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I have been pretty quiet on the blog in the last few months. I have so many ideas of what I want to write about and so many makes to share with you, especially after my productive stay-cation, or should I say sew-cation, I took in February. However, life has really been getting in a way lately. Part of me thinks that no one would even really notice, yet I think that update for my readers is in order. So prepare yourself for a long blog post. I'll throw a few random photos and a couple photos of fabric in to make it more fun and break the text. Deal? One of the biggest changes that happened over here is that Shaun and I have drastically moved the timeline of our wedding. We got engaged in December 2016 and we took the first few months to enjoy the holidays and the high that comes with being newly engaged. Originally we planned to have a destination wedding in November 2018, maaaay be February 2018 if we jumped on it right away. We have been to quite a few Mexico destination weddings and we loved every single one of them. Besides I hear that they are easier to plan! So we were sold on the idea. Unfortunately, we have recently realized it was not going to workout as a few of very key people would not be able to make it. So it was decided that the wedding will be in Calgary! I am not even bothered by this change, the most important thing to me is that I marry Shaun, and it doesn't matter where it happens. Even if we do it in our backyard! I also want a pretty dress, but the groom is kind of on top of my list. Once we figured out the location of the wedding, it hit us (ahem, me) that this thing is not going to plan itself. As well as, we really didn't want to live through planning it for another year. At that point we (ahem, me again) hit the ground running.... I didn't know even where to start! But somehow 3 weeks, 1 amazing spread sheet (are you even surprised?), a lot of appointments and phone calls later, we have most of this wedding organized! We managed to secure the location we love, a caterer, a great photographer, a very nice commissioner, order the invitation and get the whole thing pretty much planned out. There is still a lot of work, but at least I don't feel like every free minute of my life is taken by the stress of either planning or not knowing what happens next. Oh, and special thank you and shout out to Heather for mentioning Lougheed House when we went for a coffee a few months ago. That's where we will get married in September 2017! It is a historic building and a museum here in Calgary, and it is simply a gorgeous location. I can not wait to get married there! Now all of this brings me to the question of the dress. As someone who sews I get asked all the time whether I will be making my dress. I toyed around with idea of making my dress for a while, but I didn't even know what style I wanted. I decided to go dress shopping early, just to narrow down the final style. I envisioned something light and airy, nothing too puffy since it was supposed to be a beach wedding. Even though I loved those simple airy dresses, but they didn't feel like me. I was gravitating to something a tad more dramatic and fun. After trying on a lot of dresses in early January and looking at them inside out in the fitting room, I decided against it. They were so intricately made! It is actually quite interesting to see a wedding dress from inside. The amount of work that went into it was clearly immense. I think I could have definitely done it if I really wanted it, but I decided not to. Fabric photo 1 - how lovely is this fabric batch from Blackbird Fabrics? The gray cloud knit is already gone, the rest I can not wait to get to... Back to my wedding dress. I want only positive feeling associated with my dress. And I know a project this big will most certainly have its share of frustrations and mistakes. I also know myself and making my own very involved dress would stress me out. Planning a wedding is enough and I really don't want to add more to it. I want to enjoy this year of being engaged! I want to continue making things I want to make on a whim. I also want to keep working on decorating our partially renovated house. Adding a wedding dress project would most definitely take away from all of it. Besides, I actually found a dress I want on that very trip in January! It was everything I was looking for without even realizing it. As soon as I put it on I knew it was either the one, or very close to it. After sleeping on it (I really wish I could say "in it"), and taking my mom to see it, it was clearly apparent that it was the dress for me. We bought it the same day. I remember thinking that my wedding would not be happening for another year and a half, why would I rush and buy the dress now? I can always come back for it... Yet, I had a feeling that I needed to buy the dress. Boy, was I ever conflicted and I was second guessing my feelings trying to make sure I am not having a bridezilla moment and throwing a tantrum! In hindsight, it probably was my version of bridezilla moment as I was asking everyone if they thought "I should wait, " or "it was okay to buy dress this early" or if "I am pushing this dress thing too much", and "are you sure?...". Eventually my mom lovingly but sternly, and in a slightly annoyed way, told me that "It's fine, just buy the damn dress!!!" I am SO glad I went with my gut feeling of buying the dress back then! The dress will just be ready in time for September wedding and its one less headache for me. Apparently all my experience with posing for this blog did not translate into having nice photos of me trying on various dresses. There was not a single photo on me with a "normal" face. Not a single one. I am so glad I have some time to practice my "eternal love face" before the wedding. I clearly need it. Even though I am not making my own dress, I will be making dresses for my bridesmaids. I really want all three of my ladies to have well made dresses that fit them. It is also very important to me that they are able to wear the dresses again after the wedding. I am thinking of using Marbella Dress by Itch to Stitch as my pattern for