The Wednesday Showcase

Before my grandmother died, she wanted to get her will in order and asked if I would like to have her sewing machine. Some of my earliest memories are of sitting under her treadle sewing machine and pushing on the foot pad. It would go, and go, and go, and I would laugh, and laugh, and laugh. Obviously, it didn't take much to entertain me ;) It now sits in a guest bedroom. At the moment it is unusable as it needs a new belt. But I think I have found just the person to inspire me to get it running again....meet Lyric of Sew Lyrically Vintage. Lyric is on quite a journey. She's making her clothes and using primarily this antique hand crank Singer sewing machine. Amazing!!!

Now hold on to your seats as you are going to be blown away with what she creates, like this sweet vintage inspired dress.

She has made a number of Sewaholic Minoru jackets. The one below has a quilted lining and she even made a matching bag! 

Here are the others. Love the fun linings.

Lyric helped a friend learn to sew. She had planned to make the caddy as a gift to celebrate her endeavor and then realized that she could make her own and it would make a great sewing lesson. This would make a great gift...or sewing lesson for anyone who sews or is learning to sew. You can find the instructions for the caddy HERE.

Be sure to check out Lyric's blog. Just a warning, she may have you looking at the non-electrical sewing machine ancestors with a wistful eye!!! 

Next up is gMarie of gMarie Sews. Her name is a combination of her first and middle names. She said that her husband even had her name engraved on champagne flutes. I think he is smitten ;)  

If you have not met gMarie, I think you are going to love getting to know her. She has such a beautiful spirit and she is so very creative. Not only does she sew, she also loves to knit.

This is a girl after my own heart as she loves to make and wear dresses.

Since I am in the process(very long process I might add)of cleaning up my sewing studio, I just had to show you gMarie's lovely space. Talk about magazine ready!

As I scrolled through her blog, look who I found!!! Why is Carolyn of Diary of a Sewing Fanatic! Sewing friends are the best and we do tend to get around :) 

If you aren't able to get out to Seattle to meet gMarie in person, then pop over to her blog and say hello!

Before I go, just a few quick things to share. I talked to a friend of mine a few days ago, a catch up call as we have not talked in a while. Before we said goodbye, she said, "oh, I have to tell you!!! I LOVE the Barb pant pattern." She was so happy with the fit. If you haven't downloaded the pattern, be sure and do so as I don't know how long it will continue to be available for free.  

And finally, I received a message from Angela of My Little Sewing Dreams. She made up  a number of the little owls from THIS post and loved them. She said that they are a great way to use up scraps and make a fun little unexpected gift too!

  

Isn't it wonderful that we can share and enrich each other's lives? :)

Happy Wednesday!

Rhonda

Owls On Parade

Good Morning All!!! It's VERY cold this morning, but a bright blue sky. I think I'm going to bundle up and pull out my skis. It's just too pretty to stay in regardless of how cold it is.

Before I go, I wanted to brag a little on the pattern weight owls that were made by Julianne Bramson and her American Sewing Guild chapter during their recent winter retreat. They are so cute!  

You may not know that Julianne is part of the dynamic duo who wrote Bias Cut Blueprints.

Julianne is also the brains behind a wonderful pattern line that the book is based on, Fashion In Harmony. In the upcoming months, I will be doing a number of posts on the patterns that are provided in Bias Cut Blueprints. I think you will be amazed.
Now, there's nothing more important than keeping a straight  grainline when you are working with a bias cut pattern so why not make a few pattern weights of your own? I have now made 18, but I've given them all away so I need to get a few made for myself.

If you would like to try making a few, you can find the pattern and a video tutorial HERE.
Thanks Julianne and your ASG chapter for giving the pattern weights a try. Hope you had fun!

A Video Tutorial On Finishing The Owl Pattern Weights

An early good morning from Chicago.

A number of you asked me about finishing the little owls that I made a couple of weeks ago for Thrifty Thursday, so I did a video to show the process. Now, it's the first video that my husband and I have made, so it's not exactly perfect. But I think that you will get the idea and it should help if you are having any issues.



Have fun making the pattern weights! I hope the video covers all of your questions.
May the little owls bring lots of wisdom to all of your sewing projects!