Sew Grateful: Ulyana Sergeenko Challenge

Yesterday was Sharing Resources Day for Sew Grateful and I didn't post anything because I don't have tutorials of my own or new inspiration to share with you. (I will mention that I pin a lot of tutorials and tips here on this pinterest page so you can check that out if you're curious.)

Today is Sewing Project Day, meant for us to show off our projects using patterns that we won in a contest, using an online tutorial, or a project inspired by someone else.

I think everyone has been inspired by the amazing ladies competing in Project Sewn this year. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know I swooned quite a bit when Kathleen from Gosgrain chose Ulyana Sergeenko as her inspiration. Well, first I had to google her, then the swooning happened.

Anyway, I posted a few of my favorite outfits worn and/or designed by Ulyana Sergeenko and it seemed many of you agreed she's amazing.

Okay, I know the point of this post was to showcase a finished project that was inspired by the sewing community, but as I'm just now coming out of my winter funk, I going start a project from this and I hope you'll join me!

So, ahem, I'm officially announcing the Ulyana Sergeenko Challenge!

She has quite a few different looks. I put together a pinterest board to help you find the perfect look. (You know, assuming you're into bold, dramatic, classic styles.)

These looks are outside of my comfort zone and some may not be incredibly practical, but I'm going to push through my doubts and make these because they are incredible.

So what do you think? Are you in??

I think April 20th would be a great end date as that's nearly 7 weeks away and may be enough time to shop, find patterns, and make up several outfits. Leave a comment below if you want to participate. Leave a comment, tweet at me, or send me an email at kmjones3@gmail.com with your finished outfit and I'll do a round up post in April of everyone's amazing creations.

Sew Grateful: Reflections

Sew Grateful week continues with our reflections!

This year I have extra feelings so hopefully I'm able to fully articulate them and keep it interesting to you, my readers and friends.

I am usually grateful to the sewing community for introducing me to new blogs, new dresses to be inspired by, new and easier ways of sewing with excellent tutorials, and for sticking by me when I inevitably take every winter off.

These last few years have been rather hard for me for various reasons and sewing has been such a wonderful creative outlet for me. Of course, it's also incredibly frustrating at times - but there's really no better feeling than completing an outfit and wearing it out into the world.

This year, and I know we're only two months in, but this year seems like things are finally starting to turn around and for the better. I have so many projects on the horizon and so many life changes to initiate. I also finally started using my social media to connect with other people who sew and knit and only amazing things are happening from that. Really, my thought was along the lines of, "I already follow their blogs... what else could they possibly have to say anywhere else?" Silly me.

Part of it was insecurity on my end. Who would want to listen to me and my stream of consciousness? I'm continually amazed that not only do I have followers, but my numbers increase every so often. Why do people want to see what I'm making? Who wants to hear about how I can't thread my serger to save my life? Is another cat picture really necessary? (Yes.)

I love all of you that listen to me, put up with me, and ultimately support me. You tell me how wonderful my items are when I (finally) make something wonderful, and you tell me how to fix things I made that are pretty crappy. Sometimes I just have to start over. That's life. Life is all about starting over and trying again and I am so, so grateful that I have so many wonderful people supporting me throughout it. Thank you all so much!

Sew Grateful Vintage Pattern Giveaway

Sew Grateful week is upon us!! Debi from My Happy Sewing place is hosting so get over there and check it out if you're not familiar with it.

This is one of my favorite times of the year just because I started my blog right before Sew Grateful about two years ago and I learned so many useful tips and met so many wonderful bloggers that I still consider myself friends with today. Because of that, I have a few things to give away.

I'll have more details going up tonight about each pattern - though if you are concerned about something, feel free to leave your question in the comments and I'll answer it as soon as you can. I'm not sure if all pieces are there or not, but I bought it from a charity that ensures that all or enough pieces are there for you to complete the items.

I ship worldwide. Contest ends Sunday March 2nd at 11:59 EST.

First up is Simplicity 7129. Bust size 32 and 33.5.

Next is McCall's 2806. Skirt, pants, jacket, dress, and somewhat creepy cover. Size 12, bust 34.

McCall's 3324. I really love this one, but I never see myself wearing it so I must pass it on! Size 12, bust 34.

