Lately, I've been stumbling across guilty (and some not so guilty) blog posts, confessing the purchase of more/new sewing supplies. Most recently, Portia posted about adding to her already ample pattern stash and Sam shared some lovely fabrics that she bought.

So I thought I'd show solidarity with my fellow shopaholics, by confessing my recent splurges. Yes, 'splurges' in plural as I may have gone a little wild on Etsy and eBay recently. I just can't seem to resist the pull of super-cute patterns!!!

Below are just a few of the beauties I picked up, which at least will give me a real purpose during the Goldhawk Road FabricFandango...where even more splurging will take place...sigh...









Monday, May 09, 2011
'One pattern, seven bloggers, infinite possibilities'. This is the clever concept that I was approached with last week by the lovely Sam of All things quilty...and sewy and of course I couldn't pass up such a fun challenge!


One Pattern Seven Bloggers requires all seven of us to use this BurdaStyle pattern (pictured above) and adapt it as we see fit for our bodies and personal taste. The theory is that having started with the same base, we'll all end up with very different looking dresses by the end!

As I mentioned before, there are six other seriously talented ladies also taking part in this project, so be sure to check out their progress:

Today is the first day of One Pattern Seven Bloggers and in our first blog post we are sharing our inspirations for the project. We'll be posting our progress every Wednesday until the unveiling of our dresses on the 1st of June...how exciting!

Style Inspiration

I'm a bit obsessed with cute little collars at the moment and Casey's 30s scalloped collar tutorial could not have arrived at a better time...thank you Casey! Even if I don't pull this off, I definitely want to incorporate a peter pan collar or something along the lines of what's pictured below:







I think I'd also like a pit of a pleated skirt like the one below. I bought this dress last week as a possibility to wear to a wedding - I'm 100% in love with the style, but after trying it on I really don't think the colour suits me, so sadly I think I'm going to have to take it back.


Fabric Inspiration 

Because I'm pretty skint and I'm saving my cash for the Goldhawk Road Fabric Fandango, I'm determined to use fabric from my stash and I think the below could be suitable candidates:







So there you have it, these are my inspirations so far! I know quite a few of you have used this BurdaStyle pattern before, so if you have any words of wisdom, please do share - I'm still very much an amateur!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy following our progress!


Wednesday, May 04, 2011
I desperately need your help please friends! I know you only have a muslin to go by, but do you think the Crescent Skirt suits me? Even though it's especially designed for pear shapes – which I think I am – I also have some impressive muffin tops to boot and I'm not sure if this design is flattering. 



Aside from my reservations about the design on my particular body shape, I really recommend Tasia's sew-along wholeheartedly! Tasia is such a good teacher and I'm finding out some excellent tips as we go along. Her posts are well-thought out and she does her best to respond to every single question, which is impressive considering how many people are sewing along.

The skirt itself was a pleasure to work on and it came together really fast and easily. I cut out a size 8 in the end as it corresponded almost exactly to my measurements and I'm impressed that it actually fits like a glove. I don't think I would need to make any adjustments and I quite like the length even though I normally prefer a shorter hemline. I also think the waistband construction is really cool, I love the gathers and the pockets are amazing...look how deep they go!!!


So what do you say lovely people? Should I continue with the sew-along, or do I need to accept that it might not be the best shape on me?


P.S. Please excuse my hair and tacky bra straps! I changed into my slob clothes after work as I desperately wanted to finish this muslin and get pictures taken before sundown. 
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
As promised, I randomly chose two winners of my one year blogiversary giveaway this morning  and I am happy to announce that:

1. the 1940s pattern and fabric go to Amy from Sewing Through The Motions


2. the 1960s combo goes to Suzie at Su Sews So-So


Congratulations both, hope you'll be delighted with your wins! Amy, I think I have your email address, but can you just confirm it in a comment below? Suzie, I don't have yours, so please  can you also leave a comment below?

I was overwhelmed by the response to this giveaway and by all the lovely comments that came with it, so 'thank you' to everyone else who entered. I'm sorry you didn't win this time...better luck next time hopefully! 
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
I finally got enough spare time (trust me, you don't need much) to try out Handmade Jane's excellent Lavender Bag Tutorial and I'm so glad that I did! These little gems are so quick and easy to put together and make the sweetest smelling gifts...at least I hope my aunt agrees with the latter as she'll be the lucky recipient when I see her on Sunday.

As you can see, I experimented with a lace cut-out for one of the bags. It was originally going to be a heart, which proved to be a total disaster so I settled for a rectangle instead. My technique certainly needs tweaking, that's for sure! I'm not actually sure if I prefer them with or without. What do you think?




The best thing about this whole process? It turns out that 250 grams is quite a lot of lavender, so I have plenty left over to play around with! I took up Jane's recommendation and bought it from Provence Lavender and I was impressed with their next day delivery and reasonable prices.


Thursday, April 28, 2011
Here's a little something I sewed up last week, as part of a work friend's Birthday present. She'd previously gushed over the pinky / fleshy floral fabric (observant readers will note that it's the same fabric included in one of my current giveaways) so I knew I just had to incorporate it in her pinny and she seemed really happy when we gave it to her. The pinny's being modelled by Diana, my trusty dress form, who also happened to be borrowing my 1940s Swing Dress. I actually think the two look really good together!






In other news, I should be ready to report on my Crescent Skirt sew-along progress soon. The sew-along is being led by the pattern's designer, Tasia of Sewaholic, and I'm very excited to be a part of it as she's so talented and  I know I'll be learning some excellent techniques along the way.

Lastly, I also want to thank you all for the great response to my last post. I'm now up to 111 readers...if I'd known how successful bribery was, I'd have tried it sooner ;o) Seriously though, thank you all again and I hope that the winners of the giveaways will be delighted with what they receive.

Hope you've all had a great Easter weekend!

Monday, April 25, 2011
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