Friday, February 10, 2012

{Sew Grateful Week} Round-up of Reflection Posts

Happy Sew Grateful Friday everyone!  Today's post will provide links to all the great reflection posts that people have been writing as part of the Sew Grateful Week.  It's been a bit difficult to capture all of these as the whole week's really been about reflection!  So I've only included separate reflection posts in this round-up.  Several people wrote reflections alongside their giveaways, patterns and tutorials and projects--and I'll try to capture those in the other round-up posts!

First, here's a link the other posts from Sew Grateful Week in case you have missed any:


I'm not going to do a lot of summarizing for the reflection posts because I feel that they are personal and a wonderful reflection from each person's perspective AND I want to encourage you to click the link to go to their blog and read the whole post!

I've really enjoyed how many people have contacted me and said how they've met lots of new sewing bloggers through the posts from this week!  So my challenge to you all today is to take a few moments and comment on the reflection posts and get to know a few new people or support people you've known for awhile!

So here we go....

*The She's in Fashion: Vintage Sewing in NYC post called What I'm "Sew Grateful" For
"I’m a self-taught sewist. I have only one friend in real life who sews who I see rarely, and if it weren’t for the huge community of sewing blogs that have offered tutorials, tips, pictures of projects (both failed and successful) I don’t think I would have come this far on my own."
I love following Janice's blog She's in Fashion: Vintage Sewing in NYC!  Definately check it out--we've got the same love for vintage patterns and I adore all her creations (lace dresses, Wearing History1930's blouse and trousers....just to name a few!)
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*The Sew Essentially Sew post called Sew Grateful to be Sewing for Family and How-to-Books

"I have sewn for my extended family over the years.  Some of my sewing projects were requested.  Others were received with bored looks (not all Christmas gifts go over well).  But they have all been made with care and love.  I'm sew grateful to share my sewing projects with them over the years. "

Graca who blogs over at Sew Essentially Sew is such a generous blogger! Always quick to host giveaways, to leave comments and to encourage other sewing bloggers.  Hop on over and check out her lovely blog.
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 *The Hectic Eclectic post called Sew Grateful for...
"Sewing is about friends. Sewing together, helping each other out - the friendly and easy camaraderie of working together on the same or different projects, keeping our hands busy and our minds free, is such a satisfying source of contentment"
I don't remember how I met MrsC (through Tilly's blog perhaps?) but I am SO GLAD I did! What an amazingly wonderful woman!  Thank you MrsC for all your support and inspiration.
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*The Woolmix post called Sew Grateful Week
"My mother has supported my new enthusiasm for sewing in a material way: a sewing machine as a birthday present, then books for Christmas and the promise of her spare pinking shears. The other day, she told me that she had some fabric that I 'can have to cut up', just as when I was a child. It made me smile, as I felt like an industrious little girl again - and reminded me that all this is play. Work and skill and hopefully valued results, but play nonetheless. A good thing to remember. "
Zoe who blogs over at Woolmix knits up a storm (is knitting 20 things in 2012) but is new to sewing! Definitely check out her blog, say hello and check our her neat purple sewing machine!
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 *The Musings of a Dedicated Housefiancee post called Sew Grateful Week-A Reflection
"I'm so grateful to have found a hobby where I can create something useful and lovely with my own hands.  One that allows me to explore a tradition through time.  A hobby that allows me not to settle for what others say I should purchase and where the possibilities are endless."
Jennifer writes a delightful blog called Musings of a Dedicated Housefiancee--she also makes beautiful garments.  I especially love this red dress...go have a look at her projects and say hello on her Sew Grateful post!
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 *The Casey's Elegant Musings post called sew grateful week + inspiration
"I can honestly say that without the internet community, I wouldn’t be at the point where I am with my sewing. While I’ve always been the bookish sort and loved to raid the public library for sewing books, the amazing variety of knowledge shared on other sewing blogs means that there is something new crossing my radar all the time!"
Ok, raise your hand if Casey inspired you to either a) start sewing or b) start blogging (my hand is raised for both). Check out Casey's Sew Grateful post and let her know how much we appreciate her and the dedication she puts into doing tutorials and supporting us all in our sewing journeys (oh and there's lots of pretty pattern pictures)!! 
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*The My Vintage Visions post called What I'm 'sew grateful' for
As a person who is new to the blogging world, I would have to say that I'm "sew grateful" for the online community.  I'm grateful for having access to an amazing selection of online sewing and costume-related sources.  I started this blog after being inspired by a number of really great blogs  created by some very talented individuals.  The online community is a wonderful way to share ideas, fabric, patterns, inspiration and much more!"
The Vintage Visions blog has lots of great vintage and historical costuming projects and resources.  Readers are welcomed to the homepage by a drool inducing 1940 Elsa Schiaparelli hat and lots of fabulous outfit photos and vintage fashion musings.  All of my favourite things!
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*The Toferet's Empty Bobbin post called Everyone else is doing it
"It’s Sew Grateful week and everyone is suddenly grateful for people that
enable their addictions support their sewing enthusiasm. I like this concept too, but I’ll probably keep it short because it could potentially be infinite."
Molly and Pedro--the fabulous sister duo behind Toferet's Empty Bobbin and super hilarious. I just love this blog--check out the sister dueling in the comments!
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*The Cation Designs posts 1) Sew Grateful Week: Family and Friends and 2) Sew Grateful Week: Non-Humans

