Sew Weekly Themed Sew-Alongs - The Sew Weekly Sewing Circle2024-03-29T05:59:55Zhttp://circle.sewweekly.com/forum/categories/sew-weekly-themed-sewalongs/listForCategory?feed=yes&xn_auth=noThe Sew Weekly Reunion 2013tag:circle.sewweekly.com,2013-07-15:6365347:Topic:1770462013-07-15T03:52:53.733ZAdey Limhttp://circle.sewweekly.com/profile/AdelineLim
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<p>Hello all!</p>
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<p>We are having the Sew Weekly Reunion and would love it if you could join us.</p>
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<p>For more info, please check out <a href="http://thesewweeklyreunion.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/the-sew-weekly-reunion-join-us/">http://thesewweeklyreunion.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/the-sew-weekly-reunion-join-us/</a></p>
<div>Love, Adey</div>
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<p>Hello all!</p>
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<p>We are having the Sew Weekly Reunion and would love it if you could join us.</p>
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<p>For more info, please check out <a href="http://thesewweeklyreunion.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/the-sew-weekly-reunion-join-us/">http://thesewweeklyreunion.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/the-sew-weekly-reunion-join-us/</a></p>
<div>Love, Adey</div> challenge copyrighttag:circle.sewweekly.com,2013-06-11:6365347:Topic:1757462013-06-11T22:57:45.338ZSarah Dayhttp://circle.sewweekly.com/profile/SarahDay
<p>Does anyone know if the challenges have some kind of copyright to them? I wanted to put some up on another forum. Have e-mailed Mena, but no reply so far.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sarah</p>
<p>Does anyone know if the challenges have some kind of copyright to them? I wanted to put some up on another forum. Have e-mailed Mena, but no reply so far.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sarah</p> Embellishing pursestag:circle.sewweekly.com,2013-03-12:6365347:Topic:1727302013-03-12T01:19:30.213ZBonnie Godwinhttp://circle.sewweekly.com/profile/BonnieGodwin
I can't seem to break out and add embellishments to make cute little wristlets. I want to, I have beads, buttons, laces and many threads to use. I just don't get it. Need help!!! Any takers??
I can't seem to break out and add embellishments to make cute little wristlets. I want to, I have beads, buttons, laces and many threads to use. I just don't get it. Need help!!! Any takers?? Bowie Sew Alongtag:circle.sewweekly.com,2013-02-27:6365347:Topic:1724292013-02-27T15:50:23.045ZTempest Devynehttp://circle.sewweekly.com/profile/TempestDevyne
<p><a href="http://fanbloomingtastic.typepad.com/blog/2013/02/bowie-sew-along-what-you-need-to-know-and-buttons.html" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2869052180?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="500"></img></a> <a href="http://fanbloomingtastic.typepad.com/blog/2013/02/bowie-sew-along-what-you-need-to-know-and-buttons.html" target="_blank"><br></br></a></p>
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<p>If anyone's looking for a fun sew along for March......I'm hosting a Bowie Sew Along.</p>
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<p>The idea was muted several times whilst some of us were sewing with Sew Weekly, so I thought…</p>
<p><a href="http://fanbloomingtastic.typepad.com/blog/2013/02/bowie-sew-along-what-you-need-to-know-and-buttons.html" target="_blank"><img width="500" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2869052180?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="500" class="align-center"/></a><a href="http://fanbloomingtastic.typepad.com/blog/2013/02/bowie-sew-along-what-you-need-to-know-and-buttons.html" target="_blank"><br/></a></p>
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<p>If anyone's looking for a fun sew along for March......I'm hosting a Bowie Sew Along.</p>
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<p>The idea was muted several times whilst some of us were sewing with Sew Weekly, so I thought you all might want to know it is actually happening.</p>
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<p>I've just done a post with hopefully everything you want to know.....though if there's anything else let me know and I'll try to answer it.</p>
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<p>Here's the post.....and there are buttons for your blogs too:</p>
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<p><a href="http://fanbloomingtastic.typepad.com/blog/2013/02/bowie-sew-along-what-you-need-to-know-and-buttons.html" target="_blank">Bowie Sew Along on Fanbloomingtastic - all you need to know to get started</a></p>
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<p>We're going to have some big fun....so it would be lovely if you could join and us!</p>
<p></p> Working at hometag:circle.sewweekly.com,2013-02-12:6365347:Topic:1717792013-02-12T05:08:59.157ZElaine Martyhttp://circle.sewweekly.com/profile/ElaineMarty
<p><strong>Hi everyone,</strong></p>
