Pig Cupcakes and Musings on What to Wear

My youngest son celebrated his third birthday this week and requested a farm animal-themed party.  I'm all for catering to my kids' wishes when practical but I am not one to spend long hours creating the perfect birthday party.  What I want is something quick that has some visual appeal.  These cupcakes were certainly attention grabbers (particularly amongst the three-year-olds who were delighted to eat the ears) and took only minutes to make.  Start out with regular cupcakes and a batch of pink icing.  The ears are pink wafer cookies cut into triangles, the snouts are pink mints and the eyes are mini chocolate chips.  Simply ice the cupcakes and press the facial features into the icing.  Done.  Big success at the school birthday party.

Since I didn't spend hours in the kitchen making elaborate birthday party fare, I had more time to spend on my real passion, sewing.  Thanks to the generosity of grandparents, I was able to escape for a couple of days this week to the Sewing Expo which is held in my area annually.  I had plenty of time for some classes and for browsing (and spending) in the vendor area.  I've taken some pictures from my classes which will become blog posts in the near future, so stay tuned.  And I'm always so filled with inspiration and the desire to sew after time at the Expo that I spent about 2 hours today cleaning my sewing room in anticipation of some serious garment sewing in the near future.  But during all of this excitement I had a bit of an epiphany which I think many of you will identify with.  I came home with some much-needed (not!) fabric and sat down to write out some ideas I had for the various pieces.  And what I thought about during that note-taking session was the frustrating time I had getting dressed that morning.  I always like to try and wear something that I have made to these Expos (it only seems right) and I must have tried on at least 8 different combinations of garments that morning.  Nothing worked.  With time running out and my hair still wet, I finally threw on my Anniversary Dress and a pair of knee-high black boots and called it quits.  When I thought back on why I had so much trouble I realized that it had to do with separates.  I have several great jackets that I love to wear and a number of skirts that I really like, but none of these seem to have something that coordinates with them.  I think this is one reason I like dresses so much:  you put them on and you're dressed.  So one of my new "resolutions" is to try and create coordinated pieces that work together so I don't have such a frustrating time in the future.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on this and ideas on how to solve or prevent this problem.  Please share.

Alabama Chanin, Part II

On Thursday night I took the Metro into DC to hear Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin speak at the Textile Museum.  I got so much more from the evening than I bargained for.

Natalie is a warm and engaging speaker.  She began by telling the audience that she likes to “speak from her heart” and encouraging everyone to ask questions along the way.  Her story-telling was accompanied by a slide show of pictures from her various collections as well as her books.  I found it particularly exciting to see pictures from her third book, due out in 2012.  That book will include a number of new techniques for embellishing garments, things like couching and ribbon embroidery with a decidedly Chanin style.  I can’t wait.

all photos by Alabama Chanin

Natalie covered her very interesting background and how she came to be where she is now in her business as well as why she has chosen to share her techniques and supplies through her books and online store.  As I said in my previous post about this designer and her company, I am inspired by her story as much as I am by her work, and I was so pleased to hear her talk about it in her soft Southern voice.  Her desire to remove the “elitist” label that her clothes sometimes wear by sharing how home sewers can make their own, and even providing kits to do just that, really illustrates what a down-to-earth big heart she has.

So, that’s a synopsis of what I expected to get out of the evening, and Natalie didn’t disappoint (she made me want to come home and start a new project immediately).  But I received an even bigger gift that night.  When I sat down next to two women (a mother-daughter pair, as it turns out) the daughter, Linda, commented on the skirt I was wearing and a lively discussion ensued.  It turns out that Linda, an artist and knitter, loves Natalie Chanin, too.  She very much wants to learn how to make some of Natalie’s clothes, especially the little skirt I was wearing.  Her mother, Barbara, is the sewer of the pair, and Linda is hoping that between the two of them they can pull off her desire.   Barbara and I seemed to know all of the same people and visit the same websites (we’ve probably even sat through some of the same classes at the Sewing Expo).  I told Linda I am planning to go to Alabama for one of Natalie’s workshops in November and encouraged her to do the same, to learn from the experts and have her hand held along the way.  We continued our lovely new friendships after the lecture and the entire way home on the Metro, and I feel like I met two kindred spirits that night.  Those of you out there in various sewing circles will know what I mean when I say that there is an immediate familiarity and kinship when you meet others who speak your language and who “get you”.  I came home from that lovely evening with a warm feeling, grateful for new friends and inspiration.  Grateful also for this God-given talent that has brought me so much joy, allowed me to give back (or pay forward) and has brought so many wonderful people into my life.

And, to all of you creative friends out there, thanks for sticking with me as I settle into my new summer schedule of boy watching (my little boys, that is).  I am still committed to posting twice per week though the days may not be as regular as I would like (nor will my creative time be as regular as I like, either).  On Tuesday I will be posting details about and pictures of the skirt I made from Alabama Stitch along with a little tutorial on making fabric roses from t-shirt fabric.

Pamela's Patterns: A T-Shirt Workshop

I waited until today to post my weekly garment as I wanted to write about a great workshop that I took yesterday and about the top I created.  My local American Sewing Guild Chapter sponsored Pamela Leggett from Pamela’s Patterns to come and teach a t-shirt fitting workshop.  The event started on Friday night with a trunk show where Pamela shared her garments along with lots of useful tips about garment fit and construction.  The next morning about 20 of us gathered, and Pamela walked us through the measuring, layout and construction of our own t-shirts.  Most of Pamela’s designs are exactly the kind of clothes that I wear and like to sew:  simple, stylish, easy to sew, well fitting and comfortable.  She works with a lot of knits and has patterns for tops, jackets and skirts.  What makes her patterns unique is that she incorporates a lot of the common pattern alterations required by women (forward shoulder and rounded back, shorter shoulder seam length and others) and provides easy to understand instructions for making other necessary changes for a custom fit.  The 20 women present represented a pretty wide range of figure sizes and shapes, yet each of us was able to leave the workshop with a finished (or nearly finished) t-shirt that fit us much better than any ready-to-wear garment and for many, a better fit than we’ve been able to accomplish with commercial patterns.  Here’s my plan:  using some of the huge volume of knits in my stash, cut out about six t-shirts with various necklines and sleeve finishes and have them ready to sew when time allows.  I’m willing to bet I can sew one of these in less than an hour if it is cut out and ready to go.

