I want to thank the blogoshpere...

For my award!

I have been nominated for the Liebster Award by the fabulous Clio of Clio & Phineus.

Aside from using purple and green in the same dress (a favorite color combo of mine), she also has the magical power to like orange and look good in it.  And she has made some truly amazing creations such as this red dress of awesome.  Not to mention she has great taste in fabric and Burda patterns.  Oh, and she shares yummy food recipes too!  So, thanks Clio - it always feels awesome to be recognized by awesome people!

As for the award, the rules are as follows:

*Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog.
*Link back to the blogger who presented the award to you.
*Copy/paste the blog award on your blog.
*Present the Liebster Blog Award to 5 blogs (with 200 followers or less).
*Let them know they have been chosen by leaving a comment.

So now is the time to bestow this Award on 5 other bloggers.  It was really difficult to make the choices!  There are a lot of bloggers I really enjoy reading, but apparently so does everyone else - with over 200 readers they were ineligible for this award.  There were several blogs where the number of followers wasn't really apparent, so I tried to guess the number of followers based on the average number of comments.  After narrowing the choices in that way, well, Clio gave the award to me, so no sense giving it back to her.  And, since I know the also fabulous poppykettle gave the award to Clio, I have also decided to skip her on my list as well.  After a bit more hemming and hawing, I finally narrowed my selection down to these five blogs:

(1) ReadyThreadSew

Dress of "puppytooth"

Last year I read quite a bit about other's self-imposed sewing challenges, and so I decided to create my own Tim Gunn inspired challenge this year.  However, when I ran across the Burda Challenge on ReadyThreadSew, I was really inspired and impressed by the amount of work that her challenge was going to take.  I have really enjoyed following her progress, even when she finds that some of her results don't quite match up with her personal style or when tragedy (in the form of serger blades) strikes.  She also has an amazing ability to stash fabric - which is a skill worth admiring.

(2) Liza Jane Sews

I need to make my own...

I have to say I love EVERYTHING about this blog - the projects are amazing, the photography is gorgeous, and she is always so positive and upbeat.  I first found out about her blog when I saw the most gorgeous rainbow painted jacket on BurdaStyle website - I have been obsessed with her sewing ever since.  I mean, who else would have started sewing to make a tipi?  Or has the patience to recover an 8-foot sofa?  That is the sofa of my dreams, I might add.  Sometimes her work is so spectacular I feel a bit intimidated to comment, but that is all the more reason to nominate her for this award.

(3) Tales of a Wannabe Seamstress

Best aprons ever!

Aside from being able to make some pretty amazing aprons, her real skill is in finding the best deals at estate sales and thrift stores.  Seriously, who else could find so much amazing fabric?  Or vintage patterns?  Or vintage shoes?  Or thrifted clothes? Or more amazing fabric?  Her powers of acquisition are astounding, and am always excited to see what she finds.

(4) Presserfoot Propaganda

Love her Minoru!

Yet another blogger with fabulous taste in fabric.  And admirable stashing tendencies.  Who also makes fabulous dresses, great jackets, and amazing pants.  Oh, and she might soon be sewing up a wedding dress!

(5) Skittles' Sewing and Stuff...

Another skating seamstress!

I had to nominate a fellow blogger who both skates and sews!  She keeps it separate though, posting details of her skating goals, triumphs, and tribulations on her other blog, Skittles Skates.

And, while this might not be exactly keeping in the rules, I wanted to nominate an Honorable Mention Award to No Reason To Paint - I thought it would be a bit unfair giving the awards to her outright (seeing as how we are related and all), but her posts about the her adventures in Europe are really inspiring and her photography is beautiful.  Not to mention that she kinda is the reason I started my own blog.  So, Honorable Mention it is!

And, I want to wrap this post up by thanking everyone who has been reading and commenting on my blog, Pattern Review, and BurdaStyle posts - the sewing community is so amazingly supportive and welcoming!  I have learned so much from all of you, and been inspired to push myself and my skills to create things I wouldn't have dreamed of making myself even a year ago.  It is good to know that fabric stashing is a widely spread disease shared by many.  But, mostly, it has been great to feel that, although I am spending a lot of time by myself in front of the sewing machines, I have been gaining friends who understand this crazy sewing obsession and can totally geek out over obscure things like pad stitching and bound buttonholes.  So, to put it as succinctly as I can - thank you all!