<p><strong>My name is Elaine and I have been working from home for the last 25 years. I started an embroidery business and it took off. I was the only shop in town, now I am the smallest shop in town. </strong></p>
<p><strong>I was just doing mostly embroidery, but now I'm doing a lot of mending and alterations. My embroidery business took a big hit when the economy went down. Embroidery is not something everybody needs, its something that they want. So food…</strong></p>
<p><strong>Hi everyone,</strong></p>
<p><strong>My name is Elaine and I have been working from home for the last 25 years. I started an embroidery business and it took off. I was the only shop in town, now I am the smallest shop in town. </strong></p>
<p><strong>I was just doing mostly embroidery, but now I'm doing a lot of mending and alterations. My embroidery business took a big hit when the economy went down. Embroidery is not something everybody needs, its something that they want. So food and gas come way before embroidery. But when I started doing advertising that I did mending my business really picked up. </strong></p>
<p><strong>16 years ago we bought a new house not far from where we lived, and the garage was built to be my shop. I had counters and cabinets put in all the way around, and they put in heat and AC too. This past Thangsgiving, while trying to close my garage door, it broke and we had to have a new door installled. That was really nice for me, because the new door was insulated and I got a door opener this time. I have never parked a car in the garage, so I never needed one, but a bonus with the opener was the lights on the motor. I've got a lot more light in there now and on nice days, I can open the door. But in the process of getting the door, I had to move everything in my shop 10 feet back from the door to make room for him to install the door. My shop was packed because my shop is still my garage too. I have 3 embroidery machines and 5 sewing machines as well as 2 surgers. So I decided to move one embroidery machine and two sewing machines and the surger to my Sun Room. I thought I would do some quilting out there where I have so much light. So now I have two sewing areas to work in, and my garage shop is a lot cleaner. I needed to get rid of lots of old jackets that I had made for the different racing teams we had sponsored, but then I decided to cut them up and make a quilt out of them. I just couldn't let them go, too many memories.</strong></p>
<p><strong>That's my introduction, I love to sew, embroider, work with silk and real flowers, take pictures of my 14 grandchildren and my garden, quilt, and work in my garden. That is about all I have time for these days. I found out that I had psoriatic arthritis a few years ago and they put me on a chemptherapy drug that made me loose my interest in sewing for awhile, as well as loose some of my hair and do all kinds of bad things to me. I quit taking it and my hair grew back, and now I'm trying to get back into doing the things I love again. I have enough fabric to tent my house 3 times at least. So when I saw that this website had Weekly Themed Sew-Alongs, I thought this was just the thing to help me get my love of sewing working again. I hope that you start doing that again, as I noticed that there hasn't been one for 3 or 4 months. I hope that you start that again.</strong></p> Whats going on?tag:circle.sewweekly.com,2013-01-31:6365347:Topic:1718042013-01-31T12:30:38.485ZLaurahttp://circle.sewweekly.com/profile/ladylozreena
<p>Hello</p>
<p>I am a long time lurker and have not been sewing for a few months. I've come back to Sew Weekly and theres been no updates for ages. Is it all over?</p>
<p>I feel sad, this is a great resource and I've been working up to trying to sew along with the themes but nothing is happening now I think?!</p>
<p>Laura :o)</p>
<p>Hello</p>
<p>I am a long time lurker and have not been sewing for a few months. I've come back to Sew Weekly and theres been no updates for ages. Is it all over?</p>
<p>I feel sad, this is a great resource and I've been working up to trying to sew along with the themes but nothing is happening now I think?!</p>
<p>Laura :o)</p> last years challengestag:circle.sewweekly.com,2013-01-08:6365347:Topic:1706732013-01-08T08:37:28.975ZSarah Dayhttp://circle.sewweekly.com/profile/SarahDay
<p>:Please can someone who did the challenges last year put up a complete list. I've decided to do the challenges from last year that I didn't get to for now.</p>
<p>:Please can someone who did the challenges last year put up a complete list. I've decided to do the challenges from last year that I didn't get to for now.</p> So you want to sew something each week for 52 weeks? Some tips.tag:circle.sewweekly.com,2012-12-31:6365347:Topic:1708182012-12-31T00:20:30.213ZTempest Devynehttp://circle.sewweekly.com/profile/TempestDevyne
<p>As yet we're still to see what Mena plans to do with the Sew Weekly for 2013 (but please bear in mind the news that her grandfather passed away on Christmas Eve so she's having a hard time finding energy) BUT.....that doesn't stop you if you want to start next week your own personal adventure making something weekly for 2013. You could always pick some of the themes we had in 2011 or 2012 to get you started, or think up your own.</p>