bridesmaids dresses, and going with the half sirkle skirt variation. It is such a beautiful simple A-line dress and it has pockets! The pattern also comes in 4 different cup sizes, which will make things a lot easier for me. Fabric photo 2 - these lovelies are from Earth Indigo. They carry great selection of rayon knits. I see many t-shirt in my future... If you are following me on instagram, you would also know that I've done quite a bit of pattern testing in the last couple months. In between that, wedding planning and life, I really have dropped off the face of the earth. I am hoping that I will be able to get back into the swing of things soon here. I have so many finished projects to share! As well as many ideas, one of which is I simply can't decide which shirt dress to make for the #sewtogetherforsummer challenge. Thankfully, the contest is not closing till June so I still have time to get my stuff together here. Thank you so much for reading till the end! On that note, I am going to wrap this up and go work on my brother's winter coat for a bit. He has been getting really upset that it is the end of March and he doesn't have it yet. He can be so impatient... Until next time, Anya

Right after Christmas I got an exciting surprise in my inbox - Eryn from Style Sew Me asked me to participate in the Janelle Skirt Blog Tour. I was so smitten and so excited that I said yes without thinking twice about it. Janelle Skirt is not your typical pencil skirt. She is very form fitting, hits you below your knee and features a high mid thigh opening. This skirt screams sexiness and confidence, yet manages to remain very classy and elegant. Just look at Eryn modeling it, it truly is not for the faint at heart! I am not a pencil skirt type of gal. Don't get me wrong, I love them! I think they look fantastic, but I have not worn one for a few years. I kept entertaining an idea of making a pencil skirt for a while, but I was yet to start on one. Janelle jumped out at me as a perfect opportunity to go ahead and finally make one. Janelle Skirt comes in both PDF and paper pattern, and I am a lucky owner of both. PDF pattern has two files, one for the pattern and one for the instructions. The PDF pattern was pretty easy to assemble. With 29 pages it seems very reasonable, considering there are two separate pieces for left and right front. The paper pattern comes in a standard envelope with pieces printed on regular paper! I love it. I am not a fan of fiddling with tissue paper. I am always worried I will tear it and I can never fold the thing back together like it was meant to. The instructions are printed off in a booklet format and are stapled together so you have a cute pamphlet to follow as you sew. I decided to try out my other white wall for these photos as well. I think in the end I still prefer the colored wall! The skirt covers the sizes from XS to XXL, with hip sizes from 33" to 52". The pattern already includes 3/8" seam allowances and has 4 pattern pieces all together. I found the instructions very clear and easy to follow. The photographs that Eryn provides helped me follow when I didn't want to re-red the instructions. I am pretty bad... I am definitely more of a visual person when it comes to instructions. I was really interested in how the overlapping effect on the front was created. And to be honest I expected this skirt to be a wrap skirt. It is not! The two front pieces are finished along the slit opening separately and then assembled together. There is a seam that holds them in place and the skirt has a zipper in the back. It was really neat! My hips fell into size L, whereas my waist is M. I didn't want to do FSA so I kind of faked it. Rather than blending from a larger size at the hip to medium at the waist, I widened and slightly deepened my darts. Then I took the skirt in at the side seam just a little bit. This helped me achieve almost the perfect fit right off the start! The fit was so good I was very surprised when I first put my muslin on. The only other thing I did was to lower the front rise as the skirt was riding a bit higher at the front than at the back on me. But this is is a very normal adjustment for me to make. For my final fabric I chose dark navy blue, almost black, suiting I had in stash for a while. I figured it would be the prefect way to create a skirt I can dress up or down. The instructions ask you to topstitch the split as a way to finish it, and for my skirt I wanted a very minimal and clean finish with no visible lines. Instead of topstitching I opted for blind hem instead. I even managed to do it on my machine! I also attached my front pieces together from the inside rather than topstitching them together. This also helped in creating a very clean, minimal look. Another thing I did differently is I opted for invisible zipper, as I usually prefer invisible zippers to regular ones. I had so much fun thinking of how I would style this skirt! I think a very obvious way to do it is to play up the sexiness of the split and I love that look. However I wanted to show off how I would wear this skirt in my everyday life and I rarely wear things that are obviously sexy anymore. I definitely lean towards loose, secret pajama and boxy looks. So I wanted to play the skirt down by pairing it with boxy and may be unexpected tops. I call it my "sexy librarian before the make over look", I think it fits the bill. If I ever have an occasion to play up the sexy side of this skirt I certainly will! The skirt sits at your natural waist so any crop top would look amazing with it. Check out how Maggie styled it. Isn't it gorgeous? There you have it, my take on the Janelle skirt. I was very happy with this pattern and if you are considering adding this skirt to your wardrobe, I would hands down recommend it. The skirt is on sale until January 21. Bublebee decided to make an appearance in the photos. He was pretty unhappy with the lack of pets and attention. He always is. Love, Anya Disclaimer: I was provided with a pattern for free but all opinions are my own. P.S. The skirt is paired with Linden Sweatshirt I made out of wool knit and brand new Toaster Sweater, which I will write about in a separate post.

