Hello all! I hope you are enjoying the summer. I'm trying to soak up as much of it as I can before my boy is off to school in a few weeks - already!!!! Well, my summer has been great in work and life. As far as work (Sew House Seven), I thought I'd share with you some of the latest fun.
Mid summer, Nelleke, of the blogspot GAAFmachine, contacted me about a group of sewists wanting to run a blog tour on the Tea House Top & Dress pattern. Of course I was thrilled! I've never had a pattern on a blog tour before and I couldn't believe they were asking me - so excited! The group of women came about through a Facebook page. It started with five of these women who had become internet friends from different parts of the world, wanting to sew up the Tea House pattern. They all decided to do it together and help each other with fabric choices and sewing questions. The group of 5 soon grew to 13 ladies from all over the world and then became a full blown blog tour. They had all been hard at work on their versions over the summer while I waited on pins and needles to see the results. The blog tour took place last week (Aug 9 - Aug 12) with Nelleke as the tour host. There were two chances to win one of my patterns by commenting on her blog and then...LA Finch Fabrics took it up a notch by offering 6 yards of fabric in the giveaway as well - thank you!!! By the way, congrats to the pattern winners Marsha & Terry!
So now I thought I would share some photos from the blog tour participants just in case you missed the tour. You can still check out the bloggers websites for more photos and information on their makes. The Tea House Dress in the top photo is mine and I wasn't one of the stops on the tour but thought I would share it with you now anyhow. I didn't feel very photogenic today so it's just shown on the hanger. I'm saving my energy for tonight when I'm having some head shots taken along with my upcoming pattern photoshoot. I hate having my picture taken and the anxiety is already kicking in. My above Tea House was made from a Bali Batik rayon print by Hoffman and I love it. Alright, no more rambling here we go.
The first stop of day 1 on the tour was Nelleke of GAAFmachine - our lovely host. She made her dress in a really pretty knit print - Wishful Dandelion Fields from LA Finch Fabrics - version E. She admitted that the pattern didn't work so well for knits so she only gave a glimpse of her dress but I think it looks very pretty from what I can see.
Looking fierce as usual was Melissa of Rebel & Malice blogspot. Melissa was kind enough to be my last minute pattern tester. I made some minor changes right before I was going to release the Tea House but wanted someone to sew it up one more time just in case and she came to my rescue - thank you big time!!! Anyhow, I love the vibrant blue color of her Version E dress.
The next stop was Bettina of Stahlarbeit blogspot. She has some really nice photos of her Japanese woodblock printed Tea House - version C in an Art Gallery print called Summit Twighlight. I love the solid contrasting pockets.
On Day 2 of the tour, Andreia of In A Manner Of Sewing blogspot surprised me with this gorgeous upcycled, pattern hacked version of a Tea House top.
Also on day 2 of the tour, Soraia of the blog Sew Happy made her pretty top (version A) in a Robert Kaufman print London Calling. The blue floral is beautiful on her.
And at the end of day 2, Stefanie of Mottenfrosch blogspot took us to Italy in her worldly Tea House top (version D). She made this top out of some beautiful printed fabric from Japan. Really pretty!
Then day 3 of the tour, I woke up to see Fleurine of Sew Mariefleur blogspot frolicking with her dog in her amazing Tea House dress (version B). I love the fabric and the directional changes it takes on the dress. She made her dress in a mid-weight cotton bark cloth by Miss Matatabi - cute!
I can't tell you how much I love the fabric that Dominique used on her Tea House Top - version A! I never tire of bird prints and I think the colors are so romantic, work well with the pattern and look great on her. The fabric is from Robert Kaufman. Check out Dominique's blog Kreamino to see and read more about it.
Next stop - Froelein Tilla. Eveline looks so pretty in pink! She made dress version B and was inspired by Jane Austin meets Japanese woodblock printed fabric. The fabric is by Art Gallery.
And the last stop of day 3 was Maria of the blogspot Fairies, Bubbles & Co. I am always so happy when I see that a garment from one of my patterns fits and looks great on it's person in the wild and Maria's dress was no exception - so pretty on her! She made version B in a beautiful Nani Iro double gauze.
The last day of the tour (day 4) we saw Emi of the blogspot Just Add Fabric. I LOVE the simplicity of the navy linen fabric and it looks so great on her! Not only does her dress (version B) look great, but you have to check out her blog so you can see the beautiful photos her husband took.
I couldn't resist sneaking one more of Emi's photos in. This is so gorgeous!
You may have missed Thao of Little Cumquat blogspot however, I have her here as a little extra treat. Thao - I completely understand that kids are more important than sewing deadlines so don't apologize. I am happy for us viewers that you were able to finish your very pretty dress though. Thao made her dress (version B) in Birch organic cotton and the print is Charlie Harper's Barn Swallow (love that Charlie Harper).
There was one more stop on the final day of the blog tour and that was Sara of Made By Sara blogspot. Sara is expecting a baby so her top didn't fit her. Congrats Sara and don't worry, thanks for being a part of the tour and the lovely group of ladies.
So thank you to all who participated in this amazing blog tour! Here's to all of the bloggers as well as all of the readers. I had so much fun and was blown away with how uplifting it was to interact with all of these sewists from all around the world. I hope you found it inspiring as well. Thanks for reading!