Monday, March 31, 2014

A Liebster!!! For ME!!!!




I have been nominated  for a Liebster Blog Award by Annette at Mrs. Toad Sews!!! Annette is new to blogging but not new to sewing. She is participating in Goodbye Valentino's RTW fast for 2014.

In case you don't know what the Liebster Blog Award is; It is an award given by a small blogger to another small blogger. Its purpose is to raise awareness of blogs with fewer than 200 followers.

So this award is giving to new bloggers and the rules are as follows:


Thank the person who gave you the award, linking 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

Let your nominees know they have been chosen by leaving a comment on their blog

If you follow my blog or follow me on Pattern Review, you might wonder if I am really as over-excited about sewing as I appear to be. The answer is a resounding YES!!!! So when I saw Annette's comment on my blog I was really overwhelmed and happy and excited and all that!


So, here goes:


How did you get into sewing?
I wish I had more of a Cinderella tale regarding my foray into sewing. :) 


I have always been crafty. I used to sew Barbie clothes, by hand, from scraps of fabric and I could always be found putting something together. In high school I was in auto shop and wood shop and other hands-on, mechanically inclined classes. 

At some point, I decided to learn to crochet and got really good at it, really quickly. That was my introduction into the craft 'blogosphere'. So after seeing cute little sewn things, I decided I should get a sewing machine (really, I wanted an embroidery machine). That eventually (of course!) led me to realize that people sew their own clothes(!!!!?). I was intrigued and fascinated.

So, last January I bought a sewing machine. And as they say...the rest is history!


What type(s) of sewing do you enjoy?
Garment sewing. I have sewn some home dec things; curtains for my family room (with $1/yd fabric!), aprons as gifts. But I am enamored with garment sewing!!


What do you do when you aren't sewing or blogging?
When I am not sewing or blogging I am working full time (as a chemist with a Forensic Engineering firm) and being super-mom and stuff :)

I have two teens at home so life can be crazy, crazy busy. But I have always been pretty good about taking time for myself, guilt-free. 


I have recently picked up knitting, so I knit as well. And I read - a lot. I love to read!


Do your real life friends know about your blog?
Just one, maybe two. Not long ago, there was a blog post (can't remember who's it was!) asking this question. And a good point that came up was, to people who don't sew, sewing blogs can come off as narcissistic. My husband has even "accused" me of making/posting things just for the accolades. But when you sew, you realize that isn't why you do it. Which leads to...

Why do you blog?
I blog because I LOVE being a part of the sewing community! I don't know anyone in real life who is a garment sewer. My mom has always known how to sew but using patterns and making garments is new to her. So she's slowly coming into that aspect.

Never having had sewing lessons of any kind, I learned and continue to learn, so much from the online sewing community. I hope that by blogging I am "doing my part" so to speak and making a contribution.

I enjoy sharing what I make and I love seeing what other people make; But I also I blog because I hope that I can help someone else. If ONE person feels like something I showed or talked about helped them, I am giddy! GIDDY!!!!


And my nominees!! All chosen because I love reading their blogs (I have a list of 127 blogs that I follow!). I based the number of followers on what was on their site (vs bloglovin' followers).
My questions:

How did you start sewing?
What do you enjoy most about blogging?
Stash Containment: Do you (fabric) stash and if so, how is it contained?
Are you a planner or do you sew whatever strikes your fancy?
Are you a "selfish seamstress" or do you sew for others?