Hello! It has been a while… The end of summer has been extremely busy and with the start of September I sort of fell off the blogging train. I was still making things, but finding time to write about them was harder. Then we went on our trip to Georgia to celebrate my cousin’s wedding, and all hell broke loose and I gave up on social media almost completely. I do have to say that I enjoyed this little break and the time with my family. I feel refreshed and I am ready to jump back in. And what a perfect time it is! I find the change of seasons very exciting and it almost always boost my sew-jo as I start thinking about new fabrics, looks and garments. The beginning of Fall is when I switch my wardrobe over, put away my summer clothes and bring out all my Fall/Winter stuff out of my storage baskets. I re-assess everything I wore last year, what worked and what didn’t. I go through my clothes and do a serious purge and only keep items that fit make me happy. Although this process is a little bit time consuming, I find it really makes me think about the coming season and what I want to wear. I have just finished going through my closet this past weekend, and I am very excited about the items I’ve kept and what I am planning to make in Fall/Winter. So I thought I would share a little bit of my over the top, obsessively organized process. Hopefully it will help or inspire, but at the very least now you will know just how deeply troubled I am. One of my goals with my sewing is to have a cohesive wardrobe, where every piece reflects me, my style and my life. I want my clothes to be of great quality, work together and work for my life. Doing the wardrobe overhaul in the beginning of the season really shows me what holes I need to fill in my closet. I work with that information and my invaluable Pinterest boards (here and here) to come up with a list of items I really want and think would fit well with the look and feel I am going for in the coming season. I don’t always want to recreate the identical looks, rather I go by the feel, colors and silhouettes. All images came from my Pinterest Boards. Can you tell that I don't like seeing the faces? They get me too distracted. I want to make sure I am attracted to the clothes and not the style of the hair, make up or facial expression. From there I start to narrow down the items that fit with what I already have. I try to make sure that every single item will go with some of the other items I either already have or will make. This way, I know the piece will get worn. For fabrics, I try to shop my stash as much as I can and pick fabrics that I already own that will fit nicely in my plan. Unfortunately it doesn’t always turn out! A big chunk of my stash was acquired when I first gotten back into sewing and I was buying fabrics just for the thrill of it. I didn’t put much thought into the quality of fibers or the colors of the fabric and whether it suits me. As a result I ended up with a bunch of fabrics I don’t really want to use… Then of course there are fabrics that I want to use and those are the ones I try to incorporate into my sewing plan. If I can’t find anything in my stash, that’s when I go fabric shopping and start searching internet stores for options. Oh, the temptations… I can get lost for hours! This process doesn’t always follow the exact sequence of steps. Sometimes it starts with a fabric, sometimes there is a pattern I really want to use and sometimes I just have to replicate something that I saw. Even though the process can be quite fluid, I always end up with a list. I love lists. I love excel spread sheets and I love having things organized. May be a little too much. So naturally, I organized my sewing list into an excel spreadsheet. Not only I did that, I also created a list of the things that I currently have in my closet. It helps me visualize which items I can pair together and helps me to keep on track and not get distracted and make all the fancy dresses that I rarely wear. Besides, I find immense satisfaction in getting things crossed off the list. See, definitely too much organizing! For this coming Fall/Winter I have 57 items planned. Yikes! That’s a lot… However, I’ve already made 10! Some of the items will be a really easy and fast sew, while others will be a little more labor intensive. However, I am hoping that all of them will work well together. Even though it is a plan, I do not expect myself to fully implement it the way it is right now. Just like any plan, it needs to be flexible and adaptable. Some things will have to come off, some things will make it onto the list, some things will change and of course there will be selfless sewing and pattern testing. But hopefully the bones of my plan will carry me through the coming season. I am so excited about all of the items on my list that I don’t even know which one to begin with. All the fabrics are pre-washed, folded on my shelf and ready to go. I guess I’ll just have to pick up whichever one speaks to me first and start there! If you want to hear more about how I organize my sewing and my whole process, you can listen to it here at Maker Style Podcast. It's a great new podcast from Rachel over at The Wild Stitch. I feel so honored to be featured on it! Check it out, there are 3 episodes ready for your listening pleasure. Do you plan your sewing? If so, how do you do it? Until next time, Anya

This may be my last catching up post! Although I bet I still have items I haven't photographed or written about. I'll get to those, eventually... I have posted teaser photos of this skirt on my instagram for a while and finally posted the full "reveal" picture last week. Now, I am finally writing about it! This is the last item in my pattern testing craze I have been on this summer. I swear, there is nothing else I am testing (at the moment of writing this post). I love half circle skirts! In the past I have made quite a few of them. By Hand London has a neat little app that does all the complicated math for you. I've used it in the past for all kinds of circle skirts and it is wonderful. However, I was attracted to Brook Blossom Skirt because of the yoke. I love the simple half circle shape, but I felt that the addition of the yoke would help the skirt lie flat in the tummy area. Brook Blossom Skirt comes in 3 views. A full length skirt, a midi skirt and a high-low skirt. I was intrigued by a high-low skirt option, but signed up to test the midi length. The skirt is really easy to sew. Although for a super novice sewer it may be a nice challenge, as the skirt is attached to the yoke on a curve and the yoke is lined with a self piece. There is also a side zipper insertion. Overall, though, I don't think this is a very complicated item to sew. The instructions are clear, and they recommend the skirt to hang for 24 hours prior to hemming. I highly recommend it myself!! Because the fabric is cut on all grains, including bias, it tends to stretch out as it hangs. So