A Liebster Blog Award - Thank You Sarah Liz!

How exciting to learn that I was one of 5 that Sarah Liz from SarahLizSewStyle nominated for a Liebster Blog Award!  Thank You Sarah Liz!  What an honor that she thought my blog worthy of including.  I've been a part of the blogging community long enough to know about this oh-so-nice award and am thrilled to be nominated.

For those who might not know - the purpose of the Liebster Blog Award is to recognize and promote newer and smaller blogs with less than 200 followers.  There are no judges, or competition as it's more of an acknowledgement, in a very nice way, to let others know about some of the smaller blogs that they might not otherwise be aware.  Seems like no one knows how this award began in the blog-world, but it has continued on for the past handful of years almost like a 'chain-letter' that I remember from my youth.  I googled the term 'Liebster' this morning, and found the definition ranges from 'dearest' to 'kind', and I think that's a great way to sum up this very 'kind' award.

There are a couple of things one does when nominated for a Liebster Award and those are: 

        *Thank the person who gave you the award, linking back to that person’s blog

*Copy and paste the Liebster award to your own profile

*Answer the 5 question your nominator asked

*Pick 5 blogs who you feel deserve to be noticed (they have to have under 200 followers)

*Ask them 5 questions

*Let your nominees know they have been chosen by leaving a comment on their blog

Sarah Liz asked us these five questions:

1.  Why did you start sewing?

2. Have you been sewing for long?

3.  Why did you start sewing?

4. Why did you start blogging?

5. What are your sewing goals both short and long term?

"Why did you start sewing?" and "Have you been sewing for long?"
These two questions took me down memory lane today.  My mother sewed many of (most of!) my clothes during my growing up years, but I never learned to sew from her.  She enrolled me in a sewing class at the local sewing store when I was probably in Jr. High, and that little shift dress was the only thing I ever made.  Interesting that I was surrounded by highly creative people in both my paternal and maternal grandmothers & great-grandmothers, but crochet was all I picked up from my Alabama (father's side) Grannies.  My mother's mother was such a good seamstress, that she ran a business from her Oklahoma home after my grandfather was critically injured in an oil rig accident, so she could be there to care for him and still bring in some sort of humble income.

Born in 1960, I was of the generation growing up in the 'Rocket City' in northern Alabama to have a career, and being gifted in the maths, that was what was pushed in all my school years, which meant I never took a Home Economics class where sewing and cooking were taught.  I never learned anything of sewing in my youth, and to be perfectly honest, I was more interested in riding my horses back then anyway.  :)

So fast forward to 1990, married and expecting my first child, money was very, very tight, so I purchased the cheapest sewing machine I could find and made all my maternity clothes, layette clothes for the baby, cradle linens, bumper pads, curtains for the nursery - anything and everything for my expected little girl.  And I loved it!  My first taste of using my creative side in a practical way.

As the years passed, I enjoyed sewing a little here and a little there as the girls grew...
...beginning with the oldest's Halloween outfit when she was 1:

..which became younger sister's Halloween costume as the oldest got a tutu that year.

Then we had a princess while the oldest pulled together her own cat outfit... I had made her a matching princess outfit, she just didn't want to wear it here.

I made all the youngest's gymnastics outfits.

Then there were colonial 'dress-up' outfits complete with bonnets and aprons and shawls.

Both girls were homeschooled, and as part of our Davy Crockett unit, we made 'Possible Bags' and 'Coonskin' hats from fake raccoon fur.  So fun!

I made both girls matching dresses/jumpers from this states of America fabric, being careful to center our state, South Carolina, right there on the bodice front.

Many dresses were made with a simple knit bodice attached to a full cotton skirt complete with matching bias binding.  Pockets were always added to the skirt.  Also made many, many knit shorts and pj bottoms for both girls through the years.

Hmmmm, does any one notice any garments for me?  You are right, there are none.  All those years making so many things for my girls, nary one single outfit was made for me.  Along the way there was a divorce in 2004/2005 that brought all creativity to a screeching halt as I scrambled to hold everything together.  I married my sweet husband, Tom, in 2007 and he's encouraged me to explore my creative side anew.

And oh how I am so enjoying learning that I do have a creative streak!  It was only this past year I began sewing clothes for myself and found a passion I did not know existed.

"Why did you start blogging?"
In 2009 I began our Shady Grove Journal blog as a way for our family to journal our 'life'.  Piecework Treasures was begun in 2011 when I realized I needed a fiber arts outlet.  At the time, my early posts were crochet and knitting with sewing on a smaller scale - the odd walker bag for a elderly friend, quilted bookcovers, quilted nametags, that sort of thing.  It wasn't until I was exposed to others sewing garments for themselves that it ever occurred to me to make my own clothes.  Spring 2013 began my journey to sew my own clothes..... and I've never looked back!

"What are your sewing goals, both short and long-term?"
I've been completely bitten by the sewing my own clothes bug and now find it almost impossible to purchase rtw, so I'd have to say continuing to learn how to fit my body, match fabric to pattern, try new styles and continuing on this garment-sewing-for-myself journey is both short and long-term goals for me.  I am on a huge learning curve right now, and though I understand one will always learn anew no matter how long she sews, I look forward to the day for things to feel a little more 'automatic' at times, than they do now, and also realize that will only come with experience.

So now's the time for me to nominate 5 bloggers and ask them 5 questions.  I cannot tell you how hard it is to narrow it down to only 5, as I learn from and enjoy everyone's blog I read.  But here goes:

biblioblog

Vintage Traveler

Mixed Emotions

Star's Threads

Stoney Lonesome Sew Works

Now for the 5 questions for the 5 nominees:
1.  Why did you start blogging?
2.  Why did you start sewing?
3.  What is it about sewing that you enjoy?
4.  What do you also enjoy doing other than sewing and blogging?
5.  What are your future sewing goals?

As I conclude, let me say how much I appreciate all Sarah Liz does to bring our garment sewing community together.  She organized our Make a Garment a Month Challenge with over 85 international participants.  Wow!, I did not know there were that many of us until I counted for this post.  Thank you again, Sarah Liz.