In my last post, I mentioned that I’m planning on making another Burda shirt for Josh—this time with a bit of monkey embroidery… I usually farm out my embroidery needs to my mom, who’s amazing, but since this is a shirt for Josh, I’m thinking that I should do it myself. To give myself a [...]
I finished Josh’s shirt (Burda 7767) late last night (By the way, does anyone else love staying up really, really late and sewing after the world is asleep?) and am 110% thrilled with the result. It’s so incredibly fashionable-looking that it could be mistaken for something from the “Rail” section of Nordstrom. And I’m not [...]
Can I just say, I am so incredibly excited about how the shirt I’m making for Josh is turning out?! Seriously, each time I make something for him I learn so much and really feel like I can justify my “Advanced” skill rating that I gave myself over on Pattern Review. This project not only [...]
This is about the only math I remember, the “>” sign, meaning “greater than.” (Yes, the world breathes a sigh of relief that I was a liberal arts major and not a rocket scientist.)
I cleaned up the horrific mess that was on our, er, dining table (which sees more thread, needles and fabric than plates, [...]
Rosanne was the first of you loyal readers to notice that I haven’t been posting much lately and ask what I’ve been up to sewing- and crafting-wise lately. Josh has certainly been making, and posting, a lot more stuff lately. But I promise, I haven’t gone permanently AWOL.
In fact, I started what I think will [...]
While at The Best Bookstore Ever (aka Powell’s here in Portland) this spring, Josh spotted the beautiful Alabama Stitch Book, written by Natalie Chanin of Project Alabama fame. (Josh has a real eye for design and aesthetics, so it caught his eye because it’s such an attractive book.) This is the book that inspired the [...]
This weekend I went to a party for an old friend of mine (like, we went to preschool together, old friend) in celebration her graduation from medical school. I actually got to see a bunch of people that I hadn’t seen in ages—including a friend of my who (thanks to Facebook) I recently found out [...]
This is just a quick preview of a book review I’ve promised I’m going to write—the fascinating Alabama Stitch Book. I buy a lot of sewing books (and more recently lots of print making books, too), but I hate to review them until I’ve actually made something out of the book. Looks of books are [...]
Kim, over at TrueUp, the stellar newish blog for the fabric-obsessed, has a guest writer for today’s post—me! Needless to say, I’m thrilled to be her very first guest contributor. So, scoot on over and check out my outsider’s review of the Quilt Market fabric weekend here in Portland.
~Sarah
addthis_url [...]
My fabulous Amy Butler Sophia Bag—the one that made my fingers bleed—has gotten kinda of dirty. Between taking it on the MAX, leaving it sitting on the floor of my cubicle at work and accidentally kicking it and the general wet grossness of the weather here, it’s looking pretty funky. Now, I’m faced with a [...]
This may come as a shock to everyone, but I actually finished something for once.
It’s been ages, and it’s not for lack of trying. I have had this pinstriped denim that I got at Bolt quite awhile ago (this fall, maybe?), but had grown way too attached to, and thus was reluctant to cut. It’s [...]
You probably remember my Hot Patterns Jeanious Jeans that I was so gung-ho about… The ones that were looking totally awesome?
Well, I finished them up, complete with the hot pink pocket and waistband lining.
And some funky pink twin needling on the hem.
Pretty fresh, huh? I thought so, too. And they fit great. Seriously, Hot Patterns’ [...]
Josh’s screen printing has really piqued my interest. So much so that since he made his first screen, I had this vision in my head of a tree. I couldn’t quite get my head around what that tree would look like, but I had been messing around with a bunch of different ideas of trees [...]
As if the Tacoma News-Tribune telling us that “sewing is the new knitting” wasn’t enough, the new-found coolness of sewing is rearing its head in the latest Anthropologie Home catalog. Yep, the retailer that’s so great for sewing inspiration (love their styles, hate their pricing, really hate their bizarre fitting) featured a completely stitched together [...]
I used to knit a lot. I taught myself when I was still in college and really, really enjoyed it for a long time. However, about this time last year, I started having pain in my right index finger and wound up with tendinitis. Really, really painful tendinitis. This was shortly after I started my [...]
I recently had a moment of weakness and was once again tempted by HotPatterns‘ sewing patterns that promise high fashion and really long legs (if you’ve visit the HotPatterns site, you know what I mean). I’d had my eye on a couple of their patterns for a long while (pretty much since my original HotPatterns [...]
