My 4th Blogoversary GIVEAWAY + Bonus!!!!!!

Today is my 4th Blogoversary and Thanksgiving! How about that!!!! I couldn't think of two better occasions to coincide. I'm super thankful for all God has blessed me with and I have a special love in my heart for all of you guys out there in Blogland!  I've enjoyed sharing and interacting with you for the last 4 years and consider it a privilege that you take the time to visit with me. I likewise enjoy visiting your blogs. And for that I'm gladly hosting a wonderful Giveaway. I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I bought a fabulous book "Fashion: The Definitive History of Costume and Style.

I LOOOOOVVVEEEE this book!!!! I still plan on reviewing it but you can see the book trailer and photos at this website here.....http://us.dk.com/static/cs/us/11/features/fashion/
Anyhow, I'm giving this 400 page Gorgeous book away to one Lucky Winner (sorry U.S. residents only)!!!! To qualify all you have to do is to leave a comment stating your Favorite Fashion Era and Why.
This Giveaway Ends December 10th and the winner will be chosen at random. Also I have a BONUS Giveaway!!! Mr. Jim, my tailoring teacher (his blog is HERE) has decided to "sweeten the pot" by adding one of his Basic Alteration DVD's to the giveaway.

 So there will be 2 winners!!!!
I'm so excited!!!  Don't forget to leave your comment below. What is your Favorite Fashion Era and Why??? I can't wait to read them!!!!

Burda 6990---The Leopard Print T-Shirt

I whipped up this top to use in my "Knit Picky" Burdastyle webinar last week. I'm just getting around to taking pics of it. I love this pattern. It's stylish and oh so easy to make. Just 3 pattern pieces! I like the wide boat-neck neckline and raglan sleeves. This top is definitely a winner! I highly recommend it!

BurdaStyle 6990

Time to Sew:

Less than 2 hours.....

Sewing Ease (scale 1 easy to 10 difficult):

2- Super easy!

Pattern Description:

Raglan T-shirt

Pattern Sizing:

I cut out the size 

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

YES!

Were the instructions easy to follow?

YES!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

Loved everything!

Fabric Used:

Jersey

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

I used Fold Over Elastic for the neckline

What would you do differently next time?:

Nothing!

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

Yes, I plan to.

Wardrobe Versatility:

I love these types of t-shirts, you can dress them up or dress them down!

Conclusion:

Cute T-shirt that's super fast and easy to make!!!! Love it!

Mounting Excitement!!!!!

My "NEWEST- Favorite- Fashion- Book in the Whole- Wide-World" just arrived today. I've stalked this book for the last several months and used a giftcard from a friend to finally buy it! Currently, I'm busy preparing for my BurdaStyle Webinar about "sewing knits" on tomorrow (see last post for details and link) so I haven't been able to look at it like I want. After I'm done with my webinar I think I'm going to sit down with a small pint of ice cream and enjoy this book cover to cover. That's 400 pages of sheer bliss! The book itself is gorgeously done and just beautiful to look at. I'm SOOOO excited! I feel foolish for feeling so giddy. But what can I say the history of fashion really excites me for some reason. I think as I become a more experienced sewer I find clothing design very intriguing. I'll definitely be reviewing this book as well. Stay tuned.

Labels, Logo and another Burda Webinar!

Thank you for all of your well wishes as I continually make my transition to being a Full time, Self-Employed Custom Apparel/Alterations/Tailoring business owner. Wow, that feels nice to say. I deeply appreciate your kindness. I can't lie and say that this whole process hasn't given me a few butterflies in my stomach. But I trust God's guidance. Life is short, sometimes you just got to step out there on faith:) It's funny I've had my business for the last 7 years but things are totally different now that it's a full time endeavor. I'm taking time to really get things organized. I've got lots to do (tailoring classes, draping, sketching, etc). I FINALLY got clothing labels done. Please don't ask what took me so long. I'd planned to do this years ago. I went with something simple which I love. Here they are.....

I used World Wide Label and sent them my design. It was really that simple and quite cheap---300 labels I believe for $55. I love the quality and finished product!!!!
I also just had my business logo created by a local graphic artist Tina Mahon. She has several FB pages but this is one of her newest one's https://www.facebook.com/tinamariephotodesign. She specializes in graphic art and landscape photography but also dabbles in portrait work. I HIGHLY recommend her! And her prices are very reasonable! I have to admit I absolutely love my new logo. And the process was so painless. I told her some of the ideas she wanted and she immediately sent me 3 proofs. This one required only one slight change and it was ready to go!

