Blog Anniversary, a Retrospective and a Giveaway

Can it be 8 years since I started blogging? According to the blog archive on the side of the page I started in February of 2010.  I had discovered sewing blogs almost a year previously and after months of reading and following I decided to jump in. The funny thing about starting (and continuing) a blog is that I expected to be able to comment on other people's blogs, check out how patterns look on a variety of people and learn some new techniques. But I never expected that writing a sewing blog would lead to a whole world of fantastic new friends, both locally and all over the globe. I've said it many times but that is the very best part of writing a sewing blog - making connections with people who are as crazy about sewing as I am.

The other thing that I discovered after blogging for a while is that I really like writing. I've always been a big reader and had aspirations of writing something one day. My teenage self could not have imagined that my writing outlet would develop via an interactive platform that allows connections around the globe.

I have written a lot of blog series, or posts that continue through more than one entry (I want to call them chapters) so I thought today I would post and link to some of those. In the last year or two my readership has grown a lot. Like any writer it's nice to have your material read, and those old posts have likely never been seen by those of you who recently started reading.

Vintage Treasure
It's no secret that I like to find fabrics in unusual places - meaning garage sales, thrift stores, or other bargain-y spots. One rainy Saturday morning I was looking through the Craigslist listings and saw one for a garage sale with the enticing words "sewing stuff" in the description. So I gulped down my coffee and jumped in the car.



One of my very best finds and perhaps my favorite blog post, which I titled "Vintage Treasure". Because I found this lovely cut out but never sewn up dress. Here are the links to the posts and what happened to that pretty dress. At the same garage sale I also bought the fabric which I made into this jacket so quite a good score that day.

Links:   Vintage Treasure Part 1     Vintage Treasure Part 2      Vintage Treasure Part 3

Coats and more Coats
If you have been reading for a while you know I love to make coats, and jackets. Despite living in balmy N. California where our climate means that you could get away with a minimal coat wardrobe. Although it was below freezing last night and supposedly all week so I'll be wearing a variety of these coats. Every time I make a coat I think "ooo this is my favorite" but I wear each one. Just based on frequency of wearing the green one in the first picture might be most used but the tri-color coat is the one that won the coat contest on Pattern Review which awarded a $ 100 Mood gift card which led to my trip to NY - so perhaps that's my favorite!




Green Wool Peacoat Style Jacket Simplicity
Blue Burda Coat from BurdaStyle Sewing Book
Black wool Simplicity Coat  
Camel Cashmere Sleeveless Coat for my pal Alice
Heather Purple wool coat from BurdaStyle Magazine
Tri-Color wool coat from BurdaStyle Magazine

I also wrote a multi-post series on jacket sewing after some requests for that. Here's the start of that series.

Kimono Silk Wedding Dress
Sewing can be really meaningful. Clothes are so much more than something to keep us covered or warm. Back in 2011 someone found me via Etsy and asked if I would make here a dress for her wedding. She didn't want a wedding gown but something a bit different and I was intrigued. We met and I instantly said I would do it. Susan was an incredibly kind and charming person and while the project had some ups and downs the result and the journey were more than I could have hoped for.

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Here are the links to the posts for that dress which have a lot of sewing details. The professional wedding photos which she kindly let me use are gorgeous. Note - these days I only do custom sewing for a couple of people - so this project and the writing of the blog posts were unique and special for me.
Kimono Silk Dress post 1,   post 2,  post 3,  post 4.

Sewing Friends, online and in person



When I first started writing I noticed that in some places like New York or London groups of sewing bloggers would get together in person to indulge in the pleasure that is sewing chat. As it happened there was a Balenciaga exhibit at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco so I organized a meet up to see the exhibit. We did it again the following year for the Gaultier exhibit and now some of the people I met at these events and others have become fantastic friends whose latest creations I can see in person when we have a meet up or get together for coffee, lunch or fabric shopping. One day in 2012 I opened my email box to a request from Karen of Did You Make That  asking if I was available to do a week of sewing lessons as she had arrangements for a structured class here in SF which was unfortunately cancelled but her trip was all planned and ticketed. We hit it off and had a great time, plus she made a beautiful wool jacket and dress outfit. Here's a link to her post although the photos are not showing. In summary she says, if you have a chance to do something, take it! And that is the bottom line in all these meet ups and get togethers. Don't be shy, reach out and comment or connect with other people in your area. Even when traveling! That is to me the most fantastic thing about the sewing world - you can go anywhere and know you will have some friends waiting to show you around or get together to compare notes on your fabric stashes.  Friends you might not have met other than a few comments on their Instagram or blog. But I guarantee it will be great.
Because I had a gift card from Mood Fabrics burning the proverbial hole in my pocket I decided to take a trip to NY in 2016. Plus I wanted to meet a bunch of people who I only knew via blogging. And once again it was a blast. Carolyn of Diary of a Sewing Fanatic  arranged for a shopping meet up at Kashi's fabric store in the Garment district and while I scored some great fabrics, getting to meet and spend time with her was the real prize. I also had the chance to meet Delphine, of Sewing Tidbits which was lucky as she is back working in Haiti now. Getting to know Delphine is a perfect example of a sewing friendship - I started commenting on her blog (any blog that features palm trees will always get my attention), we correspond and now I can't wait to see what she comes up with in terms of her patterns and also now articles in Sew News magazine. Next up, I hope to make it back to Europe this year or the following one - amiche italiane, sono pronta per parlare di cucito!

