Friday, March 9, 2012

Materialise Sewing Cafe Launch Party

Materialise Sewing Cafe Window, Photo credit: Will Patterson via Materialise Facebook Page

This last Thursday, I had the opportunity to attend the launch party for Materialise, the newest sewing cafe in Edinburgh.  This place is seriously AMAZING!  I met loads of great people at the launch event and I look forward to attending some of the workshops and social events.  I even ran into Rachel who blogs over at The Crafty Traveller as I was leaving!
  












First and last photos via Materialise Facebook page

The sewing hub was created by Reese and Brigitte (pictured above), who are just the nicest ladies.  They've already got workshops set up to sew the Colette Peony dress and other projects.  Plus, you can rent out the space as well (hmmm....sewing meet-up?)  I'm loving that they have sewing machines and overlockers you can rent by the hour too!

Check out their website and send your support by liking Materialise on Facebook.  I am VERY excited to see more sewing places opening up in Scotland and look forward to supporting this independent sewing cafe! 
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Monday, March 5, 2012

Downton Abbey Costumes Up Close...

Creative Stitches and Hobbycrafts are holding a series of sewing and crafting expos across the UK.  I am super excited to have bought tickets for the one they are holding in Glasgow this coming weekend! 

The best part?  They've got a display of the costumes from the first season of Downton Abbey!  I am SO EXCITED!


That's my favourite season for costumes on the show and perfect for the 1912 centennial.   I'll be sure to snap some good photos.  Let me know if you'll be at the Expo!

In other news, our little Ebi is doing much better.  She was very despondent and wasn't eating and we took her to the vet.  The moment she got out of the carrier she was lively and purring!  The vet had a problem getting her vitals because she was purring too loudly!  David and I both looked at each other in disbelief.  She's been doing great since and has special food and medicine as well.  Happy to have our little kittenypoo almost back to normal!!  Thanks for all your sweet comments and well wishes.
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Thursday, March 1, 2012

Join Me in the Sew Cinematic Challenge

Wow--missing a week in blogland feels like FOREVER!  Our little Ebi who was pictured in the last post (aka 'kittenypoo') was really sick this past week.  She's doing a bit better now but she still has good days and bad days.  Despite looking like a kitten, she's 15 years old and the winter's been hard for her.  So keep our little bundle of love in your thoughts and prayers and hopefully we'll have our active, purring and playing kittenypoo back to her normal self again soon!

In other news--I am super EXCITED to announce a fun challenge I'm co-hosting...


With these lovely ladies: Sarah from Rhinestones and Telephones, Solvi from Delfinelise, Meg from Meg the Grand, and the lovely Veronica Darling!

How fun is this?  Ok, here's the idea...

Taking inspiration from the film, stage and television to create some garments either inspired by our favourite actors/actresses or by our favourite films, stage productions or television shows! 
 OH YES!

Here's some of the categories in the challenge:

FROCKS FROM THE FLICKS
From Givenchy's iconic black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany's, to Marilyn's white halter dress from The Seven Year Itch, to Scarlett's velvet curtain dress from Gone With the Wind, frocks of all styles and eras have left their mark on cinematic history. Whether you are inspired by an icon or simply by a pretty frock only just glimpsed, this is the place to let your dress dreams run wild!

TINSELTOWN TOPPERS
There are so many beautiful blouses and tops that have graced the silver screens, both large and small. Katharine Hepburn's masculine tailored white shirts, which she wore throughout her life, is one that easily springs to my mind. Whether you are inspired by crisp tailoring or flowing lines, toppers of all styles are welcome here.

FEATURE FILM FOUNDATIONS
From Rizzo's slinky black trousers in Grease to Marsha's fabulous flares in The Brady Bunch, to Joan's sensational pencil skirts in Mad Men, skirts, trousers, capris, and shorts are the way to go here!

SLIP INTO THE SILVER SCREEN
Elizabeth Taylor cornered the market on slinky sultriness with her simple white slip in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Whether you want to channel your own Inner Liz or mould you figure to a more Lilly Langtry frame of mind, this is the place to sew yourself some small clothes.