after the skirt hangs, the hem becomes uneven. It is easy to even out the hem with a tape measure though. Just measure out the length from the waistband down around the skirt and trim off the excess. My first skirt, in midi length, was made out of polyester suiting. I grabbed so much of this fabric last year in various colors that I am just finishing working through it. It is nice and easy to work with and is very inexpensive. However, because it is polyester, it does get quite warm with wear. So the skirt turned out to be more of a cold weather skirt. I really liked how the first skirt turned out, and I have always wanted to give a high-low skirt a try. So after finishing my first skirt, I promptly decided to make the high-low view. I personally do not quite like the drastic difference in high and low hem, so I decided to even it out a little bit. I brought the back hem of the skirt up so that it would hit just below my knees in the back. After trying the skirt on, and before hemming it, I also decided to even out the sides, since the dip from the front to the back was pretty sharp for such a little difference in the length. The skirt looked almost like it had a dip straight down at the sides. I didn't really think long about it, I laid the skirt out on my cutting table and eye balled where I should cut it. I like to live on the edge! However, I am very happy with how it turned out! The difference in the high and low hem is very gentle and the transition turned out pretty smooth and soft. In hindsight, I wish I put belt loops on the skirt. I don't know why, but for some reason I just feel like the skirt needs a belt loop... It's not really an issue at all though. I don't really need loops to wear a belt if I wish to do so. What about you, have you tried circle or half circle skirts? Love, Anya

If you are wondering what happened to me, I am happy to report that I am still alive! I am currently caught up in delightful adventures of packing up our house and moving. This coming Saturday is the D-Day and I can not wait until it is finally over. I am going to miss the old little house with it's character, quirky colors and sounds. Shaun has had this house for a few before we started dating and I moved in with him last summer. We weren't planning on moving for a while, but with the housing prices being quite favorable in Calgary right now we decided to take a plunge and move to something with room to grow. When Shaun and I decided to take a plunge and move in together, we both were very clear about the need for the sewing space, be it a dedicated corner or a room. I was really lucky, in my old apartment my spare bedroom was my sewing room. I had all the space I needed and all my fabrics were stored in the extra closet in that room. Luckily Shaun's basement was developed, but it was not used or even decorated. It served as a storage for a lot of random things. A big truckload to the dump of random things to be exact. Upon the move I was allowed to do whatever I wanted with that space, with the caveat that I won't do any major changes to the décor in the living room for a couple more months. Shaun wanted to keep the air of bachelor pad for as long as he could I guess. First off, I decided to get rid of the "builder's beige" walls. I have always liked the look of exposed brick! So without any hesitation I decided on wallpapering two walls of the basement with this slightly textured gray brick wallpaper. I also wanted to play with the wall color on the rest of the walls, so I matched a shade of gray and soft cream white paint to shades in the wallpaper. The rest of the walls were painted gray and cream. My couch fit perfectly into the wallpaper corner! This created a cozy comfy nook for Shaun to hangout and play video games or watch TV while I sew. At first we weren't sure about this arrangement. Both of us like space and independence and we were worried that we would be too much into each other's business, but we actually loved it! It was a really cool way to spend time together while doing something we both love, even if those are two separate things. The rest of the room became my sewing paradise! I kept all of my original furniture and it fit perfectly into this space. The room was rarely this clean though. These photos were done by professional photographer when we listed the house so unfortunately I had to spend some of my precious time cleaning this space... They say it helped to sell the house, go figure. But at least it looks great in the pictures and I can show it all to you! My little table where I keep my machines came off Kijiji. I bought it used and in a rough shape. I sanded it down and painted it. The chairs also were used. I repainted the legs to match the color of the table and re-upholstered the rest. They turned out great! Except the one on the other side of the table, it broke in the move and is on it's last legs (ha! Pun intended). I don't think it will survive the coming move. But that's okay, I already have an idea for another chair I want to re-upholster... In the red bookcase in the back I kept all my books, folded patterns and instruction booklets. The bookcase was also bought used, and I have painted it as well. As you can tell, I went on a little re-upholstery, furniture revamp spree a while back. It was great! Now, my cutting table is my pride and joy! This baby is 36" high and 72" long. Plenty of room to cut and draft and do whatever. I wanted a table like this for a while and while on my furniture revamp spree I got a crazy idea that, hey, how hard is it to build a table?? Thankfully, I thought of enrolling my handy brother to help me build it. That's right, we build this table! I did all the research, drew pictures of what I wanted it to look like, calculated the measurements and sent it off to my brother for review. He pointed out a few things and agreed to help. So I got all my supplies, including these awesome pre-cut legs in 36" height, assembled my table top and waited for a weekend when we could put it together. Neither one of us is a certified woodworker, but I think we did great on this table! It is slightly wobbly when it is not against a wall, but overall it is great. And the legs are removable for easy transportation and moving! Although I am very pleased with the table, I have to say that the memories of building it with my brother and thinking about that every time I work at the table are way more important and pleasant to me than anything else! My big brother is the best. And here is the view from my cutting table. You can see Becky, my mannequin, and a flower box which I utilize for pattern storage. It has been a great space! I have so many good memories of spending time there both with Shaun and on my own. I've learnt so many things and created so many garments. I've also market the carpet as my own with a couple wine stains... I am going to miss it. In the new house I won't have a dedicated space for a year or two. The house we bought is older and we are planning to slowly renovate it, starting with the master bathroom and bedroom. Then kitchen and the rest of the main floor. My sewing room falls into the rest of the floor. But eventually I will get a first floor office space as my sewing space! Until then I will use our formal dining room as semi-permanent space to sew. So if you ever come over for dinner be prepared to eat at the cutting table, but hey, I promise to clean up the thread and pins the best I can. Love, Anya