And this is just a cute book you sew together! Vogue patterns 1959. It seems like a lot of fun for the right child and parent.

Okay, guys. Leave a comment letting me know which pattern(s) you're interested in and make sure there's a way I can contact you if you are the winner.

For additional entries, you can follow my blog here or some form of social media (facebook, twitter, instagram, etc) Please leave separate comments saying that you did/do follow so I can easily count your extra entries.

Thanks to everyone who entered. This giveaway is now closed. And congrats to the winners: Kestrel, Laurie, and Diane!

Inspiration: Ulyana Sergeenko

So in my sewing hiatus these last few months, I've been working on a lot of other various projects in addition to doing some soul searching. During this time a question was posed to me: if no would judge you, who would you be? What would you personality be like?

The question gave me pause because I had an answer ready to go. Before that question, I thought that I was fairly true to myself. I thought I knew who I was and generally what I wanted, but if I wasn't even acting like myself, what else was I in denial about?

When I was writing out my new year's resolutions, I noted that I was unhappy with my wardrobe and I wanted to change it up a bit. It's not that I wanted to move away from the vintage style, but I wanted to incorporate more comfortable options into my wardrobe. But after thinking about the question posed earlier, I started to wonder why I liked vintage clothing. Was I really dressing for me? Who was I trying to impress?

The thing is that I am not totally pleased with vintage. I mention many times that I want wearable vintage, not costume vintage. I want the timeless lines and silhouettes, but I don't want to look like I time traveled.

I started doing the Architect Wardrobe thing from Colette and I noticed that when it came time to choose words for my wardrobe, in addition to the usual "timeless, modern, and classic," I also chose "boring" and "plain."

Something was happening, clearly.

Anyway, guys, I was bored at work and while I was checking out the first round of Project Sewn entries, I decided to google Ulyana Sergeenko. Here's what W magazine says about her:

Porcelain-skinned and with a pinup figure, the 32-year-old wife of the Russian insurance billionaire Danil Khachaturov is both adored and imitated for her glamorous 1950s babushka style (think full skirts, fitted mohair sweaters, and a head scarf tied à la Grace Kelly). Sergeenko has parlayed that sartorial acclaim into an eponymous couture label, which she presented in Paris this past summer. Her debut collection featured clingy knit tops, quilted skirts, floor-sweeping greatcoats, and enough sable to swaddle the Russian army.

Guys, I found my style icon.

I've never had one before, so I'm really excited. Her clothing is so gorgeous. It's timeless and vintage inspired, but it's also gorgeous and dramatic and very mature. I'm so in love. Here's all the pictures from google:

So yeah, I'm going to try to incorporate more fun and dramatic looks into my "timeless, vintage" style.

Additionally, I'm pleased to report that I finally dusted off my sewing machine last Sunday and I made progress on my cape! I fixed the collar, made "arm holes," decided the front wasn't as bad as I thought and I could leave it, and started sewing together the lining.

I doubt this will happen, but I hope to cut out and sew a quick jersey dress for the Project Sewn sewalong this week as well! If I don't finish, keep an eye out as I have great things planned... I just need to get moving!

2014 is going to be a busy year!

Ahem. I really, REALLY didn't want my first blog post of the new year to be yet ANOTHER update. But at least I'm still progressing rather than stagnant? Plus, it's the winter - aren't I allowed to hibernate for a bit?

So here we go. If you follow my twitter, you'll have noticed a few odd tweets here and there and yesterday I announced that I was the proud owner of two new blogs. And I am! I'm so excited!!


The first blog is called Crunchy in the City. You guys may not know this, but if you spend more than 10 minutes around me, you'll notice that I'm a bit different than most people who live in New York City (or most people in general). I try to cook all my meals from scratch. I ferment foods and talk about bacteria at alarmingly high rates. I also don't wash my hair with shampoo. Sometimes my pictures creep in on instagram, but I've tried not to post them here because this is a sewing/knitting/crafting blog. But, you know, I WANT to tell the world about what I'm doing with food and my life just as much as I want to tell everyone about the new dress I just made so I created a blog for it.

