The Liebster Blog Award - or, what the heck is "The Liebster Blog Award"??

So I got a note from the very talented sisters, Ashley and Emily - the brains behind Frances Suzanne.  Their blog is one of my favorites.  They are amazingly talented, creative, and extremely humble!  They discuss even their sewing fails, which I think a lot of bloggers seem to gloss over.  It makes me like them, and know that I'd really like them in real life!

They nominated me for the Liebster.  They gave a great explanation of the "award" on their blog but you can just Google it and read about it.

The Liebster Blog Award
 

Here's the rules (which I will most likely break....):

The Rules:
1. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
2. Answer the questions that the nominator set for you.

3. Create 11 questions for the people you nominate.
4. Choose 11 new blogs you love and link them in your post.
5. Please leave me a comment on this post with the URL to your Liebster post so I can learn more about you!

So, without further ado, here I go:

11 random things:

1.  I played college basketball even though I'm only 5'2" tall.  One of my prized possessions is my trophy that I earned for most improved player.  I'm #32.  In the front - cause I'm short!

2.  I've never once colored my hair.
3.   I make amazing meatballs.
4.  I own at least 10 Boston Celtics shirts and 5 Boston Celtics sweatshirts.  And, I wear them all the time.
5.  I was a serious tomboy.  Still am.
6.  I can't stay up late.  Never could.  Bedtime is 10:00 at the very latest.
7.  I'm a fabric hoarder.  Surprised?
8.   My older kids used to be "actors" when we lived in Canada.  They were in The Santa Clause with Tim Allen.  My son is in the green shirt and my daughter is the little one in the front.

9.   I played clarinet, saxophone, oboe, and baritone horn in high school.
10.  I work full time, run a small fabric business, have a 3 year old.  And, I'm seriously considering going back to school and changing careers!
11.  I have a hard time thinking of 11 random things!

So now, the next step is to answer the questions from Ashley and Emily:

11 questions for fellow Leibster award recipients:
1. What are your top five ‘must-read’ blogs?
2. Do you have a phobia? And if so – what is it?
3. What is your favorite fabric? This might be a certain designer’s look, or a particular style / texture you are drawn to....
4. What is your most tried and true pattern in your stash?
5. What is your dream job?
6. Share a tradition that you and your family enjoy.
7. Name one thing sewing-related that you haven’t tried…but want to learn how to do.
8. What is your favorite month of the year and why?
9. If you had the opportunity to do a guest post, what series would you want to participate in….or, on which site would you like to guest post?
10. Where do you get your sewing inspiration (be specific – for example: a particular pinterest board, blog, children’s retail, etc.)?
11. What has been your greatest “sewing find” to date?

1.  My top 5 blogs I read are:
          1.  True Up - this blog is an absolute MUST read if you have interest in fabric.  I get so much information from her.  
 
          2.  Cluck Cluck Sew - this goes to something I can't do, but want to - quilt!  It seems so daunting to make a quilt.  I keep reading quilt blogs thinking I'm going to take the plunge.  I have one tutorial picked out that I think I just might try.  We'll see...
 
          3.  LA Kids Market - this is a place that I go to keep up to date with trends in children's clothing, and to get inspiration for things I sew.  
 
          4.  Aneela Hoey's blog - again, more quilting envy.  Plus, I just love her fabric lines!
 
          5.  Oliver + S Blog - I'd say this one is self-explanatory, considering 99% of the stuff I sew is from their patterns.

2.  Phobias:  Bugs.  And losing my kids.  I have recurring dreams that I've lost or forgotten one of my kids someplace.  Not like I've ever done that....maybe it's just a mom thing.

3.  Favorite Fabric:    Corduroy.  Reminds me of the fall.  Even though I sadly live in a place where there is no fall....I love to sew with it, it's durable, soft, wears well.

4.  Tried and True Pattern:   It's two really - first off, the Ice Cream dress by Oliver + S.
I've made several Ice Cream dresses and tops.  It's easy, comfortable to wear, and it lets you showcase the fabric you choose beautifully.  Then, the drawstring bag pattern in the book "Little Things to Sew".  It's made a great gift bag for all the parties my daughter has been going to with her pre-school friends.  And, it's a great way to use up cute fabric scraps. 

5.  My Dream Job: I actually have my dream job pretty much.  I'm an investigator, and it allows me to be nosy, snoop in other people's business....and, actually help people.  It's challenging and fun.  My next dream job would be to own a fabric shop, and I'm working on that one too.....slowly, but surely!

6.  Tradition: We don't have a ton of traditions necessarily, but every year, I make the kids fleece pajamas for Christmas.....now, I had to make some for girlfriends/boyfriends, so this year I had to make 6 pairs....I may be re-thinking this one....

7.  Sewing Thing I Haven't Tried But Want To:  Quilt!!!  Really, I'm going to do it.

8.  Favorite Month:  September.  I used to love back to school shopping, corduroy pants, leaves falling.  Unfortunately, now I live in California, and we don't have fall.  I did see a few leaves on the ground the other day....

9.  Guest Post?:  I already did one guest post for "Skirting the Issue" regarding foster care.  It's an issue my family feels strongly about as we adopted our youngest from the Los Angeles County Foster Care system.  So, really, I'd like to blog more about that issue.

10.  Sewing Inspiration:  Two retail shops that I get inspiration from are The Wooden Soldier and  Hanna Anderssen.  These are two pretty polar opposite shops, but  I like the quality of their workmanship in their garments.

11.  Greatest "Sewing Find":  This one was easy.  When I was a girl, I had an aunt who sewed all my clothes.  Some day, I'd really like  to do a blog post about her, but anyways, I found a pattern that I KNOW she used to make a dress for me.  This is me, about 10 years old:

 

I picked this fabric - it was purple velveteen.  Here's the pattern that I found on Etsy:

 

It's a size 8, and you bet that Julia will be wearing this in purple velvet whether she likes it or not!

Here's the new and/or small blogs that I read that haven't already been Liebster-ized

1.  Froo & Boo 
2.   Elephant in the Study:
3.  Sweet Pea and Pumkins 

I don't really have 11 to note because Emily and Ashley took the ones I already read!!

Thanks for the Liebster.....you like me, you really like me!