It’s pretty bad when I’ve written about a project when it’s in progress, but totally forget to show y’all the finished garment—oops! I guess my foray into (Simplicity’s) Project Runway (patterns) wasn’t that memorable. Anyway, I think the photos were, though.
So, I think this sign is hilarious. I keep replacing the “Safety is an Attitude” [...]
When Josh, my mom and I went on our little adventure to beautiful Washougal, Washington last month, I picked up some lovely dusty blue wool from the Pendleton Woolen Mill Store up there. For a whoppin’ $1.99 a yard. Pendleton makes some incredibly soft wools, almost silky, and if you can tolerate wool, you don’t [...]
Or, sometimes sewing projects just don’t work out for a reason…
If you remember, this fall I participated in the Great Trench Coat Sew-Along on Pattern Review, and I mentioned that I had e-mailed the pattern company, Indygo Junction, and let them know that there were a few (minor) issues with the pattern that I had [...]
Well, I guess if I really were a contestant on Project Runway, this top would be ready for the runway… Just use the glue gun on the hem (this never fails to enrage me when they do it on the show—I scream, “Put down the damn glue gun and sew your stupid hem!”) and call [...]
Because my Sophia Bag looks so awesome!
Even though it resulted in a serious pin graveyard and some bleeding fingers…
It was totally worth it.
I covered a lot of my changes in my first entry about this bag. You remember, the post where I whined a lot. But here’s the quick recap: I added some handbag feet. [...]
from sarah the sewist
I spent a lot of this weekend working on Amy Butler’s lovely new pattern, the Sophia Bag. However, this pattern has officially kicked my ass. Or at least my fingers.
Yep, that’s my index finger—one of the many victims of this little project. As of this evening, I have had to stop bleeding [...]
So it seems that the powers that be at Pantone (the folks who track color trends) have declared that the color for 2008 is “Blue Iris.” You know that bluey-purple color of, well, a Japanese Iris (I’ll probably embarrass the Sewer here, but I have a soft spot for that particular flower because when we [...]
I absolutely love my Burda World of Fashion subscription, and generally go through the routine of getting really excited about seven or so things in the magazine, then get promptly overwhelmed and let it sit and “cure” for awhile so I can get my head around what I want to make. Eventually I make some [...]
from sarah the sewist
As we’ve mentioned a time or two, we’re continuing to work on holiday gifts for everyone, and we’re finally starting to feel like we’re making some progress. I just finished the gift for Josh’s stepmother. It’s the Amy Butler Downtown Purse. This pattern came in the mail yesterday—thank you Lisa Lam over [...]
from sarah the sewist
People who know me, usually know at least this one thing about me—I am a tried and true, dyed-in-the-wool, unwavering Portland Trail Blazers basketball fan. It’s a bit embarrassing, because I think that I’m a fairly interesting person with a variety of things that I do and am interested in, but I [...]
from sarah the sewist
Sometimes things go wrong and you just want to give up. Generally, in sewing, given that it’s not really a life and death sort of thing, that’s the path I choose. In fact, I have been known to give my husband a pep talk or two about how it’s okay [...]
Despite the continued pressures of “buying stuff” we love the holiday season and love giving gifts (and the Sewer loves to get them—lots of childhood issues, that one). In the spirit of the season, we decided to put together a gift guide to handmade or unique gifts. Some of these are Portland-centric, but they’re certainly a great excuse to visit our fabulous city (aside from the lack of a sales tax and not pumping your own gas)—some of these may seem odd for a sewing blog, but we believe in supporting the unique and creative whenever possible. Besides, we know that (amazing as it may be) not everyone shares the sewing bug.
from sarah the sewist
We’ve been pretty lazy with our blogging lately… I guess the annoying combination of our digital camera going a bit wonky and the shift key on the laptop not functioning has taken its toll. Nevertheless, sewing has continued. In addition to the Christmas sewing we’ve been doing, Josh and I both finished [...]
from sarah the sewist
Taking a brief break from our regular programming here at Sewer-Sewist…
If you’re in need of a good read, but don’t want to break away from the sewing completely, take a look at The Collection by Gioia Diliberto. There aren’t a lot of books around that actually feature sewing as a plot device. [...]
from sarah the sewist
And I were an astronaut stuck in that lunar rainstorm, I’d have just the thing to wear.
