Scissors, scissors and more scissors… Esther mentioned to me that good quality scissors are hard to come by, so I thought it would be great to collect some to give to the co-op. (Hopefully this isn’t a red flag as my checked bag goes through the aiport!) I have some basic stainless steel scissors that can be sharpened,  some tiny embroidery scissors (my favorite, I use these all the time!),  some pinking sheers, and a few pairs of “lefty” scissors too. I think this is a good collection of basic sewing scissors and should work well for their program

I thought it’d be great to put together a list of tips for the proper care of scissors, so that they will last as long as possible. I’d love your help in putting that list together!

Please share your thoughts in the comments below I’m going to put them all into a PDF and have it printed for her to have in their sewing room…

We’ve been asked to go to Zambia to do sewing & tailoring training and so I’m going to blog about my experience here. I hope you enjoy learning about our trip and the people and places we’ll be visiting.

The training will be 2 full days and will include both sewing activities as well as sales and marketing topics. I’ll be organizing the sewing training and Jason will be organizing the sales and marketing related topics.

Jason will be blogging at www.sewpowerful.org – so be sure to check his posts too!

The training will include 20 aspiring seamstresses and is being coordinated by our Sew Powerful coordinator – Esther Makandawire. Here’s a picture of Esther and I from a few years ago when she visited the U.S.

Stay tuned – I’ll do my best to blog regularly as we work to prepare, travel, and then conduct the training.

Cinnamon

Ps. If you feel inspired to help underwrite any of the cost of the training, (not my personal expenses), then visit: http://sewpowerful.org/get-involved/ and give a generous gift.

We wanted to give you a quick update on the final “12th Day” of Christmas…

The winners from the 12th Day giveaway are listed below, (and as a reminder they each will receive 12 Liberty Jane Clothing Brand patterns of their choice)!

Fay, Allison, Sapphire, Willsbardgirl, Laura, Jess, Kathy, Felicia, Judy, Deana, Elaine, and Joan

(The winners have all been contacted through email)

Congratulations Ladies!

Cinnamon & Team

Ps. Thanks to everyone for making the 12 Days Of Christmas event really fun!  The participation from all of you is just totally unbelieveable! There were 4764 total comments left ove rthe 12 days- WOW! We are blown away! It’s been so fun and interesting to read through all the comments and feedback, such a great way to get to know you all a bit more

We’ve got a few new LJC patterns in the final stages, here’s a sneek peek of the Euro Libby: Piccadilly sweater in a different fabric …

PPS. Our 2014 New Years Design Contest is going on now on the Liberty Jane YouTube Channel. A chance to win a custom made LJC outfit designed by you and the new 2014 GOTY Doll Isabelle!

Welcome to Day 12 of our 12 Days Of Christmas celebration!

Today we are giving away … 12 patterns to 12 separate winners! Each winner can custom select 12 patterns from the Liberty Jane Collection (this means the pattern brand is Liberty Jane Clothing). You will have until January 31,2014 to make your selection, so any of the new LJC patterns that are released before then can also be included in your prize. Pictured below is a collection of LJC patterns currently available for purchase (most of them anyway…).

To enter simply respond to this post in the comment box below and complete this sentence:

“The 12 Days of Christmas has been [insert here…] but would be even better next year if [tell us how…]”

Comments must be left (on this blog post) by midnight (pacific), today, 1/5/2014.

One entry per person. No purchase necessary, void where prohibited. The winner will be chosen randomly from the comments received and contacted through the email provided in the comment. We will choose a winner and announce it in tomorrow’s post to let everyone know who won.

Merry Christmas,

Cinnamon, & The Liberty Jane Team

PS. Day 11 Winner was Hiedi, she won the Britex fabrics and trims! Congrats!

Welcome to Day 11 of our 12 Days Of Christmas celebration!

[Giveaway Ended – Congrats to Hiedi, she won the Britex fabrics and trims!]

I think I may have mentioned this before (haha!) but…. Britex Fabrics in San Franciso is my favorite place to shop!

So, Today we are giving away … 11 things I’ve picked up from this fabulous store to one lucky winner!

