Share In Style Voting

Happy Halloween Eve Everyone!!

Just a quick post this morning, but I am hoping to be back with the pant drafting post, finally, as well as a Thrifty Thursday piece. But in the meantime, the voting is going on over at Sewingadicta for the Halloween Share In Style. There are a number of interesting entries and of course I'm in the running too. So if you have a minute, pop over and cast a vote for your favorite. You can find all the entries HERE. The voting ends soon, so don't delay!

Me Made Monday on Tuesday

Since I had promised Rosy that I would join her for Share in Style, and the last post for the Emily Bag sew along was up, I decided to wait until today to do the Me Made Monday post.
Before I add my pictures, I want to show you what I did this morning. I met a friend for a morning hike through the woods and look at what we came upon.

Twins!!! And this is how close I was able to get to them. I didn't use the zoom on my camera! So very precious. The mom was off in the distance, watching of course, but just laying in the tall grass. I haven't been out for a hike like this in a while, so it was great to be out, but the sighting of the deer babies made it all the more special.

I was told that I could go ahead and post the next sew along garment. It will be the Robson Coat from Sewaholic. I absolutely adore this coat. It's perfect for when I need a light jacket and it looks great with skirts, jeans and slacks. I've been wearing this coat like crazy so it's nice to be able to finally post it.

 The fabric that I used is actually a home dec fabric. I love the print.

 It's a combination of Botticelli women.

The pants I'm wearing were made for the Colette Clover Pant Sew Along. This is like the crash of the sew alongs! I should be using one of the bags as well!!

 I have fallen in love with this pant pattern. I made this pair out of a wool and lycra blend. Just a great wearing pair of pants.
I will be posting more about the Robson Coat Sew Along a little later on. It will actually begin the week of December 1st.

I have made the commitment to post a garment that I have worn the previous week every week for one year. There are a number of you who are linking up and I am so happy that you are. To sweeten the pot just a bit, I've decided to celebrate the 3 people who link up the most over this year with a gift. So far, Pao from www.projectminima.blogspot.com,  Sandra from  http://sewiststitch.blogspot.co.nz/ and Angela from http://sewingdreamsblog.wordpress.com/ are in the lead. A year is a long time, so if you have not linked up, don't loose heart, you still have a chance, a lot of a chance actually. I don't know what the gift will be, but I think it will be something you'll like.
So click on the link button below and show us what you wore. More importantly, be sure that when someone compliments you on what your wearing, say, "I made this!"
  

An InLinkz Link-up

The I Think Sew Emily Bag Sew Along. The Final Week

The final post for the I Think Sew Sew Emily Bag is up on the Sew News blog. You can find it here.
This week I talk about a few customizing details, like adding a hard bottom, always a plus in my book, and adding feet to the bag. The addition of the purse feet give the bag a lovely high end look, a look that we all strive for in everything that we make.




If you do make the Emily Bag, be sure to upload your photos to the Flickr page. I would really enjoy showcasing your bags here on the blog. So, get busy ;)

Be sure to check out the I Think Sew website for other interesting patterns. You'll also find supplies for other handbag projects on their website.

I hope you've enjoyed the sew along! The next sew along will be coming up shortly and it's a coat!! Details will follow soon!

For those of you who are following along on the Me Made Monday posts, I will be doing the post, it'll just be a day late this week.
Hope your week is off to a great start!
Rhonda

Share in Style Halloween with Sewingadicta

A couple of weeks ago, Rosy of Sewingadicta asked me if I would participate in this week's Share and Style post. I would do anything for this lady!!!! Rosy is so talented and so sweet. You may remember that she participated in the pillowcase project for the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital.

Here's a close up of my favorite. They were all so lovely, but this one with the crocheted trim was extra special. There are children sleeping on these pillowcases that will never know that they came all the way from the Canary Islands. But I'm sure they can feel Rosy's love :)

 Rosy always creates lovely clothes that have a vintage feel and just a bit of whimsy.

 I absolutely love how she took this Halloween print and gave it a sophisticated feel.

Rosy and I did not talk about what we would be doing prior to the post, but I guess great minds think alike as Rosy did spiders........

and so did I!!!!!

I actually made the spider.

I rather like how he turned out. A little confession, I was always one of those kids that would capture snakes and spiders as I was mesmerized by them. I guess I'm just a tomboy at heart!

The dress is the piece I created for the sleeve class I did at the American Sewing Expo. This will probably be the one and only time that I will ever wear the dress with the two different sleeves. But so many asked to see it on me, so I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity.The dress is fun, just not very practical. For the right occasion though, the sleeve would be great.