<p>But I thought that we could swop tips to help you make…</p>
<p>As yet we're still to see what Mena plans to do with the Sew Weekly for 2013 (but please bear in mind the news that her grandfather passed away on Christmas Eve so she's having a hard time finding energy) BUT.....that doesn't stop you if you want to start next week your own personal adventure making something weekly for 2013. You could always pick some of the themes we had in 2011 or 2012 to get you started, or think up your own.</p>
<p>But I thought that we could swop tips to help you make it to the end of 2013 with a new adventure completed under your belt.</p>
<p>So, if I was asked what tips I could pass on to get through a year of making things weekly (i've done my 52 weeks and made 67 garments), these would be they (and please everyone else wade in and give us your advice for any young (and old) sewing padawans wanted to take up the challenge):</p>
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<li>Stick to the deadline, even if this means you have to you cut some corners, only tacked in a zip, left the zip out, didn't hem.....once you drop behind, even by a day, it's incredibly hard (mentally and physically) to get back on schedule.</li>
<li>"Done is beautiful" - I can't take credit for this, its Miss Loran Watkins mantra, but it's got me through some difficult weeks.</li>
<li>Know that you're not going to make a superstar garment every week.....some weeks you'll get halfway through and for your sanity's sake have to accept that this week's piece is a learning piece, one that you'll learn something on to help make superstars in the future.....not everything has to be perfect, and to be honest VERY, VERY few things are.</li>
<li>Don't be afraid in the early weeks to make wearable muslins or make things out of thrift store sheets and duvet covers.....this is a learning process and NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO BE PERFECT.</li>
<li>Take risks, make something you'd never have dreamt of making if the challenge didn't stir that mad little idea in your creative soul. Some weeks, you're going to look at the challenges and think "that's not for me"......ignore that doubting whisper, think creatively, CHEAT, just make something. Don't be afraid to make a tie, a hat, an apron.</li>
<li>But sometimes make something ridiculous that you don't know where you'll possibly wear it. I've made styles of clothes I would never have made if it hadn't been for the Sew Weekly, and some seriously surprised me that I liked them. Some didn't, but you learn from every experience.</li>
<li>Decide what you're making on the 1st day of each week and stick to it no matter what, if you chop and change ideas throughout the week you'll run out of time and stress yourself out.</li>
<li>Once in a while, totally ignore that last piece of advice - if you're at day 4 or 5 and seriously hate what you're making, QUICKLY choose something else to make.....because and this is the most important tip:</li>
<li>THIS IS MEANT TO BE FUN - YOU ARE DOING THIS FOR YOU, NO-ONE ELSE. IF IT'S NOT FUN, DON'T DO IT ANYMORE.....I'M SERIOUS, LIFE IS TOO SHORT.</li>
<li>Make yourself a dedicated space to sew in (I know this can be really hard if you're short of space, but if you're serious about doing a year of this stuff, you need to be serious about having the proper space.....and proper tools) - invest in yourself, you're learning stuff that's going to change your life.</li>
<li>Take breaks. If it's not going to plan, stop, leave it and come back later. Though sometimes it helps to come back and just do something for 20 mins if you can't tackle the big problem - I've often found hemming a skirt great to be getting on with if I can't work out how a bodice yoke fits etc.</li>
<li>Don't buy patterns full price. SERIOUSLY. Don't waste your money on paying $17 or equivalent pounds, euros etc. The big pattern companies have online sales almost monthly, get on their email lists. If you're lucky enough to live in the USA, Jo-ann's and Hobby Lobby frequently sell the big name patterns for $0.99 or $1.99 a time (sorry rest of the world). Look out for online out of print pattern sales at least twice a year. Go and buy patterns from charity shops. Ask relatives if they have patterns they don't use you could have. See what your library has on it's shelves.....and get them to order new sewing books for you and others to borrow. Sewing every single week is expensive, you don't need to stretch yourself further.</li>
<li>Look after your sewing machine. Clean it out properly at the end of each week. Add oil as required. Check out the free course on Craftsy (I think it's called something like Sewing Machine Maintenance 911) as a starter. You need to look after the poor thing, it's going to work like a warhorse for you throughout the year.</li>
<li>Clear and clean your workspace to free your head at the end of each week.</li>