Lastly, I miss you guys SO much!!! If I can get through this week I can finally return to stalking your blogs. Man I miss reading them!!!!! This week is hectic because I'm preparing for another webinar. This upcoming Thursday is my 3rd Burda Webinar "KNIT PICKY: HOW TO PROPERLY SELECT AND SEW KNIT FABRICS TO GET SUPERB RESULTS! Out of all the webinars I've given I'm mose excited about this one. I LOVE knits. I wear them nearly everyday and mostly sew them. I look forward to sharing my tips through video, photos and tons of helpful information. There will be info for novice and experienced knit sewers alike. Plus I'll showcase some of Burda's knit patterns so you get to see how those turn out! You can register for it HERE.....http://register.burdastyle.com/Course?CourseId=9000-26.

I hope all is well with you and yours. I'm attending a Birthday Masquerade Ball on tonight. I had the pleasure of making the Birthday Girl's dress and my own so I'll be showing those real soon! Have a wonderful weekend!!!!

Is there a Trick to Sewing Glittery Fabrics????

My gut is telling me not to do it. It's a GORGEOUS fabric but I fear it will ruin my sewing machine. And I wouldn't even think twice about running it through my serger. I fear it will damage my blade. The fabric is a black slinky knit with a gorgeous and intricate design of ---- in which the flowers in the design are highlighted with lots turquoise glitter. I mean so much so that when you even look at the fabric a pound of glitter sloughs off. Here it is. It's absolutely stunning!

Something tells me that the thought of sewing this should make me nervous.  Other sewers have cautioned me against sewing this fabric as well. Sigh......but it's so beautiful fabric and I really wanted to make a gown out of it. But back to the store it goes! This whole situation has got me thinking about whether or not it's feasible to sew such a fabric. I definitely could use some advice from anyone experienced in this area. My extent of sewing fabrics with glitter has been satins with small amounts, nothing to this extent where it covers 50%+ of the fabric.  Have you sewn with any type of glittery fabric? Was there lots or a little glitter? Did it mess up your sewing machine or serger??? Is sewing this fabric by machine even possible? Got any tips???? Thanks, you guys are a WEALTH of information. I'm looking to satisfy my curiosity:)

Letting the Cat out of the Bag.......

Well I might as well just say it since I "spilled the beans" during my BurdaStyle webinar on today (my next one is on Sewing Knits on Nov 21 btw). As it turns out I have made the leap to being a FULL TIME SEWING BUSINESS OWNER! That's right, instead of part-time, I'll be focusing my full time on growing my Custom Apparel& Tailoring/Alterations Business of 7 years. I sadly say goodbye to 15 years of working in the Scientific Research field. I've had the pleasure of working around some wonderful people and I've had LOTS of great memories and experiences. Heck where else could I got the experience of venturing to the Arctic Circle and seeing the Aurora Borealis first hand. Yep, that's me in the picture taken last year!!! Wow, that night was amazing!!!

 But it's time to embark on a new chapter and I'm totally ready!!!! That means alot of blood, sweat and tears will be going into my work. I've got lots to sew, new skills like draping to continue embarking on. I'm right in the middle of tailoring lessons with Mr. Jim (If you haven't been to his site you should visit. He's been working on a phenomenol Sports Coat for a client. Visit him HERE). So definitely expect more visits from me in blogland. I'll get to go back to visiting my favorite bloggers on a regular basis and will be blogging more regularly myself!!!! So expect for my adventures to kick high into gear and for me to load up on my "10,000 Hours of Sewing Challenge Hours". I plan on accomplishing some great things and venturing out into some new territories. I appreciate all of your well wishes as I transition into my new way of life and for everyone who thinks it not robbery to follow me along the way!!!!! .......BTW, I have to finish a clients gown this weekend and make one of my own. Expect for me to be rolling alot of work out soon.........

Teaching my 2nd Burda Seminar -- Topic: "Sewing for Clients & Starting your Own Sewing Business"!!!

Whew....over the last month I've been super busy and unable to blog/visit other blogs like I've wanted. My blog posting should become more frequent from now on. I've got some updates/changes to share. One upcoming thing I'm excited about is that I'll be teaching my 2nd BurdaStyle Webinar on Nov 7th @11am. My webinar is entitled "THE DO'S AND DON'TS OF SEWING FOR CLIENTS AND STARTING YOUR OWN SEWING BUSINESS".
Throughout out my 7 years of owning my Custom Apparel/Alterations business I've always encountered tons of questions from fellow sewers in regards to how to go about sewing for others. They want to know everything from how much to sew to how to gain the confidence to actually step out there and do it. Well this webinar will cover that material and much more. I've learned ALOT over the course of my years of sewing for others and look forward to sharing it. In my usual fashion this webinar will be chock full of information, insightful, witty and fun. To learn more or register go HERE---http://register.burdastyle.com/Course?CourseId=9000-25. Hope you'll sign up!