Giveaway includes: 6 fabrics and 5 trims. Fabric includes 1/4 yard pieces of a floral silk, floral print rayon, 2 black knits, purple polished cotton, and a sparkly ice blue/silver special occasion fabric. Trims include a 1/2 yard each of a grey pleated grosgrain and black crochet with ribbon detail;  and 1 yard pieces of  teal lace, thin black crochet, and a irredesent purple trim.

Fabric pieces are big enough to create ooak pieces for your American Girl Doll (or Ellowyne, Bfc,Ink. etc) Most Liberty Jane items can be made form a 1/4 yard of fabric.

In the second collage image below, you can see a variety of Liberty Jane Clothing Pieces made using fabrics found at Britex Fabrics, most of the pictured items are the same fabrics/trims included in this giveaway! The recent Killara Dress was made from fabric that I got at Britex, unfortunately it was all used up, so that one is not included in this bundled giveaway.

Here are a few example of how we’ve used Britex Fabrics in Liberty Jane Outfits!

To enter simply respond to this post by commenting below and complete this sentence:

“I sew [ or knit/crochet]  primarily as a  [insert hobby or for my home business] on average, I spend… [how much time/hours in a week]…”

Come on in and see the store… I apologize for the shaky iphone video

Comments must be left (on this blog post) by midnight (pacific), today, 1/4/2014.

One entry per person. No purchase necessary, void where prohibited. The winner will be chosen randomly from the comments received and contacted through the email provided in the comment. We will choose a winner and announce it in tomorrow’s post to let everyone know who won.

Happy New Year,

Cinnamon & The Liberty Jane Team

Welcome to Day 10 of our 12 Days Of Christmas celebration!

Today we are giving away something to everyone! I’m often asked where I find fabrics, notions, wigs, shoes, etc. So for today I wanted to share 10 resources from my personal list of places to shop for doll crafting and sewing supplies… Enjoy!

Cinnamon’s Top Ten Places to Shop:

• Britex Fabrics  – Located in San Francisco, CA – This is my absolute favorite place to shop for fabrics! The store is just so beautifully laid out, all 4 floors! The fabrics are displayed by color, from floor to ceiling, there’s one floor just for trims and buttons, and my favorite is the remnants section up on the top floor! You can shop online, but if you ever get the opportunity to visit, you simply have to go and give yourself plenty of time to soak it all in! We were down in CA for the holidays and I was able to stop in and stock up a bit, be sure to check back tomorrow for the Day 11 giveaway, I’ll be giving away some beautiful fabrics!
• Zipper That Doll – This is the place to get 5 and 6 inch sippers, as well as thin velcro, and tiny buttons.
• CR’s Crafts – Tiny belt buckles are hard to find, but this store has a variety to choose from. Use these buckles for the Shibuya Jacket and the Motorcycle Jacket.
• Ruby Red Galleria – Does your doll need a hair makeover? This is the place to find great replacement wigs for you American Girl Doll. You can easily peel off the wig that’s on your doll and replace it with one of these great looking wigs.
• Elastic by the Yard – Here’s a great selection of Fold Over Elastic, You can use this to make dance leotards for Isabelle GOTY 2014, from the LJC Free swimsuit pattern! It also works great to make cami style tanks from the strappy tanks top pattern.
• Doll Clothes Store – Imported shoes and boots manufactured in China, We’ve used these in the past to complete some of our outfits…
• Fabric.com  – They have a great selection of a variety of fabrics and will send you swatches to sample first.
• Marshal’s, Ross, Target, Nordstrom Rack – This may seem like an odd place to have on the list, but I am always scouring the clearance racks at stores like this to find great fabrics at super discounted prices! The key to realistic looking outfits for dolls is all about the fabric choices!
• Paper Mart – looking for packaging for your outfits? paper mart has a large variety of boxes, bags, and tissue to get you started!
• Claires – (find it in most mall’s across the US) This is a fun place to shop for tiny items, like mini backpacks, lip glosses that look like doll size soda cans, and discounted jewelery that can be turned into a variety of doll accessories!

There isn’t a contest for today, but we’d love it if you shared where you find fabrics, trims, notions, or other tiny doll treasures with the rest of us, so please leave a comment and let us know…

Happy New Year,

Cinnamon & The Liberty Jane Team