The January issue of Seamwork is up and ready for you to read! We’ve added a new feature this month called Swatch Service. I’m interested to know what you guys think. We frequently get questions about where to buy fabric for our patterns, so we actually went off and ordered a whole bunch of swatches …

Happy holidays to all of you. I’ll be taking a week off from the blog to finish up the next issue of Seamwork and set some plans in motion for 2015. I have some really fun things planned for the blog next year, so I will see you here in January. Cheers!

We’ve just finished updating our full line of digital pattens so that all now contain a wide format “copy shop” version, suitable for printing on any wide format printer. Most of our patterns have included these for a while but we’ve gone back and updated all our older designs as well. And for all of …

It’s December, the perfect time to start looking back at what you’ve gone through in the last year: the things you’ve put out into the world, the trials you’ve lived through, the people you’ve met or become closer to. Today, I thought I’d take a look at all the things we’ve done this year. At …

Seamwork is out in the world now, so yay for that! The response has been absolutely fantastic, and I am so happy for each person that has subscribed, downloaded, or just read online. I also really want to thank our contributors to the magazine. I still feel like I have so many ideas for the …

It’s time for all of us here at CPHQ to let out a collective deep breath as we release one of our biggest projects ever into the world: Seamwork magazine. Those of you who signed up to our preview mailing list have heard a lot about the design process and thinking around Seamwork. Today, I’ll …

If you are in Denver, come hang out with us this Thursday at Fancy Tiger! Alyson and I are in town and would love to hang out with you. This is an informal meet & greet where we’ll be chatting, hanging out, signing books if you want. And you can get 10% off Colette patterns …

We’ve quickly slipped from a lovely mid-Autumn into the depths of winter this week. I’m looking forward to curling up under a blanket all weekend before our trip next week to somewhere even colder – Denver! I’m adding a new section to my weekend reading posts for things I’ve listened to and recommend. Given that …

For the last year, we’ve been putting together something very new and very special. It’s an online pattern magazine – we’re calling it Seamwork. What is Seamwork? Ok, I’m going to back up. Let me start by telling you how I like to sew. I love the occasional really juicy, challenging project like a coat …

As I mentioned on Friday, we’ve made some big changes along with our move into a new studio. The most important one is overhauling the way we do shipping. Working with an outside fulfillment warehouse has been vital to our ability to grow. I really can’t imagine how different things would be if we hadn’t …

I don’t have the usual bundle of links for you today, because we’ve been moving into our new studio all week, giving me zero time to read. Instead, I thought I’d share some photos of the new digs. I thought about waiting until everything was set up and looking good, but it’s a lot more …

You’ve seen how I organize my enormous stash of patterns. But what about fabric? I will admit, my stash is bigger than I’d like it to be. In spite of fabric swaps, donations, and finally getting rid of a lot of the useless leftover scraps I’d been holding onto, I have a lot of fabric. …

I used to have a manageable stash of vintage patterns. I’d collected them over many years, and only really bought ones that I absolutely loved. I used nearly all of them, and kept them in four small Ikea boxes, labeled by time period. Life was simple. But when people find out you are in the …

We’re having a party! Portland friends (or those elsewhere in the PNW): Alyson and I are throwing a big party to celebrate both Colette Patterns’ 5th anniversary, and the launch of the new knits book! Come hang out! (Photos from some of our previous parties: first book launch, boston, new york, and portland) Meet & …

It’s a very special day. Today marks the five year anniversary of Colette Patterns, an incredible milestone for our little company and for me personally. It’s all thanks to you. I’ve grown so much and learned more than I could have imagined in the last five years. Sometimes this involved discovering talents I didn’t know …

This photo shoot was a dream come true. For at least a couple years, I’d had a dream of doing a photo shoot in Palm Springs. Not only do I love going there, but it’s the perfect setting when you need to feel like summer in the middle of a soggy and cold Portland winter. …

Here in Portland, we have a fantastic animal rescue organization call the Pixie Project. This group does so much for animals. In addition to offering important low-cost and free vet services (including spay and neuter programs), they also work to take at-risk animals from overcrowded county shelters, get them on their feet (er, paws), and …

I wanted to drop a quick note and let you know about this fabulous sewalong and contest starting from our friends at The Stitchery in Glasgow. To celebrate the start of series 2 of The Great British Sewing Bee, Cassandra is hosting a sewalong for the Zinnia skirt pattern, and an accompanying contest with a …

Today, the whole team of us is headed down to Palm Springs! We’re taking a mini company vacation while we shoot an upcoming project. I’m excited that I’ll be able to share what it is when we get back. It’s been a huge undertaking for all of us, and this trip is the perfect way …

Just a quick note for those in the UK: The Great British Sewing Bee is currently looking for sewing enthusiasts to take part in their third season! I’m sure many of you are familiar with this adorable show (which previously featured Tilly and Lauren, amongst many other talented home sewists. If you think you might …

As I mentioned earlier this week, Kenn and I were in Mexico City last month. We were thrilled to be able to get there for Dia de Los Muertos, which was breathtaking. The flowers, the colors, the costumes, the ofrendas, the music, the food were all unbelievable. I highly recommend a trip. If you’re on …