Christine Haynes's Blog, page 8

Word of the Year: Mindful

I've watched a lot of people on-line choose a word to direct them for the year, and though I've set informal resolutions in the past, I've never chosen a singular word as a theme for the year, until this year. This year I feel calm, focused, and quieter than in years past. Perhaps it's aging, or perhaps it's a sign of getting comfortable in my business, but when I thought about this year's goals, only one word came to me: MINDFUL.

Mindful to me is:

to be present - recognizing the here and nowto be honest - clearly assessing the situationto be calm - not to rush into judgement or decisionto be conscious - to be considerate of my surroundings 
How might all of this translate to my sewing, life, and business? In 2014 I resolved to use my stash more and to get healthier, both of which I did quite well with in the first half of the year. But the second half of the year, I fell off the wagon on both fronts. Well, not entirely off the wagon, but enough. Here's how I hope the goal of being mindful will manifest itself:

Personal Sewing - to use what I have and to recognize that what I have is enough. Design projects around what I already own, and allow myself to get supplies for specialty projects only. Be mindful of how I spend my money and whether I'm doing it for want vs need = less mindless buying.Professional Work - continue to budget my time between life and work as best that I can. Do not say yes to projects that will create undue stress, while still growing and evolving. Be mindful to keep a healthy balance = less mindless busywork.Social Media - I am absolutely guilty of spending way too much time keeping up with Instagram, blogs, and the like. I do enjoy it, but I need to set times in my day for browsing and unplugging. Be mindful of the here and now, not the virtual = less mindless surfing.Personal Life - I already do pretty well with taking time off for rest & relaxation, but now I need to be better about integrating my workouts into my freelance schedule. Be mindful of taking care of my body along with my mind = less mindless snacking.Consumption - As I make a lot of my own wardrobe, I am not victim to overbuying clothing and accessories, but I have been guilty of indulging more than I should. So being aware of what I buy and if I really need the item is a huge goal for me in 2015. Be mindful of spending = less mindless impulse purchases.These are good guidelines to the year and I'm not going to create extra work for myself by creating charts and graphs or promising regular posts on the subject or anything like that, because honestly, that is not being very mindful of my time, right? For me, it's all about finding balance.
I hope this helps keep me in the present and more aware of the here and now. And if I need a visual reminder, I have printed out the photo above that I took in the French countryside and have hung it over my sewing table! 
How about you, have any of you set a word for the year? If so, I'd love to hear what it is and why you've chosen it! 

Happy New Year + January Workshop Schedule

Happy New Year to you all! I am off today for a mini-break for New Year's Eve until Sunday. My man and I are on our way to Palm Springs, for what we expected to be a sunny vacation with loads of pool floating; only we are experiencing a massive cold streak here in Southern California (which is welcomed, usually...) and instead we will be bundled up in 30-degree temperatures! But that's okay, champagne has a way of fixing everything!

Since I won't be back here until next week when we start the Marianne Sewalong, I wanted to let those of you in the LA area know that my January workshops are now confirmed! As usual, I will be teaching at Sew L.A. and I'm so happy to announce my upcoming classes! Most of these are up on the Sew L.A. website, but for those classes that aren't yet listed, you can still sign up simply by giving the shop a call at 323-665-7097.

As usual, all classes are limited to a small number of students, and spaces go quickly! So sign up today and learn something new!


I am so excited to be teaching my new Marianne Dress pattern in a weekend workshop! Join me for 6 hours on Saturday and 3 hours on Sunday and make yourself a new knit dress! Make either view on either a serger or conventional machine. Your choice!
Saturday, January 17 & 18
11am–6pm on January 17 (with an hour lunch break from 2–3pm)
3–6pm on January 18
Register here at the Sew L.A. website!



The new Sailor Top by the lovely ladies at Fancy Tiger Crafts is a perfect advanced beginner project. Learn gathering, facings, and so much more!
Friday, January 9, 16, & 23
6:30-9:30pm
Register here at the Sew L.A. website!



In this new 3-hour class Construction Basics, I will guide you through the many techniques you will encounter in intermediate projects. We won't make a finished item, rather we will gain loads of skill knowledge and learn an invisible zipper, curves and understitching, bias binding, French seams, and easing.
Saturday, January 31
3–6pm
Call the shop to sign up!



After learning the machine for the first time, my throw pillow class is a perfect first project! Get your feet wet with straight seams, pivoting, seam finishing, and hemming while you whip up a new envelope throw pillow for your home!
Saturday, January 24
11am–2pm
Register here at the Sew L.A. website!



