Jess from the Sometimes Sewist decided to honor me with a Liebster award. Thanks Jess! In order to accept I need to answer 10 questions…here they are:
1. If you could spend an afternoon sewing with anyone in history, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Kathleen Fasanella from Fashion Incubator. I love her analytical, no BS approach (reminds me of talking to my engineer brothers) and how she stresses accuracy and not making something more complicated unless it is going to improve the final result. Her suggestion that home sewers generally don’t use enough interfacing was an eye opener, and the posts she wrote on sleeve cap ease and anatomically correct armholes also helped clear up things for me. Because of her I now cut almost everything out on a single layer using weights and a rotary cutter and always interface instead of using staystitching (which I always considered an inferior method).
2. If you could have up to five yards of any fabric in the world for free, what would you choose? (“Bonus” points for a picture)
Easy – vicuña! It is a mysterious fabric that Marfy sometimes mentions as a recommended fabric for coats or suits and goes for something crazy like over $4,000 a yard.
I don’t have a picture of the fabric, but this is what a vicuña looks like. (Photo credit: The Peruvian Connection.)

3. What would you make with the mythical unicorn-like fabric from question 2?
I would make Marfy 2918. Then I would be terrified to wear it.

4. What’s your favorite fruit or vegetable?
BACON. I will eat any vegetable provided it is sprinkled with bacon bits.
5. What’s your favorite non-sewing project of all time?
I took a drawing class 6 years ago and really enjoyed it. My drawings were not technically great but I was decent at it and learned a lot. I kept all of my artwork from it. I eventually want to get back into it again.
6. What’s your favorite aspect of sewing?
I very much enjoy the creativity and technical process that leads to a finished product that is actually useful. Surprisingly, I also love fitting. Fitting is what makes creating clothing so interesting to me, and sometimes it really is a feat of engineering to get a 2 dimensional piece of cloth to fit a three dimensional body and have it look good. If I just wanted to sew I would quilt or make handbags. I need a new bag and have the pattern and all the supplies for it, but it just seems so dull when compared to making a new dress.
7. What’s your dream job?
I’m in the process of teaching someone how to sew right now and it is a very satisfying experience.
8. What’s your favorite era in fashion, and why?
I don’t really have one in particular. I think almost every era had its hits and misses. The 1930s had those gorgeous slinky gowns and the 1950s were very feminine. About 10 years ago bootcut jeans were all the rage and when worn with heels made everyone look like they had long legs. The stronger shoulder line from the 80′s was great if you were pear shaped and wanted to balance out your figure.
I’m not a fan of skinny jeans (which make a lot of otherwise normal figures look anything but skinny, IMO) and the trendy oversized tops with the banded bottom are the last thing I should be wearing, but one thing I really like about current fashion is that you do have complete freedom to wear whatever you want. There’s also very little stigma about thrifting, which I don’t think was the case 10 years ago.
9. Is there any type of clothing that you’ve always wanted to try making but have never attempted? If yes, what is it? Also, what’s stopping ya?
A structured coat with a bagged lining was previously on my sewing bucket list, but I can cross that off now. Now it is a strapless boned bodice, heavy interlined winter coat, and a suit. What’s stopping me? Lack of needing them right now. I bought a very warm down coat from Land’s End this winter for less than $70 on clearance so that took care of the warm coat. I don’t really have anywhere to wear the strapless bodice, and my workplace would think I was interviewing somewhere else if I wore a formal suit!
For the upcoming year I plan on making more lined jackets. I have a whole bunch of jacket patterns from Style Arc now so there’s no excuse to keep putting it off! The fact that Style Arc doesn’t have stupid amounts of ease in their patterns and includes pattern pieces for the linings, fusibles, and facings makes it a less daunting goal.
10. What’s your favorite part of blogging?
I love the feedback and how people actually find what I write useful. Locally I don’t know anyone my age that sews so it allows me to have connections that I would otherwise never have. I have learned so much from other people’s blogs, and it is always interesting to see what people are coming up with.