Sharon Sews

Has anyone else restricted their fabric/pattern/notion purchases because of the economy? I have. There's been very, very few fabric purchases in recent months - and yesterday was the first day any new patterns made their way into my home. That's because Vogue was on sale for $3.99 each and I took the opportunity to purchase the newest Sandra Betzina and Issey Miyake designs. But I gotta tell you I really thought hard about whether or not I should buy them. Looking for ways to cut back on spending is why we just spent our vacation at home working on low-cost home improvement projects rather than spending a week traveling to a vacation spot. As part of my fabric diet I've been digging through the stash and rather than tossing those one yard or less pieces I've been looking for ways to use them up. You may recognize this knit fabric from a previous project - the Hotpatterns butterfly top - which I never, ever liked. (I've since handed that one off to someone who wil

Yesterday when I completed this top ( Burda 7828) I said that I liked it but didn't love it. It was that goofy side tie that sits right underneath the bust. No matter how much I fussed I just couldn't get it to look good. So of course I went to PatternReview to read any reviews on this pattern looking for clues as to how to make it work. Well, I found clues alright - both reviewers eliminated the tie. Ah ha! That sounded like the perfect solution to me so off with the tie. Five minutes of work and I now have a shirt that I still don't *love* but I like a whole lot more. This shirt is so incredibly easy to sew - especially when you leave that pesky side tie off. The pattern calls for a decorative stretch lace to finish the neckline. I didn't have any of that stashed away, but I did have fold-over elastic in both white and black. Since I bought it about seven years ago I think it's about time I tried it, don't you agree? Easy, easy, easy - and look what a

Hubby and I are currently in the midst of another week off from work. While secretly I had hoped it would be all sewing all the time, well in reality that isn't possible when you're partner is counting on you being the helper in a multitude of home improvement projects. First there's the painting - the color in the family room is being changed from fudge bar to warm honey. The 3/4 master bathroom is still in the midst of renovations. The tiling is completed and tomorrow my job is to rip off the remaining traces of that old ugly wallpaper. And by traces I mean all of the paper backing that was left behind when we first pulled off the wallpaper - basically all of it. I see a full day of fun for me - not. Then there was packing up all the cr*p we've managed to accumulate. We had a huge pile of clothing, accessories and house hold misc. outside and waiting for pick up by 8 a.m. today. This particular agency takes fabric, patterns and sewing notions which is why I choose