It has been a busy week! I was still sewing up a storm but updating my blog was put to the side for a little bit. But fear not, I am back, and I am back with two pairs of my newly tested and worn into public Winslow Culottes. Winslow Culottes is an upcoming pattern by Helen from Helen's Closet. The pattern is planned to be released at the end of June, but Helen agreed to let us write about the culottes in the meantime. I am so happy about that, because when I make something new and exciting I really want to photograph it and share it with the rest of the world. The wait to show the new thing off is really excruciating! So I guess I am being selfish here and easing my mind by showing my new culottes off so that you ion turn can agonizingly wait until the pattern is released. You are welcome. The pattern is very simple yet comes together into a very elegant garment. It has 4 variations in length, from short shorts (view A), above the knee culottes (view B), below the knee culottes (view C) to full length palazzo pants (view D). The culottes have roomy inseam side pockets which is always a huge benefit! And they have a zip closure in the back which goes all the way through the waistband, eliminating the need for a button. This is a huge plus in my books! I am not a fan of buttons on waistbands unless it is necessary. I much prefer a clean finish of a zipper. Also check out this awesome pattern illustration that Helen came up with! I simply love various body types and female shapes featured. I can not get enough of it. I was also a little wary of culottes as first, but my curiosity was winning me over for the past year and this summer I knew I would give culottes a try. Testing the pattern seemed like great way to do it. If I bought the pattern there was a chance I would talk myself out of it, but with testing I had to do it. There was no way out. So I signed up to test view B, the above the knee length of culottes. I thought that length would be very flattering on me, and anyone else for that matter I chose my size based on my waist measurements. There is plenty of ease in the hips so there is no need to grade between sizes. This was a very pleasant and unusual experience. My hips are 2 sizes bigger than my waist so grading or FSA are a must. With Winslow pattern it is not necessary at all! The deep pleats at the front and back create more than enough room for the hefty behind. The seat curve it also very generous and deep so I didn't do any modifications to it. So my first pair I sewed up as is, with no changes to the pattern at all. And I think it turned out great! For the fabric for this pair I chose a soft luxurious viscose twill in beige from Blackbird Fabrics. The beige one is sold out, but Caroline carries a few other viscose and tencel twills in her shop which are just as great. I got them in almost every color (ooops!). When I first bought the fabric I had no plans for it but Winslow culottes seemed like a good enough idea. Yet in the end I couldn't be more happier with the results! The fabric almost has a very slight sheen to it and drapes so beautifully... It is the perfect pairing to my Winslows! This combination turned into a very solid basic piece in my closet. After the success of the View B, I had to try View D. I simply had to. I never wore wide legged pants until this spring. The beige Hampshire Hack was in fact my first pair of wide legged pants. I wasn't sure if I was ready for another one, but without giving myself a chance to overthink, I dove in and cut view D out. For this view, the only modification I made was to lengthen the pattern by 5". The pattern is drafted for an average height of 5"5' and I am 5"10'. So adding 5" seemed like a good place to start. It worked out great! I even had enough length to hem the pants to wear with a slight heel! This pair is made out of slightly crinkly rayon I got from Fabricland. I figured that if I am going to push myself to make a pair of crazy palazzo pants, might as well make them in crazy print! I love how they turned out!! It is perfectly crazy yet sophisticated. Shaun told me that I look like a rich mom when we met up after work to go home. Ha! I don't know if "rich mom" is a look I strive for, but I'll take it as a compliment nonetheless. Of course I couldn't resist the swooshiness of the full length Palazzo pants! They are so much fun to walk, twirl and twist around in! One thing I do want to reiterate is to hold them up when walking up the stairs. I learned the hard way with a long skirt I made last fall. I didn't hold it up running up the stair, tripped on the skirt and fell straight onto my knee. That ended up in me requiring a few rounds of physio for a couple months. I am pretty much a definition of clumsiness. Sometimes I wonder how the hell I used to teach dance... Oh, and here is the picture of that zipper that goes through the waistband I mentioned at the beginning of the post. Isn't it lovely? Overall, I think this was a successful testing experience. I am very happy with both pairs of my culottes and I can truly stand behind Winslow pattern and recommend it to others. It is great, versatile and required no fitting modifications! Well other than length, but that doesn't count. What about you? Would you make a pair? Which View? Love, Anya

Kennis from Itch to Stitch is seriously productive. That woman pumps out patterns like no tomorrow, yet they all are extremely well drafted and quite intricate. It blows my mind, how does she do it? Meanwhile I feel super accomplished if I manage to cook dinner two days in a row. When I saw the call for testers for Kennis' latest pattern - Vienna Tank (affiliated link), I jumped on the opportunity to test it. The tank is a super simple summer top. The cut is pretty straight and there are no darts. Yet, it is the details that make it something special. The tank has yoke, gathers and paneling on the front bodice. It also has an option for simple neck ties or ones with ruffles. I was crazy about the ruffles! Vienna Tank by Itch to Stitch The tank is originally designed for knit fabrics but Kennis asked a few people to test it in woven fabric. I envisioned this tank in flowy, soft poly mix, or silk if I can ever get my hands on some, so I singed up to test the tank in woven fabric. First off, my bust measurements put me into size 8. The tank is quite loose through the hips so I ignored the fact that my hips are size 12. Also, I am 5'10" so the tank would be quite short on me. I