#LindenSwap

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Hi guys! Happy Tuesday. This past week has been a huge whirlwind of events/emotions. My father-in-law passed away a week and a half ago, so I took that time off to spend time with family and help get things in order for the memorial service. Dealing with the death of a loved one plus being away from the studio for so long is not the best recipe, but spending time with relatives that I haven't seen in awhile (some I met first time) was worth the time away. It also gave me a chance to get back into really working in my sketchbook. Not to figure out ideas (although i do use it for that), but to use the page to rest.

Now what you came for... the Linden Swap! To recap, Carrie of Oh She Dabbles and Ingrid of We The Sewing started a swap for all those who adore the awesomeness that is Grainline Studios' Linden Sweatshirt. This was my first time participating in a swap, so I was a tad bit nervous. It's weird to not to try on a garment throughout the process of sewing it, but it turned out to be such a great experience that i'd totally do it again!

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I swapped a Linden with Jess from Wardrobe Ecology and this is the one she sent me! Isn't it lovely?! She made View B for me since my first Linden had long sleeves. The patterned fabric is an organic cotton jersey from Feral Childe called "Somthin' Else" and combined that with a mid-weight black knit fabric. I did a happy dance when I opened the package because it's so......ME! Our tastes seem very similar when it comes to wardrobe, so i'm not surprised that she read me so well. 

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If you would like to see the Linden I made for her go check out her Instagram :) Carrie recently posted the first round up of swapped Lindens. You can see those HERE.

p.s. I'm back in the studio and trying to get more organized. I'm in desperate need of some sort of planner or weekly calendar that has a good amount of writing room. If you have any suggestions for a functional and beautiful planner let me know in the comments. 

First Make of 2015

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Of course my first make of 2015 had to be a Grainline's Linden Sweatshirt. I've been hoarding this fabric not knowing what to make with it and finally decided that it'd be quite fitting as a Linden. This knit is a red and navy St. James stripe. I bought it from the sale bin at a local shop in Alaska, but I'm pretty sure that I found it on Fabric.com...or at least its look-a-like.

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This linden is a hodge-podge of view A and B. I used the front bodice and hemming method from B and the sleeve length and back bodice from view A. I'm really diggin' the high low effect it gave the shirt. I cut a size 0 and the only alteration I made was shortening the sleeve by about an inch. Since I didn't make a muslin I just made an educated guess based off of the other Grainline patterns I've made up (specifically the Archer). 

Can we take a second to check out that stripe matching?! I love stripes and last year vowed to get more of them into my wardrobe, but boy do they make me anxious. I tend to stare at the fabric for a good ten minutes getting up the nerve to cut into it.  Luckily this knit is medium weight, so it didn't shift and stretch a lot. It also retained it's shape well after pre-washing which is awesome!! 

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p.s. Carrie of Oh She Dabbles and Ingrid of We The Sewing started a Linden Swap on Instagram! I'm sure it's not too late to get in on it. I ordered my fabric for my partner's (@Jesssomewhere) Linden and hopefully it'll get here by next week, soon excited!! Who else is participating in the swap??

p.p.s. I realized I never actually explained the why behind my want to create a handmade wardrobe...i'll get on that :)