Sewing Vloggers

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Interesting Pinteresting

Have you ever really looked at what's going on with your Pinterest board? Some rather interesting observations can be made with a little digging. You have X number of boards and you may be tracking your followers or not, but odd reflections on sewing and fashion can be found in those silly numbers.

Today I have 4340 followers. Many of my boards, of which there are 70 (Mon Dieu!) seem to hover around the 660-700 mark for followers. But here are some interesting facts regarding the sewing boards:

The "Sewing Tutorials" board has 2284 followers. That board is always growing too. I take this as a really positive sign that sewists want to increase their skill level and are seeking solid information and inspiration.  Here are the  other sewing related boards and their breakdown of followers:

Sewing zippers:  663 followers

Sewing pockets:  656 followers

Fitting:  700 followers   Interesting increase. Does it reflect the concerns sewists have about fit                                                    as opposed to technique? 

Drafting patterns:   687 followers   Also interesting in that it is an almost equal amount to the                                                     other sewing boards. I always thought many sewists could care less                                                        about drafting their own patterns. I am clearly wrong on that. Your                                                       thoughts? Is this evidence of the upswing in PDF patterns, some of                                                         which are drafted by those without design school experience and                                                           finding this online information helpful?  Thoughts?                                            

Sewing linings:  654 followers

Garment finishing:   654 followers

Heirloom sewing techniques;    774 followers  Hooray for that! 

courtesy Annwilliamson.com

 Sewing techniques & details:    1662 followers     This is my favorite sewing board and it's                                                        because it shows details, many from the runway, that could be                                                                implemented in our own clothing. It's where I keep my inspiration                                                          pics. Do you have a similar board for sewing details? It's fun to go to                                                    when I need  inspiration. The above pic is from designer Ann                                                                 Williamson  who thrills with her surface embellishment skills.

photo courtesy of ideamarketers.com


         Sew me some bras:       675 followers    I find this really interesting. We have seen bra patterns                                                 proliferating all over the blogosphere and the original instructors in this                                                 area of sewing are in big demand. Craftsy has a bra class. I think this is                                                 reflective of the variance in all human bodies and how motivated we                                                     are to make our own be the most comfortable and best looking, at least                                                 underneath it all. Beautiful bras in ALL sizes are way overdue and                                                         sewing your own is one way to get them.  Have you made  your own                                                     bra? My grandmother used to make all of my mom's and you couldn't                                                   tell the difference from a Vanity Fair. My mom loved them as they fit                                                   so well. I haven't taken the dip yet but it is good to know there is lots of                                                 information out there.

Another fun thing to do with your Pinterest board is to keep an eye on who is following you. You would be amazed! I have two well known followers and was really surprised to see their names as I scrolled through the list. Great pastime for a rainy dreary day! It's also very interesting to see where your followers are coming from. I have a great deal of Hispanic followers which doesn't surprise me given my background. There is a wonderful culture of heirloom sewing in the Hispanic community and some very beautiful work being done. I am glad we have made this connection. 

         
I have several other boards that are sewing related but not in a way that is reflective of the current sewing landscape so I did not put them here. Are there any particular sorts of sewing boards you look for on pinterest?  Do you follow any/many commercial boards in regards to sewing, like the McCall Fan Gallery, which I love, BTW?  Do you think businesses should be on Pinterest and is there a downside? I have heard of numerous instances of copyright infringement but isn't the whole Pinterest concept one big infringement? Not so sure about that one. Would love to know your thoughts.....Bunny

ETA: Once again, Blogger is giving me grief. I apologize if you are seeing blocks of text that are totally out of sorts and look a bit disharmonious to the eye. Mine in edit/write mode look perfect. Once published they go haywire. At work they looked awful as well so it's not my comp. Sorry for this aggravation.

ETA: Because you asked here is my Pinterest collection of boards: https://www.pinterest.com/bunnypep/  Thanks for asking. 
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Hats, anyone?

We are back from a wonderful family vacation that had my oldest daughter, her hubby, three kids and Bunbun and Poppa all enjoying the wonders of Walt Disney World in Orlando. It was a visual delight with so much to absorb and be thrilled with and shared. It was way up on my bucket list, and my daughter's, and we just decided it was time.

I could regale you with scads of family pictures and perhaps many of you have been there as well so know its wonder. I'll share just a few highlights with you before we get back to sewing topics!



I was totally entranced with the textures and colors of the Moroccan village in Epcot. It was a sensory delight with its smells, colors and coolness. The buildings and alleys felt cool despite the high eighties heat and humidity. I think I could have stayed there all afternoon. There were items for sale that tantalized the senses from shimmering sparkly bags to really interesting clothing.


My daughter had backpack duty and was laden with the required water bottles and snacks.



Everything about this area made me want to visit Morocco. Added that to the bucket list!

