Tag Archives: heroes

Sewing Heroes of the Refashion and Art Challenges

Posted on by

It’s shout-out time. The ladies over at The Sew Weekly have been sewing up some jaw-droppers these past couple of weeks and I shall dote upon them a bit today.

For the Refashion Challenge, Gina Clark stole the show with her “Lorenzo Lamas” pants made out of a thrifted leather trench. You’ve gotta be sh**ting me! Upcycling a garment is already sorcerer’s work and Gina managed to do it with LEATHER. Effing brilliant! I bow down to this woman.

"Lorenza Lamas" Leather Pants

"Lorenza Lamas" Leather Pants by Gina Clark

Loran continues to amaze with us with her mad skillz. Inspired an iconic Klimt painting for last week’s Art Challenge, she sewed up this stunning patchwork jacket. Since I’m preparing to sew a quilt, seeing this jacket was like an omen from the craft gods to stay on course. Beautiful work, indeed.

The "Kiss by Klimt" Coat by Loran

The "Kiss by Klimt" Coat by Loran

Wanett (aka Nettie) is studying to be a librarian and used her Nerd Power to learn all about Frida Kahlo for the Art Challenge. I swear that Frida’s ghost must be haunting Nettie by now because with this outfit, she channelled the late artist better than a $1,000 an hour psychic. Nettie’s story of learning about Frida is a must read, a wonderful tale of sewist meets artist/muse.

Self Portrait as Frida Kahlo by Nettie

Self Portrait as Frida Kahlo by Nettie

I’m almost having more fun enjoying the other contributor creations than I am contributing my own. Well, almost ;-).

Sewing Heroes of the Oscars Challenge

Posted on by

The creations from last week’s Oscars Challenge were some of the most creative yet. The Sew Weekly Contributors have blown me away with their talents. Those who are chosen by Mena for the daily spotlight are unanimous favorites, but there’s always a few that win the popular vote.

If there were award certificates at The Sew Weekly, we’d give them out for Miss Congeniality (gracefully surviving a sewing fiasco), Best Couture Sewing (every week someone devotes hours for hand-sewn touches), Funniest Construction Story (weekly sewing adventures are an untapped resource for stand up comedy material), Most Outrageous Fabric (lions and tigers and paisley, oh my!)….the list of awards would be a mile long. Until the Sew Weekly community organizes a celebration of its unsung heroes, I’ll give my own shout-outs here – which today will include a couple of daily spotlighters:

Loran’s Titanic-inspired outfit was spectacular! It was the daily spotlight feature for Friday and the best TGIF eye candy we could ask for. The lucky gal has a day job as a costume designer. Her talent is evident in this genius interpretation of the original suit worn by Rose in the movie.

Titanic inspired outfit by Loran

The "Rose arrives at the Titanic" dress by Loran

Kazz, our Australian style icon and Queen of street fashion photography, wowed us with her take on Annie Hall. Outfitted with former creations and a DIY brocade tie, Kazz made a pair of fantastic khakis that have inspired me to make my first trousers of the year. Her supermarket shopping photos were a riot!

Annie Hall inspired pants by Kazz

The Lost in the Supermarket Pants by Kazz

With the perfect balcony backdrop, Krista took us to Hollywood with her rendition of Maria’s dress from the musical, West Side Story. We all understood why it kicked off the week as Monday’s spotlight garment. Made in jersey (everyone was in awe of that fact) and embellished with a handmade petticoat, Rogue’s dress is a breath-taker. I am still a bit shy about sewing vintage patterns, but with examples like this firing me up, I won’t be for long ;-).

West Side Story inspired dress by Rogue

The "West Side Story" Maria Dress by Krista

Who cares about Oscar winners when you’ve got Seamstress Heroes of the blogosphere to worship and admire. Fly your (silk lined, hand-hemmed) capes proudly, ladies!