Sewing projects in the works and some reading recommendations

Happy Friday! I like to do a weekly post but this week I don’t have any finished garments to show you. Lots of things in process, my favorite being this one.



I posted it on Instagram and mentioned that I was loving the pattern choice but not so sure about the fabric. Well after a week of looking at the partially finished item which is pinned on my dressform - set aside while I deal with lots of other projects – I can say that I am crazy about it and can’t wait to finish. And realize why I bought the fabric in the first place. A cotton/lycra sateen I bought at Stone Mountain last year on a whim when I was thinking I needed some prints and colors in my wardrobe that were not turquoise. The pattern I am using is the Pauline Alice Alameda, and that is all I will say until it is done. You know I am not usually an indie pattern girl, but her styles are really clever and also very professionally done.

My friend Heather is in NY and thanks to what is an everyday occurrence - but when you think about it is a modern miracle – by that I mean texting photos and/or Facetime, she has purchased some wow fabrics and I have a feeling she is not done yet. I told her to be on the lookout for a border print for me, perhaps in white with border of any interesting color. I love border prints on dresses and skirts and they seem so difficult to find here. I will tease us all with one of the pics she sent, which she did purchase. Armani silk for a blouse. Armani ! I can't wait to see it.  (from Mood I believe)




Our hot weather has arrived and consequently things are getting very brown – although not as parched as they probably should be. Still a surprising number of lush lawns in my neighborhood. I heard a perspective story on NPR radio the other morning saying that instead of being nicknamed the Golden State for our sunshine and actual gold ore discoveries we should instead become accustomed to being the Golden State for the golden brown hills and general lack of greenery.

So on that note I will recommend a blog post of my friend Veronique who I met through our local sewing blogger group. She is doing drawing more than sewing these days and has great post illustrating the water shortage in an entertaining way. All her posts amaze me (she helped me make my sewing lesson website) and whenever I see one of her floral illustrations I want to have her print or draw on some fabric so I can sew it. I will ask her about that next time we get together!

Speaking of blog recommendations, I have some others for you today.

In the spring my friend Meg (blog: megmadethis.blogspot.com) came over for a jacket sewing intensive lesson. As she saw me at a meet-up wearing this jacket she decided she had to conquer jackets (always something I like to hear, considering my jacket obsession). So she came over for an all-day session and we got just enough done – including a lot of the tricky bits – so that should could finish it in her own.
She has now written a couple of posts on the process, and since I get a lot of positive comments on my tailoring process posts I will point you in the direction of her blog. It was really interesting to hear about my teaching style from the other person’s point of view.  Which may be that I have strong opinions on how to do things? Actually I didn’t need to read her post to confirm that. But you can tell she is a good student – I don’t mean a good student of mine but a very very smart person who grasps concepts and can write about them clearly. She is going to grad school in the fall so her brainy ways are a plus, and lucky for her pals she is staying in the area. An aside, she is a pants fitting wizard!
She wrote two posts – part 1 and part 2. But we have to wait for the final reveal!

Do you get really happy when you discover an interesting new-to-you blog? I do. Particularly if the writing is great. So I direct your attention to Wasted Weekends – misadventures in crafting. That has to be one of the all time great choices in blog names. She is a writer by trade and a sewer by obsession (aren’t we all?) so has documented the good and the bad of her recently discovered pastime. Plus she made her wedding dress! As a novice sewer. Apparently finished with moments to spare! Read all about that and other topics. I look forward to her next adventures.

And Seam Ripped, do you read Charlotte's blog? Subtitle: a sewing blog without the sewing. Which is not entirely true. Some sewing, but more often a very smart and interesting discussion about sewing, fashion, what women wear for work and play. Plus the occasional pattern review, stash update and video post.

There are some brainy women out there in the sewing blog world. Well, I knew that, brainy women everywhere, but thanks to the sewing blogosphere I get to meet more of them.

Happy weekend and never wasted when sewing, right?
Beth

today's garden photo, the first dahlia bloom of the season, such a summer flower and I love these spiky ones.