It's the strangest thing to be writing here again after all this time, specially after having had such a full last year in terms of sewing. I haven't committed to any sewing, but this post was long due.

I've been a fan of Schnittchen patterns ever since I tried their coatigan Silvia here and here and the Coco jacket as well. Yes, I'm a coat addict and these have ticked all the right boxes for me.

This time I was asked to be a part of their Sewing Around the World tour (thank you!) and I just couldn't decline.

I used this fabric that The Sweet Mercerie was kind enough to provide me (thank you!) and it's the softest viscose; sews like water without running away or losing shape.

The blouse is finished with bias tape on the armholes and facings around the neckline, with a keyhole opening in the back.

Check out the Schnittchen Blog and follow around on IG under #satw to check all the monthly posts of some very talented ladies all around the world!

Thank you Nadja and Silke for having me!

Welcome baby #4! Good thing he´s out already, otherwise Sara might get into labor with this little suprise, ha!

So Sara from Made by Sara just had her baby number #4 and it´s the cutest little baby boy. Congratulations my dear, and all the best to you and your family. Obviously, we can´t pass on a good opportunity to sew, so some of her sewing blogger friends joined for a little sewing baby shower.

A few years ago, I used to do these ponchos / capes for kids and sell them on FB. But back then I was also working and I just couldn´t keep up with maintaining a business, even if at a small scale. Also, the wool I found was very very good but only a limited quantity was available, so I ran out of resources within a few months. Ah, ain´t I a good business woman, ha! Those days are long gone and I don´t think I would ever do it again (just too much pressure and stress), but I thought about how I loved seing my kids in theirs and how practical and easy it is to dress a baby.

The pattern is self drafted from back then, quite an easy semi circular shape with the hood, and I made this version for a 1 year old. I´m guessing, depending on the baby, that it can fit from around 9 months to around 1 1/2, 2 years if lucky. The wool is thick and quite warm and it´s fully lined in cotton twill.

Sorry for the bad quality pictures, but during the good light hours I haven´t been able to shoot anything. Hope you like it, Sara!

Here´s the link to the rest of the party!

I know it´s rather hot for tea right now, but bare with me for a couple of minutes because this kind of Tea is really a summer cool down if you´re needing one. The lovely Nelleke and some other talented ladies had this pretty cool idea for a tour and I must confess I was pretty intrigued by the pattern so challenge accepted, ha! The Tea House by Sew House Seven can either be a top or a dress, has cuffed dolman sleeves, a V neck with a front yoke accent and ties around the waist. It´s not my usual cup of tea as the style I usually wear, but I could see the pattern´s potential.

I had this fabric already used up as a kimono I made a couple of years ago when I knew nothing about sewing techniques; really, the finishings made me weep everytime I picked it up and I was just waiting for the perfect pattern to come along to save it.

In order to make it work, I had to make a few changes to the Tea House; I removed the back pleat and made the back yoke as part of the back piece so the back fabric panel would shine - back, back, back, haha! Then for the front yoke, since I wasn´t doing the ties, I joined it to the lower panel as a whole piece. The fabric had this band print that looked perfect for me as an accent but to make it work I had to add a center front seam. Also, it´s cut on the crossgrain so extra pins, basting, glue, whatever you can think of was used to keep it nice and steady when I joined it to the front side panels. I used the same band print as an accent on the cuffs.

Inside it´s fnished with the front and back facings the pattern includes (just shortened the front facing a bit because I didn´t need it that long), understitched and tacked down at the shoulder seams, you know the drill. The pattern is beautifully drafted with impeccable instructions, so it´s perfect to play a bit with the pieces if you need or want to change something to make it more you.

The fabric is a really light silky viscose with a Zara print (which they sold as a kimono, hence my inglorious try to copy it, ha!) and a nightmare to press. I did my best to match the print at the front side panels; still, is it too busy at the eye? Maybe I should have broken it up with some piping... Paneled fabrics are hard to use and match up and the fact that I was upcycling didn´t give me too much room to play around with the fabric pieces. Neverthless, the boho summery feeling I was looking for is there, the top is loose but still with a bit of fit, I´m a happy happy gal!

