I’m not the least bit sad that summer is over and September is here, but I am sad that Summer of Basics is coming to a close! I’ve been so blown away and inspired by what everyone was making, and just by how many people jumped in and really challenged themselves, that I fully expect to suffer withdrawal as it begins to die down. (And I definitely have post-project depression now that my fisherman sweater is done.) Most of all, I’m hugely thankful to everyone who took me up on the challenge. I wanted to push myself this summer, and I might very well not have completed either my first button-up or my first pants if not for having such good company in which to tackle them.
But now it’s time for prizes! You know how I feel about this: The real prize is the garments you made and the experience you gained and the fun you had on the #summerofbasics feed. (Even real-life friendship. Geez, tearjerker right here!) But we do have some great giveaways to announce, just to gild the lily. For my part, I was smart enough to make Fringe’s contribution a random drawing — I am so glad I don’t have to actually judge, because you guys have made it way too hard! The three remaining prizes will be announced on the respective prize donors’ blogs this week as follows:
Wednesday: Best Modification/Alteration to be announced on the Kelbourne Woolens blog
Thursday: Best Combination of Garments to be announced on the Grainline Studio blog
Friday: Best First Garment (knitted or sewn) to be announced on the Fancy Tiger Crafts blog
So make sure you check in at each location to see who won, as well as what the fine ladies of Kelbourne-Grainline-Fancy made!
And for today, the winner of the random drawing for the $100 Fringe Supply Co. gift certificate is <drumroll> @stephaniebastek! This skirt Stephanie made with her mom’s guidance and her grandmother’s thread was one of my favorite stories along the way, so I smiled wide when I opened my eyes and saw what my finger had landed on. Go read it. Stephanie followed this (her first sewn garment) with two lovely dresses. (This skirt is Colette’s Zinnia pattern.)
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Despite everything I just said, I’ve decided to add some fun bonus prizes just because there’s so much amazing stuff in the feed, I wanted to be able to call attention to a few more people. So the following participants are each getting a Fringe Field Bag in the color of their choice:
• The “Someone Distract Her While I Steal Her Stuff” Award goes to: Actually, nope, I can’t pick. There are too many contenders!
• The “That is TOO MUCH” Medal goes to: @callmedwj for her matching pup-and-me sweaters
• The “I Love Her Attitude” Prize goes to: @whitneyknits, go read that caption
• The “Upcycling Genius” Grant goes to: @radiolazyy for this absolutely stunning jacket made from three old pairs of black jeans, wider shot of all three drop-dead gorgeous garments here. (Honorable mention to @tanneicasey for her hand-stitched, handmade espadrilles fashioned from her kid’s old jeans)
• The “Why Didn’t I Think of That” Certificate goes to: @beththais — I would never have thought to get that chic little sleeveless top out of the Reeta Shirtdress. So good!
• The “Workplace Chic” Commendation goes to: @mariecarter, and I can’t believe those are her firsts!
• and the coveted “Damn, She Makes Pregnancy Look Good!” Badge goes to: @claireallenplatt
If I’ve just mentioned your name, please email me at <contact@fringesupplyco.com> to collect your prize!
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A lot of people have asked if I’ll be hosting this challenge again next year, and I think that’s a pretty safe bet. Seriously, thank you so much for making it such a blast! Thanks so much to Grainline Studio, Fancy Tiger Crafts and Kelbourne Woolens for the amazing prizes! And if you missed the full three months of wonder, at least check out the #sob17finisher feed. I promise you’ll feel inspired.
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PREVIOUSLY in Summer of Basics:
Holy Cow! Just reading the blog as I do every morning and I see my name – thank you so much !!! ☺️
Can we see the dresses please?
Not sure which of the dresses, but all of the names are linked to their Instagram post where they’re showing their three (or more) finished pieces. So just click through on whichever one(s). And if the photo has a little dot-dot-dot graphic at the bottom, that means there’s more than one image. Mouse over the right half of the photo and you’ll get a right-click arrow.
Thank you again for hosting this and for showcasing all of these awesome makes and makers!
Hey, even tiny chihuahuas need their own basics too :) I think Jellybean’s sweater is way more popular than the one I made myself! LOL Thanks, Karen!
It’s been so much fun following all of your links! Thanks!!
Awesome and nice to see so many sewers at different levels participating. I need to re-think the boxes of worn blue jeans in my studio. I was going to make rag rugs from them but now….
SoB was so incredibly fun to follow – so many inspiring makes. Congrats to all the winners! Sewing my daughter’s wedding dress (Butterick 5882) and an Anna dress for my “MOB” dress ignited my long dormant obsession with sewing, which is showing no sign of stopping. I think my beloved Bernina actually smiled at me when I set her up after so long asleep. So I’m thrilled that the SoB will be on again next year ’cause I’ll be ready to play for serious! ;-)
Wahoo! The #summerofbasics feed was just so inspiring, and I’m so glad to have become a reader of Karen’s blog and now a sewer. Thanks, luck and Karen’s digits, for gifting me a prize. But I think the real winner here is Jellybean, who is now the coolest Chihuahua at the dog park.
HAHAHAHA thank you! My little Bean will be the cutest and warmest wherever she goes all winter!
Awesome winners and non-winners all! SoB got me sewing again-4 dresses and just finished a 5th with an Adelaide sweater to match. I took a 20 year garment sewing hiatus and my main observation is how few fabric stores are around anymore and way tooooo much “snuggly fleece”!
Yes! We’re down to a Jo-Ann Fabrics and a couple quilting shops here. Jo-Anns classifies linen as a summer fabric and wool suiting as a winter fabric, so you can’t find them “out of season”… and yet they’ve got Christmas stuff out before Halloween. I hate to shop for fabric online but I guess that’s what it’s coming to.
Summer of Basics was so fun and I don’t think I would have ever attempted the Kelly Anorak without that deadline! As it is, I am so happy to have 3 pieces that I love and will wear!
Aahh, thank you, Karen! And thank you for hosting this challenge, it’s been such fun and a great motivator, nothing like a good deadline to turn some vague plans into action (and using up those old, worn and torn jeans in the process was nice too!).
Some gorgeous makes….that jacket by Radiolazyy makes me swoon…
Thanks so much Karen! All of the makes were so inspiring – and it forced me to confront the fact that I was rapidly approaching a point where my TNT basics weren’t fitting over my bump … ha.
This was a fun make-along and motivated me to dive right into sewing! Thanks for hosting and I hope another iteration of it will happen again next year!
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Thank you Karen! I had so much fun with making the basics, especially the espadrilles. Can’t wait for next year.
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