Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing

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Oh yeah, pretty pumped right now! I already warned Luke that I'm not going to be very productive today at work haha. Did the rest of you get your books yet? I  was pretty jealous of everyone that got their copies before me. This is post is short, I'm off to read!

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Sewing and working out

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When most people go to the gym they are happy about the fact that they are losing weight, but people that sew clothing might not be as ecstatic. A couple of months ago I decided to change the way I ate and started doing some of the routines from this book to try to become healthier and stronger. In under a month clothes that felt close fitting were much looser and jeans that used to be tight could come off without being unbuttoned.


This green Renfrew was made back in July (I never posted photos of it) and after putting it on realized that it was looser fitting than the ones I have made in the past. Something was up, so I took my measurements and discovered that I had lost an inch in my bust, waist, and hips. It's not a noticeable change to my friends and family, but it is a huge change to me. One inch is a big difference when it comes to the fit of clothes and now many of the garments I have made don't fit as nicely.

I am curious how weight loss or weight gain has affected your sewing. Do you take in or take out the seams if it's possible? Stop wearing certain things? I'll tell you what, I'm not excited about retracing patterns that I want to make again :(

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Wedding tomorrow, but what to wear?

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One of my besties, Megan, is getting wifed (married) tomorrow at Madonna Inn and I'm not sure what to wear or how to style it. Help?



I sewed up another Hazel dress for the occasion (an actual post to come), but I keep second guessing myself.  Part of the reason that I chose the fabric is because Madonna Inn is known for the color pink. Pink is everywhere in that place! 

What do you guys think of pairing it with a thin black belt, an oversize black cardigan, and black heels? Yes? Or I have a baby blue cardigan, but don't have shoes to match. OR should I wear my Hawaiian Hazel with a leopard cardigan? Decisions, decisions. The wedding is tomorrow, so I better get cracking...

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Los Angeles Fabric District aka Downtown LA

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Over the last few months I have been (not so secretly) jealous of Oona and her fabric shopping trips, namely her trips to the Michael Levine Loft in the Los Angeles fabric district aka Downtown LA. A few years ago I ventured Downtown and found Michael Levine, but not the Loft that Oona goes to. I have been wanting to go since she posted about it, but honestly I am afraid of driving in LA :( This weekend my husband Luke was kind enough to be my chauffeur and took me to some awesome shops.

Let me tell you about the weather in LA this weekend, HOT!!!!! When we got Downtown at 9:30 am it was already above eighty degrees and the Loft did not have AC. I was literally dripping sweat while sorting through boxes of fabric.

 Oh no big deal, fabric is just $2.50 A POUND!!!!

A happy kind of chaos.

Can barely carry all my treasures!!!

Next we went to a Hawaiian store that carries Hawaiian fabric and NBA fabric. This store had AC which made me very happy. So happy that I forgot to take pictures :( I was in such a good mood that I even bought some LA Lakers fabric for my friend Pari. She watched my dog over the weekend, otherwise I would NEVER buy Lakers fabric (I'm a LA Clippers fan).

My dad was clearly disgusted when he was sold a lukewarm water. I laugh so hard every time I look at this, I can't believe Luke got this picture! Don't try and pull a fast one on Tom!

Here are my treasures:


 The color doesn't show up correctly on screen, but it is a beautiful Tiffany blue.

I got a LOT of this twill. I think it will make a pretty fall dress.

 Lebron really liked my choice.

 Handsome.


I like this one, but I am giving it away!

 This fabric was from the Hawaiian store ($5 a yard) and I love it. It's so Old Hollywood to me! Celebrities used to eat at the restaurant Ciro's, which is what caught my eye. Did you guys know that I am obsessed with Old Hollywood? I am constantly reading biographies and autobiographies of stars from the 20s through the 60s. I have a couple of tribute tattoos planned, I might get one this week...

I see a future Renfrew out of that mustard jersey!

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Vote on the October pattern for Sew Colette 2

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Sarah, Rochelle, and I wanted to give everyone some time to prepare for the next pattern in the sew-along, so we thought we would get the poll up extra early :) To vote, go to one, two, or all three of our blogs (you're allowed to vote on all three!) and pick your favorite pattern. October's choices are: Parfait, Jasmine, Peony, and Iris. You can view all of them in the Colette Patterns online shop.

