Vibrant April Stashbusting Roundup

Hello Stashbusters! 

Once again another month has passed us by. I'm not even sure what I got accomplished, but I know the month went out the same way it came in; lots of snow and wind. I just made it back from an impromptu vacation to visit some friends. I did sew a beautiful teal maternity skirt for my friend, for the ball we went to but I was a bad blogger and didn't take any photos. I have some of the teal fabric left over though... ;0)

So this month it's up to you! What did you make? Let me see your vibrantness! Did anyone make up a color palette? I'd love to check it out! I'm off to any early bed now so I'll see you all in MeMadeMay!

MMM 2014 and My Style

Make your pledge

 Be prepared sewing blogsphere! Me-Made-May is taking over! While I'm having a fabulous time visiting friends I couldn't miss out on signing up for my second year!

'I, EmSewCrazy from TumbleweedsInTheWind, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear at least one piece of handmade clothing each day for the duration of May 2014. I will use this month to test my handmade clothes and fill the gaps in my wardrobe before I leave for summer camp.'

I've also been pondering "my style silhouettes" as this month approaches and have come to some conclusions. All images are taken from this pinterest board. These photos aren't necessarily my favorite color schemes or details but they are the clearest representation I could find of these silhouettes.

This outfit probably encapsulates my style. Semi fitted top with a comfy swishy skirt in fun fabrics! I really love how they paired the stripes with a tiny polka dot.

Keeping with the fitted top, poofy bottom theme, I really love 50's - 60's style dresses! It's such a pretty and easy wearing silhouette.

 

TUNIC TOPS! I think we have discussed my love of these before but I realized these are my two favorite kinds to wear. Be they fitted and knitted, or flowy and fun, I love wearing some tunics over fitted trousers.

This is the new silhouette I discovered while on this journey. I like this long fluff style...

I've realized even though I'm tall and can wear a lot of different shapes, these are obviously what I gravitate towards and feel most comfortable in. It's also pretty obvious I love lace, along with pleats, pin tucks, fabulous appliqués and dramatic draping.

So how are you guys doing? Any MMM participants? How many years have you participated? Any amazing style revelations made lately?

Crazy Costume Critiques: The Vibrant Man Edition

Where do I start? These are all screen shots taken by me from various music videos, movies, dramas and youtube videos. No infringement of any kind is intended. Everything is the property of their rightful owners and all that jazz.
Now that that boring stuff is out of the way, let's look at the clothes!!! Focus on the clothes not the guys! ;)

This guy was the start of this post. I actually squealed in the middle of a conversation when I saw those bunny pjs pop onto the screen behind us. Thankfully my friends laughed and said, "Only you, Emily."
All I can say is, "I need a boy to dress up in those stripy pants and cute vest... "

When you get up in the morning you put a jacket on, at least that seems to be what I noticed most about these guys!

I love the color and texture of this jacket! And the mandarin collar. I really like mandarin collars.

Another AMAZING jacket. I don't know how many times I rewound the music video trying to get a screen shot of this.
What do you think? Would you dress up as a baseball?

Texture and print again.  Dude, you can look as upset as you want as long as you let me pet your jacket. It's nothing personal I just like your fabric...

This jacket looked way cooler in the video than this screenshot. It really looked like a hoodie made from two different types of fabrics... It looked so cozy I wanted to make one.

Now I know there is a Dudette in this photo but both jackets were so amazing I didn't have the heart to crop it out. I'll take one of each please.

Moving on to shirts? Sweaters worn as shirts? I don't know but they're cool!

I like the juxtaposition of a tshirt with a fancy suit jacket but what I really love is that stripy knitted shirt! Is that super cool or what? What a fun look for guys.

Giant fuzzy houndstooth! Nuff said.

Sparkly bow tie! Bow ties are cool! 

Now I love polka dots but I never thought about them as a viable guy option until this. I like it. What do you think? Can guys pull of polka dots?

