know to sew July 1, 2014

Sew4me is on a break for July! 

 I am currently traveling with family. 

Sew4me will return July 15! 

Look for it then!!

Sew4me June 10 roundup

This week's sew4me was kinda slow but this was my fave item.  From Annie at The Enantiomer Project: her great version of The Staple Dress. 

So, what can I do to spread the word about my linky party? I want to give more attention to the sewing we do for ourselves, because it is not selfish, but I don't want to be obnoxious in spamming my blog. Any ideas?  Tell me what you think!

Sew4me June 10

 

Sew4me guidelines:

1. Share anything you sewed for yourself.

 You can share accessories, purses, clothing, or anything you sew for you, by you.  It does not have to be worn on your body.  It should be FOR YOU, however, so make sure it is something just for you.

2. Showcase your own work.

Please no link parties, giveaways, or advertisements.

3. Upload up to three links per week.

You can also link-up images from Flickr and Pinterest and Instagram (as long as it's your own work); you don't have to have a blog of your own. Please only upload your image/link once so we avoid repetition.

********************************************************************

The linky party starts at 6am Pacific Standard Time on Tuesdays and stay open until midnight Fridays. Saturdays,  I round it up with a few of my faves.

So, what did you sew for you?

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If you see something you like, be polite and let the creator know with comments on their blog, pin, or flickr. Now let's get started...

An InLinkz Link-up

Sew4me roundup week 2

Sew4me was fun this week. I made a slight booboo in the linkup because I added to last week's instead of starting a new one! That was kinda funny. Live and learn. This week, there were lots of blog hops and sewing party tours.  Fun stuff.  Here are my three faves from this week:  The golden princess, the Prefontaine shorts, and the Lorelie dress. 

Thanks for sharing! See you next week!

Sew4me Tuesday June 3

 

New Rules!  You can feature anything you sew that is for you, even if you don't wear it. Why? Because you asked me if we could change it!

The linky party starts at 6am Pacific Standard Time on Tuesdays and stay open until midnight Fridays. Saturdays,  I round it up with a few of my faves.

Don't forget to grab the button! ====>

Sew4me guidelines:

1. Share anything you sewed for yourself.

 You can share accessories, purses, clothing, or anything you sew for you, by you.  It does not have to be worn on your body.  It should be FOR YOU, however, so make sure it is something just for you.

2. Showcase your own work.

Please no link parties, giveaways, or advertisements.

3. Upload up to three links per week.

You can also link-up images from Flickr and Pinterest and Instagram (as long as it's your own work); you don't have to have a blog of your own. Please only upload your image/link once so we avoid repetition.

********************************************************************

This weekend, I decided to make something just for me and my sewing machine - a peacock-shaped pin cushion with tail/bag for snippets of thread.  I winged it (wung it) on this lil darling, but if there is interest, I could turn it into a tutorial!  Let me know. 

As you can see, it straps on to my machine with elastic. I just slip it over the machine and under the foot and around.  That way, I can take it off between uses to cover my machine.  Isn't it sweet? 

So, what did you sew for you?

If you see something you like, be polite and let the creator know with comments on their blog, pin, or flickr. Now let's get started...

edit: I see I did a booboo in setting up my linky party. In using the same settings from InLinkz as last week, just changing dates, I copied over the entire linky party! So, the first 16 of these links are from last week! LOL I have to sigh and laugh at myself a bit. Live and learn! Well, please enjoy 16 links from last week and, hopefully, more and more for this week as the week progresses!

An InLinkz Link-up

Sew4me roundup

Sew4me linky party's first week was great.  I loved visiting all the blogs and seeing what everyone made.  My favorite items from this fabulous week are in the collage above: link back to the party to see what you missed, Land of K.A. , Pretty Pickle, and Falafel and the bee. 

See you next Tuesday for the next sew4me linky party!

Sew4me Tuesdays

 

It's time for my new linky party!  Sew4me is for any sewing projects you do for yourself, whether they be accessories, bags, clothing, or anything you can physically wear on your body. You can be male or female. The only rules are that it must be sewn by you, it must be for your body, and your sewing and pictures must be tasteful for family viewing.  

The linky party will start at 6am Pacific Standard Time on Tuesdays and stay open until midnight Fridays. Saturdays, I will feature a few of my favorite items for a weekend post wrapping it all up.  It will be fun. This will also be a hashtag (#sew4me) so you can share on twitter and instagram.

