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In my quest to update my home with more eco-friendly choices, I’m constantly on the search for cloth napkins that match our décor. Recently, … More what i’m digging in july – vintage inspired cloth napkins »

The post what i’m digging in july – vintage inspired cloth napkins appeared first on My French Twist.

You’ve got an idea; let’s get it online.

Join us online for the second Official WordPress.com Growth Summit on August 17th in the Americas + EMEA and August 18th in APAC. 

Calling all creators, small businesses, and publishers! 

Are you a blogger looking for ways to drive traffic and attract more visitors? Are you a small business owner that wants to start selling products and services on your site? Are you an artist or creator who wants to learn how to share your work and generate leads? The WordPress.com Growth Summit will cover these topics (and many more). We’ll provide indispensable advice to help you succeed!

Speakers include:

• David Nitzsche, Owner and Editor at Workprint.
• Jessica Petrie, Owner and Lead Teacher of Yoga Next Door.
• Wali Pitt, Web Developer at HBCU Gameday. 

You’ll... [read more]

 

She Came to Stay / Eleni Kyriacou London: Hodder & Stoughton, c2020. 426 p.

I first noted this book in my Cover Designs series, and have been meaning to read it ever since. I finally got my hands on a copy and found that it's a great summer read. 

Dina Demetriou has come to London to live with her brother, after being rejected by her fiancé in her Cyprus hometown. She's ready to make a new life but her brother is very protective and controlling, and it's driving her mad. He's also a gambler, so any hope they have of saving enough to leave the moldy bedsit that they share is a tenuous one -- Peter can't hold on to any cash at all. 

He's found her a job at a local café, where she makes a friend of a fellow waitress, and manages to secrete some cash slowly. Then she finds an opening for a seamstress at the Pelican Revue; the nightclub needs someone to help... [read more]

Today I’m sharing a dress I made last month. We took a somewhat last-minute trip to Carmel and Monterey and I decided to make a very last-minute dress to wear. I had purchased 2 1/2 yards of this cute undersea themed fabric from Birch and hadn’t quite figured out what[Read more]

The editors are very pleased to welcome Christy Matheson Forrest to the blog. This post will focus on the Cashmerette Roseclair Dress and the Closet Core Elodie Dress patterns. Part Two will add information about the Deer and Doe Magnolia Faux Wrap Dress and the True Bias Roscoe Dress patterns. Enjoy!

If you like an airy, graceful summer dress, you might be considering the Elodie or the Roseclair. Both are full-wrap, woven dresses, promising no gaping, and released in two size blocks. Other social media stars you may be considering, with a similar look, are the True Bias Roscoe and the Deer & Doe Magnolia.  I love wearing dresses, I love sewing dresses, and I love talking about sewing dresses, so here are my thoughts on all these patterns!  This head-to-head is comparing the two most similar wrap dresses, and I added some notes... [read more]

I’ve seen so many lovely versions of the Adrienne Blouse on Instagram over the past year or so I just had to make one myself. When I got the paper version of this Friday Pattern Company design from Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics, I decided to get some fabric at the same time. I’m a fan of this indie company’s designs. (To read about Friday Pattern Company’s founder and desginer, see my Q&A with Chelsea Gurnoe.)

I knew I wanted somthing bright and floral so I spent some time browsing and found this great rayon knit fabric (sorry, sold out!). The fabric has flowers, strawberries, and birds on it (see the bird by my hand on my hip?). It seemed perfect for the Adrienne Blouse.

Pattern details

The Adrienne Blouse uses the same pattern piece for the front and the back. The other pattern pieces are the sleeve and the neck binding — and that’s it. Take a... [read more]

We play Dungeons & Dragons every 2-3 weeks, and if you’ve ever played, you would know that snacks are basically compulsory.

I love dips but rarely have the foresight to buy any before the game, since I only really do a grocery shop once a fortnight (and it doesn’t usually line up with the game).

I’ve been thinking about it for a while though, and checking out some “from scratch” French onion dip recipes, as that was something I remembered as a staple of 90s parties. It turns out that a) you can use Greek yoghurt instead of sour cream, and b) it’s mostly just caramelised onions, garlic and Worcestershire sauce.

As it turns out, I always have a ton of Greek-style yoghurt in my fridge, and I bought a jar of Beerenberg caramelised onion relish a while back (seemed interesting). And guess what? It has garlic and balsamic vinegar, plus some other delicious... [read more]

We’ve recently launched an upgraded photo carousel experience that takes photo viewing to the next level on mobile devices. Now your visitors can swipe, zoom, and double-tap with ease and get the best look at those beautiful snaps!

