes" by midnight EDT on Friday, October 18 to enter this random drawing. And do make sure I can reach you. I will mail anywhere that mail goes. I hope you will also tell me if you've sewn lingerie before or what you might do with this fabric.

Happy sewing! Stay tuned for my next (totally, totally awesome and exciting, IMHO) self drafted pencil skirt project in a few days.  Seriously, I am giddy about it.

Pattern Pyramid Giveaway Winner!

Shark Week has come to an end and so has the Pattern Pyramid Giveaway here in the Craft Lounge.

The winner is...

Gail of MyFabrication

Looks like this pyramid is heading back to Oz after a very brief trip to the northwestern hemisphere.  Congrats, Gail. Please get in touch with me.

Pattern Pyramid Giveaway!!!

Now that I've had some time to rifle through my pattern stash and select a pattern or two, I'm ready to send the Pattern Pyramid on it's merry way. Here's the pattern that is staying with me:

Simplicity Amazing Fit Shirt

I've had Rhonda's raised collar pattern hack on the brain lately. Wouldn't it be fun to do the pattern hack and lengthen the shirt to shirt-dress length? I think so.

Ans here are two patterns that I'm adding to the pyramid:

A Vogue Dress and a Simplicity top

And here's what's still in the pyramid after it went from Karen at Did You Make That? to dottie doodle to jessie kay makes to Down the Retro Rabbit Hole (sadly now defunct) to my NY-London shopping buddy Rachel of House of Pinheiro to Almond Rock to Oanh of Unique Schmuck to the curious kiwi and finally to The Perfect Nose, where I won it. Whew!

Oh, and there are a few Pattern Pyramid Make labels left.

You probably know the rules, but here they are just in case you've been living under a rock or on an extended vacation:

• Anyone, anywhere in the world, can enter by leaving a comment on this post before midnight on Sunday, August 11, but you must have an active blog.
• I will randomly select one winner (Person A) and mail them the collection.
• Person A will then pick one pattern to keep for themselves, then host their own give-away. They will randomly select a winner, post the remaining patterns to Person B.
• Person B will pick a pattern for themselves and promptly host their own give-away and post the remaining patterns to the winner, Person C. Person C will do the same and so on until there is a last pattern winner…you get the idea.
• Some people like to replace the pattern they are taking with another from their stash, this keeps the pyramid going longer, but is not compulsory. 

Please make sure that when you comment, I have a way to reach you. Oh, and if you like, let me know where you blog - I love being introduced to new-to-me blogs!

Hully Gully Winner and my 800th Post!!

So the winner of the Shabby Apple Hully-Gully Skirt Giveaway is.....

Faye Lewis!!!!!

Dragon the Hippo gets very excited about giveaways, so we let him preside over our very humble and analog raffle to ensure impartiality.

As I was about to hit "post," I realized that this is in fact my 800th post! How time flies when you are busy sewing, knitting, baking and doing all sorts of fun things! Thanks for reading along!

Oh, and since I am thinking about my blog, I suppose this is as good a time as any to say:  Follow my blog with Bloglovin. I know I am about the least technically savvy person in the blogosphere, but since Google whatever is going the way of the Dodo, it seemed like it was time to flap to a new home.  

How ya Like them (Shabby) Apples? Give Away!

One of the things that seems to happen after you've been blogging for a while is that you receive offers for "free" products. Well, "free" if you will review them on your blog. I generally don't say yes.* BUT, this week I received an offer from Shabby Apple, a retailer I like very much, that I can pass on to my readers instead of benefiting from myself.

But first, here is what I like about Shabby Apple, in their own words...

"At Shabby Apple, we believe in both femininity and feminism. As feminine women, we create clothing that is artful in design and crafted with a vintage-style flare. Each piece is carefully constructed to both flatter a women’s figure and maintain her mystery. As feminists, we created a company that is women-owned and operated and that donates to help other women start their own businesses. With our old-fashioned style and modern ideals, we believe the best is yet to come!" (from their website)

How could I say no to vintage clothing for a reader from a retailer whose ethos is one that I can absolutely get down with? Also, on a more superficial note, vintage styling often translates into a longer hem length, which means that many more of their dresses and skirts are work-appropriate length for longer-limbed gals like me. I guess this is what they mean by "maintaining her mystery". This jives with my own style - I love clothing that flatters my figure without being overly revealing.