But the vibrant winner of today's Man Style is......

This makes me laugh and laugh. Only in drama land.... talk about some print mixing! Do you know any man who could pull this off in real life? Would you want him to? 

But wait, that's not all... He also wins the award for best accessory! I literally had to stop and rewind because I couldn't believe my eyes! This is why I love learning about other countries! 

"Hey, Dude! What'cha doing wandering around this late at night?"
"Oh, you know, nothing much. Just munching on my dried squid before
I head to bed. You want a bite?"

 So what do you think? What do the men in your life wear? Do they get adventurous with prints or colors? I'm very curious!

Do men's clothes make you want to cry or was it just this post?
Either way, please pass the TP.

My Free Japanese Spring Top Tale

Confession: This is a half stash bust and half preventative stash busting. But how's a girl to resist when she sees a cozy set of jersey sheets at the thrift store for a pittance? It was perfect for testing the pattern out!

Just in case you missed my continuous blabbing on twitter, this is the Athena pattern from Tamanegi-kobo I found this company from Yoshimi. They are updating their website and making it more internationally (english!) friendly and put a bunch of their fabulous patterns up for free! As soon as I saw pleats I was sold! 

This purple top was made from a jersey sheet and I stretched the neckline out. I was a good girl and tacked the front facing down but when I washed it it crinkled up... I could iron it but who irons your knit tops! Pfhhhttt, not me!

I think it will make a cozy lounging top and it's not something I'd be totally ashamed to be seen in. It was a great way to work out the kinks before I cut my special fabric. 

My second top, I made from the last bit of my stashed navy polka dot. It is lightweight and draped fabulously. I did alter the back to take the drape out of the shoulder seams. I didn't want another drapey back, nor did I have enough fabric. I ended up piecing the back sleeve but you can't tell.

I also carefully handled the front neckline so it wouldn't stretch but had trouble with the Understitched facing seam rolling to the front. Thanks to the sewcialists on twitter I added some weights and that seemed to help. Next time I think I'll try that super lightweight interfacing and see if that helps.

 If you like pleats and drapey tops then this is the pattern for you! The way this top is cut/drafted is a bit of fabulousness that can only be appreciated when you put it on.
I'm a 37 bust and cut the largest size. I didn't add seam allowance and you can see it fits fine. The pleats allow plenty of room for girls bigger than mine.

I'm very pleased with it and look forward to trying some more of their patterns. I'm linking up to The Sew Japanese Sew-Along and Made By Rae's Spring Top Sewalong! Fun Fun Fun! Have you been participating in any fun sewalongs lately? I'm leaving you with my best impression of a fabulous linebacker!

TTFN, TaTa For Now! 

In Search of Productivity and Excellence: A Free Template

My Sewing Friends,
Apparently it's Easter weekend if all the bunny jokes, colored eggs, and elaborate breakfast menus are any indication. How it has snuck up on me, and bemoaning my lack of a new Easter dress (gasp! Can I even call myself a sewist? ;) isn't exactly how I want to spend my weekend. Instead I find myself in a reflective mood.
This is the time of year when we reflect on what a great sacrifice was made for us; I mean, it's not everyday that someone dies for you so you can live in peace knowing where you'll spend eternity. But as I think on this, however unspiritual it may sound I'm contemplating how I'm spending my life HERE. I've been given this great gift of life and how am I using it? How am I using my skills, talents and gifts? Am I using my time wisely and productively? I don't want just my clothes to be vibrant I want a VIBRANT LIFE!
I was listening to Episode 25 of the Thread Cult Podcast the other day, and in the interview with Liesl of Oliver & S they mentioned an article on highly productive people and a graph on time management. As if an interview with Liesl wasn't enough of a "what are you doing with your life?" kick in the pants. :)
It reminded me of my favorite book on organizing for creative people which also discussed how to deal with Important VS. Urgent.