Cation Designs...man, I cannot tell you enough how much I love this blog.  She did two Sew Grateful reflection posts and I just have to share one photo from each post and to encourage you to check out her blog for the rest!

Family and Friends post:

Non-Humans post:
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*The Down the Retro Rabbit Hole Post Called For This, I am Sew Grateful
"I am 'sew grateful' for....My cats. I know it's silly, but I learn from my cats every day. Tai Tai teaches me to be chill. Seriously, he is the most chill cat. You can do just about anything to him--I frequently flip him on his back and tickle his armpits--and all he will do is blink his baby blues at you and purr. Pretty Kitty teaches me to trust, even when I don't want to. She's a rescue with trust issues; I didn't--couldn't--touch her for the first two years I had her. For the first six months, she lived in my studio apartment's very small closet (it was about as deep as a shoe box, and as long as three shoe boxes lined up end-to-end). She only came out at night. Now, she sleeps on the bed, asks for chin skritchins' and chats away. She still darts off if I move suddenly, but usually comes back right away. Both teach me a sense of humor is a beautiful thing, and that comedic timing is EVERYTHING."
Argh. Too many cute cats! ooohhhh...check out this photo (and then check out Tina's fabby blog!)
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*The Tatulinka's Tales Post Called Sew Grateful Week
"If it wasn't for online resources, I wouldn't be sewing myself! (Not that I seem to be doing much sewing recently...) There are so many great free patterns and tutorials out there, not to mention all the wonderful people willing to give you a hand if you ask. So far in my short sewing life, I have:
    • Used Casey's tutorial for shaped pockets on a skirt
    • Made a Sorbetto top from a free pattern
    • Won some awesome leopard print chiffon from Suzy Sewing
    • Won a bunch of goodies from All the Whimsical Things (Including some green dye that I put to use recently... results will be posted tomorrow!)
    • Made a croquis after being inspired by a whole bunch of brave bloggers!"
Beata from Melbourne who blogs over at Tatulinka's Tales makes some amazing outfits--check out her shaped pocket skirt from Casey's tutorial. LOVE!
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 *The Polka Dot Overload Post Called Sew Grateful Guest Reflection: "Surrounded by Sewing"
Ok, you MUST check out Mikhaela's blog--as part of her first Sew Grateful reflection her mom has written a guest post about how her grandmother taught her how to sew. It's fantastic!  Here's a photo from that post:
And here's a teaser for her next reflections post:
"Tomorrow I'll be sharing the story of how my beloved grandmother Melba taught me how to sew in a bittersweet week bookended by a road trip to a Mississippi funeral and a scary ambulance ride to a small Georgia hospital."
Oh my! I can't wait to hear this story!
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*A Series of (Unfortunate) Vintage Sewing Attempts Post Called Sew Grateful Week
"I am Sew Grateful for the online crafting community that I have just discovered this year. It has been a huge help to me and not only to my crafting skills (though it has helped a lot there too!!), but it has helped me feel like there are people out there who have similar interests as me and that I get along with.
Though it is pretty sad that I have referred to a blogger that has no clue I exist as my friend when explaining something they said to someone. Is there a good word for someone who's blog you read? Because I bring up bloggers in everyday conversation quite frequently and it gets annoying saying "a lady whose blog I read" and unless the person I am talking to is my husband I can't refer to the blogger my their name/alas because they will ask who is that and I will have to say it anyway (my hubby however is pretty familiar with a bunch of you :)
Anyway, I really wanted to say thank you. Your blogs mean a lot to me."
Brandy who blogs over at A Series of (Unfortunate) Vintage Sewing Attempts just started blogging in October.  I really like her blog and brings up a good question.  Want to weigh in?  Definitely check out her post and say hello!
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*The Struggle Sews a Straight Seam Post Called Sew I thought you should know...
"Sew I thought you should know....How grateful I am to all of you. Every single person who stops by and reads this thing. Seriously, it makes me a little dizzy sometimes when I consider how three years ago I didn’t know a thing about sewing, and now it’s this huge part of my life. It has become a form of therapy, an outlet of creativity, a way to be part of a community and a continual delight for me, so despite the long nights of hemming and the occasional (frequent) “what the hell does that instruction mean I hate facings/zippers/basting/the world” moment, I am so grateful for my little sewing addiction. Through sewing I’ve been introduced to so many amazing people and ideas, primarily digitally, and yet I feel connected with people across the world when they say, seam rippers, AM I RIGHT? And I’m like, bitch, please, I totally get you on every level.  Some of us serge and some of us hand stitch everything. Some of us love synthetics and some of us swear by naturals. Some of us love punk, some prep, some (a lot) vintage, some modern, some cutesy, some chic, but I have learned so much from so many people out there, and I can’t help but be insanely grateful for every blog, comment and query I’ve discovered along the way."
Such a great post from a wonderful blogger...and there's kitties too...
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*The Pixie Make Pretty Post Called Sew grateful for new reading and bloggers
"One thing I'm particularly loving about this week is the link round-ups people have done, and the shout-outs to their favourite blog buddies.  For someone like me, who has only been blogging for a fraction of a second, it's given me a stellar opportunity to discover new content - great posts that I might have missed the first time, tutorials on things I didn't even realise I wasn't doing, and amazing sewers and crafters whose blogs I hadn't discovered yet! Oh, the link-hopping! I can't tear myself away from y'all! My laptop has become grafted to my lap!
So I thought I would post about the things I'm grateful for...that I've discovered through other people's sew grateful posts.  Wow, it's like a sew grateful vortex!"
Pixie just started her blog THIS WEEK!  How great is that?  I just love her round-up of some of the posts for the Sew Grateful week! Definitely check it out and give her a big welcome hello!
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I hope I didn't miss any reflection posts??  If I have, let me know and I'll be sure to highlight it this week-end!  Thank you to everyone for posting what you're 'sew grateful' for whether in a reflection post or for a giveaway. It's been really wonderful to read them all!