have added 5" to the length to compensate for it. My first tank came out beautifully, but a little too tight... Even though in the picture below it fits, the armscye was too short on me and the tank was a little tight in the chest and hips. Don't I look glamorous when I sew? I was very happy that on that particular day I was wearing pants while sewing. Rather than trying to fix my first version, I decided to hem it and give it to my lucky friend who is shorter and thinner than me. There, happy belated birthday! For my second version, I went back to the pattern and started from scratch. I decided to size up from my original 8 to 10. I figured I prefer my clothes a little looser so even if 10 is a little too loose it will not be the end of the world. I also blended my hips out to size 12 since I wanted to make sure it the tank is not too tight. Finally, I lowered the armscye by about 3/4", but in hindsight 1/2" would have sufficed. My second version was looking much better! The construction of the top is not really difficult at all. It is pretty straight forward actually until you get to the neck tie and optional ruffles. I love how the front panels and the neck slit are handled. It makes it so easy in the end! The neck tie finish is very clean, but I would recommend reading through instructions carefully first before attempting anything. I think the construction steps are super clever and actually easy once you figure it out. For my second version I didn't even need instructions! I love this tank! It is so feminine, simple and elegant. I have been wearing it almost non-stop since I made it. My version of the tank is made from a very slinky polyester fabric that I had in my stash (I really should start writing down fabric names...). The fabric itself is very hard to work with. It is very slippery and is almost impossible to keep on grain and work with. However, I have a secret weapon when working with fabrics like that. I use Sullivan's Fabric Stabilizer. I spray it all over the fabric, let it dry or dry it with an iron (no steam!). The Stabilizer Spray stiffens the fabric and gives it almost tissue paper-like feel. It takes the fabric from impossible to work with to super easy to handle in minutes! Just look at how those ruffles turned out. It would have been extremely hard without it. The only thing is that once you are finished putting the garment together you have to give it a quick wash, but for me it is so worth it! For those of you in Canada I buy the spray online from Stitch In The Ditch, for those of you in the States you can find it on Amazon. It's seriously good stuff, it also doesn't clog the iron which is always a positive. I am planning to make this top in a couple other colors as well. I am seeing it in ivory and may be dust pink? I am not sure if I would make it without the ruffles, as the ruffles just make my day every time I go to put this top on. But you never know... Here is one final picture of the top and Skye wanting in on the shoot. What do you think of Vienna tank pattern? Would you make it? Love, Anya

I can't believe another month has passed already and Me Made May is over! By the way, we have been calling Me Made May "me-ma-may" in our household. Somehow, Me Made May is a mouthful and we figured as long as you make sounds that start with M really fast, it is all sounds the same. I have decided to roll the last couple days of Me Made May, Me Made May Conclusion post AND NBC Challenge Update post all into one! It may sound like a lot but my experiences with Me Made May really tied into NBC Challenge and lead me to discover more things about myself and my closet. First off, here are two last days of Me Made May. Day 30: https://www.instagram.com/p/BGCIpJtiuMW/?taken-by=anna.zoe.sewing Day 31: https://www.instagram.com/p/BGEtCgYCuKb/?taken-by=anna.zoe.sewing If you would like a full weekly recap you can visit Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 and Week 4 posts. What an adventure Me Made May was! This was my first year participating in it and I had no idea what to expect. I wasn't sure if I would be able to snap a picture of what I am wearing on a daily basis, but after a few days I realized that leaving my tripod out in the kitchen was the best way to go about it. Here are some thoughts about my experience, broken apart with my top 5 favorite outfits (in my opinion) from May: First off, I wore something me-made everyday! That was super exciting. I also never fully realized how many clothes I have and how many of them are me-made. I really don't need any more clothes... but it won't stop me from making them! I love this dress! It is so easy to wear and look instantly put together. The tencel fabric it is made out of it pure dream. The challenge really pushed me to look at my closet with a different mindset. Rather than looking for pretty garments, I was looking for what is useful for daily wear. I love frilly dresses, but Me Made May quickly showed me that I lacked in the basics department - I had only a couple pants, almost no basic sweaters and one RTW t-shirt that was too short on me. These basics, although less fun to make, are what glues the workable closet together. I am already seeing a few more basic items that I need and I plan to work them into my sewing schedule. Yet another super comfy and instantly elegant dress. It is made out of super soft cotton and feels amazing on. It looks easily put together with heels and will look just as great but casual with sneakers and a denim jacket. I also realized that even though I try to push myself to make garments out of fun prints and such, I still reach for basic neutral colors. I knew I liked grays and off whites, but I never realized how much. I also came to a conclusion that it is okay to own more than one off white top since I wear them all the time. Somehow I felt bad for making more than one garment in the same color. These pants are my favorite! I feel like they accurately reflect my style. They can be dressed up or look very casual depending on my mood. My me made garments fit me better! I never fully realized that, but this month I tired on RTW t-shirt and a couple bras and I didn't like the way they fit and feel at all! I am tall, so the t-shirt was uncomfortably short on me. Off it went into donation pile. My RTW bra felt too padded, the straps too shirt and the band too thin and loose. I am not a great seamstress and I make mistakes, yet even at this level my garments still fit and feel great. This realization made me feel really good. I love this skirt! The corduroy fabric is certainly a little heavy for late spring / summer so this is probably the last time I wore it this season. But I am already thinking of making one for summer in cotton twill. Next time I will also add pockets at the front. I really pushed myself in May to tackle pants. I have made a couple in the past and I was really proud of my Thurlow Trousers success. But I was still taking it easy on myself and not