As a faithful follower of Lladybird’s  & OonaBalloona’s amazing sewing blogs, I caught wind last month of what sounded like a rather epic event in the sewing blog world: Project Sewn. Some of the top sewing bloggers have signed on to complete 4 sewing challenges over the course of 4 weeks, with one sewist getting booted off the island each week according to popular vote. While we ooh and aah over elite bloggers’ amazing creations, complete with amazingly straight stitching and appropriate finishing techniques, the rest of us hacks are also invited to sew along with the challenges.

First challenge: who the hell has time to plan and sew one amazing thing every WEEK? No one. But what the hell. And ok, that’s just my own personal challenge, not one of the official Project Sewn challenges. The first official challenge was the Fashion Icon Challenge: “choose a favorite fashion icon and let the inspiration for your outfit begin from there.” I must admit, I didn’t intend to play along, but I had just finished sewing this Asymmetrical Motorcycle Jacket and realized I could pretend I had made it as a tribute to my…um…fashion icon, right?? A quick Google search revealed my primary choices to be Kate Moss or James Dean so I went with James Dean, obvs. (Is there a place in sewing blogger hell for people like me?)

In any case, late-ish as it may be, I’m excited about the next two challenges:
#2: Make It Pink – from rose, fuchsia, to blush, bubblegum, or neon—think pink!
#3: “If the shoe fits” Challenge: use a favorite pair of shoes from your own closet as an inspiration for your outfit.

I recently bought some hot pink fabric for a top so challenge #2 is good motivation to get that done.

But SHUT THE FRONT DOOR — why haven’t I thought of making something based on my shoes before?? Me and shoes have a bit of a little problem, see. Let me just introduce you to some of my shoes that are excellent candidates for sewing inspiration:

A little Lady Miss Kier of Dee-Lite, anyone? A little retro-90s, anyone? In 1991 I had the most amazing pair of Pucci-print leggings (not ACTUAL Pucci, of course) that made me the Queen of the World. Somebody nicknamed me Dee, which may have been one of the coolest things that ever happened to me. Couldn’t afford Fluevogs back then, but these would’ve been the diamonds in my crown. I have yet to leave the house in these even though I bought them 6 months ago. I must’ve been having a bad case of nostalgia.

Or, how about these sharp-intake-of-breath-producing shoes from Neosens?

Look at those heels. Forest fairy, anyone? Ok, tree nymph isn’t so much my style but I could see making something like this oversized lace top or this velvet dress from Burda that seem to be a bit earth-mothery.

Here are a couple more candidates:

For those last two pairs, this design is talking to me:

My goodness, so much inspiration! So little time! I think I’ve just blown a shoe gasket in my brain.