Saturday, January 24, 2009

Blogging and Sewing







I have been blogging for a few months now and it is fun. Although when I created this blog I did not know what I was doing and even still didn't know what a blog was. I still have a lot to learn so if you have any suggestions for me, I will be glad to read them. I don't know what a rss feed is, or a blog feed. So if you can explain it to me I would appreciate that.
I really wanted to talk about sewing in this post because that is what this blog is about, The Sewing World of Stormee. I hear some people say "oh I sew" but do they say, "I love to sew" so when I hear the "oh I sew" then I think of sewing on buttons or a rip in the seat of your pants that you sewed up. But when I hear "oh I love to sew" then I think about wearable art. I think of couture sew, a master tailor, seamstress. You see, you have to love it. There is so much you have to do to get ready to sew. Picking fabrics, deciding what you are going to make with it, then measuring cutting it out, getting all the seamlines and darts marked and measured, making sure your thread matches. Then the other thing is making what is in your head manifest. Sometimes I have great ideas but then if I chose the wrong fabric then I have a mess. Your seams have to be straight, if your fabric is striped then you want to match the stripes as much as possible. But sewing is a lot of fun. Just like blogging. The more you do it the more familier it becomes and then you learn not only to like it but to love it.
Like this jacket here I call it the I Love Paris Swing Jacket now I just love the fabric that I used to make the facings and sleeve cuffs. It is denim that has been poked full of holes then washed. What you get then is a piece of holely denim. Ha Ha. What I did was put a piece of fabric behind it and topstitched all over it. It gave a beautiful 2 dimensional look. Then I just so happened to have some denim that is the same dye lot as that holely denim, or at least it matched perfectly. I really wanted it to be a beautiful jacket so I really took my time and worked each part of this coat like my mom was going to come in any second and do an inspection. Now that is a whole other blog post. My mother was the person that taught me to sew, and when I did not do something right she would just take that seam ripper and rip it out, tell me what I did wrong, then tell me how I was supposed to do it then make me go back and do it all over again. I tell you I hated to see that seam ripper come out. But I tell you that now if you ever purchase anything from me it has the "Patricia Brown Stover Washington" seal of appoval on it. That means not seam ripper was used. I am only saying that each garment you purchase from me is very carefully and well made. I got off the subject of the jacket. This jacket is so good looking on, it has nice deep pockets and it is lined with that pretty lime green satin lining. You will love wearing it because it can be your most causual jacket because it is denim and it can be dressy because of the style of it. I know that it is hard to see the workmanship of the jacket in pictures but I can assure you that if you purchase it you will be so glad, because when you see how much work was put into it you will be amazed and will feel that you got quite a bargain. Oh and did I mention the Bag that goes with it? Go to my Etsy shop and check them both out.

Thursday, January 22, 2009


I would like to talk about a couple of items that I have in my Etsy shop. You see I know that it is hard to tell what an item looks like on a dressform which I am using to photograph the garments, so I thought I would take some time and talk about each item. The first item I would like to present is the Strike it Rich Gold Trenchcoat, when you put this coat on you will feel like you have hit the jackpot, because #1 the price and #2 the fact that it is so well made. I really took some time and thought this over and over, what to do with this beautiful piece of fabric that was sent to me by my sister in Chicago. She told me to do whatever I wanted with the fabric, she was going to make drapes but decided not to or she changed her decor. I thought "what can I do with drapery fabric" But when I received the fabric I was surprised at how beautiful it was and how it was so easy to sew. The fabric is a heavy drapery taffeta that has a kind of jaquard design. Then to top it off, I remembered the beautiful buttons that I had ordered from Buttonsgalore they are amber colored rhinestone buttons. When I put these buttons next to the fabric they looked delicious. So there I had the buttons, the fabric now the hunt for the perfect lining and wouldn't you know it, I found the lining at Hancocks fabric. I chose a bright yellow lining because I wanted the lining to contrast without making the coat hard to wear with other garments. The great thing about this coat is you can wear it as a dress. It is a great traveling piece because you don't have to iron it. Can't you see yourself "stepping off the plane" in this beautiful coat. You can email me or comment on this post if you would like more information about this coat. It is one of a kind and the nice thing about a trench is that it will not go out of style, it is a great piece to wear anytime. Oh and isn't it great that I found the pin to match the buttons? This is a great buy and if you mention my blog when you purchase it I will give you 20% off the price. Check it out.

