Sew along with me?

Is it to early to post a New Years Resolution? I normally dislike resolutions. This one potentially involves you. So you may really dislike them now too. Think of it like talking a girlfriend into taking an exercise class with you because you know your never going to do it by yourself. This, ladies, is a sewing work out.


I have stacks of old / vintage darling patterns. I want to sew them all and somehow fail to do even a one. What I am proposing to anyone that is interested is that we sew one together. Starting with this darling 1930's number.

The envelope is in bad condition. The pattern pieces are perfect and directions intact. What I love about the pattern is the front seaming detail and the simple button closure on the back. I already have a picture in my head of doing this little dress as a shift with no sleeves or collar. Some piping to bring out the front and cute vintage buttons. I have looked at all the pieces and they fit together beautifully. They will go together smoothly for anyone willing to give her a go. The pattern is a size 4. With a finished chest of 23 inches and nape to hem of 22 inches. This will fit my size 4T Ella perfectly.

The Sew Along Proposal:
I will organize the sew along. Collecting participant information, linking to your blog, creating a Flickr group and so on.

I will trace the pattern and mail it off to the next participant who will then trace it and send it off to the next on the list and so on.

Depending on how many sign up we will plan to start sewing one week in March.  I think we will have time to make this an international gig if we limit it to the US and one other country.  Let's say 10 sewers total.

Each participant will blog their fabric choices, modifications, problems & success's. Finally posting pictures of their finished garment.

If we all have a blast doing it we can select another pattern and start all over : )

Are you game? Leave a comment here or email me at sonji98 at yahoo com

Click on the pattern pictures for a close look.

Lovely Finds

A little impromptu thrift store visit yielded the following fun crafty goodness. For local ladies & gents the following finds are brought to you by Unique in NE Minneapolis.

Three rolls of vintage Lions Brand "Petti-Lace" in Mint Julep and Orange Creamsicle.  Each roll was originally 40 yards.  I estimate that there is more than 50 yards of the mint and 30 yards of the orange.

The polka dots are flocked on a sheer colored fine mesh.  The mesh is attached to the net lace underneath and the two layers can be pulled apart.

Fun Fun Fun!

I had to bring this home with me too.

30 yards of striped one inch suspender/belt elastic.  There was just so much of it.  What are the odds that I will ever come across 30 yards of suspender elastic again?

How about these sweet acetate ribbon bundles.  Once again there was just so many of them.  I apparently have a thing for volume and the letter S.

Blog Find

My SMS giveaway lead me to several lovely new blogs to cyber stalk.  These were the blogs that on first viewing earned an instant spot on my reading list.  Here is my recap!

// Between The Lines //   Lovely pictures, clean aesthetic, simple crafty goodness from Paris no less. And best of all it's written in English!


Sew I Do  Novita living in Tokyo, a darling wallet tutorial, beautiful pictures of her sewing style. 

Stitch-Craft  Crafty Mama working for the Associated Press and writing about the things she makes.  So many wonderful projects to be found here!

Scrumdillydilly  The blog name is enough.  Think pink & aqua vintage recycled crafty lovelyness.

Sweet Sweet Life  Amy has a very sweet life indeed.  Her blog is wonderful eye candy and so is her
"evolving list of everyday inspiration" blog role.

I must have a real thing for blogs that start with the letter S. 

Good day!

Growing Business

It's official! Children have aged me. I can't believe that I looked so much younger 6 years ago. 6 years! That's less than a decade people. Goodness! But look at that sweet little dolly that I am holding. That is Soren, the child I worked so hard to get. She is 6 today. All of my insides are saying "scoop her up and poor her precious body into my chest cavity and keep her there forever". How can love hurt so much. I absolutely ache for the weight of her baby-ness. I don't want another baby. I want this one to stay little forever. Alas, I am told that this is impossible. So I will move on.
I have been on a bit of a sewing binge. I whipped up a Christmas skirt set and Birthday skirt set over the last 48 hours. The Christmas set was worn to school yesterday. The Birthday set was worn to school today. Please excuse the chocolate milk drips and paint.

For Soren's Birthday T Shirt I used 6 tally marks.  The tally mark idea came from Erin over at House On Hill Road. It was a huge hit at school today.  The skirt is made up 12 panels each in a different print from Anna Maria Horner and Jennifer Paganelli fabrics.  The skirt was also a big hit.  This was a fantastic way to use up some scraps and fat quarters.  Best of all, Soren is crazy about her skirt and Birthday t-shirt.

For the Christmas set I used Michael Miller Funky Christmas fabric. The ruffled bib on the t-shirt was so simple and fun to do.  I want to make myself one!

Hard Work

Wow! I must say that coming up with three interesting, inspiring, thoughtful and useful surprise packages was harder than I could have imagined. I created pile after pile based off my three winners interests and styles. I edited, rearrange, re-thunk, walked away, slept on it, then edited some more. In the end I am pleased with the outcome and hope more than anything my winners will be very pleased too.

I wanted each package to contain some inspiring reading. So I culled through my library and picked books or magazines that I thought had loads of creative eye candy in them. Projects and pictures that these crafty gals could add their own personality to. I also wanted to send at least a yard of nice fabric that the recipient hopefully doesn't already own. Finally, I wanted to send notions that complimented the fabric and allowed each winner to make something without having to buy a bunch of stuff.


Package One:  Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross, 1 Yard of Far Far Away Double Gauze, Orange Vintage Buttons, Vintage Orange Bias Tape, Gutermann Elastic Thread

Package Two:  Cotton Time, Cotton Friend and Cotton & Paint japanese craft magazines, Japanese Goldfish Linen and a coordinating print fabric, Vintage rick rack and seam binding, Blue buttons and Gutermann Thread.