THE SWEATER GIRL
Nothing says silver screen style quite like the sweater girl. No sweater girl is better remembered than Lana Turner. Whether v-neck, pullover, or cardigan is your style, knitted inspiration can be found here. For those more inclined to sew, how about a Pink Ladies jacket? Let's not forget our headgear, either! Here is the place to show your outerwear!

THE ABILITY TO ACCESSORIZE
Accessories of all sorts are welcome here! Nifty hats, lacy shawls, beautiful brooches, and natty socks. Whatever puts that finishing touch on your ideal outfit should be shown off here!


Who's in?  There's a flickr group and you can grab a button for your blog from Sarah's blog post.  I can't wait to share some of my ideas over the next couple of days and to get your feedback on a few undecided ideas!!!  So technically the challenge is going to happen until the end of May but I can just fess up now that I probably won't be finishing all my garments until mid-June as they are for specific events.....more to come soon!!
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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

A toasty fire, a nightcap, warm tartan and a kitten....

OR the ingredients for a perfect winter's evening...


I made David matching pj's and a nightcap to keep his head toasty in the frigid Scottish winter:


You may remember that I made myself the same PJs last October/November.  I took an old pair of PJ bottoms from each of us and used them as a pattern for our new PJs:


These were pretty easy to sew together except for the bottom of one of David's pant legs that I cut slightly off grain.  The waistband is basic elastic casing for both of our PJs.

For the nightcap, I copied an existing nightcap that David has--but it is basically two triangles sewn together into a point at the end.


There is elastic but only in the back of the nightcap to keep it on.  I had to play a lot with this to get the tension just right (didn't want to cut off the circulation and make it too tight and didn't want to make it too loose!)  After many fittings, we got the perfect fit! 


I'm all for making cosy treats for winter!
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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

You Had Me at Downton Abbey Theme

Did any of you catch the amazing designs from the Ralph Lauren runway show?  He started out with the Downton Abbey theme song and everyone went crazy!  I just love that his pieces hark back to the English countryside (and what Ralph Lauren is known for)!

Here are a few of my favourites (individual photos from Fashionista.com's coverage):
















I am seriously contemplating making the red velvet suit and the grey jacket/suit with fushia accessories! LOVE!

And check out the tweeds, pinstripes, fair isle sweater vests and argyle socks:

Swoon! Love those hats too!!  What do you think of this collection?
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Monday, February 20, 2012

Mission McCall Monday: 9121 to 9130

Thank you everyone for voting in the Sew Grateful poll!  I'll leave it open for a little bit longer and then I'll announce the dates for next year's Sew Grateful Week!

Back to Mission McCall Mondays and today we are covering patterns 9121 to 9130 from 1937.

First up, Sarah who blogs over at Pattern Vault (another pattern lover) sent me a photo of the envelope for McCall 9116 which I featured in the last Mission McCall Monday post! Thanks Sarah!


First up this week is McCall 9121 which is a basic 1930's style shirtwaister with some lovely back pleating:


I'm missing images for McCall 9122 and 9123...I suspect Nargles...

Take a look at McCall 9124:

Isn't this a stunning gown?  Is it just me or does the model look a bit like a more grown up Snow White?

And the back of the dress is amazing:

You can view the actual pattern envelope on this flickr stream.

I'm missing the image for pattern 9125.

Next up is the adorable blouse pattern 9126:

EvaDress has this exact pattern as a reproduction pattern in a B38! I've been contemplating getting it for quite some time!!

McCall 9127 is very practical outfit for your little boy's recreational activities:


Pattern 9128 is a slightly flared skirt pattern:


In fact, you could wear skirt 9128 under the smock pattern (9129):


I think one of my favourites this week (besides the Snow White gown) is McCall 9130:


That neckline is divine!  I wonder if the scarf bit is attached to the bodice or if it's detachable?  What do you think?


Do share! Which are your favourites this week?


