sew far, sew good!

this week at shopping our stash we promise to have you in stitches; or, rather, we want you to have us in stitches! ok, ok, we'll settle for just seeing some stitching, whether you assay the real thing (via machine or hand!) or bust out your favorite pen and hit us with the faux stitching... as little or as much as you like... anything goes; just make with the stitching and then c'mon over and link up. here's what i made:

(all illustrations come from vintage sewing books, patterns and magazines, mostly from the 1970's and 80's; alphabets: american crafts, heidi swap, recollections; spiral bindings: bind it all by zutter; ink: colorbox; labels: dymo)

every once in a while serendipity really serves up something cool, and this week was my turn for that. it just so happens that i was very nearly done making some more mini sewing journals for my etsy shop when i read this week's challenge, so i hurried and finished these babies! 

she's SEW lovely

they were somewhat inspired by the "brag books" of the 1970's, but whereas those were used to show off photos of children or grandchildren, i thought these would be perfect for keeping snaps of one's favorite sewing and needlework projects. my favorite part was thinking up sewing puns for the titles!

told you SEW

the covers measure 4 x 3.5" and are made of chipboard wrapped with vintage book paper, and crowned with a fun vintage illustration. i've used my sewing machine to secure coordinating chipboard or foam letters to each cover. mostly as decoration, but in my experience, rigid letters on a rigid cover tend to want to pop off... and i hate to give 'em the chance to escape, lol! :)

SEW far, SEW good

each journal has twenty pages, the fronts of which are fun and funky sewing-themed illustrations, instructions, stitch diagrams, fabric swatches, vintage patterns, needlepoint charts, quilting blocks, or...well... if it's visual and sewing related, somewhere inside one of these you'll find at least a little bit of it!

SEW what

the back of each page is a patterned paper subtle enough to write over. my idea is that you could attach a photo to one side and use the reverse... or the facing page... to jot down the details of the project in question. i have a similar book for my amigurumi creations, and not only do i love looking back at all the fun creatures i've made, it's also practical, since i've noted what yarn and hook i've used, where i got the pattern, and anything different i did in the course of the project. that way, if i want to recreate anything at a later date, i'm all set. plus it gives me a real sense of accomplishment as the book fills up to see how many fun things i've made!

SEW what else is new

check out my etsy shop, just enough stuff for more details and additional pictures of each journal. meanwhile, why not head on over to SOS to see what my lovely teammates have done and acquire lots of lovely inspiration; remember, your project needn't have a sewing theme, you just need to include a bit of real or faux stitching!  ♥