So I created this little printout just so I could sort my own thoughts. You can see some of my big things... and as I look at what I've written I think I put some stuff in the wrong categories. :) Organization should probably be under important not urgent instead of the unimportant category. :)
Just writing it out has really helped me realize where I'm spending some of my time and where it could be better spent....
As my minuscule gift to you I figured out how to upload so you can download a PDF file of this blank chart. Hurrah for learning more computer gobblely goop! If you desire, you can download it HERE! I hope it helps you and however you choose to spend your weekend, celebrating or not; I hope you have a good one!

How To Create Your Own Color Palette with Crafting A Rainbow

Hello Stashbusters!
Today the lovely Gillian from Crafting A Rainbow is here to talk to us about COLOR!! I'm so excited  she said yes to the interview so let's get right to it!

How did you find your color palette? Did some one show you or was it intuitive? 

I got inspired to explore wardrobe colour palette when Colette had a spring/summer palette challenge a few years ago. That first draft wasn't the most practical (gasp - it contained butter yellow, which would look awful on me!)  but it got me thinking about what colours I like, buy, and want to wear. I kept tweaking my palette until I came up with the wearable, all-season version that I use now! 

I think most people are drawn to colours that look good on them, so my palette colours were definitely in my wardrobe before I made an official palette. One thing my palette did change is that I realised that black is less flattering on me than navy or dark grey. Once I'd figured that out, I made an effort to buy less fabric with black in it, and picked up some grey and navy cardigans at the thrift shop. Back when I first made my palette, colbalt and coral were just coming into fashion, so those were colours that I actively looked for in fabrics.This year I've been trying to find more emerald green to add to the mix. 

What benefits are there for knowing your colors?

I think having a colour palette is SO helpful! 

• If you see good fabric in your palette colours, it's worth stashing. 
• If you see fabric that isn't in your palette, make sure you really love it, or just pass it by!
• Look for shoes, cardigan, tights, necklaces and other accessories that match your palette at thrift shops and sales. Those pieces will get worn a lot if they match your palette, and getting dressed is much easier! (For example, I have the same necklace in hot pink, mint green, and royal blue. Between those three colours, I can match almost every single outfit in my closet!)
• If you knit, crochet, make jewellery or some other wearable art, making something in your palette colours will help it get worn! 
• Come up with interesting outfits! We all get stuck in ruts, putting the same clothes together in the same ways... but with a palette it's easier to pick 2 or 3 colours and try to build an outfit around them!

Does it vary with the seasons or evolve at all?

Last year my Me-Made May challenge was to wear at least one of my palette colours every day. By the end of the month, I decided to add dark purple to my palette because it's a colour I like and feel good in. (That said, I haven't sewn a single thing in dark purple since then, so maybe I should take it back off?)

My palette actually doesn't change very much by season, but I do like to experiment with different colours when they become popular. (Could this be the year I sew something neon?) 

How do you suggest a girl figure out her colors? 

I blogged about how I make colour palettes last summer. Basically, I suggest starting by looking at the things you've already sewn, and using a colour grabber tool in a word processor to pick out the exact shades you like. Like the Colette Wardrobe Architect has suggested, think about neutrals as well. Trust yourself - I bet you already pick colours you like, so all you have to do is pull them together into an inspiring palette! (If the palette you end up with doesn't inspire you, maybe it needs some tweeking! Think again about what colours you really love to wear.) 

How has having a color palette changed or developed your sewing?

I started developing my palette just a few months after I started sewing, so it's hard to say how things have changed... but certainly it's a big part of what I buy and how I sew. I'd say about 90% of my handmade clothes and stash fabric have at least one colour in my palette. Most of what I sew are everyday comfy knits and stretch wovens, and consequently I wear me-mades almost every day. 

More than anything, I think my palette really impacts the fabric I buy. Who doesn't get a bit wide-eyed and greedy during in a fabric sale? My palette really helps me weed out fabrics that wouldn't get worn. Instead, I try to stock on basics that are sure to get used! (For example, I have fabric stashed to make pants in 4 palette colours, and striped, dotted or solid jersey in pretty much all my colors!)

