Radio Silence

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So sorry for the radio silence.  Things have been wacky around here.  Preparing for the wedding, a funeral for a dear friend's husband, a step-son leaving for the military and a summer cold... more soon!  Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Drumroll...

Sorry for the delay in getting this posted... I'm struggling lately with getting pictyures off my SD card onto my computer.  I think I need a new card because half the time, my computer does not want to recognize the card and the data on it.

The randomly selected winner of my very first ever giveaway is:

blurrily...Sue!  Sue has a terrific blog of her own called Sewin' Steady and she has been a huge supporter of this blog.  A sincere thanks to those of you who enetered by leaving me some feedback.  I will take all of your advice seriously as I sally further into the blog world.

And Now For Something Completely Different...

To quote the lads from Monty Python!  I finally completed the decoupaged notions box!  You may recall that one of the boys made me a box in woodshop.  A little rough hewn and slightly lopsided in places, but a nice large wooden box, with a drawer.  Immediately, my thoughts went to what things could be stored in such a box. Since sewing holds a huge place in my heart and brain, it occured to me that one big box for notions and machine parts would be great to have and would eliminate the need for about four other boxes I currently keep about my sewing table.

Here are the pictures of the original box.

The first step was to decoupage on some tissue pattern pieces from patterns that had some pieces missing already.

Eventually I coated the whole box with these.  Then I printed out some sewing graphics onto parchment from my favorite free Graphics site, The Graphics Fairy.  After all images were affixed, I "aged" the box a little by spraying with a brown stain, and adding some small areas of rubbed off paint.  And here is the completed box!

One or two more coats of acrylic varnish and it will be ready to hold all my sewing tools!  This was a fun project that while sewing related, did not involve one single needle and thread!  Occasionally, it's nice to do something other than your main craft, don't you think?

100 Posts (and a giveaway)!!!

Just last week I celebrated one year of blogging fun!  Today I'm posting my 100th post!  Due to some technical difficulties relating to my camera memory card not wishing to speak to my computer today, that 100th post will not be what I had planned to talk about.

First, the fun part.  In addition to sewing, I dabble in a bunch of other crafts, including jewelry making.  I especially like to use upcycled materials in my creations. To celebrate 100 posts, I'm giving away a pair of handmade (by me) earrings, just like the ones I made for the wedding.  They are reclaimed faux pearls with reclaimed faceted glass beads, on sterling silver ear wires.  Just the thing for a dressy occasion.

To enter, leave me a comment telling me what sorts of posts you'd like to see more of on this blog.  This giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere.  Please also be sure that your e mail address is there someplace so I can contact you for the shipping particulars. 

Now the not so fun part.  Lately it seems that I'm not getting many comments on the blog.  Is it because of the preoccupation with the wedding preparations?  Sorry for that.  It'll all be over after August.  Is it because I'm too shy to post too many pictures of myself in my creations?  Is it because I'm an old lady and I'm out of touch with what real people wear?  Please let me know so that I can serve you better, cause I'm really getting a little down about it.  I sincerely want your opinions.  Thanks!

The deadline to enter the giveaway is midnight EDT on July 21st.  Good luck, and thanks again for your suggestions!

Hand Picked Zipper

I'm working along on my wedding dress, and I decided to do a hand picked zipper, rather than using the machine.  The appearance will be much more subtle on the finished dress.  To review the skills needed, I consulted a recent article in Threads Magazine on hand sewing techniques.  After practicing a bit on plain fabric, I was ready to tackle the real thing.

I applied the zipper with the back seam basted closed.

Here's the completed zipper section of the back bodice.

And here's the inside, with the lining hand stitched down.

Next, I need to apply some lace detailing to the right side of the dress.  this is another lengthy hand sewing project.  Thanks for checking in on my progress!  Do you use a lot of hand sewn details in your work?

Happy Blogiversary

Happy Blogiversary, to me....happy blogiversary, to me!  It's been a whole year since Seams Sustainable went live here on Blogger.  In some ways it seems like a year, and in others time has flown by.

I have an actual 52 followers, and they're not all people I know in "real life"!  My goal had been for 100, but I can wait... the blog has grown slowly and organically, and I'm grateful for every single follower and every single comment.

The most popular post in this crazy year was the one in which I posted my skin balm recipe!  I know, incredible!  That one post had thousands of pageviews, and was a Pinterest hit.

The most commented (not counting my replies) post was on my Upcycle T Shirt project, which was also one of two of my projects to be featured on the Green Crafts Showcase on Crafting a Green World.

I was interviewed by Denise at the Blue Gardenia for her Sew How series, and I got two blog awards!  Also, I joined the Guest Blogging team over at SewMantra.  All in all a pretty exciting and fun year.  Can't wait to see what the next one brings!  Thanks to all of you who stop by, comment, visit and share.  You have no idea how much it means to me!

Plodding Along on the Ultimate Restyle

I'm considering this wedding dress to be an ultimate restyle.  I'm retaining the basic skirt from the original gown and I'm using similar features, like lace netting.  I applied the netting to the bodice today.  Here are a few pictures so you can get a sense of it.

Tomorrow I plan to cut the netting for the overskirt.  I'll intersperse some other projects here so you don't get bored with this dress.  It's going to be a painstaking project because I want it to be perfect, of course.

On another note, another one of my projects was featured on the Green Crafts Showcase at Crafting a Green World!  I am very happy to say that my latest mom jumper restyle was one of the five projects featured for June!  Thanks for all your comments and encouragement.

Making the Cut

I've been delaying actually cutting satin for my wedding dress.  The thought of cutting into the satin has been daunting because I know I can't get more if I screw up.  This is because the satin comes from the skirt of my mother's wedding dress.

Today I screwed up my courage and cut the bodice and the bodice lining.  Next, I'll cut the lace for the bodice.  Then I have to make a lace overskirt for the skirt of the dress, which I am partially re-using as it is.  This is kind of confusing to explain, so I'll try to post some pictures soon.

The lace is very similar to the original lace netting from the original gown, but there was not enough of it preserved to use.

Last weekend we visited the place where our ceremony is going to be.  Here's a glimpse of the stone altar.