I'm sure you can't tell, but I was humming the song "Summer in the City" when the name just hit me. I had the whole thing set up less than an hour later. So, you know, if an all-natural, crunchy lifestyle appeals to you, maybe go follow me. Here's the link to BlogLovin'. I'm still tweaking it, but my first post is up! :-)

The second blog I'm even MORE EXCITED to tell you about, but I can't. It's so sad, but the website still needs some work. I also want to make videos for it so, you know, I need to brush up on my acting and editing skills. Maybe it'll be all ready in two weeks or so?

To prove that I've been sewing, here's a sneak preview of what I've been working on. Can you guess what it is?

I really hate when people leave "teasers" like that so I'll just tell you: it's a cape! I'm so pumped to finish the lining because it's kind of incredible.

I also participated in a sewing swap with ChiChi from ChiChi Loves (blog here!). This is a picture of the amazing goodies that ChiChi sent me - you can see the amazing vintage patterns and all the notions. Can you also see the hot pink jersey? When I first pulled it out I was like, whoa, so bright. But then I realized exactly what it needs to be and the second I finish my cape, I'm starting with the jersey.

Oh, so you know how I said I might have a new sweater to show you? So I started Tempting Fate because I absolutely adore it. I checked the guage, decided to add in some shaping to the sides, got quite a bit in before I tried it on and I realized, dammit, it's much too large. Like I need to take out 6" or so from the waist and another 2-3" in the bust. (Ravelry notes here.)

So now I feel stuck because I'm not sure if moving down one size will work (and there's only one more size to move down!) or if I should dust off my math skills and figure something else out. Maybe I'll do the gauge for the smaller size and then do math and see if it might fit and still add in the back/side decreases when I get there? Any tips from more experienced sweater knitters?

In sewing news, I've joined a RTW fast for the year. I'm sure a lot of people would be horrified, but I haven't bought clothes in a few years. In fact, the last time I bought RTW was in 2012 and I only bought 2 dresses. So I'm not thinking it will be much of a challenge for me - which is why I'm extending myself to stop buying lingerie, underwear, leggings, etc. I even found a shoe-making course that I want to take, but I don't have the time just yet.

Along that same note, I joined a Stashbusting Sewing as well. Last year I started buying fabric that I loved when it was a good price, but that means I have quite a stash. I have one box in my bookshelf dedicated to fabric and my fabric stash has overflown to 3 boxes and part of my couch. So I've taken another pledge to only sew from my stash for at least 6 months. If in 6 months I still have an enormous stash, I'll extend it, but hopefully that should be enough to make a nice dent.

And finally, remember my Memory Candles? I'm so pleased to say that someone at Good Housekeeping loved them too because they're featured over on the blog. Check it out, along with other great ideas for transforming candle holders.

Sewing Resolutions for the New Year

I know end of year posts can be either fun or a bit tedious (because, hello, I've been reading your blog all year - what do you mean you don't only write for me?!) - I mean, I normally do it anyway so my criticism of the practice is a bit unjust, but this year I'm trying something different.

(Though if you're terribly disappointed and/or you just wondered over here, you can always find the work I've completed and am proud of under the sewing, knitting, and crafting tabs at the top.)

The last few months, I suppose the last few years really, but especially over the winter months, I've been in more of a reflective mood and I want to write about topics that have been on my mind for quite a few months now, but have been all jumbled up.

Maybe this could be a sewing inspired New Years resolutions list for 2014? I've bolded items to make it easier for me to stay focused when I was writing; hopefully it helps you read the "list" and isn't too distracting.

This isn't about more sewing or making time or any other standard wishes because I've had a list of items I want to make going back to March and I haven't made a single item on it, and I currently have no plans to start. And to be perfectly honest I'm not going to postpone dinner or time with my loved ones or even stop binging on Netflix for an extra hour of sewing each night.

I want to slow things down a bit and I might make less. Part of the whole deal with sewing my own wardrobe was that I planned on having higher quality and better fitting clothing. And I can't say that's the case. A lot of times I'll force something to work because I'm tired of dealing with it, I need to finish for a deadline (self-imposed or otherwise), or I'll just slap it together because it's still nicer than RTW.

I'm not talking about mistakes I make as a beginner. I like my mistakes because that's how I learn. (For real! How else am I supposed to know the importance of finishing seams unless a skirt unravels?) I'm talking about the lazy short-cuts that mean after 1-2 real-life wearings my new dress or skirt has to be tossed into my mend pile, and I haven't touched my mend pile all year ever.