 Be sure to pop over to Rosy's blog and see more of her lovely pictures. This is also a link up opportunity, so if you  have a Halloween related piece that you would like to share, link away!!
Happy Halloween !
Rhonda

Sunday Night Reflections

Success is not final,

Failure is not fatal:

It is the courage to continue that counts.

                                                                                                     Winston Churchill

Sunday's Supper

When fall rolls around, one of my favorite dishes to make is a simple pasta with cabbage and sage. It's very easy to make and it nourishes my soul. A friend recently sent me a couple of cabbages from his garden and I immediately knew what I would do with them. If you love pasta, but would rather cut down a bit on the carbs, give this recipe a try! I cook the cabbage with the pasta. As the cabbage cooks, it flavors the pasta.
Be sure to use fresh sage and chives. I grow both, but you can also find the fresh herbs in your grocery store.
If you would like a meat option, bacon, ham or a chicken sausage makes a nice addition.

Cabbage Pasta with Sage and Chives

Ingredients;
1 small cabbage coarsely chopped
1/2 bag of whole wheat spaghetti
1/2 cup of chopped chives
3 tablespoons of chopped sage
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 large clove of garlic chopped
1 cup of milk
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
1 tablespoon of butter
1 cup of grated Asiago Cheese(Parmesan is a nice alternative)
salt and black pepper to taste
red pepper optional
Meat of your choice

1.Fill a large pot with water and add a tablespoon of salt to the water. Bring to a boil.
2.Saute chopped garlic in olive oil over medium heat, just until it begins to turn golden. Add sage, chives(reserve a little of the chives and the sage to sprinkle over pasta) and red pepper. Saute for a minute or so just to release flavors. Set aside.
3.In a separate pan, add the corn starch. Slowly add milk, stirring constantly. Add the butter and continue to stir until mixture just begins to thicken. Add garlic and herb mixture, 1/2 cup of cheese and set aside. If adding meat, cook separately and then add to sauce at this time.
4.Once water begins to boil, add pasta and cabbage. Boil until pasta is cooked. Drain cabbage and pasta mixture and place in serving bowl.

5. Pour sauce over pasta. Toss well to combine.
6. Sprinkle pasta with reserved herbs and cheese and serve.

Enjoy!!!
Rhonda

Susan Khalje Is Coming To Chicago!!!!!

I have some very exciting news!!! Susan Khalje is coming to Chicago and she has asked me team up with her for a 1 day seminar!!!! 
Read below for all of the details. There are a limited number of openings and 2 have already been spoken for, so if you would like to join us, please be sure to sign up as soon as possible.  

COUTURE SEWING OPEN HOUSE

Saturday, November 22 in Chicago 

— 

Need a muslin fitted?
Couture sewing advice?
Design direction?
Want to learn a new technique or two? 

And get a chance to examine a number of garments from Susan Khalje's Threads Magazine articles and upcoming videos?

Then join me and Chicago couture sewer, designer, and blogger Rhonda Buss at Soutache on Saturday, November 22 from 10am – 5pm

The cost of the seminar is $75; to guarantee your space, please email Susan at SusanKhalje@gmail.com to confirm that you'll be attending. Payment will be collected the day of the seminar.

We look forward to seeing you at Soutache!!
— Susan and Rhonda

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Maile Powell's lovely boutique Soutache is located at:
2130 N. Damen Avenue
Chicago, IL 6047

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I'll also be bringing along a number of items for sale, including Japanese hand-sewing needles and pins; turned-wood seam rippers and tracing wheels; vintage Chanel trims and buttons from Paris, French pin cushions and more.  If you're interested in large sheets of waxed tracing paper and silk organza, please let me know ahead of time so I can be sure to bring enough.

The I Think Sew Emily Bag Week 3 and The Winner Announcement

Well, huge apologies are in order. I said last week that I would announce the winner of my extra copy of Sew News last Friday and it completely slipped my mind!!! I think it's called having too much fun while being away ;), and just not paying attention. Hopefully late is better than never. So the winner is.....

Congratulations Kathy!!! Please email your address to me so I can get the magazine out to you, sewbussted@yahoo.com. Kathy has a lovely blog, http://runningwithrocket.blogspot.com/. She's a very gifted quilter. I actually had the pleasure of meeting her at the Puyallup Sewing Expo 2 years ago. Check out her blog, I think you'll enjoy it!

So...the new video is up for the IThinkSew Emily Bag. It's a longer video this week as I show you how to insert a zipper in the bag. Here's the video if you would like to take a look.



