I’m here to share about the Love Notions site wide sale on training classes and patterns through Friday, January 12th. I would be so thankful, if you used my NICOLE10 coupon code when you shop to give you an extra 10% discount. Not only am I grateful for the generous commission Love Notions provides me, it also shows them that I’m doing work to ensure all my sewing friends know about their patterns and classes.

I honestly debated the topic of this blog, because I have so many valued sewing and work friends that live in areas where it’s summer. But I have so much fun with the Love Notions sales sewing my stash and sharing my makes. It’s very cold here, so I wanted to share what I’m sewing currently.

First on my list is a favorite of Love Notions fans and my family, it’s the Sloane Sweater. You may already know but I really love sewing for holidays. So, I was really excited to use the prints made by my friend with Moshito Design for her Safari Love collection. It has a lot of fun kid friendly prints but many for adults like me, too.

I used the red for the yoke and I loved it. I went out twice for photos of this make, but it was super windy. I hope you can get a flavor for how amazing this.

There is a girl’s version of the pattern, too! It’s great for twinning. There was one winter, where that was all my sweet Elise would wear.

I love cowls, so one of my favorite things about the Sloane is you can use the free Laundry Day Tee cowl with no adjustments to the neckline. Elise loves the free template for thumbhole cuffs that you can find on the Love Notions blog.

One of the first patterns that I made was the Whistler Pull-Over (and Hoodie). The construction with the pockets looks complicated but is really well explained in the pattern. I made this before I knew to search in YouTube for a video tutorial like I would do today. I made this with sweatshirt fleece with very little stretch that worked well. I love the sweatshirt fleece at Raspberry Creek Fabrics. This a dusty blue heathered floral that they got for this winter. Any fabric that they offer in dusty blue, I will immediately love.

I have only made two Whistlers between this new one and the first one I made. One is in a minky like fabric and it is so soft. The other I love, but Elise likes to laugh at that picture. I tried to hide the gray in my dark blonde hair during the pandemic and eventually it turned this odd color. The pandemic made me appreciate the people who do all the things that I thought I could do at home for me, that I was totally wrong about.

My next two patterns, I think will really help get your through the rest of winter. The Arlington Sweater has so many neckline and sleeve options that it’s hard to repeat a variation, unless you fall in love with it and plan to. It makes a gorgeous dress, too. This is the first time that I made the cowl version since testing. It’s so cozy in this Cloverfield Versailles Brushed Hacci Sweater Knit from Surge Fabrics. I had some of their Dove color, too. Elise has been up with my in our craft/sewing room over her winter break and had input in a lot of these makes like choosing this color.

Here are some of our many Arlingtons. I added the Laundry Day Tee cowl to it for Elise. I’ve mashed it with the Margot Peplum. If I don’t use the bottom band, I instead trace over the Classic Tee hem. The options are endless.

You might be surprised that I didn’t pick the Duet Trousers as my favorite pants pattern, since I’ve done two posts for Love Notions about them. But they do take a while to get the fit just right and I find I have to do this if I lose or gain weight. So, I selected the Allegro Bottoms. It’s relatively easy to get a good fit with these. And in terms of versatility, they are a good companion to the Arlington Sweater. I love the shorts, joggers, and skirt version just as much as I do the slacks version that I’m sharing here in corduroy.

Here are some of my past makes, but this is a pattern that I tend to make to wear immediately and many pairs didn’t get pictured.

Here is one pattern that I cannot live without. I love the Rockford Raglan so much! It has a girl’s counterpart that has extended sizes called the Wrigley Raglan that Elise liked to wear. I traced over the hem of the Sloane that better matched the curved hem of the Wrigley Raglan to better twin with Elise and now that’s my favorite way to wear it. I used the cute Valentine Fish Kiss collection in rib knit at Raspberry Creek Fabrics to make this. For a long time, I thought cotton Lycra was the way to go, but then I noticed the fabric recommendations was for more flowy fabrics. Now that I’ve tried rib knit and double brushed poly, I love that best.

These aren’t even all the Rockford Ragland that I made. It was a tradition for a while to make one for all the holidays which I thought was super fun. My favorite is probably the last one in the collage. I loved those twining with those Santas.

And the last pattern you need? You’ll have to come back later this week when Love Notion’s newest pattern is released if you have the time and inclination. I’m going to post the pictures I took of it. There are quite a lot, because my generous husband bought me a mirrorless camera for Christmas and I’m learning and he’s a patient teacher. So, that’s why I have so many or so few pictures of each make to share lately. It all depends on how I did that day.

If you aren’t connected with me via my Instagram account @sewhardofhearing or friending me on Facebook, I wish you would. I love interacting with new sewing friends as much as I love sewing. And if you like and comment on my Instagram content, I will definitely follow you back and do the same. It really enjoy that aspect of sewing. Being deaf, it can be challenging to make new friends. So, this space has been perfect for me. Though I am blessed with many great friends in my life who make the effort every day to connect with me with some of the barriers my disability creates, and I am endlessly grateful. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! I am so appreciative!!

And one final thing, these are some earrings that my friend Jestina made to match my Raspberry Creek Fabrics. She has an Etsy shop, Delta Rise. I met her while shopping for her styles that Elise wears. She offers a discount code for 20% off for me and my friends to her shop. It’s NICOLE20. I don’t make commission from her, but she wanted to pass along a savings to all my sewing friends who have been coming to her since I’ve been sharing her work.