Fun with the Liebster Award

Hello everyone!!!!!

I was super excited to see that Annette from Mrs. Toad Sews nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award!  I don't think that Annette knows that my mom is German, and "Liebster" is German for beloved (and other words such as sweetest, and sweetheart).  How fitting!  This award is only an award you can receive by a nomination from another blogger, and it is specifically designed to increase awareness of blogs that have less than 200 followers.

Thank you Annette for such an honor. You have such a great blog, and I am amazed by the things you create with your sewing talent.  Though you are starting out, I know your blog will continue to grow as other people see the love you put into what you make!

Here are the "official" rules:

You thank the person who gave you the award

Then link back to that person’s blog

Copy and paste the Liebster award to your own profile

Answer the 5 question your nominator asked

Pick 5 blogs who you feel deserve to be noticed (they have to have under 200 followers)

Ask them 5 questions

Then finally blog it and leave a comment to let your 5 choices know they have been chosen.

Nominate 5 blogs

And here are Annette's five questions for me:

1. How did you get into sewing?

Well, it seems that having a child really does change everything!  I never even entertained the notion of sewing until I was pregnant with my son, who is now 7 years old!  I wanted to make him a simple baby blanket, and some other baby gear like bibs.  After finishing that I dibbled and dabbled in small projects here or there.  It wasn't until I had my baby girl 4 years ago that I REALLY began to get interested in sewing. After all, I had to make cute dresses for my girl, right? Now I have added sewing for myself in the mix with the RTW fast for this year, and I am excited to see where that takes me.

2. What types of sewing do you enjoy?

Mostly garment construction.  I have dabbled in quilting, but my heart would definitely be in making clothes.  While I was in high school, and had little to no concept of sewing, I remember telling my friend (jokingly) that when I got married and had kids I would sew for my them and make them wear it.  We laughed, but it stuck.  I have always wanted to sew for my family.  I consider it an honor, and I love that my kids are still young enough to like what I sew, or being able to choose their own fabric for new pajamas or tops.

When I see my daughter pick out the same pajamas I made for her night after night, it makes me happy.  Maybe she will want to sew as she gets older, and if not, at least she will remember wearing what mama made!

3. What do you do when you aren't sewing or blogging?

Well, technically I am a stay-at-home mom.  Technically.  I work part-time with my hubby, helping him with a business he started last year.  I also work part-time at a Christian preschool taking care of 3 and unders (my little loves).  I help out in my son's class on Friday, and run all the errands necessary to keep my home manageable.  I have also done some knitting in the past, but mostly, I run. I. LOVE. TO. RUN!  I have done two 5Ks, and am training for a 10K in the Fall.  My ultimate dream would be to Run Disney with a few of my girlfriends in the Spring.  We could drive down, have a girl's vacation, and race through Disney with all it's spectacular scenery, characters, and fun!

4. Do your real life friends know about your blog?

Yes!!  The real question is, do my real life friends read my blog!!  All of my friends are supportive of the sewing I do and my journey to sew everything I wear this year.  However, I only have one friend who checks my blog out from time to time to see what I am up to.  My other friends are "just not that into sewing."  They will "ooh" and "aah" over what I create, but that is as far as it goes.

5. Why do you blog?

I blog because I love to write and share my experience in sewing with other people. Also, I have always been an avid blog reader, and in my reading I found that there weren't many blogs (at the time) that supported the novice sewers' experience.  There were plenty of amazing blogs from amazing seamstresses making amazing garments, and while those blogs inspired me, I wanted to relate to someone who was starting out in sewing and did not have the expertise that a lot of these bloggers had.  You know, like when you have to unpick your seams multiple times, or you sew your sleeve on crappy, or you forget to mark the right/wrong sides and mix them up.  Maybe you choose a fabric that is all wrong, or experience some other mishap.  At any rate, I like showing the real bumps and bruises along the way to a wonderful garment in hopes to encourage others that you don't have to be a seasoned seamstress in order to make a great garment.  If I can do it, trust me, YOU can do it too!!

My five nominations are:
1. Jenna from Seamstess in Training  "I just love her blog, and her creations!"
2. Candice from Sew My Time!  "She not only sews, she has style!"
3. Kyle at Vacuuming the Lawn "I always learn something to help me in my own sewing!"
4. Suzy at Suzy Bee Sews "Wow! I am always amazed by what she sews!"
5. Leslie at 3 Stitch Studio "A woman after my own heart, she sews a lot of knits, and does it well"

And my five questions:
1. How did you choose your blog title?
2. What frustrates you most about the sewing process?
3. What is the most cherished item you have made?
4. What one sewing-related item is on your wishlist right now?
5. Do you do anything to further grow/develop your sewing skills?

In closing, this sloper is beginning to feel like the song that never ends...My first version was not bad, just too big.  It was too much of a mess to try to get it sized down, so I am in the process of a sewing up a second version right now.  The sizing on this one looks a lot better, and I hope to have it fitted by this weekend.  I can tell I will be needing a lot more assistance from my hubby than I originally anticipated.  I have been using my dressform, but I would rather fit the sloper to my own body at this point.

I hope you have a wonderful week!  Happy April, and I will check in later this week again.

Stay sew-filled!