Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Sew Grateful Highlights: Reflections, Projects and Giveaways

This post is a long time a-coming! Thank you everyone for participating in the Sew Grateful challenge--it was great to see your projects, participate in (and even win--woot, woot!) the giveaways and read your reflection posts!  Here's the second installment of the Sew Grateful Challenge highlights:

Reflection Posts

  • To all those who inspire and give(away) from Beau Baby: A lovely post from Suzanne about all the things she's grateful for from the sewing community.  Check out this post to see a recap of some of her projects including a wonderful bombshell dress.
  • So far...from OonaBalloona: A walk down memory lane...I just love this post where Oona reviews the process of making her past  21 creations as part of the Sew Weekly feature.

Projects

Hello Lover Bag from Reana Louise over at Curves, Patterns and Pins.
Reana Louise created this amazing bag using japanese cotton (the same used for her Welcome Spring dress) and thick, luscious cotton-sateen. The best part?  She didn't use a pattern but just created shape that she liked with a rounded edge.  The Sew Grateful bit is that the seams on this bag are serged and she is so thankful for all the advice she received from her readers on serging.  She even included an awesome graph (I so love graphs :) Isn't this bag the best?
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Sew Thankful Pillow from Mommy en France who blogs over at the Two little cabbages and cie

Mommy en France made up this adorable pillow from a quilting square that her mother gave her last summer. It was a leftover from a quilt her mother had made for her cousin about 20 years ago. Inspired by the challenge, Mommy en France took out the square, chose a contrasting, but harmonious, second piece of calico, and whipped up a very basic pillow case.  I just love seeing things being passed on in families--what a wonderful piece of tradition!
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Sew Grateful Quilt from Seeks over at Seek Speak
At the end of summer, M is for Make hosted a giveaway for a fat 16th of Storybook fabric from Birch Fabrics that Seeks (who blogs over at Seek Speak) won. Seeks immediately thought of making a quilt.  So she made the quilt for her niece from the material she won in the giveaway. How sweet! I know she will love those adorable fabrics.
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Collaboration Shrug from Steph over at 3 Hours Past the Edge of the World

This is the shrug that 3 bloggers made.  It’s a very fine, airy New Zealand merino/ viscose blend.  Leimomi brought it with her to Australia as a gift when she visited Steph who blogs over at 3 Hours Past the Edge of the World.  Steph immediately thought it would make a good shrug and remembered Tanit-Isis’ 1950′s shrug pattern available as a download.  It's perfect as a shrug and it's conception really does embody the spirit of the sewing community!
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iwannahula skirt from Oona who blogs over at Oonaballoona

Ms. Oonaballoona decided to make a project using a pattern she received during the pattern swap at our NY meetup extravaganza.  The fantastic pattern swap portion happened per Lisette's suggestion, and this pattern is from Lisette's very own contribution to the pattern swap.  Isn't this skirt a-mazing?  You've done us proud Oona!!
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Thanksgiving Apron from Stacie Thinks She Can:
Stacie got this pretty lace trim from Project Angel Kisses. She ingeniously added it to the neckline of her recent apron project (despite protests from the sewing machine).  I just love the detail it adds!
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Sublime Stitching Babe from Amy at Sew Well:

You may remember the Sublime Stitching giveaway that Tilly of Tilly and the Buttons hosted.  Well, Amy won that giveaway and Sublime Stitching sent her a large canvas bag and a set of the Beach Babes embroidery patterns.  She had never done any detailed embroidery before, just the eyes and noses for some animal blankets, so this gift enabled her to venture into new sewing territory and don't you agree her first beach babe is amazing?  I just love it!
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The 80 Year Old Burda Skirt from Janine at Interrupted Sutures:

Janine gives us some stats on this beautiful skirt: fabric = at least 40 years old, buttons = 30 years old, pattern = 6 years old and the lining fabric = 4 years. Only the zip and thread were new.  Janine was given the pink linen (along with various other dress and craft and home dec fabrics )  from her (ex) neighbour when she moved. The neighbour told her it came from her own mother`s stash and she can remember it from when she was quite young.  What a wonderful way to appreciate the gift of this amazing fabric!
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Dead Simple Quilt by Unconventional Katie

