Things I've been loving lately.

1. The Great British Sewing Bee. I read where Ashley mentioned this on her blog and decided to check it out. It's so awesome. I watched the four episodes on YouTube and just wish there was more to see! Why can't we have "reality TV" like this in America??

The contestants were great and so different, the Doris Day/1950s soundtrack was right up my alley, and it was just strangely fascinating to watch other people sew. Under a time limit and a lot of pressure. (If I was a contestant, I would want the judges and host to leave me alone instead of being nosy and lingering around asking questions! How distracting! All of the contestants were so patient about it, though. :) It cracks me up how the contestants are like, "I won't look around and see how everybody else is doing. I just need to stay focused." And then the next shot shows them sneakily glancing at their competitors. :) Also, I want a sewing space like they have! A huge room with white walls and hardwood floors and piles of fabric and assorted notions everywhere?? Yes, please.

Anyway, I loved it and I think it might be just what I needed to break me out of this awful sewing rut I've been in for most of 2013. {P.S. I couldn't figure out why Tilly seemed so familiar, and then it hit me: Tilly and the Buttons. I've stumbled across her blog quite a few times in the past, but now I'm finally following it.}

2. The new Hawthorn dress pattern from Colette! Every time I watch an episode of the Andy Griffith Show with Thelma Lou in it, I am reminded of how much I want a couple of shirt dresses. The last few Colette patterns haven't been to my style, but wow...this one is adorable. It's like a slightly more modern version of Thelma Lou's shirt dresses. :) No gathers or pleats at the waist, which is good because I can't pull that off, anyway. I've already received my copy of the pattern, though I have no idea what kind of fabric I want yet. I really want chambray, but I'm not sure I'll be able to find any locally. Even better, Colette Patterns is hosting a sew along! It's been too long since I've participated in one. Two of my favorite and best-fitting dresses are the result of a sew along, so I have high hopes for this.

3. Watching Doctor Who all over again. Or, as far as I can watch with the DVDs I own. Which means I'll have to stop after series 2 until I save enough to purchase series 3. :) I had been wanting to rewatch episodes after the previous series finale, but for some reason I've felt superstitious about it. Though I rewatch my favorite shows all the time, I think I was afraid that, somehow, Doctor Who wouldn't seem as good the second time around. I know...of course, I was wrong! I'm about halfway through series 1 and I think the show is even more fun and amazing than before. If that's possible. :)

4. Dyeing yarn with Kool-Aid. I had stumbled across this idea before, but when I saw Meredith post about it, I wondered why I've never tried it. So after a little research, I purchased 15 packs of various Kool-Aid flavors, and over the weekend I experimented a little. Oh. My. Goodness. Dyeing yarn with Kool-Aid is so much fun!! I never want to spin colored fiber again (at least for the moment- I'm sure that'll change eventually :)...I only want to spin white so I can dye it myself in bright colors that smell fruity. A dyeing blog post is coming soon, but here's a tiny peek.

5. The BookTube community! Over the past couple of months, I've been discovering the readers who make bookish videos on YouTube...reviews, book hauls, tags, etc. I have a couple of people that I really enjoy following. And as I've been watching these fun videos, I've been so jealous that I can't join in. So I'm thinking about maybe doing some of the book-related tags, but in written post form instead of in video form. :) We'll see...

Until next time,