Sew fantastic blogs: Groovy baby and mama

It has been some weeks since the last installment of Sew Fantastic Blogs. First Amanda, then Trine and then I didn't have time to do the work that is necessary for a blog post. Trine's interview is thus two weeks late, but better late than never, right?

So let me introduce Trine from Groovy baby and mama to you. Trine lives in Danmark and the clothes that she sews are just soo scandinavian: modern, casual, easy going – just plain cool. Especially for her own clothes she loves straight lines while for her kids she sews pretty much everything. I love that she still sews for her teenage daughter. Doesn't that show how cool her stuff must be? Also the dresses for her younger daughter are great, but do you know what I love most? Her boy stuff! Whenever Bertram enters her blog, it's just wow. After some of her Bertram posts, I might have caught myself, doing my son's hair like Bertram has his ;)

So here are some of my favorites:

You and me (Trine and her daughter Luna) outfit, Super fun sweater for Betram, why oh why didn't I buy any of this amazing fabric? 1000 cranes geranium

Sew fantastic blogs: Girl like the sea

Today I have another very special guest for you. Tara from Girl like the Sea definitely is one of the most inspiring bloggers out there. Her sewing (mainly for her kids, but sometimes also for herself) is so incredibly unique and creative. She loves to play with fabric (bleaching, painting, freezer stenciling etc.), to add appliques or to modify some patterns. It seems as if whatever she touches turns into something special, cool and sometimes crazy ;) It also doesn't hurt that she has three adorable kids and shoots the perfect pics. I also love that she does not only share her sewing, but also daily life, struggle, homeschooling, her son's incredible eyes etc.

Here are some of my favorites (but there sure are much more gorgeous things to encounter!)

Stylo outfits, Vintage May, Union St. Tee

Sew fantastic blogs: Elegance and Elephants

My warmest welcome to Heidi from Elegance and Elephants. I'm so, so glad to have her here today. Heidi was the first person ever to invite me to take part in a blog tour. I was more than surprised that someone as amazing as her would even think of me. The more I got to know her since then, the more I felt that Heidi is an extremly nice and modest person. Being in the finals of Project Run and Play, creating all kinds of patterns (dresses, hats, jackets, sweatpants etc.) and sewing the most beautiful kids clothes hasn't made her arrogant at all. She still is respectful and nice to everybody, no matter if they have 10 or 1000 followers. I'm really happy that I got to know her!

And now let me show you some of my favorites on her blog.

 

Fedora Hat pattern (so cool!), gorgeous clothes for her children, super cool boy clothes

Sew fantastic blogs: Straight Grain

I'm so happy to have An from Straight Grain today. An not only sews the most beautiful garments for her sweet daughters, but she also sells her own patterns (different dress patterns and a sleepsack) which are full of different options and just oh so perfect. She has a ton of tutorials on her blog and also contributes to both the birch fabrics blog and the Miss Matatabi blog. This doesn't come as a surprise as her fabric taste is impeccable and her clothes always have that little twist that takes them from just a dress to WOW. An also hosted two amazing and inspiring sewing series: Kids Clothes Belgian Style and Secret Squirrel. And last, but definitely not least: She is a super nice and friendly woman that I hope to get to know better in the future.

Here are some of my favorites.

Birthday dress and crown, Bean Bag, Bubble Dress with improvisational pleating

Sew fantastic blogs: Handmade by Brienne

Today's guest Brienne never ceases to amaze and inspire me. Her style is unique and cool and she definitely is the queen of layers and the flashback skinny tee. On her blog you will not only find fun, comfy and stylish kids clothes but also some beautiful garments that she has sewn for herself and of course the coolest bags ever. And as if that wasn't enough, she also knits everything from scarves to pullovers, stamps and paints her fabric and writes the most beautiful posts about her life with her husband, son and daughter. I'm so glad to get to know her even better today! Do you want to see some of my favorites from her blog?

Harlequin Skinnies, 3 layering pics, STYLO contribution

Sew fantastic blogs - Max California

I'm especially happy to welcome today's guest, Ari from Max California: If I was to choose to follow only three blogs, her's would probably be the one that I would decide on first! Her style is completely different than mine. She is a total rock star while I'm just a plain normal person ;) Together with Kat from Sew Chibi she is doing a monthly series called Sew Geeky where they sew clothes from cartoons, mangas, movies etc that might be a bit geeky  - and that admittedly I mostly don't know at all (guess I'm not a geek? plus these characters maybe didn't show up as much in german tv?). Her sewing always is different, fun, creative, just "Max" and it really didn't surprise me that she won season 6 of Project Run and Play and was part of the first issue of STYLO. This girl is just the best... Here are some of my favorites (two of them are quite recent, but you really don't have to go far back in time to find something you like...):

