It's time for our first Literary Sewing Circle of 2019! I'm really thrilled to have both a wonderful Canadian book as our featured read, and new this edition, we have 3 amazing sponsors too!
I'm happy to announce that our group read for this round of the Literary Sewing Circle is
The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan
Summary:
Paris. 1878. Following their father’s sudden death, the van Goethem sisters find their lives upended. Without his wages, and with the small amount their laundress mother earns disappearing into the absinthe bottle, eviction from their lodgings seems imminent. With few options for work, Marie is dispatched to the Paris Opéra, where for a scant seventy francs a month, she will be trained to enter the famous ballet. Her older sister, Antoinette, finds work — and the love of a dangerous young man — as an extra in a stage adaptation of Émile Zola’s naturalist masterpiece L’Assommoir.
Marie throws herself into dance and is soon modelling in the studio of Edgar Degas, where her image will forever be immortalized as Little Dancer Aged Fourteen. Antoinette, meanwhile, descends lower and lower in society, and must make the choice between a life of honest labor and the more profitable avenues open to a young woman of the Parisian demimonde—that is, unless her love affair derails her completely.
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| photo credit: Heather Pollock |
About Cathy:
Cathy Marie Buchanan’s
The Painted Girls is a #1 National Bestseller in Canada, a New York Times bestseller, and an NPR, Good Housekeeping and Goodreads Best Book of 2013. Her debut novel,
The Day the Falls Stood Still, is a New York Times bestseller and a Barnes & Noble Recommends selection.
Her stories have appeared in many of Canada’s most respected literary journals, and she has received awards from the Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts. She holds a BSc (Honours Biochemistry) and an MBA from Western University. Born and raised in Niagara Falls, Ontario, she now resides in Toronto.
This book is available for purchase in both hard copy and ebook formats, as well as in audiobook format.
You can find the ebook at:
And the hard copy at:
Or, of course, check your local library!
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How does the Literary Sewing Circle work? We read a book together, discuss it, and then make something inspired by our reading. As long as you can point out what inspired you from your reading, even if just a sentence, you can share your makes in our final roundup!
Anyone can join, and you can sew, knit, quilt or embroider - any textile art that you like doing - to participate. This is a reading/sewing circle, very low-key; no competitions here, just reading and sewing for fun. Although we are very lucky to have some special sponsor offerings this time around -- the discounts are available for the first few weeks of the sewalong to anyone participating, and two of the finished projects will be chosen at random to receive one of the free pattern offerings. Just finish and post your project by the end of the linkup and you will have a chance to win.
There is no official sign-up to worry about; just start reading along if you wish, and leave your thoughts on the book or your project on any of the Literary Sewing Circle posts. We do have a dedicated book discussion post halfway through and again at the end, but leave your thoughts anytime. And when the final post goes up, so does the project linkup -- you can leave a link to your finished project there, whether it is on your blog, a pattern site, or even Instagram. It's easy :)
So, join in, and share!
Literary Sewing Circle Schedule
Jan 25 - Announcement & Introduction
Feb 1 - Inspiration post & featured sponsors
Feb 8 - Author interview
Feb 15 - Halfway mark: book talk
Feb 22 - Inspiration post
March 1 - Final Post: book discussion wrap up & posting of project linkup
(The project linkup will be live until the end of March so you have enough time to get your project posted)
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AND NOW FOR OUR SPONSORS!
Because this book takes place in Paris during the Belle Epoque, I reached out to some French pattern designers to see if they might be interested in sponsoring this round of the Literary Sewing Circle...and they were! Introducing our sponsors and their offers.
many feminine dresses, blouses and tops to be found in their catalogue!
They also offer sewing kits of fabric & pattern bundled together, and have an unusual option as well: you can order one of their designs and they'll make it for you! Check out their website for lots of details on all of these options, and you'll see lots of fun sewing accessories like bags and temporary tattoos on offer in addition to their large pattern catalogue. Their sizing seems to go to UK 18/US 16.
Deer & Doe is a familiar name in sewing patterns! Run by two friends with an eye to environmentally friendly printed patterns and sizing up to a European 52 (XXL or US size 22) their pattern range has a variety of chic and pretty options. The
Bluet and
Bellandone dresses have been hits in the sewing community, and who hasn't made their
free tshirt, the Plantain?
Orageuse is a modern, urban sewing pattern company founded in 2016. It features minimalist, chic designs made to work together as a wardrobe. They have a few different collections on offer now, and they are very sleek designs often named after world cities. Their sizing goes up to a European 46, or US 18.
The Offers:
If you're keen to get your hands on a French pattern, Louis Antoinette and Orageuse are offering 10% off their patterns during the first few weeks of the Literary Sewing Circle!
Louis Antoinette has made their 10% discount available from 01/25 until 02/28. Use the code THREADS when you place your order.
Deer & Doe is also offering 10% from 01/25 to 02/14. Use the code LSC2019 when you place your order.
And there are prizes at the end too!
If you submit a finished project to the linkup by the end of March, you will be eligible for a draw for a free pattern code from Louis Antoinette or Orageuse. It will be a random draw from all finished, posted projects -- everyone who participates has an equal chance :)
