Clothes Making Mavens

Helena, Lori and Barbara sat down to empty out what has been swirling around our sewing brains recently. We've all been doing a lot of sewing and we had a lot to talk about, including a shocking confession! We took the opportunity to pepper Barbara with a few tricky questions and got even more great tips than usual, including the over-arching philosophy of sewing proportions that clarified a million little sewing decisions for us!

One thing that we love about Emily Hallman is that she knows her style! Her blog and especially her Instagram feed is a party for the eyes as she organizes her sewing into "collections" that tell a strong color story and mix and match in such a pleasing way.

In this interview with the fabulous Marcy Harriell of the Oonaballoona blog, Lori and Helena got the scoop on Marcy's exciting new project, where she combines her comfort in front of a camera (she is a working actor) with her flair for fashion and sewing. Marcy stars in the new Bluprint (formerly Craftsy Unlimited) show entitled "Re:Fashion" where she takes basics or thrift store finds and gives them that Oonaballoona flair that we all love so much.

In this episode, we reached out to hear some different perspectives on the question of "What do in-person sewing community meet-ups contribute to your sewing experience?" Lori and Helena recap their fun experience at PR weekend, then we hear from Mimi G, sewing and blogging superstar. We also reached out to three of our new friends from PR weekend to find out what they thought, and our Maven Barbara shares some thoughts.

Lori chats with Kate Ng of TimetoSew.uk about sustainability. What does sustainability mean when it comes to sewing? What practices can we adopt and which fabrics should we look for if we're concerned about the impact our hobby has on the environment and on working conditions around the world? Kate has some great insights and tips on the topic.

We are passing the mic again to hear listener's stories. Prompted by our monthly questions, Michelle, Andie and Pauline allow us into their sewing rooms to hear about their proudest moments, embarrassing items, and what they are working on now. And we are once again joined by Barbara, who is back from her travels and has a long list of to-sew items herself!

When we sew garments, we're sewing to fit our bodies. But women's bodies change often -- at least once a month. So we're Sewing with the Flow on this episode: sewing for menstruation and menopause. Lori & Helena talk with Erin Van Handel of the sewing blog Sie Macht to talk about garments and accessories that might make us feel comfy during that time of the month. We hear from Erin Beauchamp about her successful quest to sew the perfect period underwear. And Barbara Emodi drops some humourous wisdom on the subject.

Helena and Lori discuss their recent adventures in Mood and LA fashion district when they finally met for the first time! They also discuss some of their thoughts about taking on the RTW Fast challenge for 2018. You'll also hear from another RTW-Faster who is only just learning how to sew! And Barbara Emodi weighs in with thoughts on the need for speed and fast fashion.

We thought, while the new year is still fresh, that we would highlight some of fun Challenges and Sewalongs in case you wanted to jump in with us! We have 3 mini interviews to share, a primer on interfacing from our expert Maris, as well as a fun segment by our newest contributor, Barbara Emodi.

We asked you to get in touch and let us know what you get up to when you're not sewing, why you love to sew, and what's on your sewing table right now, among other things. We hear from Naomi of Spare Room Style and her sister Miriam of Create Hope Inspire, Shannon from Adventures of a Young Seamstress, Amy from Almond Rock & Love Sewing Magazine, and Manju from Sew Manju.

Lori and Helena talked holiday sewing with the hilarious and enthusiastic Barbara from Sewing on the Edge. We discuss sewing gifts and also Barbara's book, SEW ...The Garment-Making Book of Knowledge: Real-Life Lessons from a Serial Sewist, which is available for pre-order now. Show notes - http://www.clothesmakingmavens.com/episode-16-barbara-from-sewing-on-the-edge/

Inquiring minds want to know! What do you do when you're not sewing? What's on your sewing table right now? These questions and more will be answered by Hila from Saturday Night Stitch, Sasha from Secondo Piano, and hosts Lori & Helena, too. Maven Maris joins us to drop some wisdom about when to follow pattern instructions and when to throw caution to the wind and do it your own way. Listen in to find out how to add your voice to our next podcast! Check out the Show Notes

An interview with PatternReview.com's fearless leader, Deepika Prakash, about the resources you may not be familiar with on the community-driven site. With her heart full of love for sewing, Deepika facilitates a wonderful community of passionate sewists that offer help, encouragement and knowledge for everyone. She also answers the burning question "What is it like to work in an office stocked with every pattern imaginable?"

Sharadha of SweetShard.com has made herself a million-dollar wardrobe on a dime-store budget. Having spent way too many hours fawning over Sharadha's blog, Instagram account, and YouTube channel, Lori finally decided to just invite herself over to Sharadha's place to have a look in her closet in person! Sharadha was happy to give Lori the personalized tour...so come have a peek in Sharadha's closet and join in our conversation. You can find photos of all the pieces we talk about in the podcast over on Sweet Shard's blog at http://bit.ly/2xMjX2m.

Lori and Helena invited Melanie from Following the Thread to chat about her idea for a Literary Sewing Circle. We will be reading a book and sewing a garment that the book inspires. There are so many possibilities with this sew along idea and we had a great time discussing it! Show notes are posted here: http://www.clothesmakingmavens.com/?p=326