Finishing The Upline Jacket

The final post for the Square One Upline Jacket sew along is up and you can find it HERE. 
I am so pleased with the finished jacket. It's sleek and lovely from the front, and soft and feminine from the back. Just an all around lovely jacket. 

I used a Riri zipper that I purchased from Pacific Trimming. It's my first Riri zipper and I think I'm hooked. What a lovely zipper. 
Of course, the zipper plays center stage in this jacket, so having it match up correctly is vitally important. Just follow the instructions and you'll have a beautifully inserted and matching zipper. 

Thanks so much for following along. I hope you've enjoyed the sew along. I feel like I'm the real winner as I ended up with 2 fabulous new jackets!
If you have not purchased a pattern, but feel you would like to give the jacket a go, you can find the pattern HERE. 
Good Luck with your jackets!
Rhonda

Your Chance To Make a Cosmo Convertible Bag Just Like Mine!

Have you seen the new issue of Sew News?
The last sew along for this year will be a great bag from Studio Kat Designs. It's called The Cosmo Convertible Bag and it can be worn as a back pack, a shoulder bag, or a cross body bag.
One side features a pocket with a flap,

and the other side features a zippered pocket.

The pocket has magnetic snaps.

The inside is quite roomy and will easily carry lots of stuff and your I-Pad!

The sew along will begin on December 1, 2015, so right on the heels of the Sewn Square One Upline Jacket. The timing is actually perfect as I can imagine that most anyone would love to find this bag under the tree!

So to kick off the sew along, I am giving away enough of the dragon fabric and the red suede so that you can make a bag just like mine! You will need to purchase the zippers, hardware and pattern. The giveaway also includes the new issue of Sew News magazine. 

If you would like a chance to win the fabric and the magazine, just leave a message on this post. I will draw the winning name on Tuesday November 24th.  
In the meantime, you can check out the pattern HERE in the Sew News shop. 
I had a lot of fun making the bag, so I am really looking forward to the sew along.

In case you are wondering, the last post for the Sewn Square One Upline Jacket will be out tomorrow, Wednesday, November 18th. There was a little mix up with my zipper, so I was late getting it. But my jacket is finished and I love it! As soon as the post is up, I will let you know.  

Eating For Your Future/Tomato and Roasted Lemon Salad

Good Morning Everyone! 
I know I'm so late and completely out of sync, but rather than wait until next week, I really wanted to go ahead and share this salad recipe with you. It's fabulous!
I had a group of friends over yesterday for a soup party. I made 3 soups, 
Chicken and Spinach Soup with Fresh Pesto for the meat eaters,

Tortellini In a Pesto Broth for the vegetarians,

And Red Lentil with Coconut Milk for my vegan friends.

What amazed me was that the meat eaters all went for the Lentil soup!!! Hey, you never know :) 

But here's what I really want to share with you. This salad is so amazing, Tomato and Roasted Lemon Salad. The tag line said, "this may just be your new favorite salad"...IT IS!

The key to this salad is the roasted lemon. It sounds strange, but it is so good. Two lemons are sliced in very thin slices(rind in tack), parboiled in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drained and then mixed with a little olive oil, salt, sugar, and finely chopped sage. The mixture is then put in the oven for 20 minutes. Bring the lemon out, allow to cool and mix it in with the other ingredients. Even my husband who typically doesn't care for too much lemon loved the salad. It also contains pomegranate seeds. This salad is just a taste explosion in your mouth. And it's pretty. The above picture is mine, the picture below is from the website,

The only change that I made was that I mixed the salad with salad greens, making the original salad recipe more of an ingredient in a salad. Everyone cleaned their plate, so I think it was a hit. I'm serving this for Christmas as not only does it taste great, it's just so pretty. The recipe says that it serves 4, but mixed with salad greens, it will easily serve 6 to 8.
You can find the recipe HERE. 
One last thing, I didn't have pomegranate molasses, so I used regular molasses. The salad was still great. 
If you decide to give the salad a try, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Rhonda 

Sunday Night Reflections

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow,

It empties today of its strength.

                                                                               Corrie ten Boom
                                                                               From Clipping From My Notebook

Fabulous Free Pattern Friday/The Beret

Yep!, the title is right, it's actually a Free Pattern Friday post, and what's even better, I'm not going to make you do the drafting on this one.

I do love hats. They finish off a garment so beautifully and they keep my head warm. I especially like berets. They're small, look great, easy to fold up and put in your purse if you decide to take it off. Just an all around great hat. Not so great on keeping your ears warm, but you can't always have everything!

I've looked for a free beret pattern, thought it might make a nice Thrifty Thursday post, but I couldn't find one that was what I wanted or that printed out correctly. I know what will happen now that I drafted out my own pattern, someone will email me with a link to the perfect pattern, and that will be great. But in the meantime, if you would like my beret pattern, just click HERE.

My head size is a medium head size and this pattern fits my head.
What I will send to you is 1/4 of the pattern. It's a little too large to get 1/2 of the pattern on an 81/2" x 11" piece of paper. So once you download the pattern, you will then need to either use a larger piece of paper, or tape 2 pieces together. Fold the paper in half and then cut the pattern out. You will then have 1/2 of the pattern which can be cut on the fold of your fabric. 