I don't need that many clothes. I had a shopping problem when I was younger and it resulted in hundreds of dollars on clothing (probably more) that still have the tags on to this day. When I was terribly poor I stopped shopping completely and when I started getting a little bit of money again, I learned to sew. I don't want another closet full of clothing I'll never wear, regardless of whether or not it's handmade ESPECIALLY because it's handmade. My awesome handmade clothing needs to be seen and properly admired.

Additionally, I want to really think and plan out a proper wardrobe. Making lots of vintage dresses but neglecting the (zero) pants and loungewear situation is a problem. I want to focus on gaps in my outfits and really have a well-crafted wardrobe.

I will start paying full price for patterns I love and want this year because I finally realized if my dream pattern is out there, it's so much easier to buy that than to get a different one for less and spend hours of my life figuring out how to modify it. I hated having a box full of patterns that I knew I'd never use. Why not invest my time and money into something I'll love rather than investing in hours of frustration?

I'm going to focus on fabric. I have an overflowing fabric stash. Some of it is really nice silk I bought almost two years ago that I was afraid to cut into and others are terribly cheap polyester that reflects the light. I've been trying to make a dress with the cheap polyester because it's pinstriped and it looks business-y, but it's going terribly and, let's be honest, I'd pass it in a second if I saw that fabric in the store. Just because something is free or cheap, doesn't mean I need to wear it and walk around in a highly flammable outfit.

So cheap fabric is out. Nice fabric will be used.

I'm going to alter patterns, rather than making them straight out of the envelope. While I'm not proportional at all, I can typically make something exactly as is and have it fit me moderately well. However, if that's the case, why am I making my own clothing and not buying RTW?

I am going to start doing a FBA at the very least on all of my patterns from now on.

I'm going to learn how to properly draft a pattern. I keep telling myself I'm going to take the pattern making class at FIT, but let's be real. That's not going to happen. For my birthday earlier this year, I purchased a 1920s draping book and a 1930s pattern making book. I've only flipped through them thus far, and I intend on learning because I have so many ideas for clothing I want to make that I cannot find for sale.

I'm going to mend and refashion. This ALWAYS makes a list of goals I have, and I could easily dedicate another closet (you know, if I had one) to my mend/refashion pile. I'm going to go through and start figuring out what could be done with them. As I have problems with my imagination when it comes to improvising for myself, I will probably post pictures of "before" clothing to get ideas for the "after." They typically already look great, but I don't wear them so I must change them.

There will be more crafts! Seriously, I have a ton of crafts on pinterest that I want to make but never get around to doing. I have some crafty friends, but it's so hard to organize groups when people have to think about friends, family, work, and, of course, the hour long subway trips to get around the city. I'm going to find crafty people wherever I can and drag them back to my place. One crafty project a month - surely I can manage that!

So yes, there's the list. I have quite a few more ideas for where I want to take my sewing and knitting in the next year, but right now they're just ideas whereas this list is very feasible and easy to share. Hopefully now that I've acknowledged my problems I can magically grow and take my sewing to the next level and you guys will continue to love it!

Any sewing resolutions for you guys?

Finished: Knitted Mouse Rug

Via

I picked up this great book from the library called Pet Projects: The Animal Knits Bible and, yes, of course I made something for my two cats.

It has some cute projects in there, like a little tent (meant for turtles but totally do-able for cats) and some adorable sweaters and cushions. It also has some weird ones, like the anti-fireworks dog helmet and plastic knitted water lilies for your pond.

Anyway, of course I had to do a weird one for my cats. I mean, it's Christmas and I was taking a break from my cardigan so why not?

While I find animal rugs to be incredibly creepy, I figured my cats wouldn't have the same hang ups I do about dead animals, especially since it's a knitted item.

And thus, I created a mouse rug for them to lounge about on. I only wish we had a fireplace so they could properly enjoy it.

This was knitted up in a seed stitch and I almost wish I hadn't because I don't really care for it, but it's for the cats so it doesn't matter. I think the idea is pretty clever and they need more things to lay on/things I can easily pick up when company comes over.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and hopefully you didn't spoil your pets as much as I did mine! I'd like to say I have one more sewing project to put up before the New Year, but don't get your hopes up!