Writing for Craftsy


You never know where writing a blog will take you, and one day I had a request from Craftsy to write articles for their sewing blog. Which has turned out to be another outlet for my writing bug, and it's interesting to see which posts get the most clicks, Pins and shares. I think this is my most pinned post:   Easy Elegance: Tips to sewing perfect Princess Seams. I recently created another page here on my blog, with a list and links to every post I have done for Craftsy, organized by topics.

Teaching at Hello Stitch Studio in Berkeley


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Last spring I saw a new follower on Instagram which turned out to be Hello Stitch Studio in Berkeley. It's a beautiful light-filled sewing and quilting studio owned by Stacey, Kristen and Terri who are quilting artists and sewing machine wizards. The studio has classes, every kind of sewing machine, monthly and daily memberships and a great sense of community and camaraderie gathering around sewing of all kinds. Their big cutting tables are a dream for those of us who make do on the dining room table or the floor.
We have lots of new classes for spring, here is the class schedule page.
The "Pattern Basics: How to Read Sewing Patterns" class is my new favorite, and a lot more than the class title can express. I go over all the details, inside and out of sewing patterns - any and all brands and types.  What fabrics work best, how to choose your size, what to look out for and what to avoid, what all the marking mean and why they might matter. Plus a bit on how to lay out, pin, cut and mark your fabric. Everything to get started and give you confidence to tackle the unlimited array of sewing patterns that call our names :)  The next one is April 22.
We have a cute summer dress class in April (pattern included in the class), that's on March 17.
Another new class is "Adjust the Bust" on March 25 which will be a hands-on workshop. We'll go through adjusting the bust on a pattern, FBA, princess seams, and use generic pattern templates so you can get the hang of doing these paper pattern adjustments before you cut into that precious pattern. I'm really enjoying teaching the classes, sometimes I'm wiped out at the end of the day and other times I meet friends and spend some time socializing at a tapas bar that is quite near and outstanding. Any excuse for tapas.

Pauline Alice pattern mania



Alameda Dress
Safer Jacket
Aldaia Dress in red and white
Hemisferic Coat in burgundy wool
Aldaia Dress in blue
Quart Coat in plaid wool
Mirambell skirt in black with lace edge

We all have our very own pattern obsessions. Some people are on a quest to find the ideal shirt pattern, or every year seeking the perfect party dress. What can I say - if you have a great coat pattern you will reel me in. A few years ago I mentioned her pattern company in a post about patterns and pricing and she contacted me to see if I would help out with testing a coat pattern. Once she sent a sketch I was hooked - and that test version became the Quart coat pattern. Which I think is one of the all-time most stylish coat patterns I've seen. Although I didn't sew it for myself! And then I have sewn a lot of her other patterns, they always have interesting details which set them apart from other patterns I have seen. Here are all the links to the Pauline Alice patterns I have sewn.

One-Hit Wonders



Do you ever sew something and wear it just once? It happens to all of us and I was doing a closet clean-out and noticed I had things in there I had really labored over, sewing-wise, and yet worn them only once. Thus my one-hit wonders, with links to the backstory and what happened to these flowery wardrobe wallflowers. (spoiler alert- readers convinced me to wear a couple of them again).

One-hit wonder # 1 - Butterick 4978
One-hit wonder # 2 - Simplicity 2588
One-hit wonder # 3 - refashioned and wearable
One-hit wonder - the grand finale

Now time for a giveaway which is a small expression of my huge appreciation of everyone who reads my writing here, including my sometimes cranky Random Threads posts (up to # 30 now and due for another one). I'm so happy to be able to share my sewing thoughts will all of you.

For readers outside the USA: It's a select your patterns giveaway. The photo is just an example.


I'll send any two currently available patterns from Vogue or McCalls. I know these patterns are costly outside the US and they don't go on sale as they do here. I learned to sew mostly from using Vogue patterns and I still think they are among the best. So leave a comment and let me know what country you are in, and then I will draw 2 names from the overseas commenters. You don't need to tell me which patterns, wait until I email the winners. And then I will post which ones they chose, because it's interesting for the rest of us to see. These patterns are going on sale on this weekend,  I will announce the winners Saturday 9 am California time and hopefully you can let me know by Sunday so I can get them.on Monday.  Otherwise you will have to wait a few weeks for the next sale :)

For readers in the USA: the giveaway is a European pattern which can be costly for us to buy. Suddenly trouser style pants have come back in fashion and I have this Pauline Alice pattern to send to one US reader. Leave a comment and let me know you're in the US.





I hope I have expressed how much I appreciate everyone who reads and comments, the exchange of ideas and the things I have learned via sewing blogs has made my sewing more fun every year that goes by.

Up next - I have plenty to catch up on, lots of sewing that I want to blog and a Pattern Whisperer post that will apply to spring. (whether it is happening or just a dream where you are). And now I have to go and watch the Olympic figure skating plus mentally critique their costumes  - like I know anything about skating costumes, ha.

Happy Sewing, Beth

Here's today's garden photo, a dahlia, chosen from my file of flower pics. When I first started including a garden photo I thought maybe it looked kind of silly, but instead I get lots of comments from people who really enjoy them. I think it's like looking at a beautiful photo calendar on your desk or something like that, a nice picture of nature is just relaxing and inspiring.




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