Today's the day for some beginning book talk! How are you doing with the book? Have you started it yet? Finished it? Finding it long or easy to get through? Do you have any reactions you'd like to share?  Here are a few questions to ponder today and for the next while -- whether you have begun reading, or you've only read blurbs & author interviews so far and still have something to say, join in! Although there might be a few spoilers in the questions and discussion below so if you haven't got too far yet you might want to come back to this post. I'll add some of my own thoug ..read more

PatternReview is running an upcycling contest this month, and that gave me the push to try a project I've been thinking of for a while. I received quite a bit of fabric, including a few finished projects, from a friend a year or two ago. One item was a gorgeous blue shift dress in a linen/cotton or rayon blend, I think - anyhow it's beautiful. I tried just fiddling with it a bit to see if I could make it fit me but it never worked. The neckline & shoulders were just too big, and the hip area too small.  So I took the plunge and cut it up! I laid out a few simple tops but found that ..read more

  Make It Yours with Mimi G / Mimi G. Ford NY: Abrams, c2023. 176 p. This sewing book by the very busy and successful Mimi G is one more thing to add to her list of accomplishments. I feel tired just thinking about everything she does! ;)  I enjoyed checking out this one - it's exactly what you might expect from Mimi G's style and her patterns already out there in the world. It's very much in her aesthetic. It includes 7 base patterns, and then ideas and instructions for modifications to those basics to create 18 new pieces, as desired. I think it's a book that will encoura ..read more

  It's the first week of our Literary Sewing Circle featuring To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. Have you found a copy yet? Have you started reading? If so, how are you finding the opening chapters?  Today's inspiration is going to look at some of the characters in this story; we'll find ideas based on their names and personalities. We'll also see what place names might inspire projects. Here are a few suggestions of projects you could make based on these elements.  Let's start with the main characters!  Verity is our leading lady, and we could make something i ..read more

Basic Black / Sato Watanabe translated from the Japanese by Leeyong Soo Tokyo: Tuttle, 2014, c2005. 64 p. This is another Japanese sewing book written by Sato Watanabe, who has created quite a few by now. This one is almost twenty years old (!) but it's the first time I've been able to see it. You would never know that it was an older book, since the fashions are chic and edgy, and yes, classic too.  It includes 26 patterns, ranging from jackets/coats to vests, blouses & dresses, and even a skirt. They are all distinct enough to count as unique patterns, and while a silhoue ..read more

  Our Spring 2024 session of the Literary Sewing Circle starts today!  I'm pleased to announce that our group read this time around is: To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis  This book is from the 90s but it is a true classic of the time travel genre! Connie Willis is a master of the speculative novel, and this one is part of her Oxford Time Travel series. It's also the funniest one by far -- if you've ever read Jerome K. Jerome's Victorian "Three Men in a Boat", you'll know where the title and the inspiration for this story came from. It follows some time travellers ..read more

For my latest Fabricville blogger project I've made myself a classic House Dress...well, maybe I'm stretching it a bit. I've made a faux wrap dress from Butterick 6727, in a fun cotton print covered in colourful houses. It makes me think of  Bergen or St. John's or Kyiv!  This was a pretty simple project but it took a bit of time thanks to the special details. I made View B, with piping trim and a below knee length. The dress is a faux wrap, with the crossover bodice and skirt both sewn shut together at the waistline seam and then tacked down by the buttons along the front. Which ..read more

Tunic Bible / Sarah Gunn and Julie Starr Concord, CA: C&T, c2016. 176 p. This book is just what it promises: a book all about tunics! It's an exhaustive look at the basic tunic, then all the variations in sleeve, neckline, collar treatments, length, and trimming. It's an older book that I read when it was first published, as it was written by two PatternReview members I was familiar with, and I just had to check it out!  I've just found it in my library so revisited it.  If you like tunics, you will most likely really enjoy this book! There are many variations shared ..read more

I didn't get to much sewing in March, just too much going on. But I have plans for April! I'm hoping that I will be able to do a little more this month.  I started out strong with some fabric purchases... I am once again trying to diminish by stash by 50 m. this year, but when you are thrifting and find good fabric, you can't pass it up. I picked up some black lining and a length of Thai silk in gorgeous green & yellow while at my favourite thrift store earlier this week. Then we stopped in at another small shop the next day, and I found some floral print rayon. I couldn't resist the ..read more

  Thread Me a Button / Jude Aquilina & Joan Fenney Port Adelaide: Ginninderra Press, c2012. 73 p. I discovered this little book of poetry in a library collection online, and the adorable cover and title drew me in. It really is a collection of poems all centred on buttons! It's written by two Australian women, and it's surprising how much they can wring from a button.  The book is set up in 6 sections, each with an average of 9 poems, ranging from haiku length to full page poems. There are some that are straightforward, some quite funny, and a few that are more seriou ..read more