Making Your Search a Little Easier With Blog Tabs

Good Morning All!

I wanted to just do a quick little post this morning and give you an update on what is now on the blog. If you look just below the blog title, you'll see a bar. The bar includes a tab for the blog home and the following links;

1. Master Sewing And Design Certification Program
2. Free Patterns
3. Sew News Sew Along Links

In another post, I'll talk a little more about the Master Sewing and Design Certification Program tab.

The second tab links you to 2 free patterns that I will happily send to you,

 Fleece Slippers For The Entire Family 

Poinsettia Napkin Ring










The third tab is still a work in progress, but there you will find links to all of the Sew News sew alongs that I have done. Just click on the week that you are interested in and you're good to go. I will also be adding links to the sew alongs that were done in 2014. 

The Sew Chic Valentine Slip 

The Decades of Style Arches Skirt

Dixie DIY Movies In The Park Shorts

Grainline Studio Portside Travel Set












I am planning to add tabs for all of the Fabulous Free Pattern Friday posts as well as the Sleeves on Saturdays posts. So in the event that you are looking for a specific post, I hope it will make your search a little easier.

Enjoy!
Rhonda

Sew News Magazine Winner

I had promised to post the winner of the October/November issue of Sew News today, so without further adieu, the winner is.....

Wow, the magazine is going all the way to the Netherlands!!!
Congratulations Karien!
Just as a reminder, Elizabeth of Sewn Square One is giving away a free Upline Jacket Pattern. The contest is open until this Friday at midnight CDT, so be sure to leave a message on THIS POST for a chance to win!   

Monday Morning Inspiration/A Museum Tour with Lasell College

Over the weekend, Kenneth King posted an incredible link on Facebook to Lasell College. This is such a fabulous resource as they have actually videoed so many of the garments and accessories that they have in their collection. I am just in heaven as the videos show the garment in such a manner that you really see the intricacies of the stitching and the design. Even a trip to an exhibit would not give you the ability to see the garments in this manner. 

I have pulled out 7 videos that I thought you might enjoy. There are MANY more. They are short videos, anywhere from 30 seconds to a little over 3 minutes long. Great for a coffee break. But fair warning, you can easily get sucked in and end up spending a lot of time, so watch a few and save the others for another time. Click HERE to see all the videos that Lasell College has made available.   


















If you have a Facebook account, be sure to pop over to Kenneth King's page and thank him for the link. There are a couple of videos that feature Kenneth, so I'm sure you'll enjoy those.
Have a wonderful week!
Rhonda

Sunday Night Reflections

The things we say about others,

 also says a lot about us.

                                                                                                    Mark Amend

Eating For Your Future/Kale Quinoa Salad

A year ago, I was diagnosed with moles on both of my retinas that have the potential to become cancerous. I now see a retinologist every 6 months, have my eyes dilated, and an ultrasound is done to determine if there have been any changes since my last check up. Thus far, I've been fortunate, no changes, no cancer. My next appointment is at the end of this month and of course there's always a little apprehension. I'm lucky in so many ways, but especially so in that my husband has insisted to be by my side at every visit. 

When I initially saw the specialist, he told me that it is imperative that I eat a very plant rich diet. I've always had a fairly healthy diet, it's just more focused now.

I was recently looking for a breakfast dish that would be a little higher in nutrients than my favorite bowl of oatmeal and I came across THIS recipe for a Kale and Quinoa Salad. Not only is it good as a salad, but warmed up, it's great for breakfast too. In fact, I'm on my second batch. I can be a little lazy in the morning, so I love that I can make up a batch and then just take out what I want and quickly warm it up. I basically followed the recipe, but as you can see below, I added quite a bit more kale and rather than tear the kale, I chopped it up. Rather than 1 cup of chopped kale, I added 3 cups. 

I love blueberries, and I try and buy bunches when they are in season and keep them in the freezer for use over the winter. So rather than blackberries, I added blueberries.

Quinoa is a great source of protein, but I love nuts and they do add a little more protein, so I usually top the salad off with roasted slivered almonds.  

I suggest making the salad up and allowing it to sit in the refrigerator for a couple of hours and allow the dressing to really soak into the quinoa. One last change I made, rather than a lemon, I used the juice of 1 lime in my dressing. I also reduced the oil to 1 1/2 tablespoons rather than the 3 tablespoons.
As I said, this recipe is great as a salad. It can be served as is, over salad greens, and even for breakfast. If you enjoy the addition of a little cheese, some fresh feta or a good blue cheese would nice too.
Enjoy!
Rhonda

Win An Upline Jacket Pattern

Great news!!! I just heard from Elizabeth of Sewn Square One and she has generously agreed to give away an Upline Jacket pattern and help kick off the upcoming Sew News sew along that will begin on October 26th. Pattern cover below.

 Pattern details.

My version of the jacket. 

So here's the deal;

1. Leave a message on this post to let me know that you would like to be included in the drawing.

2. You must be a follower of the blog. Let me know how you follow, email, Bloglovin, Feedly, etc.

The give away is open to all. 

I will draw the winning name next Saturday, October 10, 2015. That will give you 2 weeks to receive the pattern and get ready for the sew along.

Thanks so much Elizabeth and a special thank you to all of you who follow the blog!

Happy Weekend!!!

Rhonda

The Sewn Square One Upline Jacket

The October/November issue of Sew News is out and I have a magazine to give away!!! 

This issue is all about getting in gear for fall. On the cover you see a fabulous jacket that was designed by Ana Jankovic. In her article, she takes you step by step through the process of creating a double lapel. The back is just as nice as the front. 

There's nothing like a little drop in temperature to make us start thinking about wearing wool and possibly a plaid pattern. There's a wonderful article on taking a simple straight skirt pattern and turning it into a kilt style skirt, with buckles and all!

There's no time like fall to think about tuning up our machines. You'll also find a very helpful article on serger maintenance. 

There are a number of other helpful and interesting articles, but I don't want to spoil the surprise, so you'll just have to get the magazine and see for yourself. 

The next Sew News hosted sew along that I will be doing is this fun jacket from Sewn Square One. It's an urban outer piece that's great with jeans, slacks and skirts. The pattern comes with 3 length options as well as a center front button or zipper option. For my test run, I chose to make the shortest version with a center front zipper. The collar can be worn open, as you see below.

Or completely zipped closed.

The pattern features a curved princess line seam with pockets. The pockets are a breeze to make.

I made a couple of very minor changes to the pattern. If you look closely at my jacket, you'll see that the zipper runs all the way to the hem. 

Look at the zipper on the pattern cover and you'll see that it's about 2" short of the hem. It's fine, I just liked the clean finish of the zipper stopping at the hem. I'll go over the other changes I made once the sew along begins.

As you can see from the pattern covers, there are 3 possible options, short, hip and mid thigh lengths. For the sew along, I will be making the mid thigh length. But rather than the buttoned front, I will be inserting a center front zipper.

If you would like to win a copy of the magazine, just leave a message on this post. I'll draw the winning name on Monday, October 5, 2015.

Good Luck!