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So Long, Waechter's Silk Shop
When a town loses any fabric shop, it's a sad day for those who sew. When my town, Asheville, North Carolina, loses a fabric shop with a ninety-year history and a unique focus on dressmaking, it's much...
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McCalls 6503 in Liberty Lawn
There is new sewing to show you, but gray skies and rain are conspiring to prevent me from photographing a couple of recently-completed garments.So how about a few pictures from my lovely mother's...
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Welcome Home, Juki!
A couple of months back I was sewing along on my main sewing machine, a Juki F600 Exceed, when the machine made a faint clunk, snarled the thread, and sewed no more.For a little while, I thought I...
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Sew for Victory: Triumph Over the Sweetheart Neckline!
Crazy that I didn't manage to take part in Sew for Victory last year! I'm always sewing things that would fit right in with Rochelle's wonderful theme and I loved seeing what other bloggers made for...
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Adjusting the Sweetheart Neckline for a Narrow Chest
I promised you the lowdown on how I solved my sweetheart neckline problems for my Sew for Victory dress. As I've mulled over how to explain my process, I have been seized with anxiety on two fronts:...
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More Sewing for Victory: DuBarry 5265 Blouse
Today's basic blouse is my fourth version of a vintage pattern from the 1940's, DuBarry 5265. In this post from last summer, I discuss some of the features that drew me to this particular princess...
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Rooster and Me
I had a free moment in the classroom when I was substitute teaching last week so, while I waited for the seventh graders, I snapped this photo of my favorite little brooch. He's a vintage rooster, with...
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Five Reasons the Big Four Should be Very Nervous About Indie Pattern Designers
So, you know about Sewing Indie Month, right? If not, the soundbite is: 21 independent sewing pattern designers joining forces to showcase and celebrate their growing numbers and reach.You can get the...
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Sometimes Simpler is Better: Simplicity 5914 Skirt
Sometime in the past year I discovered The Secondhand Years, the blog of irrepressible Curtise. Her knack is to use the slightly eccentric vintage clothes she favors as a sort of prism through which...
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Tool Tip: Famore Cutlery Seam Ripper
My late, great Great-Great Aunt Ethel had one all-purpose sewing aphorism: "If you're going to learn to sew, you gotta learn to rip." Whether for alterations or for our inevitable sewing mistakes,...
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The Other MMM: Me-Made-Mittwoch
I started reading German sewing blogs in an effort to keep my dormant language skills (I was an exchange student to Germany in 1986-1987) from totally evaporating. Did you know that the German makers...
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New-To-Me Indie Pattern Designer: Kate & Rose
Today Tilly of Tilly & the Buttons fame has a wonderful interview with Kati of the new pattern line Kate & Rose. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it! Kati's observations and...
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The Incomparable Comedy of Burda
Burda does a great job of providing a lot of variety in its patterns. The company has oodles of enthusiastic fans, and for good reason. But jiminy crickets, they send out so many emails of so many...
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Fabulous Socks to Wear With Frocks!
Last week's set of blisters, caused by dancing sock-less and stocking-less in cute little Keds sneakers, was one set of blisters too many. I redoubled my efforts to find socks that were either:Low cut...
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Simplicity 2174 in Thrift Store Purple
Is there anything better than sewing with thrift store fabric? When it works out well, I mean?I wouldn't have thought this shade of purple would be right for me, but for $5 for a three-yard piece, I...
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SBCC Mimosa Blouse: A Woven T-Shirt Just for Petites
Indie Pattern Month on The Monthly Stitch got me to thinking about the infamously-named Skinny Bitch Curvy Chick pattern company: why hadn't I tried any of their designs? I had downloaded the free...
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Simplicity 1887: Slouchy Silk Trousers
The jury is still out: will I actually wear "silky track pants"? Not sure, but I do like them!I pretty much rely on the website You Look Fab for information on what is current in fashion. I don't say I...
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15 Years Ago Today
15 years ago today, I married my wonderful Eric, in a dress I made myself, on the lawn outside my mother's house.I was so happy that day. And I am so happy now, for all that the day followed and led to.
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New Look 6143 Dress
Somehow I've never managed to make a successful version of this basic dress shape: darted bodice, sleeveless, full skirt. It's not totally been for lack of trying, but summoning the will to follow the...
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Better With Bernina? I Got A 1090S
Friends, I am fickle.Fickle, fickle, fickle.My constant is a love of sewing machines and a deep curiosity about their different forms. But my sewing partners--well, I love them all for different...
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