Sew Grateful

Debi from My Happy Sewing Place has organized a Sew Grateful challenge in which bloggers make projects from items that they've received in giveaways, swaps, or other shall-we-say pro-social avenues available in blogland (tutorials, presents, sew-alongs, etc.) Her premise was to really celebrate just how supportive the blogging sewing community is for everyone.

When she posted her invitation, I knew just what projects I wanted to do. At the end of summer, M is for Make hosted a giveaway for a fat 16th of Storyboek fabric from Birch Fabrics. I can't do much with fat 16ths other than quilt, and had commented in the giveaway that my niece's birth was the highlight of my summer. It only seemed appropriate to make a quilt for her from the material. Forgive the lack of a "full frontal" picture of the quilt. I couldn't quite get a good lighting or set-up to get a picture that did it justice.

Because the Storyboek collection has so many "boy friendly" fabrics, I thought I would make a second quilt for my nephew (my niece's elder bro) so that they could have matching quilts.

again, bad pic, but at least you get a sense of the layout

I knew I'd use the softest-pillow-cases-I've-ever-found as the supplementary fabric, but ended up realizing that I just didn't have enough between the Storyboek and pillow cases to make both quilts. I ended up using other fabric I had won in a previous raffle from Monkey Magic when there was the Japan Quake fund raising. I even got to use my leftover fabrics from my Swing Dress Sew-Along dress that Casey hosted.  And I used the information from the Quilt Making 101 series and a great tutorial from Olive and Ollie for the binding. These quilts are just the epitome of the online sewing community.

The back of my niece's quilt

I think they worked out well enough for a n00b quilter. I can't seem to manage to get my lines straight or my fabric from getting wonky, but I'm hoping these quilts last at least a few years before they fall apart. Either way, it was gratifying to figure out the general process. I am still a bigger fan of clothes sewing, but don't feel put off by the idea of quilting as much. My great-grandmother was an amazing quilter and I know I cherished my own quilt that she made. I only hope they will like theirs a quarter as much as I loved mine.

Detail, fabric from Monkey Magic

Detail, Storyboek fabric from M is for Make

 And just a reminder as we celebrate giveaways, my giveaway for four yards of stretchy fabric and my first very own purchased by me sewing pattern is still underway. I've changed the layout of my blog for now to make it easier to follow me, should you like. Just make sure you leave comments if you want a chance at winning! I will ship anywhere, and don't be fooled by the envelope. The pattern is pretty spotless.

For those non-sewers out there, if you still want to comment, I can simply make you something in lieu of the pattern and fabric. I don't want to leave you out!  I will try to think of a good item to make and will post it ASAP. If I don't, then maybe you'll get  a nice surprise!

All in all, I am so glad Debi has hosted her challenge. I not only got to finish projects I've been meaning to do for months, it all was in the name of just how grateful I am. Grateful for my family, grateful for what I have been given, grateful for the chance to share with others, grateful for all the online resources that are helping me maintain my hobby, and grateful for you dear readers. Thank you.

Thanks for the Read: 200th Post Giveaway!

Update: This giveaway is closed.

In the past week, Debi from My Happy Sewing Place has been celebrating her blogiversary with amazing giveaways. It has been quite a while since I was given this blog as a birthday gift. (From Niff, who is both an amazing artist and an amazing aerialist.) To celebrate the number of years (6!!) this blog has been floating around, especially since a few of those years the blog was neglected and quiet, does not seem appropriate for some reason. However, when I noticed that I was fast approaching my 200th post and that Thanksgiving was so soon, I knew it was a prime opportunity for a giveaway.

In trying to figure out what would be  a good giveaway, I realized just how little I understand on what appeals to others. When doing swaps, I keep my fingers crossed that the recipient will actually like what I am sending. I can guess, but I am never confident that I actually know what others would like. I feel like that sums up my fashion sense in general. I'm never quite sure if what I'm wearing would be considered appropriate by others.

It would then seem appropriate to host a giveaway that is simply reflective of who I am and my own fashion sense.

Enter this pattern:

I bought this pattern my sophomore or junior year in high school at a yard sale across the street from my home. It's two sizes too big, but I remember it being super cheap and a great option for making a dress for homecoming. And when I say homecoming dress, I mean that I had a vision here folks. I wanted a camouflage dress. Yes, this was in the early Nineties, but please understand that in my cornfield high school, this just had not been done yet. I thought I was genius, and I sent myself into giggles of glee whenever I thought of what a brilliant plan this was.

It seems that my pictures of the dress are at my parents' home, so you'll have to imagine the long nightgown done in this type of print:

Source: Lura's Fabric Shop

I really wanted to wear it with these boots, but I couldn't find any my size that I could actually afford:

Source: Huntingboots.com

I ended up getting some brown "combat" boots from Payless instead. I was so proud.

I even made a tie out of the same material for my "date" (I didn't really have a date. I just took my cousin that everyone thought was super cute to show that I knew cool people too).