The blog post can be found here on the Sew News blog.
A little note on crazy me. As I watched the video, I thought, "oh no, you didn't say that!!!" Near the end of the video, I mark the seam allowance of the pocket with a pen, yes an ink pen and I do say that I'm using an ink pen. Then I add, "who cares." Oh my goodness!!!! Yes, it's inside the bag, but I really do care and I can't believe I said that. Live and learn I guess :) Anyway....all I had with me was a marking pencil and that would not show up, so I used the pen. Please don't think that I really don't care, as I really do. There are a number of good marking pens on the market that won't bleed through your fabric. And in all honesty, the pen marking won't bleed through my bag, not with the interfacing on the back side of the lining.
If you would like to take a look at my finished vegetable bag, I've posted it on the Flickr page and you can see it here.

A quick note on the pant drafting post. I am working on my project and I will be posting it tomorrow afternoon. So check back if you would like to follow along.
In the meantime...
Have a Wonderful Day!!!
Rhonda

Me Made Mondays

It's Monday!!!  

Did you proudly wear something that you made this past week? I hope so!!!

I actually wore the outfit that I'm posting today, today, so it really is a Me Made Monday item this week. As I told you last week, I'm the social chairman for a group here in Chicago called The Musicians Club of Women. It's a very old organization and it was formed to give women a place to perform as it wasn't acceptable for women to perform in public when the organization was initially started. We have truly come a long way!! Thankfully. I usually end up doing a lot of running around, so I want to look nice, but I also need to be comfortable. I was especially tired this morning, so I chose something that didn't take a lot of effort.  

 I made the top as well as the skirt. The skirt is basically a long straight skirt with one exception....

it has a laced up pleat down center back.
The pleat runs from the waist to the hem.

The pleat was left open at the bottom.

There's a zipper inside the pleat at the waistline. To hold the pleats closed, I inserted grommets and added a lace tie. Look closely and you can see that my butterfly is not matched perfectly!!!! What kind of seamstress am I?!!! :-)

The fabric is called Gothic Prairie. Take a look and you'll see thistles, Queen Anne's Lace, spiders and moths that are all typical of the prairie.  

So, nothing too spectacular today, but it did tie in with the pleats that I posted earlier.....kinda, sorta!!!
If you would like to link up one of your garments that you made and wore this last week, just click on the button and link away!!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Monday Morning Inspiration

Good Morning and a very Happy Monday to everyone!!

Last week we took a look at some very interesting details. I thought that today we would take a look at pleats, interesting pleats!  By just manipulating the fabric, we can turn what would just be a basic garment into a "wow, look at that" outfit. Many of these are quite over the top,but it's more about what it can inspire. Just take a look and enjoy! 

 What a lovely way to turn a basic jacket into something truly special.

I came across this picture and thought that it was especially interesting. With a little more research, I found out that it was part of an entire collection by Georgia Hardinge.

 You may not want an entire outfit with the detail, but a touch would be great.l

Isn't it amazing what can be done by just manipulating a little fabric.

Have a fabulous day!!

Rhonda

Sunday's Supper

My husband, like so many, loves classic Macaroni and Cheese. I recently tweaked it a bit, and he now has a new favorite dish.

Grilled Cauliflower with Macaroni and Cheese 

There are 2 keys to this dish. First, the cauliflower has to be baked until tender and it has turned a golden brown.
Simply break apart the cauliflower, place it in a bowl. Sprinkle with salt, black pepper, garlic powder and olive oil. Stir well to coat and pour out onto a baking pan. I like to cover my pan with baking paper.
Bake at 350 degrees until the cauliflower is tender and golden brown. You will need to turn it about every 10 to 15 minutes.

While the cauliflower is baking, boil 8 ounces of elbow macaroni according to package directions.

Once the cauliflower is tender, break apart and place in a buttered casserole.

The second key ingredient in this dish is good cheese, but not just good cheese, but really good sharp cheddar cheese. There's a very small cheese factory in the very small Wisconsin town of Fremont called Union Star. Their sharp cheddar is the BEST I have ever had. And here's the good news, they ship!!!!! You can find their website here.

Make a cheese sauce
2 cups of milk
2 tablespoons of corn starch
2 tablespoons of butter
2 cups of shredded cheese, reserve about 1/2 cup of cheese to top dish

Place corn starch in a pan. Over medium heat, slowly add milk, stirring constantly. Add butter and continue to stir until sauce begins to thicken. Add cheese and stir well.

Once macaroni has cooked, add to cauliflower and pour over the cheese sauce. I like to add a handful of chopped fresh chives. Stir to mix.  

Top the dish with the reserved cheese and fresh breadcrumbs that have been mixed with a tablespoon of melted butter. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

I made this dish last Sunday for our supper and used up the last of my elbow macaroni. The next morning, a new box of macaroni was on my kitchen counter. A subtle message from my husband that he wants more :)
If you like cauliflower and macaroni and cheese, give it a try, I think you'll enjoy it!
Happy Sunday!!!
Rhonda