pushing further. Well, this past month I managed to whip out 5 pairs of pants and 2 pairs of jeans! I think I have enough pants to last me for a bit. I am getting more comfortable with pant making and fitting. As for welt pockets and zipper fly, bring them on! I am not scared of those anymore. I am mad about Laurel pattern! It is so versatile! This particular Laurel is made out of tencel twill and has a Peter Pan collar. I can't help but feel very preppy wearing this dress. As much as I am going to miss Me Made May, my wallet is really exited for June. Seeing all the inspirational makes, styles and fabrics was extremely tempting. I bought more patterns than I can sew just based on what I've seen other people make and wear this month. And don't even get me started on the fabric envy... It'll be a busy summer! And finally, I found so many amazing and inspiring people to follow on Instagram and blogosphere! I find seeing other skilled seamstresses and their amazing designs and styles really pushes and inspires me. Sewing community really has blown me away with how nice and welcoming everyone is. I am so excited and honored to be a part of it. Now onto No Buying Clothes Challenge update. I have done really well this month! Well, with it being Me Made May and me having to wear me-made items it was easy. Here are some thoughts on my experience so far: I do not miss buying clothes! I am not even tempted. Sometimes I do see interesting styles in the stores but I don't have an urge to buy anything. I usually snag a picture and keep it for inspiration. Even though I am not buying clothes, I am certainly buying shoes! Too many of them. Those who know me in real life, lovingly poke fun at me because apparently the money that I save not buying clothes I spend on shoes. I need to stop. My feet will thank me too, breaking shoes in is too much for them already. Two things that I can not wait to buy - camisoles and underwear. I am thinking camisoles that are strictly worn under sweaters and see-through garments. It needs to be somewhat fitted and with thin straps, and it doesn't sound appealing to me to make... If you know of a good pattern, please share! Mine are completely wearing out and I am dreading making them. As for underwear, I do make and wear my own bras but knickers... They take up so much elastic and I find them a little boring to make. And then it's a garment that I wear completely out and so fast. It pains me to put effort into it to see it washed and being worn out on daily basis. Am I the only one who's so weird about it? That's all I can think of right now. I hope everyone had fun this Me Made May. What was your favorite part of it? Love, Anya

I've had way too much fun this past weekend in Canmore with my girl friend and then with family on Sunday afternoon. I didn't do anything sewing or blogging related, so here I am doing all my catching up on posts. I am definitely overdue for the NBC Challenge update. And I am proud to report that I went another month without buying clothes!! I think it is a success. I did come close to buying a t-shirt in Canmore this past weekend though. Mainly because the t-shirt had "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" artsy thing on it (I am a geek) and I had a couple glasses of wine prior to seeing the t-shirt. But I pulled myself together and opted out to buy a random book instead, which in the end was also cheaper. I hope the book will turn out to be good! But here are my thoughts this month: I am still spending too much on fabric. I managed to buy fabric at a local FabricLand every time I went to pick up notions, and I purchased denim from Threadbare Fabrics (I will write a separate review of my experience). Even though I set myself a budget for fabric spending, I did go over it. I feel bad, but I feel like I may have learnt something this month by watching and seeing how I spent my hard earned money on fabulous fabrics. I am really hoping next month will be better! This time I will really try to stick to my budget and shop my stash instead. I find that I do not miss my ready to wear garments as much as I thought I would. Even sweaters. On one hand I still need that ivory sweater I talked about in my last NBC update post. But on the other hand, I am excited to make it myself. I know that the sweater I will make will fit me everywhere and will be long enough for my long torso! My office is right next to the mall and I thought that I would be very tempted every time I have to walk through it to get somewhere else. But so far I find that the mall has been serving as an inspiration to me, rather than temptation. I love seeing garments and think of ideas and what I can make. I especially enjoy seeing and touching good quality garments, I find they push me to look for quality fabrics and slow down during construction of my clothing. Finally, I listened to "I'll Drink to That" by Betty Halbreich a couple weeks ago and I absolutely enjoyed the book! Even though it is written about shopping and clothes, it talks about quality garments, wardrobes, style and fashion. I love listening to audiobooks while I sew, or drive, or go for walks, and I found this one also made me want to elevate the quality of my sewing. I also really enjoyed Betty talk about not needing too many clothes or new clothes all the time, yet striving to be elegant and put together. I really relate to that message. It wasn't much of an update this month, but that's also a good thing. I am staying on course and I am still feeling good about the challenge! What about you? Have you purchased any RTW? What do you listen to while you sew? Love, Anya

I am very late at writing this post. As in we are already in May and I am just writing it, but better late than never! This is my first year participating in Me Made May challenge. I first learnt about it a couple years ago and I never thought I would be able to have enough me made items to wear even a couple days a week. Yet, here we are and I already mostly wear me made clothes. For those who are not aware of what this challenge is head on over to So,Zo... blog to read about it. The idea is to challenge home sewists and makers to wear handmade clothes more often. The are no strict rules, it's not a competition and everyone is welcome to create their own version of the challenge suitable to themselves and their lives, and to participate. Here is my pledge: I, Anya of Anna-Zoe (www.anna-zoe.net) and @anna.zoe.sewing on Instagram, sign up as a participant of Me Made May '16. I will wear at least one item of me made clothing each day for the duration of May 2016. I will also commit to making at least one new item each week to add to my wardrobe to replace RTW items and fill in holes. You can follow my journey on instagram (daily updates) and my blog (weekly updates). Well, I already wear at least one item of handmade clothing each day. Even if it is just my undergarments, but it counts I hope. My challenge here is to really try to find out where my holes in my closet are, what I do wear most vs. what I make most. I plan to figure out a way to show off my daily outfits on the instagram and do a weekly round-up on the blog. I think the daily updates will be most challenging for me as I am not used to snapping daily pictures, but I am sure I can do it for a month. I also plan to keep up with my sewing and continue to make at least one item a week to add to my closet. I have no particular plans but there are a few things on my to-make list. I'll share those on my instagram as well until I have time to snap outfit photos. Here we go! I am very excited for my first Me Made May! Love, Anya

