Category Monday Montage

Monday montage: New sewing books!

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Well, it’s Tuesday and I haven’t written a Monday Montage for a while, but there are some nice-looking new sewing/craft books coming out imminently or that were published recently. A couple of these are definitely going on my Christmas list, so I thought I’d share what I’ve found!

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A Beginner’s Guide to Making Skirts: Learn how to make 24 different skirts from 8 basic shapes by Wendy Ward. I already have Wendy’s Beginner’s Guide to Dressmaking book and it has a number of sweet and simple designs that are suitable for any beginner. My interest was therefore piqued when I saw this book in the offing, but it was only really when I saw the blog posts Wendy has been posting about each “chapter” of skirts in her book that I decided I’d definitely like to have it. I just popped over to her blog to capture the link for this post and noticed she has also just announced a fantastic competition for UK residents related to this book. I can’t enter, but if you want to win a truckload of goodies, head over there at the link above and check it out! Continue reading “Monday montage: New sewing books!” →

Monday montage: Spring patterns

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Hello hello!

I don’t know about anywhere else, but the weather in Seattle has been unseasonably warm! I took my little one to the beach last week, which is… crazy! But very welcome. It got me thinking about spring releases in the pattern world as there seems to have been quite the release schedule recently. I’m keeping this post simple today – here are five of my favourite new S/S patterns:

Vogue V1499

V1499_01[1].jpg

I suppose many people will have a dress pattern like this and I must say that the stripey fabric definitely adds to my liking for this garment, but nevertheless, this looks like a classic cap sleeve, fit and flare dress pattern, and I don’t possess one. I really like the pleats too – overall, I think it’s very flattering. Continue reading “Monday montage: Spring patterns” →

Monday Montage: Baby/kid sews

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I love having a little boy and all the fun and hyperactivity it brings. But when I was pregnant, I was more inspired to make crocheted baby blankets and booties than sew him clothes. Now that I’ve delved deeper into the sewing world, I’ve found some gorgeous little things to make him, but the rich spoils of the pattern universe are certainly reserved for little girls. Much like us women, little girls get the majority of the attention, and the same goes for in shops. Little boys clothes seemed (mostly) to comprise blue, nautical and foxes when I was looking for them, and it was one of the reasons I thought about taking up sewing, honestly. Continue reading “Monday Montage: Baby/kid sews” →

Monday montage: March 14th, from the sickbed

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Hey folks! It feels an age since I last posted, but I have been waylaid with a weird virus for a little while. The baby also got sick for a little while, so all in all, not much to post about, or energy with which to post! I do need to get back into the swing of things though, so today is the sort of post I started off Mondays with a few months back: that is, simply stuff I like!

Face Time Sweatshirt

First up, I liked this sweatshirt from My Little Belleville on Etsy. The lady behind the shop grew up all over the world and she puts these influences into her designs. This is her Face Time Sweatshirt and I think it has quite a unique design aesthetic. Continue reading “Monday montage: March 14th, from the sickbed” →

Monday montage: Yarn colourfest!

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Ooh, I think Spring might almost be here! I don’t want to jinx it, but we have flowers in the garden! And not just crocuses or early Spring flowers, but other flowers (I don’t actually know what they are, but they’re not bulbs). And this is Seattle – not Florida or southern California, so that’s pretty wonderful. In sewing terms it quite excites me too. If I’m honest, I’m not sure Autumn/Winter is the best time to learnt to sew in terms of relevant clothing. Everyone is sewing amazing thick coats or luscious knits, most of which were way beyond my skill level, so I haven’t really been able to join in this year. I don’t mean to make it sound like a big deal – it’s really not, but at least with Spring and (presumably) Summer, I can indulge in my love of dresses and skirts and cotton. Then by next Winter I shall be READY. Do your worst then, COAT DEITY!

Well, totally off topic. Continue reading “Monday montage: Yarn colourfest!” →

Monday montage: exciting books!

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Let me clarify: these are books that just came out or are yet to come out that I am excited about and that are sewing-related. Heh heh.  I am a bookaholic, a bookaphile, a book addict (a bibliophile would be accurate I suppose) and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cursed at myself for this when moving house. Or have been cursed at. I have taken up the Kindle when it comes to novels and other fiction, but I collect pop-up books and these, or any other art type book, just have to be three-dimensional, heavy and preferably smelling of paper. So, without further ado, here are five upcoming/just released books I’m looking forward to adding to my already-heaving collection…


Continue reading “Monday montage: exciting books!” →

Monday montage: Sewing movies and documentaries

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Something a little different this week – I thought I’d make a little list of sewing/fashion related TV/documentaries I’ve watched recently and that are available on services like Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube. Some of them are definitely more lifestyle pieces, while others are instructive to some extent, but it was interesting watching them all. I’ve mentioned where I watched them, but this is the US version of those services. I’m not sure if they are on the UK and other versions, but hopefully they are.

Mademoiselle C Poster

First, I thought Mademoiselle C (Netflix) was a good documentary.
Continue reading “Monday montage: Sewing movies and documentaries” →

Monday montage: The month of lurvvve

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Yeah, so Valentine’s Day is but a fortnight away. No, I don’t like commercial Hallmark-invented, pure consumerist bullshit holidays either. BUT… you know, I love my man very much, but the type of man who buys flowers and ad-hoc thoughtful little gifts he is not. If your guy/gal does – lucky old you! It’s the one day I year I can guarantee getting a bunch o’ flowers and I LOVE flowers. (Plus you can get the most amazing bouquets at Pike Market here for like $10. Crazy I tell ya.) So bring it on! It makes me happy and he loves making me happy, and then I focus on making him happy even more. We all win. Here are some cool Valentine’s gift ideas I saw:

Custom Pet Portrait

I always think this is a cool idea. It’s such a personal and thoughtful thing to do to get a portrait of your loved one/ones. Continue reading “Monday montage: The month of lurvvve” →

Monday montage: January 25th

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Well… it’s still Monday in Seattle! Just. A busy week – and the main persuing I’ve been doing this week has been for fabric. I’ve got a class coming up in a few weeks to make the Fen dress by Tiger Crafts and I don’t have any material for it yet. I’ve visited a few shops but haven’t quite found what I’m looking for, so hit Etsy for a gander. I’m not sure all these would be suitable, but here are some of my faves:

Cotton Fabric Dark Hills "Summit Twilight" Woodland Hello Bear Fabric Art Gallery

Continue reading “Monday montage: January 25th” →

Monday montage: Ravelry garment revelry

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Oh yes. All things woollen this Monday. My learning to sew has reignited my itch to crochet and my husband bought me a knitting course voucher at Christmas too, so I’ve been looking over all sorts of woollen goodies and crocheting up a few. I love crocheting blankets, scarves and cowls, but when it comes to garments, knitting is the winner for me. I can’t actually knit at all, so it’s pure conjecture and longing at this point, but here’s what’s already going on my Ravelry garment queue… and the first couple are FREE! Woohoo!

First up, I adore these little 50s-esque cardigans in beautiful bold colours, with a sprinkling of lacy detail. This gorgeous number is called Miette and is designed by Andi Satterlund. No doubt that the styling is stunning too. I would quite like to be this perfect fringe girl this morning. Sigh.

Continue reading “Monday montage: Ravelry garment revelry” →