by Sherri Sylvester | Sep 9, 2016
Not sure how the fall sneaks up on me, all of a sudden it’s our first week of school. It seems every year the summer goes by a bit faster. The re-set to our schedule is always refreshing, despite not wanting to say goodbye to our lazy summer pajama days!
Speaking of fall, our fall weather is not here! We abandoned our new “first day of school” jeans and grabbed shorts instead since we have had heat alert days all week and the kids’ school doesn’t have air conditioning.
As is the custom – we took “first day” photos on our front porch. I searched through the blog and found some photos of my oldest from 2012 – she’s so little! We’ve got 2013, then 2015 as well – it’s so fun to look back and watch them grow up.
This year my oldest is almost 9 and in Grade 4, the little one is 6 and starting Grade 1. Both of them have been great through the newly re-scheduled week and are loving it. I’m so glad they are excited to go in the morning!
I’m also looking forward to the second annual Daddy -Daughter Weekend coming up. LOVE that my husband and the girls can spend some fun time way together. I’ve been getting ready by making them all matchy pyjamas – so they don’t forget about me while they are away. (hee hee!)
My plans for the coming weekend? I’m hoping to get some quilting done! I’ve got so many almost-finished quilt tops and projects I’d love to finish up. It’s hard trying not to get too far ahead with plans, I’m hoping to recharge for the fall too!
What would you sew if you had an entire weekend to yourself?
by Sherri Sylvester | Sep 2, 2016
Wow – did I just say six?! Craziness – my little baby is so big! This year for her birthday party she requested a cat theme and I was really happy to comply. This party was the simplest we’ve pulled off yet – just add cat ears to everything!
Since she is a summer baby, we have had parties each year at my in-law’s pool. A bit ironic, since real cats would have nothing to do with the water! It’s so nice to be able to sit around and let the kids work off their party-sugar in the pool.
I saved a ton of inspiration in my Cat Birthday Party Pinterest board. Thank goodness for all the amazing and creative people on the interwebs! We copied a lots of our ideas from there.
My oldest used her drawing skills to make most of the signs. I tried to make a cat cake – pink as per the party girl’s request. It turned out super cute – but my buttercream melted a bit in heat. The sides of the cake slipped and the cat ended up sitting in a puddle of frosting – yummy – but not exactly as planned. (Next year’s goal – better buttercream!)
All the party photos look a bit bedraggled since we couldn’t keep her out of the pool long enough to set up before photos. Life will go on! #justkeepingitreal
What is your favorite kids’ party theme? (I might be planning next year already!)
by Sherri Sylvester | Aug 25, 2016
This blog post is brought to you today by the letters “L” and “B” and by the number 2! Kudos to everyone who remembers where that reference is from. Ah, the days of childhood!
When I worked with my sponsor Fabric Spark to make my daughter’s isogram mini-quilt earlier this year, I wanted to make sure I used up the other letters in the alphabet panel. Enter two quick and easy projects with the letters “L” and “B”. Fabric Spark is sold out of this Tamara Kate panel – but has the Joie de Vivre – Joyeax Alphabet from Bari J in stock – it’s just as pretty!
First, I sewed up a quick quilted pillow for my daughter’s friend as a birthday gift. I really, really loved making this pillow. Using up scraps and piecing them log-cabin-style made a quick and easy finish. (My husband had just bought me the perfect tulip bouquet for the photo shoot – super extra bonus points for him!) I always love the quilting, it’s just so satisfying – and always looks amazing. I even dug out my rusty free-motion skills to make a few loops as well. The automatic settings on my Janome Skyline S7 are really helpful – they set everything up for you!
The second project I made was a monogrammed hand towel for my mom’s birthday this July – though she may never use it for fear of dirt! Their last name begins with “B”. I used a simple hand-towel, turned under the edges of the fabric and stitched the letter on. If I had more time I would have loved to embroider some texture into the block. But since I was finishing it the morning we were leaving to take it to her – I wasn’t able to! #procraftinators #unite!
Since I think I have an “M” and a “P” in my alpha-stash (it’s a thing!) I am excited to make my kids some monogrammed pillows too. We are playing “musical rooms” in our house this summer. Moving the sewing room to the (much larger) basement space (yay!) so the kids will each have their own space. We’ve got a “Red Riding Hood” room on tap for the little one and a “pink/teal-blue/yellow” design up for the oldest. Kids are fun and I can’t wait to see how their rooms turn out!
by Sherri Sylvester | Aug 22, 2016
Before I get too far past the event – because it’s going on a month now (already!) – I want to talk about Quilts at the Creek. I was thrilled to be asked to speak in one of their Trunk Show presentations this year – and the venue and event don’t disappoint either. My kids even got to help with the Trunk Show on Saturday and they were so excited!
Quilts at the Creek is an outdoor quilt show held at Black Creek Pioneer Village – and it’s gorgeous! I’m sure you all know that I don’t profess to be a quilter, but I do love them and was blown away by how amazing they look when they are hung outside. It’s so different from the one-of photos you see online. And there are so many quilts in so many different styles. All of them hung side-by-side. Really something fun to go see.
