Special sewing additions

Hello everyone!

It has been so nice to wind down at the end of this year!  The weather has been delightful (60s), and my days have been a bit lazy since we got back from vacation. I welcome not having to get up super early each day to get the kids ready for school, and am glad that has been replaced by enjoying one another and catching up with friends we don't get to see often.

In essence, the holiday season and busyness has winded down.  And it comes at such a beautiful time for me...the soon unveiling of a new year!  Last night my littlest son even rewarded us with a FIVE hour stretch of sleep! Yay! I pray for more of those kind of nights.

Anyhow, I hope you are getting a chance to relax into the new year as well.

I wanted to take the time and share a few amazing sewing gifts I received recently.  I have a dear friend who traveled to Nigeria to visit family, and I had the pleasure of talking to her before she left for her trip. She mentioned, in passing, that her family would have a one hour layover in England, which immediately perked my ears. England?!?! I ordered a sewing magazine from there! So, I told her about the magazine I ordered, and asked if she could possibly bring a few back for me (I would pay her, of course).  She said she would take a look, and see what she could find.

Three weeks later I get a text from her saying she found the magazines, and two days ago she dropped these gems off at my home:

Oh me, oh my! The newest issues of Love Sewing and Sew Now magazine!!! I couldn't wait to tear open the plastic and read them! The content is SO GOOD, too!  From my understanding, Love Sewing came before Sew Now, but Sew Now is a sister magazine to Love Sewing that focuses on high-fashion, on trend sewing.

Either way, I am hooked! I'm not sure if the FREE patterns included with the magazines are any good, but I will have to make one up and see.  Right now I have a total of three (including these two), and they are all aimed at the adventurous beginner.  I will definitely let you know when I sew one up!

My other sewing addition was a LONG time coming.  You see, year after year, I have seen posts about dressforms.  And year after year, I have pined after a dressform.  Well, I finally decided to do something about it.  I started to research dressforms for sewing, and at first, couldn't decide what I wanted--an adjustable one like they sell at places like Joanns, or a professional one that cost hundreds of dollars? There were so many pros and cons to work out. Finally, I decided on a professional dressform for the following reasons:

1. Pinnable
2. Drapeable
3. Ability to fit without the distortion created from adjustable dials
4. Quality

I found a website called The Shop Company (featured in a recent Burda magazine) that sells prof. dressforms, and they are quite affordable. I began saving for one earlier this year, putting money aside, and waiting until I had what I needed to purchase the dressform and Fabulous Fit kit to pad it well. Here is what it looks like:

I haven't padded it yet, but I seriously LOVE my new dressform! It is so clean and beautiful! And the quality is super. Every detail looks meticulously crafted, and it is hard to believe it belongs to me!!!

I will say that figuring out the size was a bit complicated since I am not pre-pregnancy size yet (and don't know if I will ever be), but the representatives at the company were so helpful. They told me that as long as the dressform was always smaller than me, the padding would work just fine. I found some measurements I took of my bust, neck, shoulders, and back waist (my hips are always going to be larger), and compared those numbers to where I am now.  My measurements went most closely with a size 6.  

I bought the Fabulous Fit padding in a size L so I can pad "her" to mimic my shape.  I never quite understood why people named their dressforms, but now I do.  Let me introduce you to Rosalyn!

 My guys got to work putting assembling her as soon as she arrived, and everything went together easily. 

 Now I just need to add the padding. The package has a cover that fits over the form so you can pad where necessary. For me that will be abdomen, hips, and buttocks. But, yeah, I can't wait to use her! I like thinking that I invested in a form I will have for a long time. As my sewing skills grow, I won't outgrow Rosalyn, but she will grow with me.

If you are interested in purchasing your own dressform, you may want to check out The Shop Company (not affiliated with them in any way).  Also, if you have a form already, and you would like to share your own experience with me, please do! I would love to know how it helped. I admit, I am mostly looking forward to not having to undress a gazillion times, lol!

Stay sew filled!