Sunday Night Reflections

Pressure can burst a pipe,

But...

It also makes diamonds.

Magazine Winners and a Free Pattern!!!

Rather than our usual Monday Morning Inspiration post, I have something fantastic to share. Be sure to scroll on down, because I think that many of you won't want to miss this opportunity :)

Last week I posted my Ginger Jeans. I won't tell you how many times I wore them before they finally made it into the washing machine. Shame on me! On the positive side, I REALLY love wearing the jeans, so a great example of what a wonderful pattern it is. 

Our first order of business is to announce the winners of the October/November issues of Sew News. 

And the winners are...

Subshaw

Sewalatte

Christine C

Congratulations!!!!

Be sure to email me at sewbussted@yahoo.com with your mailing info so I can get the magazines out to you.

AND NOW.....THE BIG NEWS!!!!!!! 

I have a Ginger Jeans pattern to give away!!!!!!!!!!!

If you don't own the pattern, but think you might like to give the jeans a try, be sure to leave a message on this post.

The winner will be announced next Monday, October 17, 2016. So you have until midnight on October 16th to enter the drawing.

A BIG THANK YOU to Heather Lou, the designer and master mind behind Closet Case Files Patterns for giving me the opportunity to give away a pattern. Such a wonderful way to kick off a sew along.  

Good Luck!!!

Sunday Night Reflections

The risk of love is loss,

And the price of loss is grief.

But the pain of grief is only a shadow

When compared to the pain of never risking love.

                                                                                                    Hilary Stanton Zunin

I'm In Love....With A Pair Of Jeans!!!!

When I make a garment for Sew News, it gets shipped off and then I have to wait months for it to come back. This is the killer part, especially if I really like the garment. I'm sure you are just like me, once you get the garment made, you want to wear it, not wait! Once I finished the Ginger Jeans from Closet Case Files, I slid them on and I was in blue jean heaven, and it almost killed me to put them in a box and ship them off. 

Well, the wait is over, thank goodness. They were sent back last Thursday, but since I was in Peoria for the Sew Special weekend seminar, I didn't get to open the package until this last Sunday. Once they were out of the box, I must confess, I have had the jeans on everyday since! It might be time to throw them in the wash ;)

I had an appointment with my dermatologist yesterday. While I was waiting, no one was in the waiting room and there was a huge mirror, so I popped out my camera and took a picture. It's not the best picture, but at least you get an idea. I will take more as I know I will be wearing the jeans, to death! By the way, the top I'm wearing is from THIS Thrifty Thursday post. I get compliments every time I wear it.

If you've made it to this point in the post, congratulations as I have 3 magazines to give away!!! The new October/November issue is out and it is full great articles and fun projects. 

There's a fabulous article on making better buttonholes.

I am going to have to give this blouse a try. 

Rather than a traditional ruffle, it's actually twisted.

A free pattern download for these super cute placemats. You can find the pattern HERE.

And another free pattern download for this great bag from Tula Pink. You can find the pattern HERE.

And finally, my article on the Ginger Jeans pattern. This is really all they needed to publish...

I LOVE THIS PATTERN!!! :)

I made the high waisted version for the magazine. As you can see below, there is a lower waisted version with a straighter leg. I hope to get those made next week so I can show them to you before the sew along begins.

If you think you might like to join the sew along and make a fabulous pair of jeans, you can find the pattern HERE. 

If you would like to win 1 of the 3 magazines I have to give away, just leave a message on this post. I'll announce the winner on Monday, October 10, 2016.

House Keeping And A New Project

Happy Wednesday!

I took a little time this morning to update the Sew News Sew Along links. If you look at the banner under Rhonda's Creative Life, you'll see a number of clickable links with one being a link to the Sew News sew alongs that I have done. I still need to go back and add the sew alongs that were done in 2014, but I do have 2016 up to date. So far this year, we have done;

The Pepernoot Coat from Waffle Patterns

The Magic Bias Dress from Fashion In Harmony

The Soma Swimsuit from Papercut Patterns 

The Stella Weekender Bag from Swoon Patterns

Up next is the fabulous Ginger Jeans pattern from Closet Case Files. I am super pumped about this sew along as I cannot wait to make another pair. I could live in these jeans!!! 

