by Dave | Sep 28, 2015 | Blog, Lucy's Sewing Lab
Sewing Contests and Sew-a-longs
Sewing contests and sew-a-longs are fun and a great way to challenge your own sewing skills. Okay, winning is great also, but the experience makes it worth it, win or lose. The following Contests are found on Pattern Review, and Swoodsonsays. I always plan to enter, or actually enter, buy all the stuff, and forget to do it. I hope you have better luck than I do. The first two Sewing Contests and Sew-a-longs listed are from pattern review.
All of the contests at Pattern Review have specific guidelines, be sure to read and follow the guidelines prior to beginning work and submission. For the month of October they are running the Sweater Knit Contest and the Sew Small Contests. The following links will be helpful in the Pattern Review Contests, *General Rules for all Contests *Contest Eligibility*Voting Guidelines
The following lists of Sewing Contests and Sew-a-longs are fairly comprehensive and compiled by Swoodsonsays. Thank you so much for this list! I appreciated it so much I couldn’t help but share with my readers too. She maintains these monthly lists of Sewing Contests and Sew-a-longs and requests anyone hosting wishing to be added to her list shoot her an email or use the contact form! Swoodsonsays updates as needed and includes weekly additions in her newsletter, subscribe! I know I did, I sure don’t want to miss out on all this fun.
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October
November
December
I hope you find at least one sew-a-long or contest to participate in as the weather cools and you are inside more sewing. ENJOY!
by Dave | Sep 27, 2015 | Blog, Fashion, Lucy's Sewing Lab
Does it matter if you are sewing the season’s colors or not? To some people, yes! I’m not so much into the capsule wardrobe as I am into colors. I love the changing seasons, I’m old school, the colors change too. According to Pantone this season’s colors are of the 70’s. In the 70’s I was too young to care about the colors I wore or what entity decided those colors. As long as it had Raggedy Ann on it I was happy!
I became curious, who is PANTONE? Why do we care what they think about color? I did a little checking on Pinterest. They have actually been doing this color prediction since 1963. I have no idea why America just recently found this information provided by Pantone as relevant. Well, I have been shopping for my fabric to use in the coming seasons. I did not take my Pantone list with me, take a look though, Pantone is pretty dead on with my choices. Here are my choices.[envira-gallery id="2095"]
[envira-gallery slug="lucys-fall-colors"]
Pantone’s choices are below[envira-gallery id="2098"]
[envira-gallery slug="pantone-fall-2015"]
I love the way the stones were added to the color to show just like on the color wheel, there are tints and tones of the color which are completely acceptable. WWD, Women’s Wear Daily breaks down the colors and explains them more in depth the pictures below are from their site.[envira-gallery id="2100"]
[envira-gallery slug="2100"]
I’m over the top excited about my new wardrobe this season. I picked up sewing again a year ago and have not bought any clothing since. The exception is Thrift Store purchases, those are used as fabric. I’ll be adding another post with more color information for those interested. Also, I’ll be compiling an album of Pantone Fall 2015 you’ll find here. As the weather changes so will your wardrobes, ENJOY!
by Dave | Sep 25, 2015 | Blog, Fashion, Inspiration, Lucy's Sewing Lab, Tools and Technique
Palazzo pants are like grown up, dressed up, sexy, yoga pants. They they look like skirts until you walk in them. I made three pair over the weekend, all of them look completely different but I used the same sloper. And by sloper I mean pants that I have and already like the fit 😉 You can find a diy Palazzo Pant Video here. They are super quick and easy to make. I used a yard of 58″ wide fabric for each pair. But, I’m short so 36″ is plenty for my size. If you need to add length a bottom contrast fabric, or waist will do the trick.
Short girls are leary of wearing that massive amount of fabric in wide legged pants. I feel they make me look taller and leaner, I’m a rectangle shape and 5’4″. Heels, horizontal stripes, and high waist fools the eye into making the shorter girl look tall. There are lots of other styling tricks that can help you out with looking taller, too.