Sew Geeky: Tank girl; Sew Geeky: Star Wars creatures; PR&P Signature Look

Sew fantastic blogs: C'est la vie

Today I'm really happy that I'm able to introduce Sophie from C'est la vie to you. Sophie's blog is the one of this series that I know shortest (only since March). But when I saw her Knight Hoodie, I added her blog right to my reader. Since than I have had a growing friendship with this beautiful french woman and sometimes feel ike she is my sewing and blogging soulmate :) I simply love everything that she posts and she is one of my most frequent commenters as well. Plus when I comment on someone else's blog post, she often has already commented or will comment shortly after me :) We even had the same idea to combine the Mara blouse and the Coachella shorts (my version, her version). However, there's one thing about Sophie that I don't think I'll ever be: She's classy. I love what she sews for her kids, but when she sews for herself „stunning, beautiful and – classy“ always are the first words that come to my mind. Her style is fabulous (well, I guess french chic) and it thus, didn't come as a surprise to me when Meg made her a contributor for last KCW. So, here I have some of my favorites for you:

Knight Hoodie, Stepford Dress, Neon fawn lily

Sew fantastic blogs: mirid

Today I'm very pleased to welcome my real-life sewing and blogging friend and neighbor Miriam from mirid. As amazing it is to get to know other sewing fanatics online, it still is even better to meet on a daily basis, to go fabric shopping together and to spend nights sewing and chatting together. If you want to know more about how Miriam and I met, please read this post. Here, I only want to say how extremly happy I count myself to call such a fun, open-hearted and creative woman my friend. Miriam is super talented. She has written severalsewing (and crafting with paper) books, constantly thinks about new sewing projects and has fabric and trim in every colour and material. She even was in the finals for "Germany's most creative blogger". She loves to sew bags – even though she already has more than enough - and the details that she includes in each of her makes are fantastic. Here are my favorites.

Wolf bag, Skirt and matching clutch, beautiful bag

Sew fantastic blogs: Vera Luna

The moment that I discovered Saskia's blog some time last year, I was hooked. Her blog is simply fantastic. Whenever I see that she has written a new post, I go there right away! Her t-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts etc. are always unique. Stamping, sun-printing, color-blocking, freezer paper stenciling, bleaching, dip dyeing – just name a fun technique: Saskia will have done it. And not just done it, she will have made something amazing with it! Since I and she hosted Secret Squirrel we have been in loose contact, connected through our love for everything Astrid Lindgren and Scandinavia. She is such a warm and friendly person with an amazing style. Here are my favorites.

 

Amazing triangle sweater, secret squirrel outfit, surfer shorts

First things first: Please introduce yourself (who are you, tell us a little bit about your family, which country and maybe city do you live in, are you originally from this country, do you work or are you a stay at home mom, etc.)!
I’m Saskia from the Netherlands. I live together with my partner and our three children (6, 4 and 1) in a city in the middle of the country. I work four days a week as a scientist (inventor) at the research lab of a big tech company. So during the day, I’m surrounded by technology-loving nerds (mostly men) and at night I’m part of the low-tech (and entirely female) sewing blogosphere. Quite a contrast! The main ingredient of both activities, however, is the same: creativity. When I’m not working or sewing, I love to spend time outdoors with my family; walking, cycling, playing and enjoying nature.

Sew fantastic blogs - special edition: Elsie Marley and Kids Clothes Week

Today, we're having a special edition of Sew fantastic blogs. I asked Meg from Elsie Marley and the creator of Kids Clothes Week to tell us about her blog and about Kids Clothes Week which is going to happen next week! I'm so pleased to have her here. Especially in the english-speaking kids sewing world, Kids Clothes Week is something each and everyone tries to participate in and the projects that pop up every day in the project pool are just amazing. If you haven't taken part so far, make sure to join the fun this year!
Meg started a "sew-along CENTRAL" where you can subscribe to a monthly email that informs you about on-going sew alongs! Besides this her personal blog Elsie Marley is also full of fantastic makes. Here are my favorites:

Jacob pants, Coastal cargos, triangle pocket dress

Sew fantastic blogs: Do Guincho

Today the sew fantastic blog series travels all the way to Portugal where Marta from the blog Do Guincho sews classy and often vintage inspired clothes for her beautiful daughters. They are extremly well done and each detail is perfection. Her pics always "glow", you really feel the portugese sun when you watch them. As far as I know Marta has so far mainly sewn with woven fabrics (though she just posted an amazingly beautiful Cosi swim suit yesterday), so I'm really curious to see what her signature style tee will look like. Here are some of my favorite creations by Marta:

Debbie's birthday dresses, romper, swing skirt

First things first:

Please introduce yourself (who are you, tell us a little bit about your family, which country and maybe city do you live in, are you originally from this country, do you work or are you a stay at home mom, etc.)!

