I said it last year, and I’ll say it again this year, birthdays are my absolute favorite and today is my twenty eighth birthday! I talked to some of my favorite sewing ladies and am bringing you an amazing giveaway on my Instagram so you won’t want to miss it!

Last year, I answered 27 frequently asked questions about me and my sewing and this year I gave Instagram a choice – FAQs or Favorites and we’re getting a bit of both today. So here we go!

My newest Fringe pattern in this beautiful double gauze from D&H Fabrics Co.

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Favorites

Favorite Books

I love listening to books in the car and while sewing. A few of my favorites are: The Last Mrs. Parrish, Small Great Things, What Alice Forgot and Inside the O’Briens. I keep track of all the books I’ve read on my Goodreads account – let’s be friends!

Favorite Sewing Patterns

This is so tough – I love trying new patterns but there are a few I love to death: The Harmony Blouse from Love Notions (pattern | blog post), The Fringe Blouse from Chalk and Notch (pattern | blog post), Waterfall Raglan from Chalk and Notch (pattern | blog post), Rockford Raglan from Love Notions (pattern | blog post) and Coram Top (pattern | blog post).

Favorite Notions

My MVPs in my sewing room are easily my EZ Hem Gauge, Zirkle, Rotary Cutter (#teamrotary all the way), Wonder Clips, and Thermoweb Heat n Bond Soft Stretch Fusible Tape for hemming knits!

Favorite Online Home Decor Sites (both inspiration and shopping!)

We just moved so this is a hot topic in our household. I raved about it on Instagram, but we used Modsy to help plan out rooms. It is hands down my favorite online resource for planning out rooms and giving me inspiration and ideas for our new house! That gave me a lot of ideas of where to shop – we used Ashley Furniture, Wayfair, and World Market to help furnish our new house!

Favorite Movies

I have to be honest, I’m much more a TV person than movie person. But my favorite movies are The Parent Trap and My Big Fat Greek Wedding (1 and 2!).

Favorite Online Fabric Stores

I absolutely love buying fabric online. I always share where I buy my fabric in my blog posts, but my usual go-tos are Style Maker Fabrics, Raspberry Creek Fabrics, DH Fabrics Co, Indiesew and Califabrics.

Favorite Free Patterns

I am the worst about sewing free patterns. I really do love the Uvita Top from Itch to Stitch (pattern | blog post). I need to sew more free patterns.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you make time for sewing?

This is a hard question. The truth to this question is sometimes I don’t. I work a full time job that is usually (45-50 hour weeks or more) and sometimes it just doesn’t happen. I do best if I pre-plan my sewing during the week (aka dream up what I’m going to sew over the weekend during the week. I also send things off to PDF Plotting and am team #cutitout so I skip the tracing step.

I feel like there are a million different garment fabrics. How do you know which one to use?

This was the toughest thing when I started sewing and I still struggle with it sometimes. My biggest suggestion is two fold: 1. If you’re not sure, follow the recommendations that the pattern has (don’t get creative if you’re not sure!). 2. Figure out what types of fabrics YOU like to work with – for me, I love working with rayons so for wovens I tend to try to use a rayon for any woven pattern but other people prefer different fabrics. Then for knits, I know I don’t love double brushed poly so I usually find an alternative if that’s recommended. This took me a long time so my best advice is try to order different fabrics and see what you like to work with best.

What is your favorite technique to use in sewing?

Hands down understitching. It’s like sewing magic!

What motivates you to sew?

I love all of you and the community it’s made me a part of. It sounds sappy, but that’s 100% the reason why. I love being able to share and learn from each of you and we can share that common interest.

What Harry Potter House would you be sorted into?

Ha! This was a good one (thanks Emily!) I have wishful thinking I’d be in Gryffindor but I don’t think I’m quite that cool!

I’m off to celebrate my birthday with my friends and family – but I want to celebrate with you too! Make sure to come by my instagram for your chance to win $25 in Chalk and Notch Pattern Credit + 2 Yards of fabric from D+H Fabrics!