Here’s a picture of my final t-shirt.  It fits great and is comfortable and stylish.

The rest of these pictures are shots of some of Pamela’s garments and her products.  She was a great teacher and has a true talent for drafting great patterns.  I can’t wait to try her pencil skirts.  I had a super time yesterday, the best part of it being time to see my fabulous sewing friends and spend a whole day together doing what we like best.  When you are done reading this post hop on over to my friend Jane's blog to read another one on this workshop (and you will see why Jane and I get along so well.)

Fabrics, waiting to become t-shirts

A Rack of Pamela's Garments

The Perfect Tank Top

Pencil Skirt from stretch lace

Bias skirt made from a vintage tablecloth

Pamela with a selection of her garments

Patterns

Purses, Bags & More Blog Tour

Hello to everyone today, and a special greeting to those who are joining me for the Purses, Bags & More Blog Tour sponsored by Clotilde.    When I was approached a couple of weeks ago about participating in this event I jumped at the chance.  The opportunity to make and review a bag would have fit right in with last year’s recurring post on my blog, “Bag of the Week”. 

Purses, Bags and More is a fantastic new book, with designs by Pearl Louise Krush and published by House of White Birches for Clotilde.  I was sent an advance copy of the book, asked to look it over and write a review of the book as well as one of the included ten projects which was assigned to me.  Pearl Louise, whose motto is “Happiness is homemade” is the owner of The Thimble Cottage Quilt Shop in Rapid City, SD.  She has come up with ten beautiful and unique bag designs using cotton quilting fabrics.  The 48-page book is filled with bright, full-color photos and clear, well written and illustrated instructions.   

I was assigned the Ragtime Blues bag to evaluate.  I read over all of the instructions which were very clear and easy to understand.  I decided the best way for me to truly test the pattern was to make it up.  Here’s a picture of my own version of the bag:

Instead of the quilting cotton called for by the pattern, I substituted some denim left over from a previous project.  This worked well and created luscious, fluffy fringing with the exception of the light blue piece which, it turns out, contains some lycra which prevented the fabric from fraying.  So stick with 100% cotton fabrics as instructed.

The pattern calls for pairing two squares of fabric, sandwiching a piece of cotton batting between, and free-motion quilting them together.  I am a self-proclaimed lousy free-motion quilter so instead I used a simple machine embroidery design to quilt the pieces together.  I absolutely love the technique described for cording the top edge of the bag for stability and can’t wait to try in on another bag.  But, given the extra weight of the fabric I used I chose to skip the cording on my version.  Lastly, I confess I am not a fan of braided handles so I substituted a corded tube (love my FasTurn!)

I found the bag very simple to construct and a fun project to complete.  This is a very forgiving pattern;  because of the way that it is constructed, precision is not critical (any uneven seam allowances are hidden in the rag fringe layers) which makes this a good choice for either a beginner or for experienced sewers who want to take a break from the demands of garment sewing or quilting. 

An additional project in the book is for a removable organizer that fits this purse.  You can fill the many pockets and change purses by simply removing the insert and placing it in a different bag.

I am already eyeing several other projects in this book for the future.  If you would like to see more projects from this book you can read the other participants on the blog tour who have each reviewed a different bag.  Here is a list of links to those posts:

Monday, March 21 -- Tara of Tinkerfrog
Tuesday, March 22 -- Cindy of Sew Blessed
Wednesday, March 23 -- Stephanie of Unfinished Project Party
Thursday, March 24 -- Ruth of Sew Chic 

If you would like to purchase a copy of the book for your very own, please use this link to connect with the Clotilde website where it is available in print or as an electronic download (both for $9.95, a steal!).  I think you will be happy to add this book to your sewing library.  Please feel free to browse the rest of my blog while you are visiting.  I’ve just posted a new tutorial for an Accordion-Fold Photo Album that will appeal to quilters, machine embroiderers, crafters and just about everybody else.  Happy sewing, everyone!

One World, One Heart Giveaway Results

The deadline has come and gone for my One World, One Heart giveaway.  This morning, using www.random.org, I selected five winners to receive one of my key fobs.  This event was so much fun, discovering and bookmarking lots of new blogs, and response to my post was so lovely that I decided to share the love a little further around and pick five winners (five to commemorate the number of years that OWOH has been going on).  Sadly, this is the last year for this event but I will enjoy connecting with all of the new blogging friends I've met through it.

Without further ado, here are the five winners, listed in the order their name was drawn.  Congratulations.  For the rest of you, don't forget I'm doing another giveaway this week for a bundle of my hand dyed fabrics.

julie mitchell   US

trisha too    US

jennifergrieco

emily r

jenn    US

While I was working on this post I received a lovely email from Tejae, notifying me that I had won HER OWOH giveway!  What a nice way to start my day.  Tejae makes lovely heart shaped keepsakes like the one I will be receiving but she is talented in lots of other artistic areas, too.  Head on over to her blog, Tejae's Art, and see what she is up to.  Thanks, Tejae, for being a part of OWOH and thanks for this beautiful love token.

photo by Tejae Floyde

Have a great weekend, everyone.