Monday, January 19, 2009

I Am So Excited

A new president tomorrow! There is so much work to be done. All the festivities of the inauguration are so exciting for the Obamas, but I know that there is so much to be done later. So let them enjoy these festivities. This a time that you want to sit down with your kids and let them know what they are experiencing right now. When they get older they will thank you for it.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

No TV for the Last Month





My husband and I made a decision in December to let our Direct Tv go. We decided that we could no longer afford the internet and Direct TV so one had to go so we decided to let the Direct TV go. We both agree that we get more work done than we ever did. I have been studying my Bible more and have been getting lot's of sewing done. And best of all we both sleep better. We never had a tv in the bedroom anyway. My husband said that he misses the football games and the World news most of all, but he has been catching a lot of news on the internet. I would rather have the internet than tv any day. My husband started school and he really gets alot of studying done for school as well. We listen to music. I got out all my oldies but goodies reggae, and blues cds today and we had a good time. We talk even more than before, my husband is very talkative he can talk on any subject and I never get bored. He is funny too. So it has been a month and I have crocheted 2 doilies, did about $100 worth of alterations (this week). Life is different without tv and I love it.







Oh yes here is another skirt that I made out of a pair of jeans. The jeans belong to a very happy customer in Georgia. I am getting quite a lot of orders for these skirts. It is easy to fit the skirts because usually if the jeans fit well then the skirt is a great fit. This customer wanted pleats in the back of hers, and she wanted to wear it with her red boots.




I also wanted to share this picture with all my blog readers, it is a picture of the front window at the consignment store that I work in. And yes, you guessed it that is my "sudoku puzzle quilt" draped over the seat. Now isn't that a beautiful window?





Monday, January 12, 2009

Yeah! My first blog award

I have been given the Lemonade award from Crystal Raen's Recycled Craft Things. Now I am supposed to choose 10 that I feel deserve this award. And I will try to do that because I have learned so much from other bloggers about blogging. And if there is an award to be given and I have the power to give it, then I will go and find 10 deserving blogs. Now if I have not done this correctly please let me know so I can do a better job next time. Here is my award, isn't it cute?
Ok now here are the rules:
#1 You must link back to the person you received the award from.
#2 You have to nominate 10 bloggers who are deserving of this award!
One more thing, I would like to that Crystal for all the help she has given me with my blog. I have learned so much and want her to know that I appreciate it very much. Now here are my ten awards.
Waterrose there is some very good information on this blog and some beautiful cuffs too.
Carmen's if you don't know what to do with those locks of yours, check out this blog.
njemacreative Has a beautiful Scorpion Necklace.
Blossomingtree Has great networking ideas.
Twentypoundtabby Oh the cutests little stuffed animals, cats and dragons.
Gufobardo My Lord what an artist!
Humblebeads Beautiful beadwork for you.
Sewl Sista #1 I having a baby and you can view her progress and get sewing tips at the same time. Lot's of good info there too.
Sachi Designs You have to see her scarves, they are so beautiful
RSS Designs in Fiber You have to see the fine thread crochet that she creates. It is awesome.
Now here is a little something for everyone. Please go and check out these blogs and tell them Stormee sent you. LOL

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Late Autumn in Tennessee the Duster


I don't know if you remember in November I did a blog post about a certain piece of fabric that I created and I had a poll to see if I could get an idea of what to do with the fabric. Well I will tell you which idea won, It was the kimono style jacket. I made a long kimono style duster. It was hard to decide because it was quite a big piece of fabric. So the duster won and it is now listed in my Etsy shop. Go over to the other blog post and see what the fabric looked like before and now see what it looks like now.
I have been sewing for many years and I am always amazed at how beautiful fabric is when it is uncut. Then you cut it and sew it and walla you have this beautiful garment. I will always be amazed at what a piece of fabric can do for your spirit.