You may remember a few months ago that Josh and I scored a serious haul of fabric from Rose City Textiles that was rather eclectic. Basically, it was a bunch of random, slightly sporty stuff that [...]
from sarah the sewist
My Indygo Junction Trench Topper that I was sewing as part of the Great Trench Coat Sew-a-long on Pattern Review is finished and I broke it in by wearing it to work today. I was a little uncomfortable with it just because it’s a lot louder than most of my wardrobe, but [...]
from sarah the sewist
I’m making good progress on the Indygo Junction Trench Topper that I’m sewing as part of the Trench Coat Sew Along on Pattern Review. It’s been fun being motivated by knowing that others are working on similar projects at the same time (and I feel a bit of extra pressure for it [...]
from sarah the sewist
The Pattern Review Great Trench Coat Sew Along has proved just the motivator for me to start planning and working on some fall jacket projects. I’m working on the Indygo Junction Trench Topper in view 1, which is a lovely, princess-seamed (woo-hoo! my fave–I love princess seams!) trench coat. I’m creating a [...]
from sarah the sewist
Between my Burda World of Fashion magazine subscription and my Sew What! Skirts book, I will never, ever have to purchase a skirt pattern again. This is a good thing, ’cause I’m cheap and skirt patterns always seem like a waste of money, since I’m probably not going to make a bunch [...]
The ottoman for the Best Intern Ever (we wrote about this project on Labor Day) is done. She said she wanted something black, gray and brown, and this Nigella slate imperial fans fit the bill perfectly. This is the fourth Amy Butler Gum Drop Pillow that we’ve made, so it came together in no time, [...]
from sarah the sewist
(This is one of those projects that is so not my style. But I know the recipient will love it. The shape of this bag is fabulous, but the fabric… It’s just so green. I hate green. And the frogs. For some reason, I have no problem with banana seat bikes, garden [...]
from sarah the sewist
I finished the Hot Patterns Plain & Simple Princess Shirt this evening. I can honestly say, I have never, ever been so happy with a blouse pattern. I can really see myself making this one over and over again. I had some issues that I talked about here. But, they were really [...]
from sarah the sewist
I’m nearing the home stretch on a shirt that may very well be an almost perfect dress shirt (for me).
About a month or so ago I sucked it up and bought three Hot Patterns patterns that I’d had my eye on—this was during their buy 2, get 1 free deal. I chose [...]
from sarah the sewist
I should have quit while I was ahead.
Last weekend I picked up the Betsy Ross Patterns’ “Charmed Dress” pattern. It’s not really anything that unusual or special, but it seemed like a nice, classic style dress produced by an independent pattern company. I regularly read the designer/owner’s blog and really like supporting [...]
from sarah the sewist
Since Josh is working on a pretty complicated, involved project at the moment (more on that when he’s done), I decided to start (and finish) a simple project… You know, to create some balance in the sewer-sewist sewing world. During the Fabric Depot 30% off sale (which seems to have been running [...]
from sarah the sewist
One pink, one brown. Both Robert Kaufman stretch “Vera” sateen. Had a plan for these, but reconsidering said plan. For some reason pants and a shirt just don’t seem interesting enough. Lots of projects to go before I have to commit either of these to a pattern.
Both were procured this weekend at [...]
from sarah the sewist
Saturday morning I finished (after having started Friday night) what I call my “Organic Yoga Skirt,” but what Josh calls “Two-Buck (Not Chuck) Skirt.” Which is, of course, way funnier than anything I could name an article of clothing.
The fabric is from our Sport Fabric Haul at Rose City Textiles, the smoky [...]
from sarah the sewist
A few months back, I had tendonitis in my right index finger and basically couldn’t do a whole lot involving my hands—including sewing, knitting, opening doors, that sort of thing. Around that time, to compensate for the fact
that I was totally and completely bored, I went on a book-buying binge. One of [...]
from sarah the sewist
I’ve been on a mild bag-making spree, and Josh is proving to be a very valuable adviser in creating extremely cool messenger bags, one for me and one for my mom for her birthday.
First, my Will the Wolf Survive? messenger bag:
Now maybe the fabric designer wasn’t inspired by the Los Lobos song, [...]