So, on to the goods! Shabby Apple has invited me to host a giveaway for one of their dresses or skirts. I got to pick which one; I hope you like my choice!

Hully-Gully Skirt

This is their Hully-Gully Skirt. It's a high-waisted pencil skirt with a fun bow detail at the waist (sizes 2-16). I think it has real charm. I can't decide if I think this falls into the cake or frosting category, so I've decided that I'm going to call it pie. Shabby Apple Pie, to be precise.

The fine print: sadly this contest is only open to US readers. Sorry, foreign readers. Those who want in, just holler Apple Pie in the comments by Tuesday, June 18 at midnight EDT. Also, since we haven't talked about dessert recently, feel free to tell me what your favorite kind of pie is for a second chance to win (all in one comment is fine)! Oh, and please do make sure I have a way of getting in touch with you!


*I have no affiliation with Shabby Apple and am not getting anything in return for this giveaway. I could have opted to get a free dress myself, if I would review it on my blog, or do a giveaway instead. I chose giveaway, since you all deserve cute skirts and I have no ambition to have sponsors or build a career or earn any money from sewing/blogging. I admire those who do - they add a lot to our community! But it's simply not for me, at least not at this point in my life. Sewing is something that I do for the love of it and am happy to bankroll. It's an investment in myself, which is the most important and significant investment that a person can make, IMHO. Next is investing in others, which Shabby Apple does and is what made up my mind to go ahead with this. 

Frosting Shots Winner, Photobombing and Pocket Thoughts

Last weekend, my ten year old nephew and I made his mom a birthday cake - devil's food cake with a stabilized whipped cream frosting and chocolate dipped strawberries. Mmmmmm...  but that's a post for another time since we have some housekeeping today.

Gratuitous Birthday Cake Shot

First, thanks for your thoughts on pockets. It seems like we fall into a few basic camps - curvy ladies who hate extra bulk at the hips and love purses, those who have jobs/lifestyles that make pockets a practicality/necessity for carrying what you need for work or life, and those who just think pockets are plain old fun and a good place to stick one's hands - I'm guessing that this group tends to favor pockets that also add a design element to a dress or skirt. That said, we all seem to agree that pockets in jeans are a must! So, there you have it. 

Next up: the results of the "Frosting Shots!" giveaway.  Lingerie is one area where sewing your own is almost always less expensive than comparable RTW.  No wonder there is a lingerie binge going on in the sewing blogosphere! Anway, Phin and I did the drawing last night - analog as always.

And the winner is:

annnielsen54(at)hotmail(dot)com

  

Congrats Ann!  Shoot me an email!

Last, no doubt you've noticed the knit hippo photobombing the giveaway winner picture. You see, I'm going to be in San Francisco for 36 hours for work from tomorrow to Friday morning - a crazy trip where there will be no time for any enjoyment. (Sigh. No fabric shopping or meet ups or blogging). BUT, I have been promised that there will be an all-too-rare occurrence happening here at Clio & Phineas: a post from Phin! 

Yes, it is true. He has promised me a post about the new friend that I knit for him who already shows a keen interest in photobombing and jumping in general. So, stay tuned!

Couture Cami and "Frosting Shots" Give Away

One of the too many sewing projects that I'm working on at the moment is a couture style cami, with a little guidance from Marina of Frabjous Couture and this very excellent Threads article.

I spent part of last weekend making muslins of a few different patterns that I was considering using. I've decided on the new Vogue lingerie pattern, which includes a cami option.

V8888 - Robe, slip, camisole and panties

I have to say, the pattern fit beautifully with just a little adjustment at the bust and my usual lengthening. I cut the size indicated by my measurements, thinking all the while that I was being incredibly foolish since big 4 patterns typically have an overabundance of ease. But - shockingly - the cami fit.

