SWAP: Sewing With a Plan!

All right. I'm still writing and stuff, but I'm a novelist so I can't be all, "Look at my new book" every week and I have to have something to blog about. I'm not interested in going over the details of my latest experience in the ER dealing with febrile seizures, nor am I into the issues involved with seasonal depression and how hard it is to be a homeschooling mama of four. There are blogs that I follow that do that, (not the febrile seizure thing, but seriously, I get tired just thinking about it) so I'm going to be all about sewing except when I host tours, which is like having a nice party, yaknow? So, woot! Sewing is sew totally cool!

There's a group that does this yearly challenge called, "SWAP" or, Sewing with a Plan. I stumbled onto this group and I'm gung ho in spite of the fact that everyone started far earlier than I did. I mean, it takes the usual procrastination out of the equation.

I went a thrifting last Saturday while my dear boy went to a LOTR themed birthday party with an exploding Mt Doom cake and everything (sometimes I want to be a cool parent like that, then I realize how much work is involved and get over it) and brought home a whole collection of browns and creams, and it was so marvelous, like fabric shopping only without the feeling of overconsumption that tends to give me heartburn. So... I'm working on transforming this assortment into a cohesive capsule, well, two capsules because SWAP rules state that you must have two small groups with a linking piece.

My first piece comes from a book, ShapeShape by Natsuno Hiraiwa. I saw that this book had a sequel on Amazon and googled for reviews so that I could decide whether or not to add it to my sewing book collection, for pictures because the online book doesn't show enough, and I found a blog, a wonderful, fabulous blog that I want to eat for breakfast every day. A sewing/fashion blog. At any rate, she reviewed Shape Shape, the above book, not the sequel because she read Amazon reviews that rated it difficult to understand and impossible to sew, but commented that none of the reviewers had actually made any projects, but she had, and it isn't hard at all.

Her review was a marvelously freeing thing, allowing me the courage to make something from Shapeshape, which I hadn't done because I read the reviews (after buying the book, ironically enough) and got discouraged. So, I made a very interesting vest using thrifted duds. My second piece is inspired by this. Ellowyne with Ennui is one of my favorite dolls. Wilde Here Love her style! 
Below is another picture.











Kind of says a lot about me that I'm inspired by doll fashion. Anyone else interested in SWAP, or find inspiration in interesting places?