vintage may guest: girl like the sea

May 14, 2014May 16, 2014Leave a comment

my guest today is Tara from Girl Like the Sea. Tara currently lives in Virginia but grew up in Oregon, where i live. we bonded over coffee, microbrews, fabric shopping spots, the merits of McMenamins fries, etc. – i’m mean and like making her homesick in the hopes that she’ll move back here soon. we met up last March when she visited, and had a lot of fun! she’s a big fat nerd, way into Star Wars and Legos and awesome stuff like that, and her three kiddos are super duper cute. Tara’s STYLO spread was one of my favorites, and her blog is a gem you’re just gonna want to follow. she’s one of the honest bloggers – her photography is awesome but there’s always something a bit rough around the edges about it – things aren’t perfect, and she never claims they are, but she’ll inspire the heck out of you with her creativity and she’ll make you laugh, too. Tara sews things that make her kids happy, and she writes with a self-depricating sense of humor that draws you in.

for Vintage May, Tara sewed the most hilariously adorable 70s nerd outfits for her two cutie girls – they look so awesome and you can tell they feel great in their outfits! get ready to giggle with glee over at Girl Like the Sea!

and after you’ve paid Tara a nice long visit, pop on over to see who Jess is hosting today at craftiness is not optional!

vintage may guest: stitched together

May 13, 2014May 16, 2014Leave a comment

my first guest is Rachel from Stitched Together. Rachel is mother of four with one on the way – she sews beautifully classic garments for her kids, always with the perfect pops of color (oh this sailboat dress!) and writes with passion and heart. her photography is beautiful (she’s the queen of magic hour) and she’s a person you really feel like you get to know through her blog. after you click over today, be sure to poke around a while; i always look forward to Rachel’s posts!

Rachel sewed for her three girls and recreated a vintage pattern cover, and I just love how the outfits coordinate beautifully without totally matching – each garment seems to perfectly fit the personality of its wearer. check out Rachel’s post for more information and gorgeous photography!

and today over at CINO, Jess has Alexia from leximade, who made the perfect summery outfit for her little gal – her photos make me want to fast forward to July! thanks so much for kicking us off, Rachel and Alexia!

guest posting at oliver + s

January 15, 2014January 15, 20149 Comments

i’ve been a contributor to the oliver + s blog for a couple months now, but mostly that has meant reaching out to other bloggers to do guest posts and writing inspiration round ups around the holidays, so i don’t tend to talk too much about it here.

but hey, it’s still going, and today my post might be something that interests you – it’s my FAVORITE Oliver + S pattern of all time. it’s a unisex pattern but i’ve only made it for boys, and apparently i’ve made quite a few times! i kept remembering more and more versions and views that i’d made as i wrote the post.

are you curious, or as an eagle-eyed pattern spotter did you guess it as soon as you saw that yellow topstitching and those mint buttons (Gail I know you’d guess it right off the bat!).

but for the rest of you…

>> > click over to Oliver + S to see what it is < <<

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dear stella everyday skirt

November 13, 2013November 18, 201310 Comments

today i’m guest posting over on the Dear Stella Design Blog with a fun project using fabric they sent me (lemme tell ya – getting emails out of the blue offering free fabric is pretty much a sewing blogger’s dream!).

i guess it wasn’t totally out of the blue – i did visit the Dear Stella booth at Quilt Market this spring wearing Washi Two made out of Dear Stella fabric – which i thought would be uncool, sort of like wearing a band t-shirt to their concert. but in the land of Quilt Market, apparently displays like that are met with excitement and photo requests and offers of fabric months down the road. 😉

anyway. they sent me three fabrics of my choice and this is the first – it’s from their confetti sparkle line, pretty much the most perfect holiday fabric ever (GOLD METALLIC POLKA DOTS, YO). i knew it had to turn into a liesl + co everyday skirt right away!

and nope, i didn’t suddenly shape-shift – these photos are not me.

i didn’t realize until after the skirt was mostly sewn that the style wasn’t going to work with my pregnant belly, so i asked my sister-in-law to model for me. she was the ideal modeling candidate, having just given birth to her fourth child 3 months ago…hehe. but seriously, she looks amazing, right??

head on over to the Dear Stella Blog to read more about this skirt, the fabric it’s made with, and see more photos, too!

i can’t wait to get sewing with the other two cuts and show those to you…one will be the perfect Christmas dress for Em, and the other is sort of the launch point for an entire bedroom design! all in due time…

thanks so much for having me, Dear Stella!

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confetti sparkle is shipping to stores now – here are a few online resources for Dear Stella fabric – drygoods design, hawthorne threads, fabric.com, and over the rainbow on etsy, which looks to have some of the confetti sparkle line in stock already!

you can also check out their “where to buy” page for a store near you to check it out. it’s so pretty in person and i loved sewing it. even though it’s quilting cotton, it seems to lend itself really nicely to apparel.

when we were young guest post

August 28, 2013March 22, 20149 Comments

one of the more creative and fun blog series going on over the last few months, i think, has been When We Were Young, hosted by Suz of Sew Pony. Suz is a relatively new on the scene Aussie blogger who has already released an adorable first pattern, and she’s going to be a contestant on the next season of Project Run & Play! I love her sweet vintage style, and am excited to see what she does next!

Suz asked me to join her fantastic guest lineup for her first blog series months ago, and it’s fiiiiinally time for my post! the challenge was to take a photo from my childhood and recreate the outfit for my little one. it’s been really fun seeing what all the other guests have posted so far, and here’s the outfit i picked…me in a romper climbing a fence in 1986.