Package Three:  Zakka Sewing Book, 1 yard Michael Miller Pear Fabric, Vintage Cotton Bias trim and Rick Rack, 3 Gorgeous Large Vintage Wood buttons and Gutermann Thread.

These packages will be in the post on Monday!

Surprise after Surprise!

Well several surprises really. First off I am surprised by the number of people that took the time to enter my surprise giveaway. 396! That is so many more people than I what  was expecting.  I have spent the last few days visiting everyone that left a comment around cyberspace. I learned so much about all you people. I now know that lot's of you like Orange! Orange? I was so surprised. And that I might very well be that last person on earth not quilting. This next year I am going to save all my fabric scraps from sewing clothes and give them away. I will make a quilter very happy. Surprise! The last big shocker for me is that if you ask people what they like many of them will actually tell you. I mean really tell you in a meaningful way.  Answers chock full of excitement, hope, humor and color.  Thank you to everyone who shared. It has been so nice getting to know you :)  I found some new blogs to follow and still have many that I want to go back and explore.  I will give a blog goodness recap on my findings later this week.


On to the Giveaway! Because there were so many entries I decided to give away more than one surprise package.  Random.org picked the first winner and it was:

abcgirl
said...
intriguing hook.... you got me!
i currently love to sew quilts. my favorite color is that shade of yellow-y green that could be either yellow or green, depending on what's next to it. and i have a terrible habit of collecting fancy ribbons and not using them because they're too pretty.


Then I picked two more! First I randomly picked someone who has choosen to follow my blog.  It makes me feel so good that people think what I am making is worth coming back to look at:

Simply EC
said...
OK, I'm game! What fun. (And I love your blog, you make really interesting stuff, and your oilcloth cover tutorial is JUST what I've been looking for as we need to keep the table that was my husband's grandmother's mess and scratch free!)
I like making bags, jewelry, useful little things. I love to sew, I love making clothes and embellished clothing for my son, myself and my friends' children. I love buttons and trims. I love making toys. And I love vintage patterns. LOVE them. I've also discovered patchwork recently and love doing that as well.
My screenname just about everywhere is "arimethia: (flickr, craftster, twitter, etc.) and other links are on my blog. Thanks for the giveaway!

Then I picked someone, based on their comment, that I thought could use a little pick me up surprise in the mail. It is almost Christmas after all. The perfect time to pass on a little goodness to:

Mama24Monkeys
said...
I adore surprises and sadly I rarely ever get one so I hope I win jst for the surprise.
OK, about me...I don't have a blog to help, so I'll do my best. Mostly sew for kids. I have 4 boys under 5 and tend to sew more for boys(wonder why?) I love making baby blankets and have just discovered quilting this year. I love flannel fabric in fun prints and minky. I have a bad case of stash envy. I have a very pathetic stash (at the moment I have 6 fat quarters) I tend to buy just what I need and haven't brought myself to just buy fabric because I like it. I have to have purpose before I buy. My new year resolution is to let myself buy fabric just because I like it and not because I have a planned use for it. I rarely use patterns, but when I do my projects always come out better with more ease then without. My favorite color combos are blues, greens, greys - reds, pinks, oranges - purple, green, gold. I knit, crochet and crosstitch but want to learn how to aplique this coming year. I think you now know more about me then my hubby. Thanks for the chance to win.

I will be contacting all the winners today.  I will post photo's of the surprise packages next week after I know the winners have received them (can't spoil the surprise).

SEW MAMA SEW GIVEAWAY DAY

I am giving away a surprise.

Kills you doesn't it?

I will tell you that it will be a fun box of vintage sewing supplies (trims & buttons) and modern fabric (from the best of today’s designers) all culled from my vast collection. If you sew for children there may be patterns. If you love Japanese craft magazines I will stick one in your goodie package. Vintage Patterns?  I have boxes of them and love to share.  You get the idea.

All you have to do is tell me what you love to sew, your favorite color & if there is a sewing item that you particularly love to collect (buttons, fabric, patterns, antique lace) so that I make a custom goody score just for you. The winner will be chosen randomly. After I pick the winner I will assemble a special box of goodies just for you. I will be looking at your blog, shop or flickr photo's to learn more about you ;) so share that info too. The more I know the more special the box will be!

Advent Web

It all started with this sweet elf, the advent web that I did weave. Well, sew really. Last year I started on this advent elf with the help of Calamity Kim's Tutorial. I had been admiring the advent elf in the Garnet Hill Catalog for some time. When I ran across Kim's awesome tutorial, I sat down in a frenzy of fabric & trims to whip up the rather large fellow. I knew I didn't have time to get all the pockets on before the December so I decided to put one pocket on each day. About half way through December I failed. And so this sweet elf has been sitting for an entire year incomplete. Now, another December 1st is here and I have been unable to face the elf. I am going to sit him by my sewing machine in the hopes of completing him this year.

In the meantime the children still need an advent calendar, right? I decided to whip up a version of this advent calendar from the latest issue of Marie Claire Idée’s.

I had everything on hand to do something similar. This is how mine turned out!

I used 24 inch wide Poultry Fencing (chicken wire) to hang my jute upholstery webbing pockets on. The poultry fencing is finished along the running length. I cut the fencing to size and wrapped the cut edges around sticks from the backyard. I used a black paint pen for the Noel and numbers. Little clothes pins attach the pockets to the wire. I love that the kids can turn each pocket around to the blank side at the end of the day. Even better is that this project took two hours start to finish!