I promised myself I’d never make a bad pun using the word Sew. But there it is. There is only so long you can resist before you get sucked over to the dark side. Sorry. But I really do have a lot to tell you! There was the visit from Clothes Making Mavens co-host Helena, all the way from California to Toronto, and that weekend we spent with, like, a HUNDRED other sewists, and the interview we did on That Sewing Blab, and all the new things I’ve sewn, and….I just don’t even know where to start!

K, here’s a place to start. Check out these pictures! Helena and I took advantage of the rare opportunity of being together on the same side of the continent to do a bit of a photoshoot. Which one do you like? We need to pick one to for our new Clothes Making Mavens podcast photo.

In other news, have you heard of That Sewing Blab? It’s a show about sewing (duh) hosted by the lovely duo of Dawn and Myra, who go live every Tuesday evening at 7:30pm, Eastern Time. You can also catch the archived shows on YouTube. Helena and I got to meet Dawn in person at PR Weekend, which was great. Here’s the video of That Sewing Blab with Helena and me:

To avoid going on and on too long here, cuz y’know, there’s SEW much to tell you, I’ll just share a few things I’ve sewn lately. I’m definitely on a T-shirt trip! This one is Jalie’s Mimosa Tee.

Cute sleeve detail, huh?

The women who run Jalie, mother-daughter team Jeanne and Emilie (Jalie is a sort of combination of both their names), were at PR Weekend, where they demonstrated some sewing techniques and brought sample garments of all their new patterns. How often do you get to see a garment in real life before deciding to sew it? Jeanne took one look at me and said, “you’re a size ‘R’ — here, try this sample, it’s your size.” I was skeptical because it was a top with ruffles at the shoulders, and I generally steer well clear of stuff with ruffles (stuffles?). But I tried on their Adele Flutter Tee sample and loved it, so I bought that pattern, too, and have some fabric picked out and ready to sew. Picture me wearing this black and white sample from the pattern cover…I didn’t want to give it back!

And Emilie from Jalie was my fabric twin! She’s wearing Jalie’s Rose sleeveless button-down shirt and I’m wearing my much-loved Willamette top by Hey June (blogged here), both made with Cotton and Steel rayon in a Rifle Paper Co floral.

In other sewing makes, I made another Hey June Santa Fe top and I’m sure it won’t be my last. This time it’s using hot pink organic cotton slub jersey that I picked up from a local clothing designer’s studio sale. I could LIVE in this t-shirt.

And finally, here’s a new Itch to Stitch pattern, the Nottingham Tee. I am a big fan of Itch to Stitch — so well drafted, great instructions, and the fit is always spot on for me.

The pattern has options for regular short sleeves or elbow-length sleeves, but after having seen many testers’ versions I concluded that these flutter sleeves balance out the visual weight of the knot at the hip and look the best proportionally.

And how about that beautiful cerulean blue fabric? It’s such a fine weight, stretchy jersey that all my stretch/jersey needles were simply bouncing off the surface as I sewed — skipped stitches everywhere! Ironically, it was only the universal needle that turned out to be fit for the job.

I think I’ll leave it there for now and save up some goodies about PR Weekend and all the in-person meet-ups I’ve had with other sewists lately for another post. Sew much to tell you! <eye roll>

Don’t forget to tell me which of the photos of the Clothes Making Mavens you like the best! And go check out That Sewing Blab. Those gals do a great show!

Thanks for stopping by.

— Lori