Anyway, I've been amassing lingerie patterns for a while and now I have both a vintage and a modern favorite slip/cami pattern. This leaves me with an abundance of untouched patterns. So, it's giveaway time!

KwikSew 3726 slip/teddy, McCall's 5989 robe/pj's and McCall's 5651 OOP lingerie

 
This month's Frosting Diet giveaway is actually frosting and not cake: two lingerie and one pj patterns plus some embellishments - a little lace trim and some fold over elastic. One of my favorite cupcake bakeries in NYC offers "frosting shots", which are exactly what they sound like: a $1 shot of frosting, hold the cake. So, that's what this give away is - a shot of frosting for your wardrobe.

When I leave the house with a beautiful cami, slip or bra and panty set under my clothes, I cannot help but feel like I'm fortified for whatever the day holds. It's my little glamorous, under cover secret. So, why not make it fabulous frosting? No one will know that you are wearing a leopard print cami trimmed with hot pink lace under your very sensible Renfrew, will they? They also won't know about the glamorous pj's and robe you wear while lounging in your boudoir sipping a dirty martini and reading Threads. Or is it just me that does that?

Anyway, on to the fine print: To enter the giveaway just holler "Frosting shots!" in the comments by Midnight EDT Sunday. Also include a way that I can reach you, s'il vous plait! I will mail to wherever you are.

More on my cami project as it evolves!

Awesome (Fledgling) Sewistas!

So, you may remember my first Frosting Diet give away back in January. 

Pattern, Fabric and Book

This week I heard from Jodie K, who won that giveaway, and thought I would share this slice of sewing awesomeness with you.

Jodie is a Food Studies and Fashion Studies teacher at a high school, and the students in her Fashion Studies class are entering a fashion show that is part contest and part fundraiser.  Here she is - wearing a top she made from a portion of the fabric she won! - talking about her students and the contest.

Courtesy of the School's Film Studies Students

First off, kudos to Jodie on the excellent top! I'm so glad the fabric found a more deserving home than mine.

Next, why weren't class projects this awesome when I was in high school?? Seriously!

Here are Jodie's students talking about muslins and fitting and all the things we sewists like to gab about - Cheyanne, Gabby and Bobbie-Joe.  I want to call them Project Runway: The Next Generation. Can you believe they just started learning to sew in February? Their fashion show contest will take place on April 25 - lots of luck Cheyanne, Gabby and Bobbie-Joe!

Anyway, I've decided that I'm having so much fun with giveaways that I'm going to try to make it a monthly event while I continue to sew frosting. Tune in next week for your next chance to win something.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Layer Cake Winner and Final Grateful Thoughts

 

Before we get to the winner, I wanted to take a moment to say how touched I am by the many thoughtful comments on my Sew Grateful post. Thank you, odd ducks of the sewing blogosphere! It's nice to be flapping in V formation with you!

An unexpected side effect of that post, is this revelation: Sewists really like their sweets! I mean really, really! And not just chocolate and vanilla! Lemon, orange, poppy, caramel, red velvet, carrot, spice, zucchini, ice cream and cheesecakes that are drizzled, sprinkled, whip creamed, bedecked in buttercream and slathered in ganache were all mentioned. Plus, some of you went off the reservation to say you like fruit pies, mud pies, tarts, brownies, tiramisu and even a few un-frosted cakes. Variety is the spice of life! I myself am a brownie fiend.

Anyway, the winner of the giveaway...

We do things analog here, folks!

...who likes the seasonally appropriate red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting best...

... is Emma Morton!  Look for my email, Emma, and let me know where to send your slice of layer cake! 

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Sew Grateful: Reflections and Layer Cake Give Away

Somehow Sew Grateful Week snuck up on me. So, I've decided to do just one post, since it took me all week to decide what to say.  I'm not usually sentimental, so please bear with my lack of eloquence.

Thank you, Debi!

