Kaoru Marie

I'm a huge fan of Sewaholic Patterns as is evidenced here here here   here and here and I always look forward to the new patterns. However, I was on the fence with the Belcarra blouse. I initially thought it was really casual, which I don't really need more of; I'm really on a mission to make more work-appropriate garments. But then I saw Miss Crayola Creepy's version and I became convinced that it could fill a void in my office wardrobe. The fabric (color, print, and material) can really transform this pattern. Despite knowing better, I used a quilting cotton to make this version. It's a Pat Bravo design "premium" quilting cotton fabric (NouvElle - Femme Fatale) that I bought at Sew Modern . I was hoping to find some rayon challis or voile, but I kept going back to this print even though I knew I shouldn't be using quilting cotton for shirts/blouses. However, I just couldn't pass up this beautiful print. In case you're wondering i...

Hello hello! I'm still blogging....just very very infrequently. I have so many draft blog posts, but I've been super lazy about taking photos of my finished (or in-progress) makes. Most of the photos in this mid-year check-in post are from Instagram.....which is just so convenient. The pics look decent on a phone, but not so good on a full-size screen.....sorry not sorry. Here's a nice photo to start things off on a good foot. It's all downhill after this one! Man oh man, where the heck did time go? A lot has happened in the first half of 2014, in my personal and sewing life. I haven't blogged since March! I think the best way to get back into blogging is to do a check-in, so here we go: I started 2014 with a sewing goal: 8 projects. I actually forgot what I had on that list and had to look at my blog post to see what I told myself to sew this year! (I also had planned on listing the 8 projects on my sidebar and crossing off each one as I completed it, but...

At the beginning of April I found myself between jobs by choice (I suppose I was technically unemployed.) I had over 4 weeks of outstanding vacation days at my old job so I decided that I could "afford" to sit around and do nothing for a week and a half before I started my new job. My husband and I entertained the idea of road tripping up the coast to the Bay Area and hitting up Hearst Castle and Carmel on the way, but the dates didn't really work out well with his schedule. And besides, I was secretly hoping to sew ALL WEEK LONG!!! The idea just sounded so heavenly! So instead of an awesome road trip we decided to spend a couple days in Vegas, which still left me with about a week of free time to do as I pleased. I spent most of the days working out in the mornings, grabbing lunch at a new spot, and sewing. I primarily worked on the Deer and Doe Pavot Jacket, which took way longer than it should have only because I decided to finish the seams with handmade bias tape (...