Cross a major goal off my list this year: sewing with knits! Meet my very first Coco top, from Tilly and the Buttons. I'm excited. Can you tell?? When I set a goal earlier this fall to learn to sew with knits, I prepared by, well, reading everything under the sun about sewing with knits. The Colette Guide to Sewing Knits by Alyson Clair, the instructions for the three knit patterns I bought to start off ... Read more »
Pushing your (silhouette) boundaries
Hello, friends! My blogging energy has been zapped lately, I must admit, but I think it's bouncing back. And so today, I have a little story to tell! It all started with a print. A couple of months ago, I was obsessing over galaxy-themed prints. I managed to track down some galaxy fabric to sew a dress (no I still haven't sewn it yet!), and also found a ModCloth dress severely on sale. It was the very last one, and in ... Read more »
Sewtionary blog tour: 6 questions with Tasia the Sewaholic
I have a special treat for you today! If you sew clothing, you probably know of Tasia St. Germaine's pattern line, Sewaholic Patterns (that is, unless you've been living under a rock, in which case, please come out). Tasia has just released a book, and I'm thrilled to be a part of her blog tour for the release of The Sewtionary! Source: Copyright © Tasia St. Germaine, from The Sewtionary I have the utmost respect for ... Read more »
Daydreaming about autumn sewing and knitting
Hello hello! As you may recall, I haven't had a working sewing machine now for a few weeks. It's not that the shop is even far from our house—I've just literally not had the opportunity to take it in! But oddly, that's been kind of okay (well after I stopped being twitchy about it). Work has been particularly busy so I've had less time for anything, anyway. And in the meantime, I'm getting a lot of knitting, daydreaming ... Read more »
An outfit to get dyed for
Happy Friday, my friends! I'm off to the salon later this afternoon to get my hair color touched up (hence the corny post title). Can you believe it's been 6 weeks since I went red?! (I feel like it's not fair to call myself a redhead since it's not my natural color... will I get over this? Would I offend natural redheads by doing so? I'm probably over-thinking this, right?) (hair is clipped back and unset because ... Read more »
An Elisalex with feathers
I am sorely behind in posting about things I've sewn this summer. So much so that I may not even blog about it all—you might just have to see it show up in outfits at some point! And right now, my sewing machine is having issues so I'm going to have to take it in to get repaired. No sewing for me for awhile. So let's backup to a month ago when I finished this dress! This is my first Elisalex dress from By Hand ... Read more »
Triumphant return of cigarette pants (or, how I ate my words)
Maybe it's the unusually cool weather we've had lately, but my lust for pants has returned. A week or so ago I started hearing a niggling voice in the back of my head. It was telling me, "Pssst... remember those red cigarette pants you abandoned last spring? Butterick B5895? Maybe you should try them on." Against what I thought was my better judgment at the time, I went to my Sewing Corner of Shame (where I put failed ... Read more »
Creative necklines class and Craftsy discount
For my final collaboration post with Craftsy, I took one more techniques class, Patternmaking + Design: Creative Necklines, with Suzy Furrer. I actually started off with the intention of taking another dressmaking class, but I've come to realize that at this point in my sewing adventures, I'm really more interested in learning techniques, tips and drafting advice than following through an entire pattern! Source: ... Read more »
Little gingham peasant blouse
I've wanted to sew a peasant blouse for the entire summer. Wait, longer than that. It's definitely been more than a year. Maybe make that two years. Okay whatever, as long as I've been sewing regularly, I've wanted to make peasant blouses. So this summer was finally The Time. But boy, I never seemed to find the time to go to the store and procure 1/4" wide elastic! Which sounds perfectly ridiculous since in the months ... Read more »
Shooting Star bolero and Cotton + Steel Arrow dress
My latest two finished projects are both repeats of a sort! And I'm pretty excited about both of them. This is my Shooting Star Bolero and my Cotton + Steel Arrow Dress. Oh yeah, if you missed that I went red and that photo surprised you, you can catch up on my hair color! Also we very recently painted our den and bedroom (FINALLY OMG) and hung up art, so welcome to a new place for me to take photos! I'll give you ... Read more »
The flirty day dress class and Craftsy giveaway
My latest collaboration with Craftsy had me watching a class on how to sew up a particularly cute, vintage-inspired dress! The class is Sewing Vintage: The Flirty Day Dress with Laura Nash. Source: Copyright © Craftsy, Sewing Vintage: The Flirty Day Dress Laura Nash, by the way, is completely adorable. Source: Copyright © Craftsy, Sewing Vintage: The Flirty Day Dress If I wasn't already enjoying the class, I was ... Read more »
The latest member of the redhead club!
For years and years, I've wanted to have red hair. Not that you've seen it since it was all pre-blog, but I've had loads of different hair colors over the years. From shades you might find springing from someone's head naturally (like black, brown, and blonde) to completely unnatural colors (like pink, green and purple), with the only real exceptions being light brown and natural reds. I say 'natural' reds to ... Read more »
Sewing lingerie freebie with Christine Haynes and Craftsy
Hi everyone! Well, I'm winding up my posts with Craftsy this summer and just have a couple left after this one. But today, it's a little something special! I always knew Craftsy offered video classes, but I had never really investigated that they have other downloadables, too. And one of their FREE downloads is a PDF called Success with Sewing Lingerie (Three Tutorials to Make You Say Ooh La La!). It's written by none ... Read more »
So I accidentally bought a vintage sewing machine
A few weeks ago, we went over to our friends Ben and Elisa's house. As it happened, their neighborhood was having a big yard sale earlier in the day that we couldn't attend, but some people still were selling when we got to their house in the late afternoon. Now, a house near them had recently been sold, as the 90+ year old woman who lived there was moving into a nursing home. And Ben and Elisa knew the house hadn't ... Read more »
A fabulous antiquing day in St. Louis
Hello, friends! Goodness have I ever been busy. So busy that I can't even seem to catch up with, well, about anything. We just got back from one road trip and here I am showing you photos from two road trips ago. Albeit, it was only last weekend. Like I said...busy! The weekend before the 4th of July holiday weekend, we drove to St. Louis to visit Mel's sister and our brother-in-law, niece, and nephew. We try to get ... Read more »
The cuckoo clock dress
This dress may well feature one of the pinnacles of amazing, kitschy novelty prints: cuckoo clocks. Ever since I got a cuckoo clock necklace from Classic Hardware, I've been obsessed with them. One day, this obsession took me on a hunt for cuckoo clock fabric. Surely, somewhere, there was fabric with cuckoo clocks on it, right? Well, the answer was yes! This fabric is from the Storybook Lane collection by Kelly ... Read more »