This sew grateful quilt is in honour of Lynne at Lily's Quilts for hosting a quilt-a-long and also to Cindy at Fluffy Sheep Quilting for hosting a weekly free motion quilting practice, which is what Katie did before tackling this quilt. Don't these colours look great together? Great job, Katie!
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Apron Dress by Hana at Marmota's Dress Diaries

Hana made this apron dress from gingham-ish print that she got from a friend's mother (She also got fabric to make the pale green 1970 dress, and several other projects). The bias binding is the infamous Very Pink Poplin of Doom, also a gift. So, an apron dress you say? It is inspired by the Colette Patterns - namely their Crepe dress, using this free pattern by Lekala and modified by Hana. Brilliant idea--and two of my favourite colours together!
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The Sew Grateful Dress: Vintage Simplicity 4908 by Alana at Lazy Stitching

Alana from Lazy Stitching just made a super duper fabulous Sew Grateful dress.  She made it with one of two vintage patterns that she won in a blogiversary giveaway from Amy of Sewing Through the Motions.  Check out Alan's post to see how she combined this Simplicity pattern with the Sewaholic Pendrell blouse and the Burdastyle's Jenny Pencil Skirt.  Ingenious and absolutely stunning!
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Projects in Progress: Sew Grateful by Diane at Marguerite Designs

This Sew Grateful project in progress is from Diane who blogs over at Marguerite Designs.  She's  using a Burda sewing pattern which she received as part of a worldwide pattern swap organised by Kat from the Sew Weekly Sewing Circle. She's making the red, satiny fabric (see photo) which she found at a nearby fabric for an insanely cheap price.  The best bit?  Guess where she is going to wear this dress?  To see a live performance of the Strictly Come Dancing tour! How fun is that??
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Giveaways

My First Pattern Giveaway by Jane over at Passing All Understanding

Jane from Passing all Understanding is doing her first pattern giveaway! And what a giveaway!!! She has eight patterns up for grabs and she'll choose two seamstresses who will each get to choose two patterns!  She'll send them free to anyone in the U.S.  The giveaway is open until midnight December 11th.  Click here to enter.
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Sunny Day Gray Skirt Giveaway by Lavender over at Threadsquare

Lavender is giving away an amazingly constructed, beautiful skirt.  All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. Contest is open until December 7, 2011, 23:59 EST (that's TONIGHT). Here are the flat measurements (double the waist/hip) of the skirt:
  • waist – 13.5 ” / 34.29 cm
  • hip – 19.5″ / 49.53 cm
  • length – 26″ / 66 cm
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That concludes the round-up of Sew Grateful Challenge projects, reflections and giveaways! I hope I captured everyone's projects.  This was so much fun to do and as someone (Vicki, I think?) suggested, we should do this again!!!  So here we go.....How about a post-holiday Sew Grateful Challenge?  Mark your calendars for the week of January 16th.  I already have some fun ideas for projects I want to complete!  How about you?
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    10 comments

    1. Great to see what everyone's been up to! Sorry I didn't have mine completed but it's been a busy few weeks. I'm up for a January challenge too. Will be great project to get going with again after the holidays.

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    2. This is great! I will definitely participate in January!

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    3. Yay, I've been looking forward to your round-up post!

      I think by January 16th I'd definitely be in, once the holidays are done and I can think about sewing again... I may even try to bite the bullet and sew up the fabulous pattern I won here from you!! :)

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    4. I love seeing what everyone did. That was a great idea. Thanks for the shout out too!

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    5. Thanks for hosting such a lovely warm idea. Sewing is such a great hobby and brings me such great joy. There is truly alot to be grateful about but especially when there is something in your sewing from someone else that has taken the time to think about you.

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    6. Thanks for highlight all lovely things that happen during thanks giving week..

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    7. Lovely round up and I'm definitely in for January, it's nice to be grateful for all the inspiration around us.

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    8. Oh wow, what wonderful things people have created! I'm very grateful for your lovely blog, and the time you took to compile all of these! And of course, thanks for showing my little bag :) Looking forward to January! xx

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    9. Oooh! I did one too! I probably was supposed to e-mail you or something, lol. You can see my sew grateful project at

      http://sewseam-riprepeat.blogspot.com/2011/12/retro-sorbetto.html

      had so much fun, thank-you!!

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    10. Thank you for your kind words about my first give-away!

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

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