The thoughts, sewing projects, and fabric oglings of a dedicated sewist.

Figuring out personal style ...

8/31/11
The art directors and designers of the world create mood boards for themselves ... visual collections that ultimately tell a story ... indicate a trend or pattern etc.  I believe wedding planners encourage clients to do this for themselves too:


Starting today, I'm going to post a weekly "What's your Style" quiz.  The goal is to help you (present and future clients) figure out your likes and dislikes in the realms of color, fashion and home design.  Don't have space on a wall for a mood board?  Then start one at Pin Interest.  This is also a really great place to look at other peoples' collections ...

Today's quiz is care of Sproost.  It's a really nice one for pushing you to think about your interior design likes and dislikes.  Apparently my interior design style is 40% Vintage Modern, 40% Rustic Revival, 20% Cottage Chic.  Otherwise known as eclectic!  Pretty accurate I think.

Rice Up for a brighter world!

8/29/11
"When creating a new collection, we are dreaming about pink skies and blue birds..."
A friend in the UK recently told me about Rice - a Denmark-based store with a presence in Covent Garden as of May this year. The minute you arrive at their site, the colors hit you. The only word to describe them is DELICIOUS!  When I saw their Fall collection, I had to use them as a great example of atypical colors for the season.  Don't get me wrong - I like dark, rich browns and smoky greys as much as the next person, but I don't think we have to put away all our bright colors just because nature has gone a bit monotone.  I want to swirl down the street in some of these colors this fall!

See the pics below for examples of their autumn collection. You can view the entire catalog online here - well worth the time.  US shoppers, play here





I am rich with buttons

8/27/11

Look at all this button goodness!  I inherited this wealth of buttons from my dad's wife, who is an expert knitter and a great supporter of my sewing endeavors.  She has decided that she is going to stick to knitting from here on out, and so she sent her extra supplies to me.  And the buttons - oh, the buttons!  And oh!, the possibilities! 

Of course, this will give me great options for my fabric flowers, but I've also been thinking about how to incorporate them into skirts and handbags.  I'm going to play with some ideas in the next few days and put them up on the blog.  Flowers and abstract patterns and button starbursts - oh my!

See something you like?



Ah, fabric . . .

8/24/11
I love looking at fabric.  When my first client ordered a skirt, I asked her if she'd like me to send her some fabric ideas.  She replied, "Well, I don't want to put you out, but if you have time . . . "  If I have time??!  I sometimes spend hours at a time looking at fabric online, just for fun.  One of the reasons I like having this business is that I get to work with more beautiful fabric than I could ever afford/use just on my own!  And I love helping a client find the fabric that will be perfect for her dress, skirt or handbag.

Here is my latest love: Joel Dewberry's Heirloom line.  My current favorite is the Heirloom Empire Weave Garnet:



I'm working on a skirt for one of my clients with this fabric and it's just as lovely in person.  A beautiful, rich jewel color that is great for the fall and winter.  He has the same print with other colors, plus many other great prints in this same line.  Others that I have my eye on:

MM DBMM DBMM DBMM DBMM DB


His wife has a blog and there are some lovely pictures of the fabric in action, including a simply gorgeous dress.

Orla Kiely and the flower pancakes ...

8/23/11


In case it's not apparent, I love flowers, florals, floral-inspired design etc.  So I will occasionally post about flower-like things completely unrelated to sewing!  I love two things about this post from Not Martha - the great idea for pancakes (gotta love flower-shaped food) and the Orla Kiely table cloth!  If you're attracted to the fabric, take a look at this selection of amazing goodies on Etsy ...

New dress

8/19/11
DJ, a new client, glimpsed one of the dresses in my book Sew Serendipity by Kay Whitt when we were discussing skirt options and immediately fell in love.  Here she is in her new dress:


This dress is super flattering and easy to wear. DJ's dress is made with Amy Butler cotton quilting fabrics - Lotus Morning Glory in Linen for the main fabric and Lotus Full Moon Polka Dot in Cherry for the contrasting fabric in the ruffle and tie.  It has a hidden side zipper and can be made with or without the waist tie.  The dress allows for many variations - short hem ruffle, long hem ruffle, plain hem band; ruffle or tie or band at the empire waist; ruffle or plain sleeve band.  You can play around with contrasting fabrics or leave it simple . . . . so many possibilities! 


The pattern can also be made to tunic/blouse length with the same range of variations.  Here are a couple of examples:



This was made with red Kona fabric from Hancock's and Heather Bailey Popgarden Zag Stripe in Turquoise, leftover from another project.  This next tunic was made with fabric I found on the clearance table at Hancock's:



These pieces are great examples of why I love Kay Whitt's patterns so much - simple, versatile, and stylish with plenty of room to bring your creativity to the process.

First blog!

8/17/11

Thanks to my wonderful friend Dr C (who is also the person who came up with the name PoldaPop), I now have a blog!  I plan to use this blog to communicate with current and future clients about happenings at PoldaPop.  Check here for new options for custom-made skirts, dresses, and handbags, and upcoming parties.