SewBaby News

Well, 2011 was an emotional year for me.  My youngest daughter graduated from high school, my mother went into a nursing home, various other problems that I won't mention here, and I did a LOT of reflection.  Where have I been, where do I want to go, etc, etc.  I'm sure all of you have had similar times. With a now empty nest, I took on a lot of new roles- a new job as a mentor coordinator with the school district, teaching sewing lessons for community education programs, and tutoring reading.  I even took a short lived job at a local bridal store as a seamstress.  (What a nightmare job that was!)  My husband has been wonderfully supportive during this transitional period, even though I'm sure that he misses having home-cooked meals like we used to have.  I hired several new people at SewBaby..  (And they are doing a great job- thank you Shirley, Elise, Jonathan and Christopher!). I can't say that I'm any closer to answering any of those big questions.  I real

I think that my favorite part of sewing doesn't have anything to do with the actual sewing!  It's the PLANNING.  I could look at patterns and fabrics for hours and hours, imagining what to do with them.  It's pretty easy to spend more time daydreaming about what I can make than actually making it. Here is my latest sewing plan.  The fabrics have been in my stash quite a while, so I am going to use the Patternreview.com Fabric Stash contest as an incentive to actually follow through with my plan.  It's only a month long contest, so I'm being rather ambitious- that would equal two garments a week, but I think that I can do it. I bought some shoes and necklaces to go with these things too, so I really have committed myself to this! The last time I followed through with a plan was about two years ago when I did another wardrobe contest .  It really helped me to expand my wardrobe, and I'm thinking it's about time to do it again- this time in more neutral

Boy, it has been a while since I posted anything that I've made for myself!  I've been sewing a lot, but mostly Christmas presents like pajamas and pillowcases.  Now that Christmas is over, I am dying to try out some of the new patterns that I've bought in the last couple of months!  I've picked out quite a few fabrics in the black, cream and gold color groups to make a group of separates that will coordinate. This top is the first of many in this plan to come.  These photos were taken today- our first snowfall of the season!  I bought Vogue 8771 when it first came out, but hadn't found the perfect fabric for it until just last week.   The pattern is just 4 pieces- front, back, sleeve and cuff.  I made View C which is the longer version that has a curved hem- shorter in the front than the back. It was super easy to sew.  The neckline is narrow hemmed, so there aren't any fussy bands to fiddle with.   Vogue 8771 Here it is without the cardigan so you

Any last minute sewing projects you want to do before Christmas!?  Well, try a downloadable e-pattern!  All of our E-Patterns are 10% off right now, and they are quick and easy to download so you can get started right away!