I am featured at thisblogisnotforyou

Today, I am featured by Charlie over at thisblogisnotforyou.

So, if you ever wanted to know what else I am doing other then sewing and how my day looks like, head over to Charlie and have a look at my interview!

What was the first item you ever sewed?

The other day, I was thinking about my blog and about how I started to sew. I then remembered the first item I ever sewed and was wondering if you, my lovely followers, can still remember the first item you ever sewed? I would love to hear/read about it and will make the start by telling you about what I sewed.

The little cube on the right site of this picture was my first sewn item :)
 It still exists and is well-loved.

The first item I sewed was a little cuddle house for my guinea pigs :) Surprised? Yes you can make cuddle homes not only for dogs and cats but also for little rodents. I had bought already a little hammock and tunnel from the Internet. When looking at them, I thought it can't be that difficult to make by myself. So, I started to ask my grandma if she would teach me how to use a sewing machine and how to sew.

Vesna in his cuddle cube.

That was 4 years ago. I still remember sitting there with my grandma winding the bobbins by hand. I found a tutorial about how to make a cuddle house on the Internet and bought fabric and quilting wadding. My grandma was a bit surprised (or should I say shocked) about what I wanted to sew, but helped me none-the less.

Queeny in her cuddle bed counting sheep to fall asleep.

I think we were both surprised at the end result - a lovely cuddle house for my piggies. My success resulted in making even more cuddle homes, pyramids, shoes, hammocks and bags. I even made my own patterns after having a look on ready made ones on the Internet. So, yes that is the first item that I ever made and that got me into sewing! What is yours?

Happy munching.

Blogger meet-up at Goldhawk Road

On Saturday the 3rd of August I made my way to Goldhawk Road to meet up with almost 40 strangers from the Internet. Claire from sew-incidentally had organised a blogger meeting including fabric shopping and lunch and let me tell you it was absolutely stunning. Hop over to Claire's blog to read her post about the meeting which has more details about lunch and about the organisation than mine has. She also has a list with all the participants and their blogs! So, go and check them out! Lovely Dibs from Dibs & the machine took a huge amount of photos on the day and kindly allowed me to put them on my blog (thanks a lot Dibs!).

Lovely little name tags!

As I have never been to a meet-up before, I was super nervous and also a little bit scarred (because normally I am not meeting up with strangers and there were so many of them!). When leaving the tube at Goldhawk Road Station I could hear them already and my excitement grew. How should I approach them? How do I introduce myself? But actually, there was no need to worry because I was welcomed immediately with cookies and a little name tag. Everybody was wearing their own creations and there were many uhs and ahs when looking at each other. Sooooo pretty. Although I didn't recognise the patterns (not yet, but hopefully soon) I was impressed by all the lovely dresses, trousers and blouses.

Claire.

After almost everybody had arrived we split up in little groups and "attacked" the fabric shops. First stop was "Classic Textiles" my favourite fabric shop where you can get cotton silk for 4£/meter and also Liberty copy prints and lots more. I avoided looking at the Liberty fabrics because I fall in this trap every time I am there. I was astonished by all the fabric knowledge everybody had. One touch, one view and yeah it is a Chambray. We moved from shop to shop and it was really fun because every shop you entered there would be somebody with the little yellow name tag. The advantage (or disadvantage?) when fabric shopping with several people is that everybody spots different fabrics. Fabrics that I liked as well and wouldn't have seen otherwise! So I was tempted several times to buy - but didn't! 

Dibs and Wendy.

In Fabric House I bought my first jersey ever which was 3.50£/meter. I was not sure if I should buy it or not because I have never sewn with jersey before and thought I need an overlocker to sew it - although several people told me you don't! So, Jamila convinced me to buy it for later when I am more confident. I just love the pink flamingos on the jersey. I am hoping to sew a dress from this, but have to find a pattern first. Any recommendations? I also found some cheap cottons in the scraps bin of A one fabrics.

Flamingo jersey and some cottons.

Then it was time for lunch and Claire had managed to grab us a table the whole cafe. Lunch was amazing and I had the possibility to chat with a few people, especially with Charlie from This Blog Is Not For You. Funnily enough we found out that we are originally from the same area, hihi. I would have never guessed that I would meet somebody who has been living so close to where I am from.

After lunch it was time for the epic fabric swap! Everybody had brought some fabric, notions and/or patterns that they wanted to swap. As my fabric stash isn’t that big yet I brought only a liberty copy print (leftover from my meringue skirt), a pattern and a few vintage-looking buttons. Everything was put on big tables forming a massive heap. Actually it reminded me of the days when the sales start in the big department stores. There would be heaps of clothes on the tables as well as lots of woman waiting to dive into it :) We were a bit more restrained and everybody got the chance to find a lovely fabric or pattern. There was no rule for how many items you are allowed to take. So at the end I ended up with quite a bit of fabric. I felt a bit greedy though (usually I am a modest person), but for me it was a possibility to pick up fabric that I wouldn’t usually buy because I am afraid of sewing with it yet (I just say stretch). 

Patterns!!!

Fabrics!!!

So here is what I got: A few lovely cottons which will also be perfect for patch working. Then some ice blue lining which I got from Emma from My Oh Sew Vintage Life (I just thought that would be perfect for the Victoria blazer) and some flower fabric with a bit of stretch donated by Kat from Krafty Kat. The last one has already made its way into a dress :)

I also got some lovely vintage patterns and a modern pattern, which I am going to try soon! I just love the dresses! After the swap we split in groups again and went for some more shopping. I left shortly after because my bag started to get really heavy!

So, if you ever have the chance to attend a meet-up just go! All the lovely people you meet will not be strangers any more at the end of the day! I honestly enjoyed meeting everybody. It was also my first opportunity to meet up with other sewing enthusiast and I had the feeling we were all talking the same language! I know a few of the patterns we talked about just from reading other peoples blogs and it was just amazing to have an idea what was going on. So thank you ladies for such an amazing day!!!

Ela sews and doesn't sleep

Do you know this situation, where you are so excited about a new sewing project that you can't sleep? I am in this situation for the last six month - and I am just excited about sewing and quilting in general!

Usually, I need my 8 hours of sleep, but not on the weekend. Then I am wide awake and you can find me already at 6 am sitting on my sewing machine. And that after only 5 hours of sleep, because I just wanted to finish that little seam the night before.

Sewing is the first thing I think about when I wake up, it is the thing I am dreaming and talking about. Imagine my poor boyfriend.

During the week now, I try to stop sewing or doing anything sewing related (blog, flickr, pinterest) one hour before I go to bed - just to come down from my sewing high :)

Do you know these feelings? Can you actually become addicted to sewing?  

I think I might be...