Hi! My name is Marta, I blog at DoGuincho and I am delighted to be part of Annika’s new series!

I have lived in Lisbon, Portugal, all my life but, a few years ago, my family and I moved from the city centre to a seaside place called Guincho just about twenty minutes from Lisbon. I am a freelancer architect and I’ve two little daughters: Teresa and Ines. I love to windsurf and Guincho beach is one of the best windy beaches in Europe. Lucky me! 

Sew fantastic blogs: Bienvenido Colorido

Today's interview guest is Nell from Bienvenido Colorido. Most of my german speaking readers will definitely know her, but I guess that most english readers will get to know a fantastic new blog today. Bienvenido Colorido is one of the most amazing sewing blogs that I know. Nell comes originally from Austria, but lives in Spain. She writes in both German and English and sometimes even Spanish. Her sewing and pics are really special. I would recognize a pic of her within hundreds of others! And her sewing for her daughter is just so cool! Plus she doesn't just sew, but she also designs cool patterns, fabric (her wonderful "In the kitchen" fabric is available since June 21st) and has lots of freebies and tutorials on her blog.  Told you she is amazing, didn't I? Here are three of my favorite creations by Nell from the last 4 months - I didn't get further back as I already had too many possible pics... You have to check out her blog yourself!

Nell's own trousers pattern, foxes everywhere, be my star

First things first: Please introduce yourself (who are you, tell us a little bit about your family, which country and maybe city do you live in, are you originally from this country, do you work or are you a stay at home mom, etc.)!

Hey there, my name is Cornelia, but most people would call me Nellie. Originally I am from Austria, but for quite some I live (most of the year) in southern Spain on a big finca in the middle of nowhere.

You wanna know what brought me here? Most likely the only thing that can drag you out of your compfortable central-heated and “tonight let’s order some pizza” life into a very far away wilderness: the crazy thing called love. With my degrees in history and journalism I was very well equiped for being in the campo and so I spent my first years studying the art of making fire (in a woodburning stove), repairing the generator (which always broke when I was on my own) and getting the hang of cooking, bakeing and gardening. It was quite an exciting time, but still it felt like something was missing... about nine months later Rosa was born, our beloved daughter.

So that’s us: Rosa, her grown-up half-brother Alexander, Fred and I. We share the finca with quite a few animals, at the moment two dogs, three cats, a bunch of chickens, ducks and peacocks.

We have about 100 orangetrees, loads of plums, apples, lemons, tangerines, pommegranates, almonds, figtrees and always a kitchengarden supplying us with nice organic veggies.

We try to live a green life as far as it is possible, using solar energy most of the year, water from our own well...

I miss my friends and family back home, I miss the city, I miss Vienna, sometimes. But I guess I would miss this little paradise even more...

Sew fantastic Blogs: Dotta.

This is the first post of my sew fantastic blogs series. I'm really happy that it starts now and already so curious to read about all those fantastic ladies.
Today's guest is Jo from Dotta and since she is one of the first bloggers that I had more personal contact, too, I think she is the perfect person to start this series. I'm more than happy that I can introduce her to you. I got to know Jo when Heidi (Elegance and Elephants) invited both of us to participate in her Roots series. I loved to get to know an Italian sewing blogger (for my love to Italy see this post) and to be able to "practise" my Italian a little bit. During the last months I have got to know her better and can say that she is not only super talented with a great style but also a super nice woman. One day I'm sure we will meet in person and I can't wait for it to happen. Until then I'm curious to read how she answered my questions.
All invited bloggers will also show their favorite makes and I myself will also show which of their makes I like best. So, here we go: Three wonderful creations by the amazing Jo.

