Top 5 of 2013
My writing at the moment is a little brief. I managed to throw my spine out of alignment (merely by stretching after my morning coffee!) on New Year’s Eve.
Don’t fret I’m much better, still stiff and sore but on the road to recovery.
Top Inspirations…
I’ve changed a lot in the past year of sewing.
I’m sewing more to the beat of my own drum. I know what I like, what suits me and my lifestyle. More and more I just sew ideas that pop into my head. I am forever browsing the internet, watching people in the street, examining garments in-store, I love clothes in ‘action’.
I guess my top Inspirations would be.. (sorry just four today – I clearly can’t count this year)
Sewing blogs & twitter
Without a doubt seeing what everyone is creating and how they are doing it is a Number 1 inspiration. Keep sewing & blogging people!
I’ve recently discovered Beaute J-adore and Jolies Bobines. Fabulous sites with great makes, photography and styling – check them out.
I love twitter – love it. I get lots of ideas, inspirations and solutions from my twitter friends – thank you – love you all!
Patterns
I love new pattern releases – whether it’s the Big 4 or indies. I find all new patterns thought-provoking and inspiring. These days I like to look beyond the styling and create my own version. Recent examples of this are my Late Lunch Tunic (which has been worn a lot!) and my Vogue 1351 for Minerva Fabrics. I’m currently working on my Lolita Patterns Gunmetal and it’s really sweet and very different in feel to the other Gunmetals floating around out there!
Fabric
I’m very driven by my fabric choices. My husband said to me one day - “it’s a peculiar gift – you walk past a bolt of fabric, pat it and say… ‘wow that would make a perfect halterneck dress/shirt/trousers/jacket etc’… I just see a bolt of fabric – you see what it could become.”
This is probably why I struggle with sewalongs. I can’t make something unless I can find the right fabric for a pattern. I’m a little obsessive on that score.
So fabric stores and online shops I can spend hours in, dreaming about my next make…
‘Not’ shopping
I love to wander around shops and browse online. I very rarely buy these days – instead I’m forever snapping images on my iPhone and filing away ideas for another sewing day.
I’m very driven by my lifestyle. Fortunately I have a need for casual wear, corporate wear and cocktail dresses in my life so I have diverse sewing projects to tackle. I like to make things I will actually wear. It’s fun to sew things for the sheer challenge – it’s more fun to sew things that you wear frequently!
Still got my 2014 Goals to go – I’ve been thinking hard about this one!
