Sunday, March 20, 2011

Thank you...

Thank you you all for voting in the Eva Dress competition!  It's so fun and exciting.

I have also been very blessed to have received several blogger awards over the past couple of months! A big thank you to Kestrel Finds and Makes, Honey Hi, This Old Life, the Swing of Things, and Jellybean's Odds and Ends....(sorry if I missed anyone--give me a shout out if I did!!).






 So, I get to tell you 7 things about myself....

1. I love sewing...(hahaha just kidding...you already know that! :-)   But I will tell you my absolutely favorite fabric to sew with is wool!
 I love everything about wool (and sheep).  Lightweight wool is a dream to sew with and to wear--it has such excellent body and drape.  I am definitely taking advantage of my location (Scotland) to get some fantastic wool!  Can you believe that I have found lightweight wool that's sold for cheaper than quilting cotton??  Unbelievable and FANTASTIC!  Oh, and it's lambing season right now and they are soooo cute.

2. How I Got Started Sewing:
I had taken some sewing lessons (3 to be exact) from a sewing tutor I found on Craigslist in New York City when I lived there (before moving to Scotland).  I had always been attracted by vintage clothing and when I started to look online for vintage styled pieces, I stumbled across a few sewing blogs.  I was hooked--both on reading about other people's sewing projects but also by vintage patterns.  So I enlisted the help of the sewing tutor and bought more patterns than a novice really needs and started out.

It was a bit daunting and very slow going in the beginning.  I didn't end up finishing that 'first' dress until this year (and I took the sewing lessons in 2005).  Starting a blog about sewing and my projects really helped me to integrate into the online sewing community (which is so supportive) and encouraged me to get over my fear and really start spending the time doing what I loved.

As I've mentioned before, there were two bloggers that I think really got me hooked...Lauren from Wearing History and Casey from Casey's Elegant Musings.  I loved that both wore and photographed themselves wearing their creations and did their hair up in vintage styles and really evoked the time period of whatever they were creating.  That really captured my creative imagination and inspired me to no end.  I think I have read every single post from both of these bloggers (multiple times!).  It really unleashed my own creativity and thinking around creating vintage and period pieces of clothing.

Of course there are many, many others that inspire me now but those two ladies were two of the first and that's how I got absolutely hooked!

3. When I'm not sewing....
I'm actually a researcher in my day job (hence my super pattern finding research skills! hahaha)  I research the prevalence of violence against women and children but also ways to prevent this violence.  I absolutely love what I do!  People always ask me if I find it depressing and I have to say that I find the exact opposite--I find it very hopeful!  There are the most amazing people working in this field--dedicating their lives to these topics and I find it so inspiring!  I had the opportunity when I was in New York City to work with the founders of the rape crisis movement...these amazing women are still heading up the rape crisis programmes today that they started 30 plus years ago around their kitchen tables due to the outrage of how rape survivors were being treated by the police and by hospital staff.  We've come a long way (though there is still a lot of work to do) but it was amazing to work with these women (and honestly, they are the nicest people you will ever meet).  I take their inspiration and passion for what they do as my own inspiration and I hope that through my research I can make a small contribution to ending violence against women and children...

4. I believe in love at first sight...in fact, that's how David and I met!  We were both at a restaurant/bar with separate people and saw each other across a crowded room (no kidding!)  It was electric--definitely love at first sight.  We've been together almost 8 years and I feel as if we were made for each other (aww...sweet, no?):

5. I love tea...in fact, that is one of the first things that David and I discovered we had in common.  The first night we met we went out to a Bistro in NYC to grab some food and we had the most amazing tea called Jardin Bleu.  Unfortunately, that Bistro stopped carrying the tea after a couple of months and we were devastated....but then we found the French company, called Dammann Frères,  that actually makes the tea. They make some of the most lovely teas--including Jardin Bleu!!!

6. I'm just now watching Mad Men.... can you believe it?  It took me the first season to get into it but now I am hooked.  I just finished season 2 and am making my way through season 3.  I am definitely becoming inspired to make some late 50's/early 60's dresses soon!

7. I like Mexican Food... wait, no, I should say I LOVE Mexican food...everything from chips, salsa and guacamole to chiles rellenos and enchiladas. yummy!  Believe it or not, there is some really good Mexican food here in Edinburgh!



But I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the wonderful sewing community that is over at the Sew Weekly Sewing Circle.  You should join.  And when you do, definitely 'friend' me. It would be great to see you all over there as well!
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6 comments

  1. I love when bloggers do these, it's interesting to learn more about the person behind the blog. I just wanted to say I LOVE your blog. You make such adorable garments. :]

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  2. I think we would be fast friends in 'real life'. I love finding people who have the same interests as me. If you are ever in the states, would love to meet you.

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  3. What an extremely interesting blog post! Loved hearing about your day job and how you met your partner. I share your love of wool. It is such a treat to sew with wool and makes me realise how starved we are of it in terms of off-the-peg clothes. It's unlikely I'd ever buy/feel I could afford a wool dress but I love making one for myself.

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  4. It's great to find out a bit more about you Debi- what a fascinating job you have, it sounds very satisfying! I was the same with Mad Men - a couple of months ago I watched the first series which eventually got me hooked and then my boyfriend and I breezed through the rest and our now restlessly waiting for series 5 to be made!

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  5. You're welcome! You definitely deserve all these awards :)
    I admire and appreciate what you do for your job. My mum had to deal with my dad for years, then he started on us (me and my brothers and sisters) and she wouldn't have it. He left on his birthday of all days. I haven't seen him in years now, and if it wasn't for people like you working hard, we wouldn't have received the support we needed. So I'd like to say a thank you to you too. Thank you for the hard work you do, and thank you for supporting all those women and children who need it.
    On a brighter note, I loved reading this post! I always enjoy finding out a bit more about the bloggers I love! :)
    Ashley x

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  6. I'm curious as to where you found such great fabric in Scotland? I admittedly didn't look much when I was in Edinburgh, but since I loved it there so much I'm definitely planning on another trip sometime soon! Also, hurray for tea, hehe!

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I read each and every comment--thank you so much!

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