Last year, I started following Sew Weekly, a great site that would have weekly sewing challenges. Unfortunately, in 2013, the site administrator decided to discontinue the site abruptly. I know some of the reasons for doing this from stalking the forums, but it’s not really my place to say. If you haven’t seen the site before, do check out the archives, because the challenges and the entries are absolutely amazing. The site helped me find a number of my favourite blogs, like the Sew Convert and lots of amazing other bloggers.
The forums on Sew Weekly have still been relatively active with questions about when the site will return and why it stopped. A few of the contributors got together and created the Sew Weekly Reunion and have posted their first challenge. The reunion is a month-long challenge rather than a week based on the Pantone Fashion Colours of the Fall 2013.
The prize is this amazing Dandelion Silk Chiffon:
I’m instantly jealous of anyone who gets that gorgeous fabric. I’m not participating, sadly. With a PhD dissertation to write, a family to take care of, improv shows to host and perform in, and working a full-time job with the government, well, I am over extended already, sadly. I find it tough to even allow myself time to sew, because of everything that is on my plate.
With the exception of the last dress, I find sewing is much needed relaxation for me and, unlike the PhD dissertation, I have something at the end of the day to hold up and say, “I did that.” The work on my dissertation can lead to that “something” to show and tell, but so much of it is research and editing and there is less to show for that. Sewing is a much easier problem to figure out than my dissertation. It also produces something practical and tangible. A dissertation in eighteenth-century British literature might be tangible at the end, but it’s not going to be wearable or useable in my kitchen. It has its own uses. Although, I could create it as a dress once it’s done. (wink) Although, anyone who has worked on a dissertation knows the instinct is to burn it once it’s done.
If you have more time than me, I really encourage you to create something and submit it to the Sew Weekly Reunion. The community there is really amazing and supportive. If you are a blogger, it’s also a great way of getting more hits on your page, if you are interested in that sort of thing. And, if you win, you get that gorgeous fabric. /fabric lust
Andie Wells Studio 