friday freebie -- pattern giveaway 3!!

It's time for giveaway number THREE to celebrate the launch of the farbenwiki! Once again, I've got a pair of patterns (courtesy of Nancy Langdon of StudioTantrum/Fledge) -- an Anna and a Feliz. These are 'scratch and dent" patterns that had folding issues; so they come without the usual ribbon tags and have their titles crossed out to prevent their sale, just so you know. But they are perfectly usable and will make fabulous dresses! All you have to do is comment on this entry or email me (and mention the giveaway!) by Monday morning -- and if you don't win, there will be one last chance next weekend!! And please spread the word...so we can spread the love!

And Rebecca is this week's winner! Please come back next Friday for the last set of patterns! Thanks!

jump rope roxy

Another project has been marked off my Fall sewing list!



This is the farbenmix Roxy tunic/dress pattern, made with some really cute "Katie Jump Rope" Denise Schmidt fabric I got last Xmas (thanks, Hallie!), which I have been itching to use. It's paired with a dot fabric from Quilt Gate I bought a ton of early this year (it went out of print, but I love it as an accent or trim so I stocked up). Unfortunately, I couldn't get an invisible zipper in the orange, so I used a regular one, and I really am not thrilled with that. But, it's not like Emily cares!

Front view:



Back view:



It's finished with some eyelet trim I ran through my new ruffler foot. I also used some rick rack edged elastic on the sleeves, which is cute but was a bit of a pain. I love the pattern -- no adjustments necessary, and the fit is fantastic. The princess seams went together like magic, and the bit of flare it has at the hem is just perfect. I might try puffing the sleeves a bit more next time, but that's just for fun, not because it needs it. And it got raves from Emily! A Roxy will definitely be on the Spring planning list (if I go that long without making another!)

this is...my favorite kitchen tool

Well, whoops. It's been some week. I was supposed to post this on Sunday, and I even had my post planned, but I never got to it. So I'll just give you the gist: this was a rough one! I love everything in my kitchen, I swear. First I ruled out all gadgets since a "tool", to me, is a non-powered item. And I finally decided that my one cannot-live-without item is my wusthof santoku knife. Honestly, I love it so much more than my chef's knife. I use it for practically everything. You can't beat it on vegetables! Although...I doubt it cuts bread too well...so don't ask me to give up the rest of my knives!

This week's This Is... theme brought to you by Sharon of Handmaiden.

and the winner is...

Congrats to this week's winner:



Send me your address, Nicole! And everyone else, please come back this Friday to enter giveaway #3 -- I have 2 more Feliz/Anna packs to give away! And please...pass the word, and visit the farbenwiki!

some quick notes...

I keep forgetting to post this, we have a bunch of stuff on ebay right now. There is a handful of my knitting stuff, some kits, vintage magazines and a big batch of vintage needles.

Also, I've gotten a lot of questions about the bread, and while every household and machine are going to call for a different recipe, one constant is high quality ingredients. For bread I use only King Arthur flour -- when they had to raise prices this year we tried cheaper brands and there was a noticeable difference in taste. I'm sure any comparable flour would be fine. Also, when dry milk is called for in baking, the dry milk from the grocery store is not really what they're talking about, you need to get baker's dry milk, it's a totally different thing. I know it's tempting to use the cheapest stuff available but it will make a huge difference in your bread if you use the good stuff. Also, get some ascorbic acid (from any baking/spice place) and add 1/8 of a teaspoon to your bread mix, it makes the bread a lot softer and acts as a preservative. Not that we really need that around here. Finally, I use instant yeast, it works great, and cuts baking time in half. Seriously. I cannot deal with a 4-hour loaf of bread!

another Anna/Feliz pattern giveaway!

It's time for giveaway number TWO to celebrate the launch of the farbenwiki! Once again, I've got a pair of patterns (courtesy of Nancy Langdon of StudioTantrum/Fledge) -- an Anna and a Feliz, which is just about all you need to dress any girl from toddler to, okay, not teen, but big girl, definitely. These are 'scratch and dent" patterns that had folding issues; so they come without the usual ribbon tags and have their titles crossed out to prevent their sale, just so you know. But they are perfectly usable and will make fabulous dresses! All you have to do is comment on this entry or email me (and mention the giveaway!) by Monday morning -- and if you don't win, try again next weekend!! And please spread the word so we can spread the love!

And Nicole is the winner! Please come back Friday Oct 10th and enter giveaway #3 for another chance!!

fall sewing: the purple edition

I've gotten fall sewing underway, with several projects finished (although, unfortunately the light changes this time of year, making the house glow but making photographs hard to get!) Here are two, both purple at Emily's request. First up is the recycled Henrika:



Henrika pattern from Farbenmix, made from some navy cotton rib and a recycled Hanna Andersson playdress (the dotted purple stuff). The skirt is really the original playdress skirt grafted on to the Henrika top. I think it came out really cute, but Emily has declared war on all sleeves, so it may be a while before I get her into it. I had very little trouble with the pattern; the sleeves I chose are long by design but I shortened them a tad anyway.

Also purple, and thankfully without sleeves, is this Noelle skirt, also Farbenmix:



Here it is from the back:



I love the lacing detail -- I did the topstitching in a decorative stitch that echoed it. Black velvet ribbon trim, sparkly plastic pony beads on the laces for extra oomph! I did run into some trouble with the Noelle pattern, I think this is the first thing I've made for Emily that actually is a bit fitted -- and now I realize that she is a size smaller in width than she is in height. Everything up until now has been slightly boxy in the cut, so it hasn't been noticeable, but to my surprise, the skirt slipped right off! I have it laced as tightly as possible now, and I think over tights it will be fine. But I will have to watch out for this in the future. It was a "shocking surprise" (as Emily likes to say) because I still think of her as the roly-poly bundle she once was, but that was about 2 years ago now....oops! I will definitely use this pattern again, but I will measure more carefully on all fitted patterns from now on! (And I've already recut one I was working on.)