Do you always sew to your color palette? If no, how and why do you use other colors?

I don't think a palette should limit you to ONLY those colours. Rules are meant for breaking, right? As I type this, I'm wearing 3 palette colours (grey, coral, and red), and 1 colours outside my palette (black, which I just told you isn't the best on me!) To me, it's more about feeling like myself. My palette colours make me feel prettier and happier, so naturally those are the clothes I reach for. After all, that's why I put them in the palette in the first place! 

Here are a few more posts I've written about colour palettes: 

Wardrobe Color Palette 

Building A Wardrobe aka. Crafting A Rainbow

Me Made May Color Revelations

If there's any questions, I'd be happy to answer or cheer you on!

Enjoy stashing, sewing and wearing your perfect colors! 

A big thanks to Gillian for taking time out of her blogging break to share her color philosophy! I totally agree with her method of stashing fabrics! How about you?

How To Get New Stash Without Buying More Fabric: An Interview with Melly Sews

I've discovered a secret! A way to get just what I want without buying MORE fabric! Aren't you dying to know... hehehe
I was delighted when Melissa from Melly Sews took some time to answer some questions I threw at her earlier this week.

Dress Here

How long have you been sewing and what kind of fabric stash do you have? 

30+ years (I started when I was 3) and I actually don't have a huge stash - I tend to buy more for specific projects than to hoard.  My entire stash is on display in this post.

If you have a stash how do you keep it under control? Or does it just run wild?

I'm too organized and a clean freak to let my stash get out of hand. I make sure to wash and then make mini fabric bolts out of everything as soon as it gets home.  

Why do you sew and what made you start dyeing your own fabric?

I sew because I'm picky and I typically can't find what I want unless I make it.  

I think of dyeing being something that needs a lot of special equipment and very messy. Is that true? 

You don't need a lot of special equipment - the entirety of my extensive dye collection and supplies fits in the tub I use to dye my fabric in. It can be messy, but I contain that by dyeing with my dye tub in my bathtub.  (You can read all about here process in detail here!)

Do you have a few tips on supplies or techniques for those of us beginning the dyeing adventure? 

Dharma Trading Co is my FAVORITE! I'd say the procion dyes are the easiest place to start. And to use natural fabrics - cotton is the easiest. Synthetics either don't dye or need different dyes/and or messier more complicated processes. Yarn dyeing with Kool-Aid is also a fun, non-toxic place to start if you like to work with wool. 

So what do you guys think? Have you ever dyed fabric before? I know there are a couple of quality pieces in my stash that I'd love to have in a different color! Big thanks to Melissa for taking time out of her busy schedule and sharing her process with us today!
Will you be dyeing fabric this weekend?

How To Master The Cabarita Collar

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This is how I feel guys! Winter will end! I had a mini knit marathon and grabbed this iffy stripe from the stash. I LOVE how it worked up and is my new favorite summer top! The stripes even match one of my wardrobe staples! 

The worst thing about this top is deciding which way to wear it! 

 So I don't know about you but I struggled a bit with my Cabarita's collar and sewed it incorrectly on my first top. This time I got it right and it turned out SO PERFECT! I'd thought I'd share it with you.

1. Lay your shirt front right side up and lay collar right side up on top, matching those squares. Or to say it in a more confusing way lay wrong side of collar on right side of shirt front. :) I serged along the entire shirt neckline edge attaching collar to shirt front.

Here you can see the serging and the under stitching. 

 I used a zig zag stitch to under stitch the serged seam to the shirt. You can see the close ups below.

Top Left: Wrong side. Top Right: Right side
Bottom: Perfect roll collar

 Turns out it really was simple! Hope if you were confused it helped you out too! Cabaritas go forth and conquer Spring!
This is also my Vibrant April Stashbusting project! Whoo hoo for using up a piece out of the stash! A not liked piece to boot! To end this post full of sunshine and happiness, here's my cat who was just chilling out in the tree patch! Isn't he so pretty!

