Sew Luxy

Oh heyyy guys! The weather decided to play nice with us today up here in B-Ham. The sun even teased us with a couple appearances. Heading down to the beach for some photos was an obvious choice. The light was pretty soft even in midday due to the cloud cover. I'm becoming something of a cloudy day hedonist living in this part of the country.  I made the Sointu Kimono Tee by Named Patterns. This went together like cake using my serger and a commodious knit. This pattern was comprehensible and a breeze to sew up. There's not a whole lot to say about this one except that I'm pleased with how this turned out and plan to actually wear it a lot. Other than that, 2017 is off to a promising start. I have been going to the gym 3-4 times weekly, usually with Keith, and I even have some cool new IT Band issues to show for it! So I'll probably be focusing on upper body this week :/ . Keith and I are also looking for a new place in April, so we are...

Oh hello, my lovelies. I thought I'd come back to show you how my NYE dress turned out. We went down to Seattle this year, and Ubered it to about 6 different bars and restaurants since we still haven't explored the city all that much, and we are still trying to figure out where our scene is. Seattle lovers/explorers/dwellers: give me your recommendations, please and thank you. I actually asked one of our Uber drivers where everyone was headed (I was trying to tap into Seattle nightlife, feel me?), and she said, "I've literally been driving in circles all night." Great. Thank you. Seattle is such a chill city though, I'm not convinced it ever gets wild. Where I come from gunshots, fireworks, and screaming people punctuate holidays, celebrations, and other events. We had a fun time exploring and trying new places, and went to bed approximately 1 minute after midnight like the old people that we are. Onto the dress! This is a...

Hey guys, I figured I'd keep up with the blogging Joneses by posting a year in review. 2016 was a big year for me, sewing and otherwise. When I started this blog in 2015, I thought I knew a lot more about sewing than I actually did. And the deeper I fell down the sewing rabbit hole, the more I realized I still had to learn. While I learned some new skills this year, I think more than anything, I became much more comfortable with some of my existing skills, increasingly more confident in my ability to create wearable garments. Here are some other things that happened in 2016: I moved cross-country from Chicago, IL to Bellingham, WA with my boyfriend. After living in Chicago for 28 years, my nerves were frazzled, and I was ready for a change. You might have guessed this, but Chicago and Bellingham are night and day. Where Chicago is big, noisy, full of crime and culture, Bellingham is small, quiet, full of nature and an insulary sense of community. When people ask me w...

I feel like a naughty little elf in this dress. Or a gamine Grinch. Every year around the holidays, Keith teases me and calls me The Grinch. To be fair, I do have some Grinch-esque tendencies, such as calling Christmas a consumerist holiday (well it is, OK?), and generally not being as merry or as bright as some people would like. After years of defending myself against these wild accusations, this year I figured I'd just go with it and make a Grinch-green dress. Way to turn it around on him, right? Anyway, I have to make this post quick--I've got dinner with me--I can't cancel that again. This is a Nicola Finetti for Vogue pattern. I confess I didn't know the designer until seeing her recent Vogue release, but she has some rad stuff. It still blows my mind that we seamstresses can access designer patterns and make our own versions--it's like being let into the designer's head and allowed to make edits/changes. Anyway, I decided this patte...

Hey guys! How was everyone's November?! Keith and I spent a couple days in Las Vegas this month. It has gotten dark and gloomy in the Pacific Northwest of late, so escaping to a sunny locale felt incredible, if only just for a long weekend. We had a low-key Thanksgiving with just the two of us, so we roasted a duck instead of cooking a whole turkey. If you have never tried cooking a duck before, I highly recommend it. It's fairly easy, only takes about two hours, and comes out tender and fatty (in a yummy way). You're probably wondering what's up with the title of this post. A few weeks ago, I publicly declared my love for this blue plaid flannel on instagram. Big mistake. I mean, not loving it in the first place, but telling everyone that I loved it so that the pressure was on to make it into something great. I really wanted to turn it into something beautiful. So of course, I vacillated over which pattern to use, asking people their advice (never a good pla...

Hey guys, Happy October! Is everyone enjoying Fall? I'm here to bring you yet another iteration of M6886 (I know I know ...). I make this pattern a lot. Since construction is pretty basic, I will simply tell you why I keep making it, other than the obvious- it's good. 1. I wear my previous two M6886 iterations more than any of my other me-mades. They come on vacations with me as they are easy one-stop outfits which can be worn to and from the pool, but also anywhere else without eliciting scandalous looks. They are also perfect for lazy Saturday errand-running. 2. I was inspired by  Karla Deras  . 3. Although shirt-dresses and bodycon dresses are common in RTW fashion, I usually find the quality to be lackluster. For instance, the fabric used is typically very thin, very stretchy, poly-blend, which is see-through and loses it's shape easily, and sometimes even itches. Not my cup of tea. I prefer to use thicker cotton knits like this one (this dress...

Greetings, my lovelies! Did everyone have a wonderful September?? Fall has officially descended upon my corner of the Pacific Northwest, and we are already starting to see color in the trees. We've also been having spooky, surreal early-morning fogs that hover in the air and make everyone's morning commutes equal parts dangerous and beautiful. I've been meaning to snap off some pictures to share... My latest make is Megan Nielsen's Axel skirt . Although I probably didn't do the pattern full justice, I really enjoyed the straight-forward instructions and minimalist design. I typically make big-4 patterns, so Nielsen's streamlined instructions for this skirt were a breath of fresh air. In other news, my generous boyfriend gifted me a Singer Professional (serger and cover-stitch) for my birthday this past Summer. After over-coming my initial anxiety over setting it up, I spent several weeks learning how to thread and use it. It's a really great mach...