How many of you watched the Oscars last night? I don’t know about you, but I like checking out the Red Carpet style more than the actual awards ceremony. The men always look handsome and the women always look beautiful. Seeing the amazing designer gowns reminds me why I love the fashion industry.

Some of my favorite gowns were worn by:

^ Mariska Hargitay (in a classic and beautiful Vera Wang gown)

^ Elizabeth Banks (in a gorgeous Versace gown)

^ Amanda Seyfried (in a glamorous Armani Privé)

^ Demi Moore (in a romantic Versace gown)

^ Queen Latifah (in a stunning Badgley Mischka gown)

^ And let’s not forget the Best Actress winner, Sandra Bullock. She looked stunning in her Marchesa gown with floral lace detail.

And did you see Zoe Saldana? Wow, that was a unique dress by Givenchy. She looked gorgeous:

Quinton Aaron, star of The Blind Side, sure looked handsome in his tux:

And Robert Downey, Jr. looked suave with his cool blue bowtie, sneakers and sunglasses:

To see these and more Red Carpet style, go to the Oscars home page and click on  Red Carpet Photos.

Who was wearing your favorite gown? And whose dress missed the mark? Give us your comments below!

I stopped into Old Navy the other day during my lunch break and was pleasantly surprised by a $5 T-shirt sale. I snatched up 10 shirts for $50 and started playing. I have completed three shirt makeovers so far.
Two shirts made into one with reverse applique:

marking & cutting both shirts

pinning shirts together at side seams

pinning along upper edge

stitching side seams, upper edges and lower edge (after trimming upper shirt shorter than under shirt) using a stretch stitch and ballpoint needle

finished shirt--FRONT

finished shirt--BACK

That’s shirt number one. Check back next week for the other two!

I just spoke with American Friends of Cecily’s Fund, and they told me that our readers are doing a great job sending in bags! Thank you to everyone who has sent in a bag or is planning to get involved!

Please remember that when you make the bag, include the American Friends of Cecily’s Fund logo somewhere on the bag. You can do this with fabric paint, hot-fix crystals, hand embroidery, machine embroidery, appliqué … the possibilities are endless! The logo doesn’t have to be perfect, but remember that we want to spread the word about American Friends of Cecily’s Fund, and the best way to do this is with the logo.

To download the FREE embroidery design, simply go to the Creative Machine Embroidery Web site. It’s quick and easy!

Keep up the great work, readers! You all are amazing for helping such a wonderful organization. Kudos!

We’re now down to less than 50 copies of Sew It All in our store. If you still haven’t ordered your own copy, don’t wait! Having 45 quick projects at your fingertips is a great resource, whether you’re a sewing veteran or a relative newbie. The simple, doable ideas help you see sewing in a  fun new way, showing you ways to use scraps from your stash, help a beginner get started or make handmade gifts.

On a personal level, Sew it All has come in really handy for me. Over the past week, a family member of mine has been experiencing some health problems. In addition to the puzzle books, magazines and flowers I brought her, I wanted to make something special for her so she’d have a little reminder that I’m thinking of her. I needed a quick idea, so right away, I thought of the “Feathered Friend” bird softie in Sew It All. I printed out the pattern in half-scale and then quickly stitched up a little fleece friend in time for my visit yesterday. I was glad I could bring her something that I’d made, and I hope it helped bring a little cheer as well.

Here’s a picture of this “Feathered Friend” posing with some pretty spring dafodils:

As always, we’d love to see the projects you’ve made from Sew It All too, so be sure to post them in our gallery.

As promised, here are some pictures of the fun we had in the sewing lab right here at the office. Thanks, Kim, for remembering your camera!

It feels good to help Operation Orphan Education!

^ Matt, the Art Director of Creative Machine Embroidery, sewing his bag.

^ Matt having fun!

^ Jane, our Administrative Assistant, helping Matt.

^ Kim, the Editorial Assistant, showing off her cute bag!

^ The finished product.

^ Jane working on her bag.

^ Jane proudly showing off her adorable bag!

^ Look how many great bags Creative Crafts Group made for the cause! See these bags and more in the upcoming June/July ‘10 Sew News.

For more information, visit American Friends of Cecily’s Fund or Sew News.

And visit Sewing District and join the group Operation Orphan Educationand upload photos of your bags!

Hi Everyone!

I am back from the Puyallup Sewing & Stitchery Expo and am busy gathering  photos, video, new products and more to share with you.

I was happy to attend the Threads for Life Kids fashion show on Sunday afternoon. Sew News contributor Connie Tkach runs an after-school program near Puyallup and was asked to showcase her students and their sewing talents at the Expo this year. Here’s an excerpt of the fashion show. Aren’t they cute?

Stay tuned for more video and photos from the event!

Last week was chaotic fun at the office! We got a bunch of people together to sew bags for Operation Orphan Education, a charity mission hosted by Sew News and American Friends of Cecily’s Fund. The bags will be auctioned to raise money to help Zambian children who have been orphaned by AIDS.

