distracted explanations

Oh, the precious. The pretty, pretty precious.

I started to unpack, I really did, and then my hands fell on this yardage of velvet burnout, picked out at Mood's LA locale for my next network make. Which reminded me: in my excitement over all the announcing yesterday (seriously, my head almost flew off) I realized I didn't actually let you in on the details of the Mood Sewing Network. You see, I've been periodically (read: every 15 minutes) yelling at Rob I'M A MOOD SEWING NETWORK BLOGGER ever since the second I found out, so I do tend to forget that you haven't heard it from my rather large mouth until yesterday.

When Meg at mood (our Tim Gunn-- a Tim Gunn who sews her own fabulous stuff daily) contacted me about this new adventure, I responded within minutes. knowing it could look desperate, and not caring. Peeps who've been around here awhile know I'm a two dollar a yard mystery fabric sort of girl... but you also know a recent fateful trip to FIDM's designer section (with incorrectly marked dollar a yard prices) spoiled me completely. When Meg contacted me, I'd already been to Mood's LA locale, and surprised myself by falling swiftly in love with the staff, the remnants boxes, and the manageable size of the store. Before I ever knew I'd get a golden ticket, I was plunking down 25 bucks a yard for an Anna Sui print. (No, not that one. Miss Sui, she floats my boat.) Dude. It's nice to have nice fabric. It's nice to know what that nice fabric IS, and how to work with it. 

And it was a shock to be asked! So before they could realize the err of their ways, I immediately responded with a resounding YES, and waited with baited breath...

...and then I saw the company I'd keep. Holy cow. If you don't know them already, the lovely, talented ladies of the Mood Sewing Network are: Amanda's Adventures in Sewing, Diary of a Sewing Fanatic, Erica B's DIY Style, Frabjous Couture, Ginger Makes, Goodbye Valentino, Miss Celie's Pants, and Sew Well. These are ladies I've admired from afar for quite some time.

(Yes, I photoshopped my pic background periwinkle. That house really needs to be periwinkle.)

Lest you think the lot of us are allowed to walk in the joint and rob the place, we get a set monthly allowance for fabric. No cashola. We're allowed to choose what we want, and make what we want, and we are meant to post our failures as well as our successes, whether it's due to the fabric or the sewist. (This could prove problematic for me, as I always succeed. What, you don't believe me?) Online shopping is encouraged as well, and necessary for a good portion of us spread across the country. I was lucky to still be in LA for my last mood make, and the crew was excited to hear the news. (You'll be meeting them soon, I went a little crazy with pictures. Swatch ain't got nuthin on Oscar.) But it won't be all Mood all the time here. I'll still be tromping in to Chic, and Paron, and forcing you to listen to jazz, and yelling about all manner of things. (And drinking. Oh yes, drinking.)

I am so honored to be a part of this uber-talented network. But for real, I'm honored to be part of the sewing blogisphere in its entirety. It's a supportive community of endless inspiration, and I hope we all continue to contribute to that.

Now. How do I distract myself from that lavender yardage long enough to unpack?