Missing images so far:  9011, 9012, 9013, 9017, 9041, 9050, 9062, 9073, 9082, 9088, 9106, 9110, 9111, 9120, 9122, 9123 and 9125. If you want to contribute to the Mission McCall--just email me the images or pattern covers and I'll update them in the Mission McCall Mondays series.  myhappysewingplace[at]googlemail[dot]com.
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Thursday, February 16, 2012

Poll: The Next Sew Grateful Week

I want to get your thoughts on when I should hold the next Sew Grateful Week!  I'm thinking once a year (so we don't get fed up with being grateful...lol.)  I have a nifty poll for you to fill out to help me decide:



Please leave any additional thoughts or ideas for the next Sew Grateful Week in the comments!

As part of the Sew Grateful Week, I highlighted 15 patterns and tutorials, 16 reflection posts, 23 projects and 31 giveaways!!  How amazing is that??? It was great to see all the interactions and it has even spurred new projects (check out Moon Munkie's Mystery Make Giveaway Experiment!)  I really enjoyed the week and am looking forward to the one next year!

In other news, you may have noticed that I have changed my comments on the blog and am now using Disqus (following Marina's lead--check out her post for more details on this widget). I had lots of people mention that before they weren't able to leave comments so hopefully this solves that problem!

I'll close with a picture from Mikhaela's (Polka Dot Overload) recently finished FABULOUS wool jersey skirt that I wasn't able to highlight earlier....


Definitely check out Mikhaela's post for the story behind the skirt!

Thanks again for a great week!
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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

{Sew Grateful Week} Last Round-Up Post and a Thank You!

Happy Valentine's Day--hope you are all having a great day.  This is the last round-up post for the Sew Grateful Week!  I wanted to thank you all for making the week so amazing and fun.  It was great to see how many people participated and got to discover each other during the course of the week!

Here's all the posts from the week, in case you missed any:


Wow, I don't think I've ever blogged that much in one week! Thanks for sticking around and reading the posts and supporting the Sew Grateful Week contributors.

So without further ado....here's the last set of fantastic giveaways, reflection posts and projects!

The Kitschy Coo Giveaway for Fabric


Amanda who blogs over Kitschy Coo (and who I had the pleasure of meeting at the Crafters' Ceilidh meet-up) has just opened a fabulous online fabric shop!  AND she is hosting a giveaway for one metre of the knit fabric of your choice from her shop (I'm a bit partial to the orange hippos and red elephants...but that's just me!).

Here's what she says...
"To enter, leave a comment on [the giveaway] post with anything you want to tell me about. Except if it's mean. Internet high fives to everyone who plays along and makes it interesting. I'll post the fabric anywhere in the world except Antarctica. Bonus entries are awarded if you blog / twitter / Facebook / any other cyber-shenanigans but you'll have to come back to [the giveaway] blog post to leave additional comments or I'll lose track. If you are a mysterious person who doesn't have a clickable link to enable me to stalk find you, leave your email address too. I'll close up comments and randomly pick a winner on (Saturday) 18th of February."
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Monday, February 13, 2012

{Sew Grateful Week} Patterns and Tutorials Part 3

I'm trying to catch up with all of the fabulous creations! Just a couple more posts to end the Sew Grateful Week! It's been so much fun hosting this and sharing all your wonderful creations, tutorials, patterns, giveaways and reflections!

This post will focus on the last of the patterns and tutorials from three fabulous ladies.  Here's the links to the previous posts in case you have missed any:


The Petite Main Sauvage Tutorial for Flared Culottes

Lauriana who blogs over at Petite Main Sauvage has a fabulous tutorial to make the flared culottes pictured above.  Here's what she says...
If I had ever made a list of weird items of clothing which are unloved by a vast majority of people to try and make work for me, I'd almost be through with it by now.  Shorts? Check. Jumpsuit? Check. Culottes?? And...check...