Want to learn to sew? Or perhaps it's been years since you've really used a machine? Machine Intro is the class to learn for the first time, or refresh your memory, and gain loads of knowledge and confidence to move onto the next project!
Wednesday, January 14
6:30–9:30pm
Sunday, January 18
11am–2pm
(Note: If neither of these times work for you, there are other Machine Intro classes on the Sew L.A. calendar taught by other instructors. These are just the sessions I am teaching!)


Hope to see you in a class!!!

End of Sale Reminder!

Just a reminder that tomorrow is the last day of the site-wide sale! The Marianne Dress sewalong starts next week, so now's the time to grab it and everything else you want! Use the code HAPPYNEWYEAR and receive 20% OFF your ENTIRE ORDER until end of day tomorrow!

Thanks again for such an amazing year!!!

End of the Year Roundup - The Best of Personal Life 2014

While the lines of my work and life do blur quite a lot, there are times when I do run away from it all and enjoy life outside of my studio! Below are some personal highlights of 2014!

Top row: me & Mike in the Champagne region of France; the forest grounds of Versailles
Bottom row: macaron break at the Petit Palais; a flea market at the Village St. Paul in Paris
Top row: the chateau we stayed at in the Champagne region of France; me & Jen in their rented Paris apartment
Bottom row: me, Mike, Jen, and her husband Bob drinking champagne in our neighborhood Paris park; the many grape vines of the Champagne region of France 
Above: my mom, brother, and I said a final farewell to my late father on Lake Michigan
Above: a mini-break for my man's birthday at the Del Marcos Hotel in Palm Springs
Above: a mini-break this fall in San Francisco with Jen & Bob and friends
Above: the many sights of my workouts this year, and the joys of buying jeans for the first time in over a decade

End of the Year Roundup - The Best of Business 2014

Each year gets better and better for my little business, and 2014 was no exception. A lot happened this year; here's a brief recap of the highlights pictured below, including Craftcation, teaching, patterns, and more!

Top row: Kathy, Haley, & I at my Sew L.A. book party
Middle row: my newest pattern, the Marianne Dress; my freshly organized fabric stash
Bottom row: newly organized library
Top row: Alexia, Melody, Rashida, & Sarah of Cotton & Steel at my Sew L.A. book party
Middle row: my newest book, The Complete Photo Guide to Clothing Construction
Bottom row: my studio
Top and bottom row: some of my fantastic students
Above: the lovely class of Emery Dress students at Fancy Tiger; me & Ellen March on the Sew it All TV set
Top row: Jen making her famous Jen & tonics in our room; my tunic class
Bottom row: Jen & I with Luke Haynes; me with organizer Delilah's vintage VW bus; one of my student's stamping work
Top row: my Emery Dress in the Cotton & Steel booth; me & Alexia
Next row: Rae and Hugo; Carolyn Friedlander's booth
Middle row: Alexia working on her booth
Bottom row: my Derby Dress in the Cloud9 booth; me & Elizabeth Olwen
Above: new samples and photos of all my previous designs
Top row: me & Tasia of Sewaholic; me with Lotta Jansdotter and Jamie & Amber of Fancy Tiger
Middle row: me with the ladies of Cotton & Steel
Bottom row: Alexia making on the fly alterations; me with Carolyn Friedlander


Top row: me with Tilly of Tilly & the Buttons and Elisalex and Victoria of By Hand London
Middle row: the party is ready for the runway show!
Bottom row: some of the amazing RayStitch staff

Happy Holidays Sale!

This has been an incredible year for my little business and I am so grateful to all of you that continue to support me by shopping my sewing patterns, kits, books, and take my sewing classes. I am so thankful for the sewing community!

To thank all of you, I am having a holiday sale! The holiday break between Christmas and New Year's Eve is the perfect time to order up a pattern and get started on next year's sewing! And if you're looking for some instant gratification, grab a PDF pattern!

So with that in mind, receive 20% OFF your ENTIRE ORDER from December 24th–31st! That includes all my printed patterns, PDF patterns, kits, and books! Simply enter the code HAPPYNEWYEAR upon check out to get your discount!

And if you're planning on joining in on the upcoming Marianne Dress sewalong, this is an ideal moment to pick up your pattern! Or if you spotted my Chelsea Dress in the recent Mollie Makes Sewing issue, now you can grab it on sale!

Shipping on my site will carry on as usual, with a 3-business day turnaround time, but do keep in mind that there are a few national holidays in the mix where the post office is closed.