I thought I still had that dress cozied up in my bin of memories. My cousin Libby and I wore the thing to threadbareness, with numerous resewing of the seams to keep it going. Rather than get rid of it completely, I thought I stowed it away with my super huge corduroy pants that held 2 liter bottles in its pockets and my flaming platform boots. (Ah, the Nineties.) But, alas, I cannot find it. Or my platform boots. :( If I do pinpoint its location, pictures will ensue.

I may even make myself a new one...

So, for my giveaway, to celebrate my verbosity and inability not to talk about things that get me excited, I am giving away this pattern along with some stretchy material that I feel would make for a super comfy, slinky nightie. I'll likely include a couple of other goodies in there too.

 The pattern is uncut and all there. So, you can make any of these versions should your heart so desire.

The pattern is for a size Large (16-18), and here's the size chart if you need it:

Source: Amazon

Obviously, if a novice seamstress of 15 could figure out how to make it two sizes smaller relatively effectively, I'm sure you could adjust the size as needed quite easily.

The fabric is about four yards' worth, so you could make any of the projects shown on the envelope. It's quite thin, and after I got it, I couldn't figure out how to line it and still take advantage of its stretch. But it's perfect for this kind of project, as far as I'm concerned. Or any negligee, bra, or slip type of project.

All you need to do to enter the giveaway is to leave a comment.

It could be about what your first major project was or your favorite moment of fashion genius or what you'd like to see more of on this blog. I'm not too concerned with whether you follow me or not (I want you to do that because you want to), but if you want multiple entries, you're welcome to follow me and let me know you did so. If you already follow me, then thank you! Leave a comment saying so, so you get recognized for being kind enough to read my rambles. :)

If you really really want more entries (bless your soul), then you can also follow my Tumblr account and/or Twitter feed. They both essentially offer the same updates, but what the heck, if you want it the entries, you should get the entries. I may even start tweeting stuff relevant to my blog posts!

You can live anywhere and still qualify; I am not stingy on postage. I'll do the random number deal on December 1.

In the end, all I'm saying is thank you. And that I hope you are enjoying these posts.

UPDATE: For those non-sewers out there, if you still want to comment, I can simply make you something in lieu of the pattern and fabric. I don't want to leave you out!  I will try to think of a good item to make and will post it ASAP. If I don't, then maybe you'll get  a nice surprise!

Sew Weekly Circle's Round the World Pattern Swap

Kat at the Sew Weekly Circle did it again! She helped organize a pattern swap for members of the Circle recently, and of course I had to partake!

Sandy Vojta, of Harlem Homestead, whose Halloween costume you must go see, got my name. It was not even a week since we were to send our patterns that mine arrived in the mail! And let me say "WOW!"

The collar is mind-boggling, and the pattern is super cool! Sandy has challenged me to lower the neckline, but I'm almost imagining the collar going on that scooped back. What do you think?

I've never sewn on something so fancy, but Sandy assures me it's quite easy. Here's hoping I do it justice and don't botch it in the process. That would be shameful.

Cool part is that I have the perfect fabric for the dress and collar, I think, with that green curtain you see in the picture. My friendly neighbor gave me the curtains to use in a sewing project, so I will be happy to give it a good second life.

I must admit that I did not take pictures of the patterns that I sent to my drawn partner (the lovely Charlotte Powell-Brooks). The last time I did a swap, I took tons of pictures, but then my package took forever to arrive in Australia and I just never did a post on what I sent. To summarize, I sent her three vintage patterns roughly her size. I think I sent one each of the 90s, 80s, and 70s. But I may be wrong. I will post a picture if/when she posts one of what I sent.

(Post update: Here's what she got from me)

Source: Sew Weekly Circle

I also sent her some vintage 40's fabric with cherries and rectangles on it. And some little moose/reindeer card or picture holders (they're hiding in the back of her picture). Quite cute.

And as an only slightly related statement, I must say I'm eyeing up some fancy silk over at Charlotte's Etsy shop. It would go well this pattern, too, I think.

Christmas has come a tad early in the House of Seeks.

Thrift Finds from this Week, Part 1: Fabric

Went to a local church's flea market this weekend, and spent about $14 on sewing stuff. Fabric and notions. Thing is, I got so much, I have to make two posts to make it digestible! 

1.5 yards, cotton

2 yards, cotton

1.5 yards, nubbly cotton 

less than 1 yard, nubbly fabric (cotton/synthetic mix?)

2.5 yards cotton lawn? voile?

.5 yard of black, lined lace. I didn't adjust the levels on this, so the red tints pops out more than it does in real-life.

2.3 yards of silky synthetic brocade, from a wrap. To go with the lace.

I also bought about 3 yards of what seems to be white cotton batiste (?), which is awesome considering how I couldn't find it in JoAnn Fabrics for my swing dress. If it's not batiste, it will do quite nicely, as it's light and pleasant to the touch. It even has a bit of shimmer to it. *dreamy expression* There's another bit of similar batiste-y cotton, but the measurements are hard to determine; it's very long but cut up in places. I would say it adds up to about 1.5 yards on a more standard bolt.

So, that's about 15 or so yards for less than $1/yard, since I haven't even included the notions I bought.

So, now that I have all of this fabric, anyone have any suggestions on what to make?