Meine lieben deutschen Leser: Da auch die Interviews auf englisch geführt werden, verzichte ich darauf, hier Übersetzungen einzufügen. Ich hoffe ihr könnt dem ganzen auch so halbwegs folgen. Zumindest die Fotos sollten es Wert sein, dass ihr vorbei schaut!

beautiful Mara dress with special pintucks, Lucy tunic, Venice inspired dress

Benvenuta Jo!
First things first: Please introduce yourself (who are you, tell us a little bit about your family, which country and maybe city do you live in, are you originally from this country, do you work or are you a stay at home mom, etc.)!
Hi, I am Jo, I am 33, and I blog at Dotta (my real name is actually Gioia, but not-Italians always misspell it – Gioa, Goia, Goai – so I keep it simple). I live in Italy, in Vicenza, near Venice. I spent a few years of my life in Germany, I have a PHD in German and Italian literature and I married a Bavarian, that’s why when I am in Germany I always feel at home. But I’m 100% Italian, since generations! I have a two years old daughter, Matilde, who is obviously the best thing that ever happened to me in my life. I wanted to be a literature scholar, but then life took me elsewhere. Now I am an event organizer, and at night, when everyone is asleep, I love to sew.

Sew fantastic blogs announcement / Ankündigung

Today I'm really pleased to announce my very first blog series!!! Several readers of my blog have asked me in the past to introduce them to some of my favorite blogs and I have had the idea for this series for quite some time. So, about a month ago I finally had the guts to contact some of my favorite sewing bloggers to ask them whether they'd be interested in a interview style series. And I was more than pleased that almost all of them wanted and had time to participate. Like with my weekend sewing posts I included blogs from different countries. You will get to know bloggers from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, USA, Scotland and Spain. Most of them are from the kids sewing blogosphere, but some also show sewing for women or other crafts. I've sent them some questions regarding their sewing, blogging and photography. Plus they will sew a signature t-shirt. As answering the questions does take some time, too, I decided to go with just an easy peasy tee that they should sew for themselves or one or more of their kids. Or if they are absolutely not into t-shirts, they can also sew an easy dress. It just should be something relatively fast and not too elaborate. However, when you think that at the same time the garment shall show their signature style, it might not be that easy anymore! I'm already curious what all those fantastic ladies will come up with. 

Heute freu ich mich riesig, das ich meine erste Blogserie ankündigen kann!!! Einige meiner Leser haben mich gefragt, ob ich nicht mal ein paar meiner liebsten Blogs vorstellen könnte und ich hatte die Idee für diese Serie schon vor einer ganzen Weile. Vor einem Monat hab ich nun endlich meinen Mut zusammen genommen und einige meiner liebsten Nähbloggerinnen kontaktiert. Ich war und bin mehr als glücklich, dass fast alle Lust und Zeit hatten an einer Interviewserie teilzunehmen. Wie bei meinen weekend sewing posts hab ich mich entschieden Blogs aus verschiedenen Ländern vorzustellen. Ihr werdet Blogs aus Australien, Belgien, Canada, Dänemark, Deutschland, Frankreich, Italien, Niederlande, Portugal, USA, Schottland und Spanien kennenlernen. Die meisten dieser Blogs drehen sich hauptsächlich um Kinderkleidung, aber auf einigen wird auch für "Große" genäht oder andere Basteleien etc. gezeigt. Ich habe ihnen Fragen über das Nähen, Bloggen und Fotografieren geschickt. Und außerdem wird jede ein Signature T-Shirt nähen, also ein T-Shirt, das ihren Stil widerspiegelt. Da es auch eine Menge Arbeit ist Fragen zu beantworten, hab ich sie nur um ein T-Shirt für sich selbst oder eines oder mehrere ihrer Kinder gebeten. Oder falls sie T-Shirts nicht leiden können, darf's natürlich auch ein Kleid sein. Nur sollte das ganze eben relativ einfach und schnell sein. Doch da es eben auch der signature style sein soll, wird es vielleicht doch nicht ganz so einfach ;) Ich bin schon jetzt neugierig was die ganzen tollen Bloggerinnen sich einfallen lassen.

So, as you see, it's a fantastic round-up of great sewing bloggers (just click on the name in the pics to get to the respective blog). I'm so looking forward to see what they're up to! The series starts in 2 weeks and will then continue every wednesday until September 24th. I really hope that you'll enjoy to read about these ladies and their sewing blogs. I'm pretty sure that you'll be able to discover some blogs that you haven't known before.  I can't wait for the fun to start!

Wie ihr seht sind einige supertolle Blogs dabei (Klickt einfach die Namen auf dem Bild an, umzu den jeweiligen Blogs zu gelangen). Ich freu mich schon darauf zu sehen was sie aus dem Hut zaubern. Die Serie geht in zwei Wochen los und läuft dann wöchentlich jeden Mittwoch bis 24. September.  Ich hoffe ihr werdet es genießen über diese Bloggerinnen und ihre Blogs zu lesen und auch ein paar für euch neue Blogs zu entdecken. Ich kann's gar nicht erwarten bis es los geht!