Selfish Sewing Week
Samantha Joins in Selfish Sewing Week … Sort of
Selfish Sewing Week is in full swing, and I’m so sad that I don’t have time to sew something just for me! I’ve been sewing my little fingers off getting ready for Spring Quilt Market and while I won’t end up personally using much of what I’ve been sewing, it is definitely selfish (business-promoting) sewing! Since I’m in Market mode, I volunteered my amazing (and talented!) teenage daughter, Samantha, for this year’s Selfish Sewing Week post. 
Samantha doesn’t really sew much, though. She knits … a whole lot! So, we temporarily turned Selfish Sewing Week into Selfish Knitting Week. This girl always has something on her needles, and it’s very often something for someone else. From hats and booties for the local women’s shelter to stuffed monsters for her baby brothers, she loves using her knitting skills to bless others. I had no problem, though, convincing her that she should take a little time to knit these handwarmers for herself!
Because we live in Florida, there’s not much practical need for handwarmers, but Samantha wears them all the time anyway! They’re one of her favorite fashion statements. Really. I’m not just saying that for this post. I’m typing while watching her knit across the room, and she’s wearing another pair from her collection. She once spent weeks working out a pattern for Captain America handwarmers … she’s a self-pronounced geek, too, but that’s a different post. The Cozy Morning Mitts pattern from Nerdy Gerdy was right up her alley! She gives them a big thumbs up!
They work well for jazz hands … 
… a little drama …
… making funny faces …
… even pretending that you’re a zombie. (She totally could not do that without laughing. She told me to just call her the laughing zombie.)
Gretchen, the designer behind Nerdy Gerdy Knitting Patterns, is one of my favorite people, so I love that not only do I get to show off my beautiful teenage daughter, but I get to showcase one of Gretchen’s patterns, too. Have you ever met someone online and wished that they lived next door to you? Gretchen is so like that. She lives with her farming husband and children on the most beautiful acreage in the midwest. I just want to climb into her blog pictures and spend the day. Oh, and her blog has the best name ever! You really have to check it out right here: He Sows and She Sews. It just so happens that Gretchen posted new pictures of her own pair of Cozy Morning Mitts a few days ago: Yarn Along. She gets to wear them for warmth and fashion!
Would you like a chance to win your own copy of the Cozy Morning Mitts pattern? How about a chance to win it plus a whole list of other selfish sewing (and knitting) patterns? Just scroll down to the bottom of this post and check out the Rafflecopter to enter.
I’m going to wrap up with this picture that takes my breath away. My sweet Samantha Grace — isn’t she beautiful? She’s that way inside and out.
Now, go make something for yourself and join in the fun! Oh, and be sure to share what you’re making on Kollabora. (Not sure what Kollabora is? I’m still figuring it out myself, but you can read more about it from Rachael right here: SSW & the Kollabora How-To.) Check out these other bloggers who are joining in, too, and don’t forget to enter the drawing!
milkybeer · Behind the Hedgerow · jm_subrn · Sew What, Sherlock?
Lladybird · sew Amy sew · the Brodrick Design Studio · adirondack inspired
The Crooked Banana · Sewbon · Idle Fancy · girl like the sea
oona aloona · Lauren Dahl · verypurpleperson · la inglesita
Groovybaby…and mama · Buzzmills · La Pantigana · sew a straight line
Dandelion Drift · JustMeJay · B Yazoo · Disaster In A Dress
the quirky peach · Fishsticks Designs · Seamstress Erin · a happy stitch
Casa Crafty · Sarah Jane Sews · YoSaMi · Call Ajaire · miss matatabi
Slightly Delayed Selfish Sewing – The Lola Dress
I had grand plans for Selfish Sewing Week, but I only managed to sew one thing, and I’m finally getting around to blogging about it a week later! Better late than never, I suppose. Here’s my version of the Lola Dress from Victory Patterns. It’s a terrific pattern as written, but I did make a few alterations. One of the advantages of sewing is that you can alter to make something fit just the way you want it!
I adored the fit of the bottom part of the dress, and the huge pockets are amazing! I did add about 1″ to the bottom of the dress and to the width of the band, adding a total of about 1 1/2″ in length. I’m about 5′ 7″ and around size 10 to 12, and those adjustments brought the length right to the top of my knee. I also made the length of the bottom band longer because I was working with cotton french terry that doesn’t have much stretch.
The pattern is super easy to tape together, cut out and follow, so this dress went together in no time at all! Most of the adjustments I made were to the top. I pulled in a few inches along the neckline, where the sleeve and front meet, and about 1/2″ in both of the bust seams. (In retrospect, I probably should have cut a smaller top than bottom, but I was in a hurry and just cut out the size 12 all over.)
I adore the princess seams! They add so much character to an otherwise plain dress, and they really give it a professional look.
This dress is incredibly comfortable . . . almost like wearing PJs! (Here I am showing off my amazing ability to model while staring off into space. Impressive, right?)
Selfish Sewing Week – My Plan
Selfish Sewing Week starts today! Do you have a plan? What are sewing for YOU?! 
I’m at that slightly awkward point in pregnancy where you don’t really look pregnant, but nothing fits anymore. I’ve been using the rubberband-around-the-button-and-through-the-buttonhole trick to fasten my jeans, but honestly, I’d rather just hang out in yoga pants and a t-shirt. I am leaving for Quilt Market in four weeks, though, and I can’t go looking like I should be heading to the gym, right? I’m hoping to use the motivation from Selfish Sewing Week to make a couple of cute things that will look stylish and still be comfy.
I ran across Sue’s version of Our Favorite Top from Tessuti on her blog, Quilt, Sew, Sew Sue, last week, and fell in love! The pattern is free, so I grabbed it right away and dug through my stash until I found this cotton candy pink stretch cotton jersey. I’m hoping to make it a few inches longer so that it’ll fit more like a tunic, but I’ll have to see how far I can stretch the fabric that I have on hand.
Once I’d decided on my first project, I went hunting on Pinterest for other ideas and ran across the Leopard-Print Lola Dress at Ginger Makes. The pattern is from Victory Patterns. I love that it’s really a long sweatshirt with character! (Look at those great pockets!) Once again, I went to my stash and found this cute stretch french terry. (I thought I might ask you if you thought it was too “young” a fabric for 40-something me, but then I decided that I really didn’t want to hear that it might be! So . . . if it is, just don’t tell me. K? I just bought the cutest pink flats that are going to match it perfectly.)
So, that’s my plan for this week. Are you joining in? What are you sewing? Be sure to pop over to imagine gnats to find out how you can share and see what everyone else is up to! I’ll be back later this week to show off my progress.