The thing is, I had the basic idea for very flared culottes at the back of my head for a year or so.  The fabric has been in my stash for at least as long. Once more, bought very cheaply one one of those everything-must-go crazy sales at the market where I found it among mountains of nasty polyester.  It's largely wool and has a rugged sort of texture.  I've liked it all along but I knew it would look frumpy in any kind of 'normal' garment.  Go for short or for a strange pattern, it seemed to say.  Last December, when I decided not to use this fabric for a wide skirt, the two finally came together.
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Sunday, February 12, 2012

{Sew Grateful Week} Projects Part 2

Here's the second round-up post of all the Sew Grateful Week projects! I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

Also, here's the links to the other posts from the week in case you missed any:



A Fashionable Stitch's Project Called the Sew Grateful Skirt

Oh! I am so (or sew?) excited about this first project sewn by the sweet Sunni who blogs over at A Fashionable Stitch.  Here's what she says...
Ever since I saw Casey’s Ginger skirt version – a great vintage-ish denim number – I knew I had to have one just like it. I’ve been in dire need of a denim skirt. Seriously dire. Especially as my lifestyle now is more laid back and wearing casual clothing is becoming more and more of a necessity. Since I wear my denim shirtdress so much – and this only since the beginning of January – I felt that adding more denim pieces to my wardrobe would be a great idea. Adding this skirt has been no exception.
I didn’t differ too far from Casey’s version. I used her clever pocket tutorial, but left out the buttons and opted to topstitch heavy thread a top the pockets, waistband and hem. Originally, I started out using a plain old denim needle from the stash to topstitch, but soon found that as I really wanted doubled stitching lines and the single needle was making a serious mess of the a double stitching line, I went in search of a twin needle. I had read about twin needles somewhere, and I actually have one and I’ve used it before on my knit top. But twin needles can come in different widths and I wanted one that was wider than the one I had. Got one and used it here on this skirt and Voila! perfectly spaced twin topstitching lines.
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{Sew Grateful Week} Projects Part 1

Happy Sunday everyone! Today I've got some amazing projects to share with you all as part of the Sew Grateful Week!  I've also gotten a few more giveaways, tutorials and reflection posts that I will post tomorrow and then the last post of the Sew Grateful week (also on Monday) that will be a sort of wrap-up and planning for the next Sew Grateful week!  Woot! Woot!  First, I want to thank you all for your wonderful comments on all the posts--they've been such a pleasure to read!

Here's the links to the other posts from the week in case you missed any:


Here we go....

Lladybird's Project Called The Big Reveal--The Fabiani Coat


Sew Grateful Factor:  Lauren was gifted the pattern, the fabric, and someone took the gorgeous pictures for her. She also used a post from Gertie on tacking down the lining.

If you haven't already come across Lauren who blogs over at Lladybird--you must definitely check her blog out.  In terms of inspiration this lady ranks an 11 on a 10-point scale.  She makes some amazingly beautiful and innovative projects.  

Here's Lauren's recap of the details:
Pattern: Vogue 2925 (Thank you, Molly!)
Fabric: Coating – Sea Green Solid Coating (Thank you, Tracy!!); Lining – Bemberg Rayon Ambiance Lining in Kiwi
Notions Used: Horsehair interfacing, fusible interfacing, silk thread, self-covered buttons (made to order, yeehaw!), and the tiniest piece of silk organza.
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{Sew Grateful Week} Patterns and Tutorials Part 2

I'm really excited that there's more patterns and tutorials as part of the Sew Grateful Week to share with you all.

Again, here's a round-up of all the other posts from the week in case you missed any:


The Of Dreams and Seams Tutorial for Turning a Man's Suit into a Woman's Overall

My jaw nearly hit the floor when I saw this amazing tutorial that Katja who blogs over at Of Dreams and Seams put together!  This step-by-step tutorial is in two parts of how to take a man's suit and make it into a woman's overall/jumpsuit.  The outfit Katja made above originally started out as this suit:

How amazing is that? Here's what Katja says...
"Not only am I sew grateful that my husband gave me the suit (he has learned to give me just about everything that remotely resembles fabric before throwing it away), I have also used thread, needles and a rotary cutter that my mom has given me, and I am also ever sew grateful for the on-line sewing community, which really has kicked off my sewing hobby to a new level. I have learned so much from the many sewing-bloggers out there, thank you ever so much. I can only hope that the one or other project/tutorial on my blog will inspire others, too!"
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