I made mine about two – four inches from the ground, I’m not a fan of pants dragging around me all day. I love this style, I created a Pinterest Board. These are my very favorite looks from that Pinterest board so far[envira-gallery id="2066"]
[envira-gallery slug="palazzo-pants-from-pinterest-board"]
I really like how versatile palazzo pants are, they can be casual, dressy, or anything in between. I’m currently working on a pair like this. [envira-gallery id="2072"]
[envira-gallery slug="palazzo-pants-with-contrast-and-bow"]I think ultimately they are year round pants. So roomy, wearing tights underneath in the winter for warmth or wearing lightweight ones in warmer times of the year. Plus no one has to worry about the things that happen when wearing maxi skirts. To me, these pants are the best solution for people like me who love looking girly, but realize sometimes a dress or a skirt just won’t work! I hope you try making some of these of your own and share your photos with me. ENJOY!
by Dave | Sep 24, 2015 | Blog, Lucy's Sewing Lab, Studio
Sewing studio organization is the hardest thing for me. Not the organizing, the keeping it that way! I know I am not alone. I wonder how many days it takes for people to get their studio picture perfect to post? I’ve been working on mine about three days now. I smelled something so I’ve washed all my fabric! I have been clearing out what cannot or will not be used. It’s a chore, but I’ll be in paradise when it’s complete. I’m going to work hard at keeping my studio camera ready![envira-gallery id="2011"]
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Because when I was writing this my lab looked like this.[envira-gallery id="2013"]
[envira-gallery slug="cluttered-lab"]
I’ve stumbled upon some great tips:
- Wall organization for new projects, works in progress and completed.
- I found an entire series about studio appearance here.
- One blog, said do not keep scraps. When you are finished, throw them away. This is probably the best idea ever. I have totes full of leftovers. Recently I deep cleaned and cleared out a few large garbage bags full of these scraps. I’m sorry, it was a while back so I can’t link the blog.
- Take inventory of all fabric and patterns. WOW! What a timesaver.
- I saw a meme once that said I have so much fabric I need a librarian to keep it in order. This is no joke! It’s amazing how fast things accumulate!
These are the things I do personally:
- I use huge totes, the plastic containers with lids, for 1/4yard and more scraps. I place them in zip lock baggies inside the tote for better organization.
- I do not like to have my fabric on display, I feel it gets dusty and needs to be washed. All fabric is stored in cabinets, containers, and closets.
- I have a container with drawers next to my sewing machine. I use this space for fabric I’m most likely to use next.
- My sewing tables have drawers as well. I use those for emergency items!
- the pattern you are working on
- notions
- trim
- bobbins
- seam rippers
- lace (because I love it so much I want it close to me)
- I have a wish list design wall for inspiration.
- If I’m going to make something using a pattern, I cut out all the pieces at once and discard the blank parts. This keeps patterns small enough not to have to fight to make the pattern fit back into the envelope when you are finished using it.
After a little more work, my lab is coming together nicely. Check my Photo Journal for more presentable photos. ENJOY!
![Photo Journal Fall Fashion]()
by Dave | Sep 21, 2015 | Lucy's Photo Journal
So, I thought it would be a great idea to start a photo journal. If there is a topic you are looking for, you can come here, click on the photo and find the blog post. Kinda like a little index of Lucy’s Photos. Since we are on the topic of fall fashion, I thought I would start there.
Top Ten For Fall 2015 according to Harper’s Bazaar [envira-gallery id=”1868″] this collection of photos are so amazing! I love the artwork as well as the message.
The same magazine recommends these as well from the top, my favorite comfy style and in tones I don’t usually wear. My daughter introduced me to these tones and I can’t get enough.
These earrings are great, you know for those bad hair days? Ponytails or buns would showcase them nicely.
This is one of my favorite color combinations for fall. It’s very fresh and looks well with most skin tones.