So if at anytime you would like to refer to any of the sew along posts, I think you'll find it quite easy to find them. As soon as I link up all the 2014 sew alongs, I'll let you know.

At the moment I am working on my niece's wedding gown. Can't wait to share the dress with you. I've decided to wait until after her wedding to post pictures. The wedding will be October 22nd, so just a few weeks away.

I recently shared a lovely gift that I was given from Kim of The Material Lady, a gorgeous piece of Linton Tweed.

With such a special gift, I really wanted to be sure that whatever I chose to do would be equally as special, so I ordered the Cassock Coat pattern from Paco Peralta. I may not have enough to make the longer version, but I'll be just as happy with something shorter.

My pattern arrived yesterday and Paco included such a sweet gift, a sketch book from The Museu del Disseny. I am going to enjoy having this in my bag. Thank you Paco :)

With such a special project, I want a special lining. I popped over to the Apple Annie website and found this lovely piece of silk charmeuse. Kind of a wild lining, but it should be fun :) 

I'm planning to quilt the fabric just as I would for a Chanel style jacket, so it will be a bit labor intensive, but well worth it.

So that's my little dog and pony show for the day.

Before I go, I would just like to say thank you to all of you who have sent messages and cards after the loss of my precious Little Bit. Each day is better. I miss her terribly. The house is so quiet and so empty. Gracie too is mourning. It's like we are all struggling to find a new normal. We will. Little Bit was a little 14 pound dog that had the spirit and presence of a giant. I am so very grateful that I was given the opportunity to share life with her while she was here on earth.

We're Finishing Up The Stella Weekender Bag!

The final post for the Stella Weekender Bag is up on the Sew News blog and you can find it HERE.

What a fun journey it has been! My first bag was made from barkcloth. Love how it turned out. It will be going on to it's new home with my niece tomorrow.

The bag I did for the sew along. The fabric is so bright and fun. I always like to try something a little different. The pattern calls for the zipper to be a dress weight zipper. Look closely and you'll see that I used a heavy weight plastic zipper in my front pocket. Worked out great. And thanks to Bunny of La Sewista, I added the extra stitching reinforcement to my handles. Barely noticeable, but a nice touch regardless.   

This week's post is all about finishing up the bag. We insert the center zipper. I also used a heavy weight zipper here.

We sew up the lining, and I show you how to sew the lining into the bag so that it doesn't sag. I also customized my interior pockets. 

I've enjoyed sharing Bunny's progress on the weekender that she is making as a diaper bag. Here's her finished bag.

The stitching detail on her handles is a little more prominent. What a wonderful gift this will be!

A few notes from Bunny;

1. If you look closely at the front of her bag, you'll see that she piped around the cargo pocket. She does not recommend doing this.

2. Keep in mind that it is a softer bag, so not overly structured. The purpose of the bag is to be able to stuff a lot into it, so the softness of the bag works well.

3. And finally, she said that she will be making the bag again. I think that's a great endorsement!

Once again, if you take a close look at the front of her bag, you'll see a wonderful tag that says, Handcrafted In America. This was purchased from the Emmaline Bags website. They have lots of hardware and it's a great resource. You can find all the hardware and the tags HERE.

I also shared that there is a great group on Facebook called Swoon Patterns Group. Here's a LINK. You will have to ask to join the group, but they are a friendly bunch, so I know you'll be welcomed with open arms :)

Bunny has not posted her final weekender bag, but she did make the most wonderful bags for her grandson's using an Emmaline pattern. You can check out her post HERE. Just a reminder...Christmas is coming!!!!!

Be sure to pop over to the Swoon Patterns website and check out all of the wonderful bag patterns. Once you make one, there will be another!

Hope you've enjoyed the sew along!
Just a reminder, if you are just beginning, or think that you would like to do the bag at a later date, the posts remain on the Sew News blog, so you can go back at anytime.

I'm off for my yearly mammogram. Wish me luck!

Sunday Night Reflections

In your soul are infinitely precious things 

That cannot be taken from you.

                                                                                                     Oscar Wilde