I've got a few more round-up posts this weekend (projects! giveaways! tutorials and patterns!)
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14 comments

  1. Thanks for the link, Debi! I definitely have a lot to be "sew grateful" for.

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  2. These are all so heartwarming - thanks for initiating all this Debi!!!

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  3. Thanks for this roundup; it'll be fun to read through everyone's thoughts. And thanks for all the work on this idea!

    Not sure if this is the right place to post to be included in the next round up, but I made my post about a finished project based on someone else's tutorial. It's here: http://chiralcraft.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/sew-grateful-week-and-my-new-mixer-cover/

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  4. Yay! I'm so glad you think Pedro and I are funny (that is the impression we're trying to get across after all)! And thanks again for putting this all together!

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  5. Oh, Debi, you are the best! Thank you for linking me, and for gathering all of these amazing posts together! Best. Week. Ever.
    strugglesewsastraightseam.wordpress.com

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  6. Wow! So much reading material! Thanks for doing all this, Debi, it's gorgeous to see how much we all help and inspire each other all laid out like this. :)

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  7. This was such a fantastic collection of thoughts to read, Debi! Thank you so much for putting this all together.

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  8. it's been such a wonderful week, well done.

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  9. Good work on the rounding up, Debi! There's been so much going on, it feels like Sew Grateful has grown arms and legs, which has been amazing.

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  10. Such a great concept Debi, I'm so glad to see it's been embraced by the sewing community. I haven't managed to get my act together in time but I hope to get time to write a post next week. But just in case my time management skills fail me again, I just wanted to say how grateful I am to you and your blog. You're an inspiration in more ways than one, and I'll include David in that too. I love how enthusiastic you are, how creative and stylish and how supportive you and David are of each other. So thank you, sweetiepie, for always bringing a smile to my face whenever your posts pop up in my reader. I hope this year is an amazing year for you both x

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Tors! What an absolutely lovely comment!! xoxoxoox

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  11. Thank you so much for coming up with this sew grateful week. It really has been wonderful and I am sew grateful for this online community. Thank you for adding my post to your list here. I wasn't expecting that. It was really odd, after I got more than two comments on my post I knew something must have been up. (I am just getting caught up on my blog reading today).

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  12. Thank you so much for including me in the post so last-minute, Debi! And thanks for organising all this - it's been a fantastic week :D Well done!

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I read each and every comment--thank you so much!

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