Sew Obsessed With: Lace

Confession time, lovelies: I'm an enthusiast. When I get a new hobby or interest, I have a brief, violently passionate love affair with it. The new, shiny whatever is all I want to focus on. After awhile, the ardor cools a bit and I can behave rationally once more, but those first throes of love can be rather ridiculous. This is how it is with any new book I write. This is also, surprise surprise, how I am with sewing.

When I learn a new technique or fall in love with a new fabric, all I want to do is play around with it. Right now, I'm obsessed with lace. All I want to buy is daisy lace, eyelet, and Chantilly. If it's even remotely lacy, I'm loving it.

I'm placing the blame for this on the utterly fabulous Gertie of Gertie's New Blog For Better Sewing. (It should be said that I have something of blog crush on Gertie. Not only does she sew the loveliest vintage-inspired clothing, but her real life job is as an editor in my genre. If I ever meet her at a publishing conference, I'll no doubt start fangirl blabbering about her taffeta gingham circle skirt. She's just so cool. ) Back in December, she sewed a red lace dress that was so pretty it made my heart flutter. I've been on the hunt for red lace ever since.

To make matters worse, there is that floral lace skirt I'm lusting over from Talbots. I gave in to temptation this weekend and tried it on in-store. It's perfect. The pencil design made my waist look tiny and the lace overlay was even prettier in person. My credit card was in jeopardy of coming out, but I restrained myself. After all, isn't that what sewing is for? I shall make one of my own!

This isn't a surprising obsession for me. Lace combines the two elements I value most in my clothing - classic details and unabashed femininity. Even better, its very nature (delicate, airy, totally femme-tastic) is inherently opposite to the casualty of modern fashion. This casualty is a societal pet peeve of mine. I hate that jeans and clean t-shirts are deemed acceptable date attire. It may not be as bad in other cities, but my dear Austin is not only the Live Music Capital of the World, but also the Wear Grungy T-Shirts To Fancy Dinners Capital of the World. But that's a post for another day. Suffice to say: lace is pretty and I adore it.

To that end, I've made a few recent fabric purchases which I'm so excited about. Since I'm just beginning my lace adventures, I'm starting with the easy-to-sew side of lace - eyelets and large geometric woven laces. Basically, anything with more surface area to sew on! Unlike other fabric buys, I have something definite in mind for all of the laces I've bought. Here's a sneak peak...

Fabric: Gorgeous Fabrics
Pattern: Etsy

Fabric: Mood Fabrics (lace) and Hancock (poplin)
Pattern: Colette Patterns

Fabric: Gorgeous Fabrics
Pattern: Simplicity

Do you have any sewing obsessions at the moment? Are you perhaps mad for Liberty lawns or going gaga over 1940's dress patterns?

Lovely Lisette: A Discussion

I am a Lisette convert. It's obvious from my last post that these patterns make me go weak in the knees. What's odd about this, however, is that I seem to be one of the few bloggers who fell in love with the patterns, before realizing they were designed by Liesl Gibson. When the Simplicity Spring 2011 catalog came out, I searched for the designer info to no avail. Yet, everyone seems to be clued in! It's as if there was some great secret of the sewers society. Or, more likely, I just don't read as many blogs as I should.

If you have a little one in your life, you're probably familiar with Ms. Gibson's delightful line of children's patterns, Oliver + S. If you don't have a wee person to sew for, you're probably just familiar with wishing her patterns came in adult sizes too. That's how I felt, anyway! Which makes it even stranger that I was so out of the loop on the Lisette designer. I just knew there was something special about this pattern line. Only...as it turns out, it's not just a pattern line.

There are fabrics, as well, friends. Remember all those lovely, colorful fabrics on the Lisette pattern envelopes? They can now be ours. Originally, when I saw the patterns, I thought they had used quilting fabrics. After all, you can't find bright, wonderful cotton lawn or twill just anywhere. Liesl & Co. must have thought of this, because JoAnn's - a store that previously made me shudder from their lack of good quality apparel fabric - stocks the full line of Lisette fabrics. Even better, they're having a temporary 40% off online sale of them right now. Personally, I have my eye one the blue dotted cotton lawn and the gold medallion twill.

For the first time in recent memory, a designer has made it possible to exactly replicate the looks she had in mind. What's more, this also marks another interesting occurrence: An indie pattern designer making her designs available to a larger population, through partnering with one of the Big 4 companies. It shows a great deal of savvy on the parts of both Ms. Gibson and Simplicity. Solely from the hits Idle Fancy has received from people searching for Lisette patterns, it's obvious the line is going to be a success. More and more women, of all ages, have picked up sewing in recent years. With the changing demographics of the industry, it's refreshing to see pattern companies and designers responding to the similarly changing customer desires. And - selfishly - I hope Lisette sticks around for awhile, if only so my closet fills up with these designs!

Not going to lie, I can't quite remember what my point was when I started writing this blog. It's just so nice to see things in this industry evolving before my eyes. I've only been seriously sewing for six months, yet already there are so many new designers and new resources for the modern seamstress. Every line, including the Big 4 main designs, speak to different individual styles. My classic aesthetic tends to lead me to Simplicity and Colette offerings, but I'm always amazed at how well other people filter their sensibilities through the different lines. Out of curiosity, what is your personal favorite line of patterns?

Spring Is (Not Quite) Busting Out All Over

I'm ready to be warm again, lovelies.

I know, I know - I live in Texas, for Heaven's sake. What do I have to complain about? The Northeast is getting snowed in for the zillionth time this Winter, Atlanta saw over a foot of snow, and to hear my friend in Maine tell it, her state is thinking of renaming themselves The North Pole. In Austin, we've had a solid month of gloomy, rainy low days in the low 50's. Puny as it might seem, it is still so cold.

Normally I love chilly weather, but for some reason this year it's getting to me. Once the holidays ended, I was ready for Spring. I want to pull out the bright, sunny dresses, put on some espadrilles, and lounge around outside with a Mint Julep. Or, more honestly, a giant glass of iced tea.

It's this impatient longing that's to blame what happened this weekend. You see, I bought fabric. Thirty-one yards of fabric, to be precise. It's not like I needed it, either. Don't go excusing it with "Oh, I bet she has a really small stash." or "Well, she will need something to make all those sunny dresses out of." My stash is not tiny, but my willpower is. Clicking around on Gorgeous Fabrics this weekend was like a shot of sunshine and Springy possibilities straight to the vein. There were florals and stripes and the same joyous colors I've been longing for.

So, I gave in.

And I'm proud of it. Wouldn't you be? Check out these fabrics! Can't you just see the dresses and skirts clamoring to be made?