We all had so much fun picking out cool fabric, embroidering the logo, sewing and gabbing. We even got Matt, the Art Director of Creative Machine Embroidery, to make a bag! His turned out awesome!

It takes about 15 minutes to construct the bag, and it’s for a great cause! So hop on board and help out those in need. Get a bunch of your friends together and make a day of it. Or have local church members, Girl Scout troops or your granddaughter’s soccer team get together and make bags. Everyone will have fun picking out the fabric, sewing and gabbing–just like we did!

For more information, visit American Friends of Cecily’s Fund or Sew News.

And visit Sewing District and join the group Operation Orphan Education and upload photos of your bags!

Stay tuned for pictures of our fun sewing day.

Finalists in the 62nd Annual Make it With Wool competition vied for top honors at the American Sheep Industry Association/National Lamb Feeders Association annual convention on Jan. 23. More than 900 contestants nationwide entered state MIWW competitions, using a whopping 2,731 yards of wool fabric and 212 skeins of wool yarn to create their original garments. Fifty-nine junior and senior finalists representing 32 states presented and modeled their outfits at the 2010 national competition.

Emilee Koss of Clarence Center, N.Y. was awarded the First Place Junior 2010 Wool Ambassador award for her ensemble, which included a vintage-inspired purple coat over a hand-dyed pink and purple wool dress. She received a $1,000 scholarship from Pendelton Woolen Mills and a $500 scholarship from ASI Women. Marija Crockett took the First Runner-Up award in the junior division for her fitted peplum jacket and matching black skirt. The Junior Division is open to participants ages 13 to 16.

Here are Marija (left) and Emilee (right) modeling their winning looks:

In the Senior Division (open to participants ages 17 to 24), Carrie Holter of Jefferson, Md. was selected as the First Place Senior 2010 Wool Ambassador for her asymmetrical fuchsia coat, complemented by a houndstooth jacket, flared black pants and a wool gabardine camisole. She received a $1,500 scholarship from ASI Women. First Runner-Up Emily Parks of Bloomington, Ill. made a deep purple wool crepe evening dress which featured an intricately pleated bodice.

Here are Carrie (left) and Emily (right) showing off their creations:

Rachel Dyke of Baltimore, Md. took the top prize in the Adult division for her matching piped jacket and dress ensemble. Jaclyn Rehberg of Brookfield, Wis. won the Fashion/Apparel Design award. Jaclyn is a fashion design student at Mount Mary College, and drafted the pattern for her outfit, which featured an Army green double-breasted jacket with a knife-pleated skirt, entirely in her tailoring class.

Here are Rachel, Jacyln, Emilee and Carrie proudly sporting their winners’ sashes:

Sew News and CME also sponsored awards in the 2010 MIWW competition. Nicole Macy of Pine Bluffs, Wyo. won $500 for the Sew News Magazine Exemplary Construction Award, and Thad Roediger of Albany , Ohio won $500 for the Creative Machine Embroidery Magazine Award.

Here’s Thad sporting his winning embroidered blazer:

A big congrats to all the 2010 MIWW winners! In fact, seeing the stellar winning garments is causing me to rethink some nice wool herringbone fabric that’s been languishing in my stash. Are you inspired to enter your woolen works of art in an upcoming contest? To find out more about MIWW, visit the American Sheep Industry’s Web site.

Hurry! Sew It All is only available for a few more weeks, and we have less than 100 copies left in our store! Don’t miss out on 45 cute and quick projects, not to mention all the great info on supplies, machines, notions and how to start sewing for profit. Order your copy today! It also makes a perfect gift for any sewing newbies that you know.

Have you made any of the projects from Sew It All yet? Last month, I made the applique T-shirt project from “Tee Time” for my new cousin Taelor and her big sister Marina. This week, I’m working on another trivet from the “Hot Seat” project as a housewarming gift for a friend, so stay tuned for pictures.  If you’ve made a project from Sew it All, we’d love to see it. Share a picture of  your Sew It All handiwork in our gallery or post a picture to your own blog and provide a link in the comments section.

Singer and Coats and Clark have just announced that they’ll co-sponsor the 2010 Independent Handbag Designer Awards, the exciting Handbag Designer 101 contest honoring designers worldwide for their original handbag creations. The lucky winner of the “Best Handmade Bag” category will receive a Singer Curvy sewing machine and an assortment of Coats and Clark thread, including the new Dual Duty XP thread.

Singer and Coats and Clark will also continue to provide the handy “Sewing Tip of the Month” on Handbag Designer 101’s Web site and weekly e-newsletter.

What a fun contest! And there’s nothing wrong with a little friendly sewing competition. Are you inspired to put your handbag skills to the test? Find out how to enter your unique submission online . But hurry and get your thinking/designing cap on, because the deadline of April 15 is fast approaching!