On Tuesday, I had dinner with Puu and Oona  after a seminar on working with leather that was lead by Kenneth D King at Mood Fabrics. (We'll circle back to the multilayered awesomeness of this statement in a minute). And we were talking about how - unlike some other on-line communities - we've all found the sewing blogosphere to be overwhelmingly accepting and supportive, with very few exceptions.

The first person to follow my blog who I didn't know in real life was about as different from me as another woman could be, separated by geography, age, race, religion, cultural context, preferred hair color ;-)... but I've always felt that there is a mutual sense of respect, encouragement and appreciation between us. I feel this across the wider sewing blogosphere: that we are all living the lives that we've either chosen or have been dealt, but that our shared experience - sewing - cuts across the differences and judgements that might otherwise separate us. There are people in my virtual life who I would never encounter IRL, but that I feel a kinship with. And I am immeasurably grateful for that.

Odd Duck

A few months ago a friend said to me about herself "I'm an odd duck. Not everyone likes my quack." I've often felt the same way. I quack too loud, say the wrong things, am prone to dropping/breaking/slamming/spilling/tangling, and I have two left feet. I'm prone to loneliness but have a hard time reaching out to others. I am terrified of heights and flight, but I brave both. Sometimes I can't decide what to wear and I don't know if that's because I'm feeling insecure or if I'm feeling insecure because I don't know what to wear. I have an alter ego. I crack myself up on a regular basis. I am not cool. The landscape of my imagination is populated with dragons and  monsters and zombies, purple haired super heroes with magical powers and a tiny herd of knit elephants that trumpet and trample and trip over their own trunks. Blogging and sewing have helped me explore and embrace all of these parts of myself, and that has spilled over in a tangible way into how I feel about myself in the real world. I like my odd quack. And I am grateful for this - that I've found this shared space that we've carved out on the internet where I can quack my quack with duckling glee.

I love that others of you also quack your own quacks on your blogs or in comments. Not only am I constantly inspired by what you sew, but I'm inspired by your journey and how you choose to share your creative life with me and others. I know what it's like to take a deep breath and click "publish", which is so much less safe than clicking "save". And I'm grateful for you - that you click "publish", too.

So, back to the awesomeness of my first statement. New York is an amazing place to be a sewist. Not only do we have classes with people like Kenneth King and Susan Khaljie, and stores like Mood and Paron Fabrics, but we seem to have a growing community. In the last year, I've had opportunities to meet other sewing bloggers in person, thanks both to living here and traveling as part of my work life. And so, in a very unexpected way the sewing blogosphere has changed my life. In a city of 8 million and a world of nearly 7 billion, I've found people - people who I really like - who understand what drives me to constantly make things. And since they seem to keep inviting me, I guess it's mutual. And I'm grateful for this.

Lastly - and here is the segue - I'm glad to be part of a generous community. It's a rare day when there isn't a giveaway, a tutorial or even a helpful comment floating around in the sewing blogosphere. This week I received a very generous gift of fabric, yarn and patterns from another blogger, simply because we were talking about it. It made my day. And I'm grateful.

Thank you, Peter!

So, my giveaway, as I continue on my frosting diet is what I'm calling the Layer Cake Giveaway - four "cake" patterns that could be mixed and matched for multiple wardrobe options. I will probably never sew them up myself. They are all Simplicity Amazing Fit patterns - a skirt, 2 dresses and a jacket.

The give away is open to all, regardless of where you live. Just shout "Pass the Cake!" in the comments by midnight (EST) on Wednesday (Feb 13) and make sure that I have an email where I can reach you. If you'd like, you can tell me what your favorite kind of cake (including frosting!) is to double your chances.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! We're expecting a blizzard in NY and my office is shutting early. So I will be hunkered down at my sewing machine.

Passing the Cake: Giveaway Winner

So, the winner of the Let Them Eat Cake giveaway - a cleanse at the start of my frosting diet - is:

Jodie K

These lovelies are coming your way, Jodie. Shoot me an email at clio[dot]phineas[at]gmail[dot]com to claim your cake!

Happy sewing, everyone!

The Frosting Diet: Let Them Eat Cake Giveaway!