How To Find Your Colors: Resources

Hello My Curating Stashbusting Friends!
  Today I am feeling good because I've got four tops cut out, the sun is shining and I'm wearing a new dress! Plus I'm so excited about COLOR! This time of year is so hard for me because our weather is still fluctuating, leaning heavily to the colder end of the spectrum and all I want it to do is warm up so I can break out the pretty dresses and bask in the sun!
  I'm also really excited because we're finally discussing color. How does it effect your sewing? Or more importantly how does it influence your stash? I've got several links for you today that have helped me on my color search.

There seem to be two approaches to finding your colors: intuitively or by method. I started on my color journey with This post and this post by Steph.

I realized I look much better in creams and ivories than I do in white and discovered I'm a WARM person! I started paying attention when people commented on my appearance. I discovered a warm turquoise is my "magic" color after several people made some interesting comments. If you say I'm "how healthy" and "Oh, you must be feeling good." regardless of how I'm actually feeling, (I'm a type 1 diabetic which gives everyone in the world the right to comment on me) I need to pay attention. :) This is also why my good friend from college loved the way I looked in her turquoise and gold earrings.
Taking into account the colors I love, feel happy and great in and this is my core color palette.

Rich browns, turquoise (don't know why it got so washed out in the photo)
and warm reds, burgundy are my core color palette.

In case you couldn't tell Steph favors the intuitive color approach which was a really good thing because when I tried to do some more research to broaden my color palette and see if there were any great suggestions/surprises for me I found I didn't fit into any one season which made me "soft" which I interpreted to mean I can wear whatever colors I want! ( I can't find the cool website that had all the flow charts but there's tons of stuff out there)

Some other great resources I found are linked below in no particular order.

I just found Into Mind when I was researching building a cohesive wardrobe and love this post on developing your color palette. Here she dissects the seasons and discusses how to use them.

This was a fascinating article about color value that I found in the beginning of my color search. Can Being Colorblind Make You A Better Artist or Designer?

I think everyone knows about Colette's Wardrobe Architect discussions on color.

Color Explorer was a cool website I found where you can design your own palettes!

I've used this information to cull my stash of fabrics I know I probably will never wear or can see myself using anytime soon. Bye bye beauties...  I've also paid more attention to the colors of the fabrics I'm buying to make sure they fit into my general color scheme.

How about you? Do you have a color palette? Do you want one? Do you think all this color analysis is hogwash? Do you have a "magic" color?

PS. Oh yeah, do you have any other great resources on figuring all this jazz out? If you do I'd love to check it out so leave me a link!

VIBRANT COLOR: April's Stashbusting Theme and Curating Challenge

Source

Hello My Fellow Stashbusters! 

April is here and while I cannot personally testify to the season's changing, I hear and see hope from your photos and believe it will come eventually to this snowy windy prairie. This month harkens back to simpler younger days when friendships were started with the important questions. There was no need to ask your name or your age, just, What's your favorite color?

April's Theme: 

COLOR! The more the better!

 You can sew anything you want as long as it's bursting with color! 

April's Curating Challenge: We all know that color can influence everything from our appetite to our attitude and it's time our fabric collection reflects that. We've already had a sneak peek on how using color can create a cohesive wardrobe; and we'll definitely be expanding on that theme this month; because knowing the colors we love can help us be wiser in our shopping by identifying what colors we have and want more of. This will ensure that going forth we will truly be curating fabrics we will enjoy whether they are on the shelf or being turned into something else.

From Pinterest to Tumblr Source

Your challenge for this month is to create your own color palette. Don't panic we'll have interviews and a post full of helpful links to get us through this crazy process. Tonight my questions for you are: do you have a color palette? How do you use it? and most importantly, What's your favorite color?