The Trunk Shows are held in the Town Hall, which makes for a really unique set up! I loved talking to everyone I met and hearing about their sewing projects and experiences. I really enjoyed my Sunday presentation to a bit smaller group because I was able to hand around the projects and chat back and forth better with everyone. Hearing what you all have to say is my favorite!
This show really was for the whole family. Along with seeing the quilts, we were able to see Black Creek Pioneer Village. The kids loved hearing about how to weave fabric and rugs and how to make the yarn they wove with. My husband even enjoyed it. Lots to see and do, even if you are not a quilt lover.
I will leave you with photos of a few of my very favorite quilts, with close-up shots of the quilting of most of them. I’ve tried to credit each maker as best I can. Enjoy!
Under Another Cover – Kat Akerfeldt
Kathy Doughty (no quilt name given)
Celeste Compion (Meerkat Shweshwe) – Indigo Shweshwe Half Square
Yet Another Scrappy Quilt – Nadine Wright
Purrr…fectly Russian Blue – Joanne Hannon Shaw
by Sherri Sylvester | Aug 15, 2016
I try not to start my blog posts with “I’m so excited to share” – but today I can’t help it – I’m really so excited about my new bag! It’s the Chobe from Elle Puls – same pattern designer that brought us the amazing Bethioua top. When Elke emailed me a few months ago, I was so happy to accept her invite to try the new pattern. My previous everyday bag’s zipper had just broken and this pattern was a perfect replacement – right down to the exact size and style! I took my Chobe on vacation in July and I’ve been using it every day since.
So I made it in gold! I really had to think hard about this… I’ve never carried around a gold bag – but I wanted to use my stash as much as possible. Maybe if we call it beige or champagne it would be ok?! I really don’t mind the colour now that I’ve made it. It helps that it matches everything – which is great because I’m a very non-fussy bag carrier and don’t switch them according to what I’m wearing. The thin stretchy hole-filled vinyl adds a bit of a sporty look. And I happened to have exactly the right Kona cotton to use as a lining. And exactly enough leather in the right shade to match for the base and shoulder strap!
I really like patterns that allow me to learn new sewing techniques, and the Chobe is great for that. The illustrated instructions are really easy to follow and allow for a super-professional finish.
Here are a few new things I learned:
- Rivets! I got to use them for the first time and I LOVE them! They made this bag look super professional and I was really excited to learn that they are really easy to install. One of them loosened two weeks into my vacation, but that was easily fixed when I got home. And now I own the rivet tools I want to use them everywhere – yay!
- Hardware. Ok, so I’ve used bag hardware before – but I love how ready-made these Snap Hooks look. And the matchy rivets and rectangular rings – have I mentioned how much I love rivets yet?!
- Recessed Zipper. I have a confession to make, the Cat-Eye Zipper pouch was supposed to have a recessed zip – but I couldn’t figure out how to make it work! I was so grateful for Elke’s straightforward instructions. It comes together so well and I’m so proud of how it looks!
Here are a few things I changed when I made my Chobe:
- Cross-body strap. I used the snap hooks to connect a simple cross-body strap. I copied my well-loved Coach everyday bag and snapped them onto the same rings that connect the shoulder strap. This lets you remove the long strap for a cleaner look.
- Flat Front. The fabric I chose didn’t really allow the pieced front to be made easily – since it has holes (and stretch), I needed to line each place I used it. Again, I copied my everyday bag and created a 2 piece front instead. The top-stitching makes it look a bit more ready-made.
- Interfaced Lining. My bag was pretty un-structured because I used thin vinyl instead of the recommended denim. To compensate a bit I added a layer of interfacing to the lining and it’s worked really well.
- Strap Attachment. Because I was so short on matching leather I had to shorten the shoulder strap and attach it creatively. I love how the straps are sewn on the outside of the original bag. But since my fabric was short I sewed them into the top seam instead.
Here are a few things I would do next time:
- Up Cycling. With the Canadian Tuxedo back in style (denim on denim on denim!), I figure we could add a bag to the mix? The original Chobe is made from a recycled pair of old jeans. Down to adding the pocket and label. The casual style would be fun to pull off.
- Outer Exposed Zipper. One day I will learn! For an outer zip to look professional the lining should match the outer, so the fabric doesn’t show on the outside of the bag. Argh. I did this the wrong way on my Makers Tote as well.
- Height. I might make the bag slightly shorter – by about 2 inches or so – since my kids are older now and I don’t need as large of a bag to stash things!
Have you ever attempted to make a bag? How did it go?
In the end my on-loan Janome Skyline S7 sewed through layers and layers of leather with no issues what so ever. The hardest part was getting used to sewing the vinyl outer. I did find that since the pattern was in centimeters I needed to do a bit of conversion before I started. But Elke includes a printable ruler, and I typed all of the measurements into Google and let it convert them for me – easy peasy!
I am so proud of this bag! And am loving the interior fabric a ton. It was stashed to eventually become a skirt, but this seems way better, since I get to see it everyday! All of the professional tips and tricks, the instructions on how to make your own leather handle, the recessed zip. So good!
I highly recommend the Chobe bag pattern. Elke has done a wonderful job on it, and she’s included tons of creative ideas to make it your own – along with great inspiration photos as well. Hats off to her! This bag is going to be my go-to pattern for a long, long time.