I'm not a dieter when it comes to food or fabric or anything. I ask: Is a life without brownies worth living? I think not. But here I am, all giddy about the Frosting Diet.

So, in the spirit of modern diets, I thought I should do a "cleanse" to rid my Craft Lounge of cake, which is so damaging to my mojo. But since others thrive on cake, I say "let them eat cake!" We'll do this cleanse as a giveaway.

Cake

Is there anything more versatile than a knit wrap dress? It's very delicious cake indeed. In someone else's hands this might not even be cake. However, the chance that I will sew myself a knit wrap dress is slim-to-none.

So, this giveaway is for Butterick 5454 (size 8-10-12-14), a classic style wrap dress pattern, along with three yards of this ITY knit, which I bought two years ago from FabricMart to make myself such a dress. Additionally, I'm throwing in this book on fitting and figure flattery. I bought it in a flurry of new sewist library building, but I don't think I've even cracked the binding.

Please holler "pass the cake" in the comments by Jan 20 (midnight EST) if you are interested. I'm happy to mail globally. Oh, and make sure I have a way of getting in touch with you, please.

A few additional confectionery thoughts...
I'm so glad that you all seem as excited as I am about the Frosting Diet. Feel free to join in, even if just for a month or week or one project. Anyone who wants to sew fabulous rather than basic is welcome! If enough people are interested I may even have to contemplate a button or something like that. (Wow, I already regret saying that. I'm so non web or tech savvy.)

On another tech note, Blogger seems to be having some kind of bad hair week, possibly due to a lover's quarrel with Disqus. A few readers posted comments that I can only see in the mobile app or in the moderator tools. So, apologies if it seems like your comment was not received or acknowledged - it was! Wordpress is looking better all the time.

Sewing Groupon Alert!

I think most of you who visit my blog are probably too advanced for a beginner class, but I thought I'd alert you anyway! Groupon is offering a deal on a Two-Hour Beginner-Basics Sewing Class Including Materials for One or Two at The Sewing Studio (Up to 57% Off). Maybe there is a new or budding sewista or sewister in your life that would like this for Christmas?

Click here for the deets!  

Oh, and I have no affiliation with either Groupon or The Sewing Studio. 

The Fine Print: Give Away Winners, Mailbag and Scattered Thoughts

After the Columbus Day holiday, today feels like a Monday. So, it's a good time to get to some "to do list" items.

Give Away Winners
The competition for these patterns was not so fierce; I guess the need for party dresses is not as great as my pattern collection would have me believe. But the winners are:

Debi - Vogue 1162 Belleville Sassoon dress  

Rachel - Vogue 8280 Galaxy Dress knock off pattern

Ladies, let me know where to send 'em - email me at Clio[dot]Phineas[at]gmail[dot]com - and have fun sewing them up!   

Mailbag
Just to answer a few questions that came my way in comments:

ThreadHeaven - What is it? What's it for?  - Essentially, you are supposed to use it to coat your thread for handsewing, as you would use bees wax. It reduces drag and tangles, and conditions the thread against fraying. Unlike beeswax it is non-organic, and it is also non-toxic, UV repellent, retards mold and mildew, and a host of other things you can read about here

Thimble - Did I cosy up to mine with all the hand sewing? - In a word, no. Sewing on silk fabric with silk thread coated in ThreadHeaven really was easy - the needle just glided on thru. Using a thimble actually became cumbersome. So, I am still a thimble deadbeat. C'est la vie. 

Scattered thoughts
Finally, it was really great to have a weekend that was completely free - no sewing for a deadline! It was a weekend of dabbling - very scattered. I worked a bit on boxer shorts for Phineas and a single seam skirt for me. Neither is done. I baked peach coffee cake and apple cinnamon muffins, which are half eaten now. I went for a long run, since I signed up for the Vegas Half Marathon (Dec 4) last week and have some serious training ahead.


(OK, the embedded video was starting to drive me bonkers every time I visited my blog. So, I've changed it to a link. CLICK HERE to see how cool the Vegas Half Marathon is.)