Once you have cut out your pattern, cut out the fabric, lay the 2 pieces one on top of the other. Sew along the outer edge with a 1/4" seam allowance.  

Cut the pattern out of lining fabric and lay the 2 pieces together just as you did with the fashion fabric. 

Once the hat has been sewn together, stay stitch along the edge of the opening.

To help keep the seam smooth, I like to edge stitch on either side of the seam. I do not edge stitch the lining.

Slide the lining into the hat and then sew around the opening 1/4" away from the edge. 

To finish the inside edge of the hat, you will need 23" of petersham ribbon. Look closely at the picture below, petersham is quite different from grosgrain ribbon. Rather than a straight finished edge, petersham has the small ridges along the top and bottom. This allows the ribbon to move around a curved edge. 

Prior to sewing the petersham into my hats, I actually use an iron and give the ribbon a curve.

It will end up looking like a very happy smile.

Clip around the opening of the hat. Clip only to the 1/4" stitching line and not through it. It's very important to not clip through the stitching line. 

Divide the opening into 4 equal parts.

 Sew the petersham together with a 1/4" seam and then divide it into 4 equal sections.

Match the outside curved edge of the ribbon to the 1/4" stitching line. The ribbon will need to be eased into the circle. If you find that the ribbon is just too much to ease in, you can take it up another 1/2", so 1/4" on either side of the center back. 

Edge stitch the ribbon to the opening of the hat.

 The hat is finished and ready to wear.

Once I get my coat finished, I'll post pictures of me wearing the beret. I think the 2 will look quite nice together.

Isn't It Shocking?

A friend emailed me a nice little connection yesterday afternoon, so rather than email her back, I decided to give her a call. During the course of the conversation, she said, "isn't it shocking about Ellen?" I had no idea what she was talking about. The Ellen that she referred to is Ellen March, the editor of Sew News Magazine. Somehow, I had missed the news that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. 
I was out in Denver at the Sew News studios a little over a year and a half ago. While we were filming the sew along videos, I noticed that Ellen had gained a little weight, thought nothing of it. Later in the day, she shared that she was pregnant and had just found out that she was carrying twins. How exciting! The girls were born a year ago, It has been a huge challenge as I'm sure that all of you who are mother's know, whether it's twins or not, more children equals more of everything! Her mother has been a huge help, basically taking over the babysitting duties so that Ellen and her husband could continue to work. Remember, she's the editor of Sew News, not The New York Times Magazine, so a huge difference in pay.
As it turns out, her girls were the first to alert her that something was wrong when they began to refuse one of her breasts while breast feeding. A mammogram showed that there was a tumor in her breast and that it was cancer. 
She has begun her chemotherapy treatment. A bit of a rocky start, but she is on her way.

You may read her story HERE.
A Go Fund Me page has been set up. Being able to help someone with the cost burden of all of this is wonderful, but I think that Ellen also needs our thoughts and prayers, a card, thoughts of encouragement. Maybe you sharing your story and how you were able to get through and come out victorious on the other side. There is incredible power in our thoughts. So yes, while the money is a wonderful gesture, what she needs most now is healing and I believe that thoughts and prayers can heal. 
Ellen has posted her home address on her page, so you may send your thoughts to her directly.
My grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer in the early 1940's, a time when a diagnosis of breast cancer was a death sentence. Not only did she not die, she lived to be 88 years old and did not die from cancer. Her doctor did a radical mastectomy and at the same time did a full hysterectomy. Radical yes, but they knew so little then. I am so very grateful for that doctor, as he saved my grandmother's life and in turn saved our family. Had she not been there, well, let's just say that my life would look radically different today. 
We live our lives as though tomorrow will always come and we are shocked when we are forced to face the fact that there is no promise of tomorrow. If this note today does nothing more than prompt you to get the mammogram that you have been putting off, then this message will not have been in vain. You are important, your life is important. You could be the person that helps to change the path of your family for generations to come.  
On behalf of Ellen, I thank you for the support that I know you will send her way.
Thank you.
Rhonda

The Upline Jacket Week Three and I Need Your Voice

A very happy start to a new week!
I'm just a bit behind, so I decided to flip my posts. Rather than announce the new Upline Jacket post tomorrow, I'm announcing it today. I will post the new skirt drafting instructions tomorrow.
You can find the new Upline Jacket post HERE.
I am super excited about how my new Upline Jacket is turning out. What a lovely piece. Last Saturday I gave you a little sneak peek at the side seams. Absolutely beautiful! I especially love how the pocket seems to just melt into the princessline seam.

Just to punch it up a bit, I added bound buttonholes to my back belt.

It's just one of those small touches that makes a garment special.

 The back of the jacket. So graceful. The curved lines give the appearance of a thin waist!

 As you can see, there's a lot of topstitching on this jacket. 

 A little peek inside to see the lining. Pretty :)

You may have noticed that this sew along and the last sew along for the Grainline Studio Posrtside Travel Collection did not have the accompanying videos. Did you miss them? Do you think the videos add to the sew along? If so, I need you to let Sew News know. Just go to THIS WEEK'S POST, leave a message and let them know that you want the videos. 

Would you like to see a video on making bound buttonholes? Leave a message here on this post and let me know.

Wishing you a lovely week!
Rhonda