<li>If you can beg, borrow or steal (ok, not the last one) a serger/overlocker, it will halve your sewing time. I didn't manage this, I've only just got one for my Christmas present from nearly all my family pitching in, but I really really wish I'd had one earlier in the year.</li>
<li>Don't worry about matching the threads or zips exactly to the fabric's colours....you're on a tight schedule here, remember done is beautiful. I often used white, black or red on the lower bobbin and it's fine (I noticed often on Project Runway they sew only with white or black), and if that zip colour clashes, hey call it a feature and make it an exposed one and own your funky fashion style!</li>
<li>Choose your battles - if you decide that 'this week's make' is going to be a learning piece or a wearable muslin, don't knock yourself out finishing it perfectly - IT DOESN'T HAVE TO PERFECT......but it you're making the dress of your dreams you want to wear forever, spend that time on it's french seams or binding them. Having it torn apart in a washing machine breaks your heart.</li>
<li>Use the internet.....when your machine breaks, when you don't know what a french seam is....Youtube especially is your friend.</li>
<li>AND the one thing no-one ever told me as a self-taught sewist, and I don't care if the experienced among you laugh at this, if I can save just one beginner the trouble it took me months to learn - when you finish sewing and pull the fabric out to the side and the threads seem stuck, and you keep getting two threads pulling from the lower bobbin and you don't know what you're doing wrong..........when you finish sewing, use the side manual handwheel to return the metal thread take-up lever (the metal bit that goes up and down when you sew) back to the top, this releases the caught thread inside the bobbin case and stops everything getting caught up. I know this seems absolutely straight-forward, but because I was self-taught, I never knew this and for months thought my sewing machine was rubbish and probably caused my first machine loads of damage forcibly pulling the threads out sideways. Does that make sense? I hope it does and helps at least one self-taught beginner like I was.</li>
</ul>
<p>Last thing, just do it, don't procrastinate making plans about perfect projects, just start sewing, do a little bit each day, YOU CAN DO THIS 'IMPOSSIBLE' THING, AND DONE IS BEAUTIFUL!</p>
<p>Anyone, else got any tips?</p>
<p>Sorry I waffled on so much ;)</p> Thank you for your creativity!tag:circle.sewweekly.com,2012-12-23:6365347:Topic:1701632012-12-23T10:27:37.770ZJaney Walkerhttp://circle.sewweekly.com/profile/JaneyWalker
<p>Hi everyone- I just want to thank you all for the inspiration you have provided this year! I have loved logging in each week and looking at the amazing creations the contributors have come up with. I have read so many of your posts that I feel like I know a lot of you, and I will miss you if sew weekly does not continue, or if you don't join again next year! I aspire to one day be able to create the amazing amazing clothes you come up with- and to finish a garment a week! Right now most of…</p>
<p>Hi everyone- I just want to thank you all for the inspiration you have provided this year! I have loved logging in each week and looking at the amazing creations the contributors have come up with. I have read so many of your posts that I feel like I know a lot of you, and I will miss you if sew weekly does not continue, or if you don't join again next year! I aspire to one day be able to create the amazing amazing clothes you come up with- and to finish a garment a week! Right now most of my sewing fits in around kids, work, uni and life, but I plan to set up a regular time and spot to sew, so I can work on improving my sewing. I love wearing my own dresses, no one else looks the same, every dress fits and I love the material of them all- it is the best! I haven't shopped for clothes in forever :) <br/>Janey</p> Sewing Goals 2013tag:circle.sewweekly.com,2012-12-16:6365347:Topic:1702122012-12-16T00:18:29.969ZMichelle Lhttp://circle.sewweekly.com/profile/Michellelewis
Being involved in Sew Weekly the last few months has really help get my sewing mojo back! I'm inspired to make a list of goals for next year, I would love to hear some of your goals. Here's mine (it will be interesting to review them in 12 months time) 1. I have signed up for a bra sew along at Cloth Habit blog 2: I have booked in for a pattern alteration class at my Bernina shop. 3. I shall continue my quest for a perfect pants fit. 4. I would like to attempt some tailoring 5. Make a pair of…
Being involved in Sew Weekly the last few months has really help get my sewing mojo back! I'm inspired to make a list of goals for next year, I would love to hear some of your goals. Here's mine (it will be interesting to review them in 12 months time) 1. I have signed up for a bra sew along at Cloth Habit blog 2: I have booked in for a pattern alteration class at my Bernina shop. 3. I shall continue my quest for a perfect pants fit. 4. I would like to attempt some tailoring 5. Make a pair of jeans 6. A couture dress 7. Master my overlocker 8. Sew With A Plan (SWAP )an autumn wardrobe and of course keep up with Sew Weekly. It's a rather ambitious list so much sewing so little time!