Thanks again for such an amazing year and here's to a wonderful 2015! Happy holidays to you all!

End of the Year Roundup - Me Made 2014

One of my resolutions of the year was to be a lot better about documenting the garments that I make, as well as being a lot better at posing for blog photos. Well, after looking at my photos of the year, I'd say that I did a much better job on both fronts. I certainly have gotten much more comfortable in front of the camera, and thanks to Instagram and Me Made May, I took many selfies of my handmade wardrobe. Below is a mash up of many outfits from the year. And while I did pretty well at this task this year, I think there's still a ton of room for improvement as many items still didn't get captured properly. So on to 2015!

The Magic Pattern Book Dress  - Colette Patterns Laurel Dress
Sew L.A. Easiest Skirt - Emery Dress in Elizabeth Olwen Wildwood
Franken-knit Dress - a trio of Marianne Dresses
Shift Dress from my upcoming book - Emery Dress in Cotton & Steel
Sew L.A. Easiest Skirt - Shift Dress from my upcoming book - Sew L.A. Easiest Skirt & SBCC Tonic Tee
Tilly & the Buttons Lilou Dress
Sew L.A. Easiest Skirt - Colette Patterns Laurel Top
Shift Dress from my upcoming book - Colette Patterns Laurel Dress in knit
Colette Patterns Laurel Dress turned skirt - Deer & Doe Datura Tank
Colette patterns Laurel Dress - Anna Maria Horner Painted Portrait Dress
SBCC Tonic Tee & Sew L.A. Vintage Pocket Skirt - Colette Patterns Laurel Dress

The First Marianne Dresses!

The most satisfying moment after releasing a pattern is seeing finished versions pop up around the internet! I'm so excited to share the first few Marianne Dresses that I've found!


My pal Devon made a super cute version of View B in gray and lime and styled it with the most festive accessory, her new white Christmas tree!



The always lovely Jaime, one of the two owners of Fancy Tiger Crafts, made her Marianne Dress in View B with yummy floral and solid knit, perfect for her Colorado landscape.



Fabric designer Sara Lawson has decided to branch into garment sewing and recently made a  Marianne Dress that is a mash up of View A & B in a fun floral Art Gallery Fabrics knit. So cute!



And blogger Charnelle of Call me Chartreuse made View B with stripes she purchased from my fabric kits mixed with some matching solid. An absolute classic!


Have you made a Marianne Dress? Be sure to use the #MarianneDress hashtag for me to find it, or you can also email me photos or a link too! You know I want to see it...

Happy weekend and thanks to all the ladies above for sharing their dresses!


*All photos from each individual maker's site

New Tutorials Page!

Between my blog and all the posts I write for Craftsy, I have a rather large collection of tutorials out there, so I thought I'd round them all up onto one handy spot for you all to find!

See the word TUTORIALS up there on the top left toolbar? Click on it and it will bring up the Emery Dress Sewalong link, as well as specific tutorials like a Full Bust Adjustment, How to Install an Invisible Zipper, and How to Do a Narrow Shoulder Adjustment.

It will also bring up nearly all of the posts I have written for Craftsy (though some aren't really relevant and some seem to have gone missing from their site- not sure why) like my hand sewing series, seam finishing series, and lots of little project-based posts.

I hope you learn something new or find a fun project to whip up!

Marianne Sewalong Schedule

Hi everyone! I hope you are all having a wonderful December so far! It's positively glittery here with holiday cheer! Per your request, my Marianne Dress Sewalong will get going in January, and believe it or not, that is right around the corner! Below is the full schedule so you can start planning your first project for the new year - a Marianne Dress (or two...)!

We will start off with the basics, talking about supplies, tips for sewing knits, and the like. We won't get to sewing until January 15, which should give everyone enough time to recover from the holidays, pick up the pattern from me or from their favorite retailer, and gather supplies.

The sewing goes really quick on this dress, but as we all have busy lives, I spaced things out to allow for long weekends to accomplish all that is discussed each week, leaving you Friday-Monday to get caught up. I will also be doing every step with both a serger and a conventional machine, so no matter how you're sewing yours, you will be included!

And on those Mondays and Fridays, I will be sharing my many Marianne Dresses that I've been whipping up. It seems quiet here right now, but trust me, an army of Marianne Dresses is being prepared, one dress at a time!

Grab a badge below in the size you like and post it to your blog side bar to share the sewalong if you like. The more the merrier! Happy weekend everyone!


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