5 Things Inspiring Me Now Part 4

Hi! So this is part 4 of my occasional series about all sorts of things sewing and fashion related that I’m finding inspiration in.

You can find the other posts here: Part one, part two, part three

I don’t know about you but I find inspiration in many places. Blogs (both sewing and fashion), Instagram, Pinterest, in my own neighbourhood, on shopping websites etc. I get inspired to try new sewing techniques or fabrics, to combine wardrobe items in a different way or to up my accessory game or I get ideas for my next make. Hopefully, you will too, by the end of this post 🙂

So let’s get cracking with my list….

5 Things Inspiring Me Now:

ONE So firstly, I did my wardrobe switch over this week and that involved putting all of my Summer wear into a different cupboard and bringing back in my Autumn and Winter wear. Do you do this at the start of a new season? Anyway, as I went I assessed what I had and what might need to be refashioned/repaired or kept and I ended up donating one small bagful to charity. As I did the switchover I came across a lovely charcoal ombre faux fur jacket that’s only been worn a handful of times and I got to thinking about how I could get more wear out of it. I think I need to style it in a much more casual way. This musing sent me down a rabbit hole on Pinterest (gets me every time!) Anyway, what I found were mostly ideas centred around jeans and boots or jeans and sneakers. See the next couple of photos (clicking on each image takes you to the source). I really want to give this a go so I might either blog about it or pop a post on Instagram. Come to think of it, I really ought to write a full post about my jacket because I never got around to it! (shame on me!) Just out of interest how would you style a faux fur hip-length jacket? Please give me ideas in the comments 🙂

TWO Next up is something also triggered by my wardrobe swap and it’s my need for more tops. I have some lovely lightweight and stretchy faux leather in cream, burgundy and bronze and I’m thinking of trying out some kind of mixed media/colour blocking effects. Here are the faux leather fabrics which I got from Girl Charlee.  I’m thinking of combining a couple of them with some lovely cream wool jersey that I have.

THREE This next item is an accessory…well strictly speaking it’s two: Coloured tights and matching shoes. If you read my last trends post then you’ll know that coloured or patterned tights are back with a vengeance this season and in a lot of cases, tights that match your shoes are trending. I love to go matchy-matchy as it lengthens the leg line and I actually did this very thing in a recent IG photo that I shared about a week ago( see the next photo) The shoes are some Clarks ones that I’ve had for a looooong time…and whaddya know they’re back in fashion! The Kate Spade runway show included lots of coloured tights and I’ve included a mini gallery below.

FOUR For the penultimate inspiration I’ve chosen quilting. And I’m referring to the sort that involves stitching in a design onto some plain slightly padded fabric, not pieced fabrics. I think I want to use it on the faux leather jacket that I keep threatening to make but before I tackle that it might be nice to combine it with number 2 on this list and quilt some of the faux leather maybe? Might be fun in small areas.

FIVE So we’re at the last of my list and I’m carrying on the theme from my last inspirations post by featuring someone that inspires me this week I’d like to introduce you to Stefanie from Sea Of Teal.

Stefanie, from Germany, is a teacher of 5th to 12th graders. She’s a self-taught sewer and started off her journey into the craft in 2009. She blogs about her sewing and can also be found on Instagram and Pinterest. I’ve followed her for some time now and I love her stylish website which is beautifully set out and the photography is stunning…go and take a look! I love Stefanie’s relaxed modern/classic style. She combines unusual prints with elegant plain shades and mixes up her memades with RTW items.

Over the Summer months, Stefanie put together a small capsule collection which she called ‘Urban Safari’ and I really enjoyed seeing the fabrics and patterns that she sourced. A lot of her fabrics are natural fibres and her taste in prints is really on point (and I’m not normally into prints :)). I especially love the two featured below in the photos (each photo is linked to the relevant blog post). Talking of which… I read on her About page that her boyfriend is a photographer and takes all of her outfit photos (who me jealous? Nah! Lol!). Isn’t the photography gorgeous? So why don’t you pop across to her blog and check out her Instagram account too? Why not give her a follow?

Ps…Stefanie’s blog is written in English as well as German so no need for Google Translate 🙂

So that’s it for another inspiration round-up. I hope you enjoyed it and maybe feel inspired too? 🙂

I’m hoping to get started on a couple of sewing projects this week. I’m a bit behind with plans because I got laid low by a nasty virus that’s doing the rounds. My energy is returning though and I’ve got a billion and one ideas buzzing through my head. I really should write out a proper plan of action.

In the meantime, thanks for stopping by and I’ll catch you soon…

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