I have been trying all weekend to get the poll up on my blog, but for some reason I keep getting an error message. I don't want to hold up the voting, so if you would like to leave your vote in a comment on this post, that works! Sorry!

EDIT: Voting is now closed.

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Sewing tips and techniques for Macaron

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As I was getting ready to compile the list of links of sewing techniques that I usually post, I saw that Colette Patterns made a video showing how to sew an invisible zipper. Perfect timing for such a helpful video, as the Macaron dress has an invisible side zipper. Check it out!

 Some of the links below do not apply to the Macaron,  but I thought it best to include them in this reference page. Many of the links are from Sarah's blog. Thank you Sarah for taking the time to write them for all of us!!

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Macaron Schedule
Week of August 1st:  Muslins!
Week of August 5th: Fit Tips and Techniques
Week of August 12th: Fabric, Fabric, Fabric!
Week of August 19th: Sewing Macaron and Guest Bloggers!
Week of  August 26th: More Guest Bloggers!
Week of September 2nd: Macaron Parade and Giveaways

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My yellow Cambie dress for the Sew Weekly

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THE FACTS
Fabric: 3 1/4 yards of yellow quilting cotton
Pattern: Sewaholic's Cambie dress
Year: 2012
Notions: Invisible zipper, fusible interfacing, thread.
First worn: To dinner with my friends.
Wear again: Yes!
Time to complete: I never keep track, I sew an hour here and there over multiple days.
Total cost: Approximately $35 


I worked on this dress for over a month and before I even got out my sewing machine I thought the project would be doomed. Why? My pup tore apart bits of my pattern and the pattern envelope :(

How could I ever get mad at a face like that, though? I salvaged what I could, but some pattern pieces are not a pretty sight. I didn't have any trouble sewing up the pattern until it came to the waistband. I don't know if I traced incorrectly due to the torn pattern, but the waistband was a good 1 inch shorter than the bodice and I didn't have any extra fabric. Luckily when I made the bodice the same size as the waistband it all worked out. It's a bit tight (no pasta dinners for me in this dress!), but it works.


Dresses with pockets = LOVE

I look forward to making this pattern again, but with a proper waistband next time! :) The pattern directions were very straightforward and any issues I had were because of me or Frankie, my dog.
P.S. Does my fabric look familiar? It's the same fabric that Lauren used on her lovely dress!

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Sew Colette: Macaron, giveaway winner, and a thank you

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It's time to start sewing our Macaron muslins. How many of you out there are sewing along with Sarah, Rochelle, and I? I'm pretty excited about this dress, it's super cute! I've had it in my stash for a while, but have been hesitant to sew it without extra help. I'm glad I'm sewing this up with you guys :) If you need help taking your measurements, tracing your pattern, or cutting out your muslin then please see this post.

Macaron Schedule
Week of August 1st:  Muslins!
Week of August 5th: Fit Tips and Techniques
Week of August 12th: Fabric, Fabric, Fabric!
Week of August 19th: Sewing Macaron and Guest Bloggers!
Week of  August 26th: More Guest Bloggers!
Week of September 2nd: Macaron Parade and Giveaways

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I know that we aren't talking about fabric for a few weeks, but Hart's Fabric is also doing a Macaron sew-along and they have been nice enough to give a fabric discount to our readers! Use the coupon code sewcolette10 for 10% off. How sweet of them!
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GIVEAWAY WINNER
Last week I announced a giveaway of 1 yard of the flamingo fabric I used for my Hazel muslin. The winner is:


ShanniLoves! Congrats, Shanni! I will be e-mailing you shortly :)

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I wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who commented on my last post about my husband's cousin, Tyler Clary. It was so nice of so many bloggers to comment and email me about Tyler's performance and when I see him next I will pass it along. It could be a while though, the last time I saw him was for Thanksgiving haha. For this years Olympics I have been glued to the tv, it's just fun rooting for someone when you feel like you have a connection with them. Thank you everyone for thinking good thoughts for him!

He was on the Today show this morning and was interviewed by Matt Lauer. I watch that show every morning and it was so surreal to see Tyler on there! They filmed a little segment where Tyler's mom and dad got to see him for the first time during the Olympics and it was so heartwarming. I was literally bawling!

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Olympic spoiler! (don't read if you want to watch it live)

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My husbands cousin, Tyler Clary, just won a gold medal at the Olympics in the 200m backstroke final and broke the Olympic Record!!!!!!!!!!

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