Seriously, how fun does this look?? And all I have to do is run 13.1 miles. It almost makes me think this was a good idea. Ha!

Oh and I took a knitting class, which is a first for me. So there are lots of balls in the air at the moment but nothing finished to show just yet. Stay tuned.

Belated Birthday, Pattern Give Away, and PR Promotion?

So, here are some of the thoughts I meant to post on Monday for my birthday. But first, a gratuitous shot of the incredibly decadent brownies (recipe here) that I baked for myself as a birthday treat...

Mmmmm.... brownies... my one true weakness. Well, aside from silk.

OK, now, about my birthday! And sewing! It was almost exactly four years ago that Mom Muse gave me my first sewing  machine as a birthday present. Can you believe it?  I was looking back at my very first sewing post - here - and I have to admit that not a lot has changed other than...

...instead of sewing an elastic waist a-line skirt...

 ...I'm now hand picking zippers on silk dresses.

But my love of fabric, obsessiveness with details and lack of camera skills are essentially intact. That said, I posted a Pattern Review for the red dress yesterday (here) and a few commenters suggested that it's time to give myself a promotion from Advanced Beginner to Intermediate. What do you think? On the one hand, there is sooo much I still don't know or have never done, and even more that I have done but don't consider myself truly skilled at (um, button holes is the glaringly obvious one here. There are just so many good hardware solutions to button holes that I haven't worked so hard at perfecting my skills.) On the other hand, I've really upped my game in the last year. In fact, I've...

...tailored a coat,

...worked extensively on bust fitting,

 ...and done my first project with boning and a waist stay.

 Oh and lets not forget that since my last birthday, I conquered my fear of welt pockets.

Who's afraid of the big bad welt? Not me!

I'm also feeling good about zippers, fitting my body and hand sewing. So, why am I hesitant? Maybe it's that my sewing is always such slow going compared to others. I tend to stick to a few big projects rather than sewing a lot of quicker things. And Intermediate seems like a big jump at a time when I really feel like I'm in the snarky adolescent phase of my sewing hobby - some days I'm a spoiled brat know-it-all; some days I feel like I don't know a thing. Please share your thoughts - is it time for a promotion? How did you decide you were ready to move up the PR ranks?
  
So, back to my birthday! I always feel full of plans and goals for the coming year. This time around - birthday number 36 - is no exception. Maybe it's my way of gearing up for another year of life, maybe it's how much I love and feel alive during my birth month (hooray October!!!), or perhaps it's the nearing holidays, but I can't help being joyful and thankful at his time of year.

And now, because birthdays traditionally involve gift giving, I've decided on another give away. The theme is Beautiful Dresses. Just holler in the comments before Friday at midnight EDT (NYC time) and let me know which pattern(s) you'd like, if not all. I'm happy to ship to wherever your Craft Lounge may be.

Gorgeous Dress Pattern Give Away
First, Simplicity 3823, a halter style classic party dress. Or with Halloween coming, this could be the perfect pattern for a Marilyn Monroe costume.

"Happy Birthday, Mr President" in Size 14-22

Next, I've always been a big fan of "That Dress" - the Roland Mouret Galaxy dress - and this Vogue pattern is clearly a knock-off of it. Also, it's got a similar feel to my red dress, but without the labor intensive sleeves and pleats. And like the red dress, I think this would be great on pear shaped figures - the strong sleeves/shoulders really balance out the hips visually. I could see this done up in a really dressy fabric for some sex appeal or in a more tweedy fabric for an office chic vibe.  

Vogue 8280 - sizes 16-20

And finally, Vogue 1162, my red dress pattern.

Size 14-20

Just a few caveats with this pattern. This is the pattern I used for the first muslin, which was too large. I had to go down to the size 12, which was not in the same pattern envelope. I didn't cut the pattern, but did trace it with a wheel. So this pattern is NOT in factory condition. However, all the parts are there, as are the instructions in a somewhat beat up envelope. This is an advanced pattern, but I hope I've convinced you that it is worth it - I'd love to pass this pattern along.

More tomorrow on the boxer sew along I'm participating in. Have a great day everyone!