So, let's get this party started!  You can grab the button code from the right-hand side bar or you can download the picture below.  If you download, please be sure to link back here.  

Thank you!

Sew4me guidelines:

1. Share anything you sewed for yourself.

 You can share accessories, purses, clothing, or anything you can physically wear on your body. You can be male or female. The only rules are that it must be sewn by you, it must be for your body, and your sewing and pictures must be tasteful for family viewing.  

2. Showcase your own work.

Please no link parties, giveaways, or advertisements.

3. Upload up to three links per week.

You can also link-up images from Flickr and Pinterest (as long as it's your own work); you don't have to have a blog of your own. Please only upload your image/link once so we avoid repetition.

If you see something you like, be polite and let the creator know with comments on their blog, pin, or flickr. Now let's get started...

An InLinkz Link-up

Sew 4 me linky party coming soon

 I am excited to announce my latest blog project and that is to start a linky party just for us to share the sewing we do for ourselves.   Starting next Tuesday, every Tuesday will have a linky party that will stay up until the weekend. You will be able to link up any sewing projects you do for yourself, whether they be accessories, purses, clothing, or anything you can physically wear on your body. You can be male or female. The only rules are that it must be sewn by you, it must be for your body, and your sewing and pictures must be tasteful for family viewing.  

The linky party will start at 6am Pacific Standard Time on Tuesdays and stay open until midnight Fridays. Saturdays, I will feature a few of my favorite items for a weekend post wrapping it all up.  It will be fun. This will also be a hashtag (#sew4me) so you can share on twitter and instagram.

For example, I made myself a Versatile Wrap Skirt from Make it Perfect patterns. I made mine reversible even though the pattern does not show how.  I just made two skirts and put them together then turned my bottom trim into binding. Voila! Reversible summer skirt.  I used more Jennifer Paganelli Beauty Queen fabrics, which I am in love with.

This is a versatile and easy-to-follow pattern.  Making it double-sided without directions was a big challenging but it turned out pretty cute.  I like the wrap-around part of it. I accidentally made mine a tad shorter than I had hoped (binding accident) but it is still going to be a fun skirt for summer.  

So,  get ready go start sharing your sewing projects weekly, the ones you do for you.  And remember that it is NOT selfish to sew for yourself. You are important, too, and you need fun sewing items in your wardrobe. So, start your sewing now and come back next Tuesday to share. 

Note:  After publishing this post, I was asked if you need a blog to be part of the linky. No! You can also share to my FB blog page, see link in left sidebar. I will be sure to share that each week!

Sew-A-Bration of Womanhood - Sewing for me

You read the title correctly. Today, I share sewing for myself. We should all be sewing for ourselves and it is absolutely not selfish to do so. So, when I heard Shaffer Sisters and CallAjaire were planning this blog series celebrating and honoring womanhood and "our common threads" I jumped on board.  Have you been following this series? It is great!  All sorts of women, of all sizes, shapes, types, and ages are sewing for themselves in many ways and celebrating themselves. What an honor to be included. 

Now, why have I not sewn much for myself in the past? Because I am fat! I admit it.  I used to be skinny, for many years I hovered at about 120 lbs on my 5'6" big-boned frame. That was actually too skinny. Then, I hovered around 150 for many years and I look back and think those were my good body years. Now, I am about 200 lbs and not a happy camper. Combined with my Hashimoto's thyroid disease, the weight makes my joints ache and makes me not enjoy exercise. Which makes me gain more weight. It's been a vicious cycle the last few years.  I am ready to confess to the public and admit I have a problem and get better!

So, I took this series as an excuse to share with you my body type, my trials and tribulations, and tell you that I am going to start a new series, called Project Me, where I embark on a new path that includes exercise, taking care of myself, enjoying life more, counseling, sewing for myself, and learning to like me.  And the first step is to sew myself something pretty that can be altered if and when I lose some weight. I say if and when because I am not a fad dieter. I am not joining Weight Watchers or eating only raw food. I am not giving up cheese or French bread. I will still enjoy coffee and wine. But, I will also go to bed at a more regular time, exercise daily (even if it is just a bit) and eat more vegies than bread every day. I will still enjoy my bacon but not in moderation.  