Video Overview

Here’s a short video overview of using the photo carousel on a mobile device and the upgrades we’ve introduced:

What’s New

Smooth, Hands-on, High Resolution Photo Viewing

• Full-width photos expand to the display of your device
• Swift, smooth pinch-to-zoom, and double-tap-to-zoom through your photos
• New, higher resolution images that stay crisp and clear however far you zoom
• A simpler, faster tap-to-close button to move back into the thumbnail gallery view

Faster, Clearer Navigation Between Photos

• Responsive, fast swiping between your photos
• Clear photo numbering navigation to show where you are in your... [read more]

 

For once I’ve actually coordinated my sewing with the weather! Though, like most of my makes, this had a rather long lead time… I actually bought this 1.5m of Atelier Brunette “Shade Ochre” viscose fabric from Lamazi Fabrics last summer but didn’t quite work out which pattern to pair with it until recently, when I decided I wanted to try another variation of the Saraste shirt/dress/top from the first Named book, “Breaking the Pattern”.

As you may recall, this is not the first time I’ve made the Saraste pattern in an ochre Atelier Brunette fabric!

The best part about the patterns in the Named books is that you can mix and match, and this time around I went with the loose-fitting body of the Saraste Top (minus the big ruffle), added the collar from the Saraste Shirt, and the sleeves from a different pattern in the book (the Solina dress, just as I did for... [read more]

My lemon tree has been quite bountiful this year. One might say too bountiful. And with extra hygiene measures/lack of people-ing during the pandemic, I haven’t really gotten sick this winter (yet). But most years I love to drink Korean honey lemon ginger tea.
So why not DIY it, considering the ridiculous number of lemons I needed to use up?

Oh. Lordy.

I zested about 6 lemons before I gave up. That was probably enough, right? (Yeah, actually, but more would be fine too)

Then I juiced all the lemons. Thank goodness for juicer attachments on food processors! But be careful. Once you zest off the rind, those little yellow hemispheres are slippery buggers.

Anyway, a little over a litre later (maybe 10-15 lemons?) I had a big bowl of lemon husks and their seeds ready to go. Cover with a little diluted lemon juice (enough to cover them entirely) and leave them... [read more]

On June 16, 2021, WordPress.com presented a live webinar focused on Managed Hosting with WordPress.com. The topic expert was Rudy Faile, Automattic Systems Engineer. Hosting the webinar was Sam Vaidya, Automattic Happiness Engineer. If you missed the live event, don’t worry. You can watch the recording at your convenience on Youtube or view it right here.

What Does the WordPress.com Managed Hosting Webinar Cover?

In this webinar, you’ll learn from WordPress.com Happiness Engineers and product experts how to build a fast, secure, and scalable website using WordPress – the publishing platform that now powers over 41% of the web. 

Managed hosting is a convenient service offered by WordPress.com, which is 100% dedicated to hosting the open-source WordPress software. Managed hosting is an excellent option for... [read more]

If you have an item of clothing you really like and want more of then one thing you can do is straight up copy it. Use that piece, in my case this boxy button down shirt and duplicate it. You already know the shirt or whatever fits decently enough. If it doesn't then this is where you can make adjustments and fine tune it to achieve your best fit. I've done this before with other clothes. It's an excellent learning experience for sewing your own clothes.

For my copy of this old Madewell embroidered cactus courier shirt, I went ahead and mixed in this piece of black and white check gingham. Reminds me of a picnic. I really liked the combination. I made this new top a bit longer but... [read more]

As I've mentioned a few times now, I've been sewing along with some members of my local Garment Guild this summer (via Zoom) as we work through 10 lessons on pattern drafting by Cal Patch on CreativeBug. 

This week's challenge was to take the dress draft from last week and muslin it, so that you could do any necessary adjustments and then rework the pattern. 

As suspected, I am going to have to make sure to trace off a separate back piece and make some tweaks there -- specifically to take a 1/2" swayback adjustment. In this class the front and back are drafted as one piece, with no bust darts included. If you have a larger bust you may have many more adjustments to make but I didn't have to worry about that. I do have to adjust the back though! 

One other small tweak is that I had to shorten the lower back darts by a fair amount -- I raised them 1.5" but... [read more]

We’re excited to announce that Pocket Casts will be joining Automattic, the parent company of WordPress.com. More than 80M people in the US listen to a podcast weekly, and this critically acclaimed podcast app makes it easier for fans to discover podcasts and customize their listening experience. Pocket Casts has been recognized by The New York Times, WIRED, The Verge, and other top publications for its exquisite design and user-friendly features.

