Wednesday, March 23, 2011

April Burda picks and some Q&A

IMO, this is another month of duds. When my subscription is up at the end of August, I will not be renewing. Arg! This is so sad! What happened to the interesting and innovating designs they had for so many years?

I felt like I had to pick something from the magazine that I could see myself in, and I do like pants 104. (Although I've seen this same design in several other issues during the past 2 years and haven't gotten around to making those either.)
Sorry for the negativity. I feel like I've been posting all downers lately.

Awhile ago Sally asked:
I have a couple of random questions.How do you decide when you have to match a print? The girls at JoAnns always tell me that you don't need to but somehow that doesn't sound right.Also, do you ever so formal wear or maybe your wedding dress? I Would love to see that if you did or how you use dressier fabrics.

Well, I always match the fabric when I'm working with plaids or horizontal stripes. I don't usually match prints. If I'm using a fabric with a big print I'll look for a pattern that doesn't break up the print much, like a pencil skirt with only seams at the sides. As for formal wear, I do have an occasion I'll need a dress for coming up in May. I have all the materials needed to get started, but with my current humongous rash of wadders, I'm scared to get started. I need to sew a few winners in a row to get my confidence up. My mother actually made my wedding dress, although it was more of a suit. I had plans to show it last May on my 10th wedding anniversary, but got busy with something and didn't get around to it. Perhaps I'll do it this year.

Sewsister asked:
Any tips on how you lost the baby weight so fast? My son is 18 and I still have baby weight! ;D

Thanks for noticing! I have no magic tricks for weight loss. I have high blood sugar which I'm expecting to turn into diabetes later in life as I have a family history of it. Because of the high blood sugar, I have to eat a ton of protein and very little sweets to keep from getting horrible headaches. Limiting sweets happens to cause my body to loose weight. Also, I live in a 2 story house and am very forgetful, so I end up running up and down the stairs at least 20 times a day. That's pretty much it!

Bonnie D asked:
I noticed you live in San Antonio. Are there any independent fabric stores there? I am in SA frequently for business and I'm always looking for new sewing and knitting shops.

I do a lot of online fabric shopping for a reason! We have a few JoAnn and Hancock Fabrics, that's about it. There are also 2 quilt shops in town that I never go to as I'm not a quilter. I guess it's not much of a high-fashion town. There's plenty of fun things to do, though.

If I've missed your question please feel free to ask it again. I promise I am not ignoring you, I just happen to be busy with daily life. :)

21 comments:

  1. I agree about Burda - between the lack of interesting designs and the newly crowded pattern sheets I've stopped buying. If I really want to make a pattern, I'll just buy one of the printable ones from Burdastyle - I don't mind the taping, so long as I don't have to trace!

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  2. I totally agree about Burda. May is my last issue and I've been going back and forth, but it seems like each new issue has less in it, and there does seem to be a lot a repetition. I guess it's time to say buh-bye for a while, at least until they bring up their game.

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  3. Interesting, I have never subscribed to Burda, have always been a Vogue pattern sewer when I sewed less frequently but wanted really good style for my efforts. Lately I find almost every style I need in Simplicity - for 99 cents on sale it is hard to beat. So I was pondering a subscription but I think you just saved me some $$.

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  4. I am one of those people that envy people with a Burda subscription because I so badly want one, but haven't been able to get one yet. This post makes me feel better. In fact, I think I may try out the new My Image magazine instead. Thanks for the heads up about Burda, sorry there weren't more styles to your liking.

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  5. My company gets me an amazon gift certificate for my birthday every year that I use to buy my Burda subscription. This year, I bought $100 worth of sewing books and videos instead. I hate not having the magazine, but haven't made anything from them in too long to continue buying it. They really have gone down hill. : 0 (

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  6. Thank you so much for answering my questions! I have a print that is waiting to be sewn into a sun dress but have been afraid to cut into it. Please don't let the wadders get you down. The clothes that you make are so amazing that I wish I could just shop in your closet!

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  7. I'm with you on Burda lately, I won't be renewing either.
    Where do you shop online for fabrics? I live an hour and a half away from the only fabric store so I have to rely on the internet too but am looking for some new sources.

    sweetlimes.com/blog

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  8. What has happened to Burda is so sad. I let my subscription drop this past October. I always enjoy your posts.

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  9. Burda World of Fashion -RIP.
    We loved BWOF and it's just not there anymore, is it? I did not renew either.

    I hope you have met your annual quota for wadders and get some good sewing mojo!

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  10. When I lived in SA many moons ago you could pick up designer fabric downtown and at Solo Serve. But SA is the same as many cities when it comes to losing fabric stores. Sad.

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  11. I picked up my April Burda yesterday and haven't even been bothered to open it yet. That is sad!

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  12. i found your blog site while i was googling some dress designs. i browsed through it and i really really admire how wonderful you are able to create those fabulous clothes!!! congratulations!
    i used to have an aunt who create clothes for me and now she's gone , i find it hard to have someone else do my clothes so i end up buying expensive stuff at stores. now you inspire me to learn how to sew.
    keep up the good work!

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  13. On Burda, I let my sub lapse last year for the same reasons:-) Better things to spend my money on!

    And since you have invited questions, I will ask again:-) HOW do you manage to homeschool, be mum to 3 kids, one a baby, and still sew as much as you do???

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  14. Hi. I've been following your blog for over a year now and am always in awe of your projects. The jackets you make are amazing. Do you have any recommendations for sewing books related to jacket construction? Thank you!
    ps -any desire to lead a sew along? Please.

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  15. I love to sew bags, tablerunners, ect. I've just recently started sewing clothes. Any ideas on simple yet stylish things to start with? You do such nice work on yours!

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  16. I'm with you, Amanda. The latest Burda was just a total waste of paper, IMO. Ann of Gorgeous Fabrics blogged about looking at the one before this and how underwhelmed she was. I thought to myself, "just wait til she sees this one!" And what is up with all the crafty stuff? I'm done!

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  17. I totally agree that BWOF is like a fish out of water, flapping around and looking for a way back to the pool! Nothing new or interesting and the over-printed pattern sheets are just too much. I browse all the books and independents to find what I want, I wait for a sale if possible. It is a shame, maybe if enough of us leave, someone will notice and do something to fix it!

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  18. I have to agree that Burda has been pretty crappy lately. There's maybe one thing in the April issue that I remotely liked. For whatever reason though, I just renewed my subscription. April would have been my last issue. If this keeps happening, I won't be renewing next year.

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  19. Hi,
    Thank you for the excellent blog!! What is the full name of the Burda magazine, if you would please put it in your blog? ALSO, do you have a subscription?? I thought there used to be "Burda World of Fashion," but everywhere I look online (including the Burda Web site), it looks defunct.
    Thank you!!

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  20. The repetition of styles is something I am seeing in ALL the pattern companies with just a tweak of the original design here and there. I keep buying the same jacket pattern style from all the different pattern companies trying to find one that is drafted well.

    Hang in there and keep sewing, this is what I am telling my own self because my number of wadders has been very disheartening this year. I keep telling myself this next garment is going to turn out perfect and, thank God, a few actually have.

    Just look in your closet and see all the gorgeous success you have in there, and keep on keeping on. I'm sure your next project will dazzle all of us!

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  21. I have terrible headaches and suspect I might have blood sugar issues (although the couple of times I had the test nothing is terribly abnormal. Which is good!) Wonder if limiting sweets and more protein will help??

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