And so, here is me.  My oldest daughter took these horrible pictures of me from a chair.  The vantage point and lighting are terrible! But, it is the best we can do and I am not going to let it stop me from sharing with you. I know there are many beautiful, skinny mommy bloggers out there sharing their sewing. But, we "fluffy" moms should not let that stop us from enjoying sewing for ourselves.  And when Jennifer Paganelli's Beauty Queen arrived my house, I knew that was going to be mostly for me.  I am not an affiliate or anything for JP. I just think her fabrics are the most beautiful out there and she, herself, is the sweetest person I know online. I am blessed to call her friend even if we have never met in real life.

So, here I am!  

I made myself a skirt from the Fashion Formula Skirts pattern from Serendipity Studios. I like this pattern because it has so many options. I have made it before and it is comfy and pretty. Again, I am not affiliate or anything for this company.  This is just a nice pattern!

The tee shirt I got at a local store and appliqued myself using Melody in Midnight.  The pinks are so pretty that I feel pretty wearing them.

 

Hashimoto's has left my hair super thin and even medication hasn't helped it return. I don't want to wear a wig because I get hot easily so I wear head scarves.  I made this one from Beauty Queen.  The scarf is Letty in Midnight.  It is very dark but it is blue, not black.

Why is the skirt falling so funny? Oh dear, well I cannot control that so I will have to accept this picture and just relax!!! It is hard to not be super skinny. Our society puts so much pressure on us to be skinny and almost none of it is about health. It is mostly all about comparing ourselves to others.  I am going to try hard to ignore it and focus on health. If I get thinner because I am getting healthier, I can take this skirt in at the waist. That is why chose it.

 So, there you have it. Me accepting me for who I am and marching out of my shell to better health and  self acceptance. I hope you join me on this journey, which I will be sharing on Thursdays.  Every Thursday, I will update where I am and where I've been and where I am going. I am doing this in public to not only hold myself accountable but also to connect with other women like me.  

Please join me. 

And thank you for joining my part of the wonderful Sew-A-bration of Womanhood tour.

 

Muse of the Morning Pattern tour - the Sling it Mama Take Along Bag Very Easy Purse

Today, I am honored to share with you a really fun and easy pattern from Chrissy at Muse of the Morning patterns. Chrissy has a variety of patterns for sale and I am part of her pattern blog hop. Today, I present to you the Sling It Mama Take Along Bag Very Easy Purse.  Even though I was gifted this purse pattern for my participating in the hop, I am very happy to give it a great review. 

This is really a very quick bag to make and the pattern is very well done. Chrissy gives ample directions and photos so it is simple to follow. The finished purse is a great size for busy women. It ended up being approximately 11" X 10" X 3" with a lot of room inside.  The strap is 17" which makes it fit just perfectly under your arm. 

To sew this cute purse, I used a home decorator fabric from my local fabric store for the outer and a similar weight home deco fabric I had in my stash for the inner.  Chrissy recommends heavier weight woven fabrics, so this worked perfectly.

The pattern has only four pieces and goes together beautifully.  I really love the way it turned out and the design is great.  The bottom and strap pieces curve perfectly. It is a very well-designed purse. Chrissy has a very tricky way of putting the inside and outside and strap together that threw me for a loop when I first looked at the directions. But, the pattern is so well-written that I trusted her way would work and it did.  I sewed the pieces together and turned the purse right side out and it looks great.

As you can see, I added a button to my purse.  I had the big pink button and I felt like I need more color on my bag. I love color!  I tend to want to add ribbon trim to all my little girl sewing so I guess I am a bit compulsive. I just really needed this bag to have something on it.  The button is not part of the pattern but I like it.


As you can see below, this bag holds my large wallet, keys, and zipper pouch just fine. There is ample room for my phone and anything else I might want to add. Since we banned plastic bags in town last year, I can even use this purse for my small shopping needs.  Perfect.

Please visit  Chrissy's lovely website to learn more about her patterns and the blog tour, which is going on all week. She's also got a GIVEAWAY going on as well as a discount code for purchases.  The discount is effective from May 1 - May 17. The code is BLOGTOUR30 and gets the user 30% off all patterns bought through my website (not etsy or crafty).

blog: www.museofthemorning.com