Pocket Casts should be the podcast app you listen to and through which you distribute your content. Here’s why:

1. Discover hidden gems with powerful search tools and human-curated recommendations. Pocket Casts helps you discover premium content with next-level search and discovery tools. You can use the episode search feature to look for a topic or special guest you want to learn... [read more]

 

WordPress.com experts invite you to join our community-driven courses to get your blog or podcast started, launched, or taken to the next level. Join today for on-demand content, access to a course community of peers, weekly office hours with our dedicated experts, and virtual meet-ups to connect with other learners like you. Start learning here. 

Overheard on our Blogging for Beginners Course Community: “Taking this course has pushed me to think beyond my comfort zone and take a step back in my journey to become a better blogger and focus on what I truly want to write about.”

Join the WordPress.com Course Communities here.

A few weeks ago, I found myself on the Madalynne Intimates website, trying to find bra strapping. I found it, but I also discovered a cool new pattern, the Fenix Bodysuit. I previously made the Anouk Bodysuit, from Ohhh Lulu, and I'm not sure how many bodysuits a stay-at-home-mom needs, but the graphic lines of the Fenix really called out to me and I bought it anyway.

I've made one other Madalynne pattern before, one of her collaborations with Simplicity, number 8228. The sizing was a little wackadoodle but I ended up with a nice bralette. The Fenix had a lot of information on sizing and fit, including a whole section on torso length that I've never seen in another pattern. There are three cup sizes in addition to XS-4XL. I made the A/B cup in a size M for my 33" bust and 38" hip. 

In the end, I think I need to go down a size in the cups. In the above photo, I... [read more]

written by Marie Lawlor of @marie_stitchedup Linen has had a makeover! Finally, the thermometer is breaching 20c in the UK and we can really break the seal on the summer wardrobe! It feels extra special this year, as many of us are returning to offices, and seeing people in person for the first time in… Continue reading →

The post pigeonwishes Tencel-Linen appeared first on .

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Oh man, this was one of those projects. I should have finished it about a week ago, but the last half d.r.a.g.g.e.d…. What happened was that I got all caught up on the yoke/facings part of the construction and got slightly frustrated – and then my enthusiasm to finish deflated like an overripe balloon. It’s a good thing that I love the finished result then, isn’t it? I’ll tell you straight up that, quite apart from the construction, the Named Reeta shirtdress is one of those garments that I wasn’t convinced was going to look any good riiigghhtt up until literally the last step or two of the project. It’s amazing what a difference the buttons and waist cording make. It looked very bathgown-y right up until that point – you’ll just have to trust me on that.

In general, I’m actually a big fan of the Finnish Named Patterns and have... [read more]

Welcome to the Summer 2021! Whew last year was a doozey! But this year we are back to normal.. Kids bored.. they want to learn a new skill send them to Summer Sewing Camp for the week. Camp begins on Monday 7/19 and ends on Friday 7/23/2021! T

This camp is for beginners and intermediate! They may sew and complete any of the following things.. a pillow, tote bag, bucket hat, a skirt, or shorts! If they don’t complete their project they can continue with the next sewing camp in August or continue with Saturday Kids Beginner / Intermediate Classes!

Camp is for ages 8 through 14.. and we have all the tools necessary for a nominal fee and is paid at the end of class.

We have two slots for July available and four slots for August Sewing Summer Camp. You... [read more]

Writing regularly on your blog both improves your writing skills and engages the readers that visit your site. The more you write, the better — you can meet your posting goals while also building an online audience that keeps coming back for more.

But to keep up a good habit, sometimes you need a nudge. So, we’ve added Blogging Reminders to the WordPress mobile apps to help keep you on track.

Choose the days you prefer to blog, and a push notification will remind you to write your post.

You’ll see a promotion for this new feature in your app, available from version 17.7. You can set it up as follows: 

• Go to the My Site tab.
• Scroll down and tap on Site Settings.
• You’ll see Blogging Reminders under General.
• Select the days you want to write, and you’ll be reminded with push notifications.

We hope this encourages a regular... [read more]

Daughter No 2 sent me a photo on Instagram late last year/early this year of a cute little top made in broiderie anglaise.  One look at it told me I could use the Saraste Top from the Named Clothing book, Breaking the Pattern.  Going from the measurements I chose to toile the size 2.  Usually I make the first toile exactly as the pattern, but I aleady knew that she didn’t want the fullness and flare that the Top has.  I used the pattern piece for the Shirt side front instead of the Top one, and removed flare from the side back to match the side front too.

The toile got the thumbs up, with a request to take in at the back waist a little more, it was too baggy, but not awful.  So now I needed to make the pieces for the frills for the centre front and collar.  I decided to make the pieces half as long again as the measurement of... [read more]