I haven't tested any patterns in a while and when Charlotte Kan sent out a call for pattern testers for this shirt / shirt dress I jumped on the opportunity. I don't really wear button up shirts and I don't have any shirt dresses... I was under impression that I don't really like them, but I think it is because I don't know how to pair them into an outfit (I know, someone is probably rolling their eyes right now... ) I've had Archer and Alder patterns for a while but I am yet to make them. So I thought with me testing a pattern, I would have no choice but to make a shirt or a shirt dress and then I would be forced to figure out how to wear it. The patter is a super simple shirt / dress pattern. It has a loose boxy fit, with gathers in the back yoke. There are no darts, the sleeves have cuffs and the collar is a simple standing collar. It is called Mandarin Collar in Russian but I am not sure if that is a proper name for it in English. Would anyone know? I cut straight size 10 according to my bust measurements. The only modifications were to accommodate the fit according to my body - I added a little bit to the shoulder width and lengthened the sleeves. I also ended up hemming the dress a little shorter. That's it! Other than that there were no modifications to the pattern. The instructions are very well written and have great diagrams to follow along. I love having pictures to look at! It makes the sewing process so much easier. All the construction steps are explained very thoroughly without being too long and as a result the dress came together in no time with no issues. I am very happy with the pattern! It is well drafted and the fit is impeccable! The dress is the perfect boxy cut without being too lose and swallowing me whole. It is the first time when I made an intentionally loose fitting garment and didn't have to take in the sides to make it less overwhelmingly loose. I envisioned this dress rather flowy and light, so for my fabric I picked a polyester blend from my local FabricLand. The fabric almost feels slightly like micro fiber but is still light. I used micro fiber needles just in case to sew with it, and I didn't have any issues whatsoever. I had a slight hick-up with buttons though. I have an insane amount of buttons in my stash! I really don't know exactly how I acquired them, but I must have been buying buttons with all my fabrics for years! I have a whole plastic container full of buttons. So I was sure I would be able to find something in my stash to go with the fabric and I didn't buy any buttons. Well, lo and behold, when the time came to make button holes and attach buttons I couldn't find anything that went with this dress! Nada! So the dress had to be put aside until I could make an emergency trip to the FabricLand. In the end it turned out perfectly since I was able to find buttons that matched the color of the fabric extremely well! I am extremely happy with this dress. I fell in love with it as soon as I put it on. It feels so chick yet so comfortable! I am very excited to try play with styling it, although I think it looks great on its own and doesn't really need anything else. As you have probably noticed, I love wearing it with my sleeves rolled up. I don't know what it is, but I rarely wear anything with the full length sleeve... The pattern should be released soon! Charlotte is a very talented designer and I definitely recommend this pattern. As for me, I am hoping that with the success of this dress I can finally open up some space in my closet for more shirts and shirt dresses. Love, Anya

I have been seeing button front skirts everywhere. I mean EVERYWHERE! At first they reminded me of a black denim skirt I used to have back in grade 9. I loved that thing to death and wore it all the time. I wore it so much that just a thought of a button front skirt gave me shivers at first. Then I kept seeing those skirts... and seeing them more... At first I thought "no way!" but then it changed to "hmmm... funny how the fashion comes around.." and then I went full on into "I must have it!!!" mode. I kind of stumbled onto the pattern for the skirt one day just as I was being slowly convinced to change my mind about the skirt itself. I've never tried any of Pauline Alice's patterns but she does have some super cute ones in her shop! Rosari Skirt did not jump out at me, it was more of a gentle wave and "hey you, here is that skirt that you've been seeing everywhere, okay bye!" So I kept going. Then one day, as I mentioned above my acceptance of a skirt changed into an intense need and I bought the pattern without giving it a second thought. I only have nice things to say about this pattern and I definitely recommend it. It taped together beautifully and the instructions were very thorough. I ended up blending between sizes - my waist being a size smaller than my hips. I used my French curve to draw a gently curved line to create a new side seam. I also determined the skirt length prior to sewing. I find I like my skirts around 19" long, so I added some extra length to the skirt pattern by slashing and spreading it. I didn't even make a muslin! I just went for it. And it worked! The skirt fit right off the bat. After trying it on, I did take it in at the sides a little bit as I found the overall flare was a little too much for me. But that was a super easy fix. I used a beige corduroy fabric I had in my stash. I have been saving this fabric for years in hopes of making myself a corduroy jacket but never getting around to it. I think in the end the fabric is much better off being a skirt than taking valuable space in my fabric closet. The buttons also came from my stash, except I only had 4 and ended up having to get 6 more. In the end I do love this skirt and it does remind me of my little black skirt I used to have in all the best ways. The first day I wore it I got a few compliments, and even a "I almost bought the same one the other day!" I don't just jump out at people and say "Aha! No you didn't! Cause I MADE mine!". I like to keep my sewing abilities semi-private so unless I am asked directly as to where I got something I don't say I made it. As for the skirt, it has definitely made it's way into a regular rotation in my wardrobe. Just like the old little black one did years ago... Love, Anya