August 9th: Rebel and Malice / Gaafmachine / Stahlarbeit
August 10th: In a manner of sewing / Sew happy / Mottenfrosch
August 11th: Sew Mariefleur / KreaMino / Fairies, Bubbles and Co. / Frölein Tilia
August 12th: Made by Sara / Just Add Fabric / Little Cumquat

And what about some cookies to go with that tea, hehe? Would you like to win a pattern of your choice from Sew House Seven? Peggy from Sew House Seven has generously offered to sponsor this giveaway, thank you! And UPDATE, La Finch Fabrics is also on board, offering each winner 6 yards of apparel fabric, woohoo! So, come on and write a comment on GAAFmachine´s post! We will pick two lucky winners next Monday 15th of August using a random generator. Good luck and put those kettles on!

London Sew Social was definitely unforgetable, it was all about getting to know the girls, spending some amazing time with them but also doing some fabric shopping, or window shopping. There are fabrics there to die for but my wallet was too small for them. Still, I made some special buys and this Liberty french terry (or loopback fleece) was my sewvenir, ha!

I only got half metre as I knew it would be just enough to make yet another Linden sweatshirt. My only mod was having to make 3/4 sleeves to fit it all and also one of the sleeves has the print upside down *sigh* I can surely live with that.

There´s not much to say about the pattern, I´ve made it a gazillion times and I know it by heart. But this fabric, awww, it just upgrades it from a regular sweatshirt to one with a very special place in my heart and it just makes me smile when I look at it in my closet. And look! Liberty is having a sale and there are some fleeces there, I couldn´t recommend it more as a special treat, go on you know you deserve it.

It wouldn´t be fair not to show everything we will be making with our goodies from our amazing sponsors (and also our little splurdges), we will we will, but also share with everyone some of those goodies. Here´s THE mother of all giveaways!

There will be 4 very lucky winners!

Here's what the goodie packs include:

It´s impossible to talk about this event without refering the moment of excitement when I got the invitation. I was picking my girl from kindergarden and just scrooled thru my mail real quick to find one from Annika; I had to read it twice to make sure I wasn´t crazy. When I realised it was indeed what I was thinking about a big teenage-OH-MY-GOD came out of my mouth right in the middle of the street, then pretty much that was all I was able to say for the rest of the day. I just said to my husband "I´m going to London with my sewing friends", there was no "oh, let´s check if it´s possible" or "hmm, it´s a tricky month" hell no, I was going even if the world was ending bahaha!

It was actually so wonderful to meet everyone in person. The truth is since we spend so much time online chatting and following up with what we all sew, it really is like we already know each other. It was also my first time in London so I was trying to absorb as much as I could. I was one day early there and got to spend it with Marta and Liesl and seriously, Marta is just the best guide! Then we got a really fun night of partying at Olu´s: haha, not really, we were just so tired we left the party for the next days (thanks for having me in your house Olu! And for that wonderful breakfast full of cheese hehe ;) ) The day after we met up with the rest of the group and for the rest of the weekend I think we pretty much did half London by foot, ha! We also got to meet wonderful Rachel from House of Pinheiro and our dear Maria João from Fairies, Bubbles Co met us too for what would be known as my disgrace at Liberty of London, ha!

Now, about the fabric shopping and such: comparatively with what I usually buy and can afford, it´s quite expensive, but that didn´t stop me from doing some splurdges. Also we had incredible and generous sponsors that send us all sorts of goodies for an amazing goodie bag. I don´t even know where to start!

There are some more group pictures at the girls blogs and around IG if you search for #londonsewsocial. All these incredible ladies I got the privilege to meet:

And who´s all of us, you may ask? Your crazy portuguese sewing friends, of course! Who adore you and want to celebrate this day with you, even if only virtually.

Well, I can´t really point a time, but it was somewhere around two years ago while browsing through the internet. It caught my eye that she was portuguese and I randomly peeked her blog from time to time. I remember this project made me start visiting on a regular basis.

As I started sewing more seriously, we started interacting more through Facebook and Instagram and found out we are sewing soulmates, though I will never be able to hand sew like she does. She is a total sewing geek and we do love her for that. If we´ve got a technical doubt, she´s the one to go to!

As I´m particularly interested in women sewing, I love to see the projects she makes for herself. I love these culottes and this self drafted tunic. We share a love for all the drapey fabrics, from rayon challis to satin or silk, and I only wish we would live closer to talk about more sewing ideas and go fabric shopping together! The day we spent at Porto was awesome!

My gift to you, my friend, is this amazing portuguese double gauze and double faced! Haha, let me explain: Sara asked me if I could buy her a bit since it was sold out at her local shop and guess what I said? "Ooooh Sara, soooo sorry, it´s sold out here as well!" It´s actually not and they have it by the bolt, but I couldn´t resist the perfect opportunity to add this to her suprise.