We went to "Downtown Disney" three times and really enjoyed that. There are no rides, just lots of good food options and shops and it was a more relaxed way to spend the evening. We were able to take a calming boat ride to get there each evening. We had a particularly fabulous meal at Portobello's outside on the water with a chamber ensemble playing fifty feet away. It was delightful. After that meal we strolled through Downtown and stopped at a really fun shop that sold only hats. Carly and I had a feast of hats to try on. She is my hat girl having enjoyed them since very little and would wear a hat all day long in the house because she just liked to. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree! I started clicking pics as she was just too stinkin' cute in her fascinators

. You can see Grandma and assorted family members in the mirror as we take pics.



Carly definitely has the fashionista gene!


And of course grandma had her favorite hat, too! Goofy big brother had to make his presence known as well!


And my favorite on Carly:


Be thankful we didn't start trying on all the steampunk paraphernalia. We would have been there all night.

These are not the usual pictures you see from Disney but I figured you've all seen the Magic Kingdom and the Epcot ball and other memorable Disney pics from your own family members. The Moroccan village really appealed to my artistic side with its visual delights and the evening spent trying on hats with my grandaughter was priceless. I hope you have sensed a bit of the fun, delight and wonder that was our Disney vacation. I will never forget it......................Bunny

Friday, April 10, 2015



I have a few things in the queue that I wanted to share before we leave on vacation. This combo above will go into a bag. The print is not photographing well as it is much more the color of the eggplant patent leather. They really are wonderful together but the camera is just not cooperating. The print is a greyed out purple, very soft in color and what looks like white it all metallic silver, no white. It's a great combination and I can't wait to work it up. I've already stitched out some samples to see how the patent leather would take to the needle and it does beautifully. I was actually pretty surprised that I was able to stitch it using only a HS stretch needle and no other accomodations. It stitched beautifully so I decided to go ahead with a project, actually two. I am planning another loom bag as well as a clutch out of the PL. The clutch might have my latest bit of weaving as part of the design. All of this is percolating and you know the percolation stage is where change can happen at any moment and is part of the evolution. So we will see what design we will have in the end. 



This print really screamed out at me. It's a cotton but I think I can make it work either as a bag or perhaps even a summer skirt. It's a lot more blue than gray and a really intriguing print. I think it is a stylized version of branches in the snow. As much as I love this print and as much as I want to make it up, it will not be first in the queue. I've had enough with snow for now and won't touch this until all that white stuff outside is gone. Yes. We still have lots of white stuff but it is going down. 

I also need to add a waistband to the blue linen pants I remade. They are far from perfect but look perfectly great with an outside top over the waistband. I had to add fabric to get the length I needed for the crotch and while the color is a perfect match, the textures vary just a wee bit, practically unnoticeable.  But it is in an area that will never show so I am not worried about it. These will make great summer pants once done and you know how I love linen. They have been totally cut apart, recut to my sloper and made to work. I rarely throw out good fabric/clothing if I can make it work but you all know that. 

I am showing you these three projects as they are what I will attack as soon as I get back from vakay.  I will also be starting a "weave along" sponsored by Mirrix looms. We will be making a split bead woven necklace and it looks pretty awesome. I am excited about this technique as it is quite unique. 

We are headed for Disney and fly out Tuesday and to say I am excited is an understatement. See you all on the flip side. Stay healthy,  keep calm and keep sewing!.............Bunny

Monday, April 6, 2015

My first real weaving project, a Tapestry Cuff


I am finally finished my cuff. This was the first project we worked on in the weaving class I recently attended in Groton, MA. The weaving was all actually completed that day. We learned how to warp our looms for beading tapestry and beads and this cuff has numerous techniques in it, a veritable sampler of techniques.


This is actually a brass cuff. The fibers and beads have been woven on the loom and attached to the cuff. Ultrasuede is on the back. Not necessary, but I beaded the edges as our teachers samples were made that way. This took way longer to finish than it should have because I chose (blissful ignorance) the wrong size beads and these are size 15 and very very tiny. F O R E V E R it took!  But now I am glad I used them.

I would be the first to tell you it's far from perfect but if you can't see it from a galloping horse..............you know the rest! I will wear it proudly to work tomorrow and can't wait to hear the reaction from my good friends.

I am looking forward to my next project. The weaving is completed, just a tiny sampler, no beads. I am toying with inserting it in a clutch bag. We'll see. My mind is spinning with all sorts of creative ideas.

We will be leaving for Disney next Tuesday and are so excited to be leaving this cold gray climate. I have some major sewing and weaving plans to roll out as soon as I get back. I did manage to remake a pair of linen pants this weekend, not hemmed yet. The pants were really nice and part of a three piece ensemble. I wore the jacket and tank to pieces but the pants were always too voluminous. I took them all apart and recut them with my Sure Fit Sloper. They now fit really nicely, no big blobs of fabric behind my thighs.

Till I return from my trip...............Bunny


Had to Refurbish This One!

    About  6 or 7 years ago , during the dawn of the Zipper Trend,  I bought one of my rare retail items. It was a blush pink and black bord...