Here's a shout out to Gretchen and her new book, Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing: A Modern Guide to Couture-Style Sewing Using Basic Vintage Techniques
I received this book from her publisher late in the summer and was so impressed with the detailed taloring directions, the absoultely fantastic illustrations, and the depth of information about sewing vintage style clothes.
I haven't made anything from the book yet, but have read the whole thing. Gretchen's writing voice is so great—funny, down-to-earth and silly, it's a pleasure to read. I'd recommend this book to any fashion sewer who is a bit more advanced, has a serious interest in vintage sewing techniques, and some time on her hands. This is not down-and-dirty sewing, but studied and time consuming. Which is awesome.
Over on her always entertaining blog, she is hosting a sew-a-long, along with her normal sewing-radness topics.
