by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 15, 2015
I’m happy to share another tutorial with you today! And another baby tutorial with the most perfect baby fabric – Cuddle by Shannon Fabrics! Sew Sisters Quilt Shop has sponsored this tutorial and you can find the Play ‘n Snuggle Mini Blanket Tutorial on their blog.
This tutorial incorporates Dimpled and Solid Cuddle fabric – the softest fabric ever! I’ve got a fun idea I’m hoping to pull together for some simple kid Christmas gifts using it, and I think my husband would like one too. Perfect for Cuddle-ing. (See what I did there!) Sew up this beginner friendly afternoon project for your baby or someone else’s.
You can find the tutorial on the Sew Sisters blog – Play ‘n Snuggle Mini Blanket Tutorial!
+ Make sure you head over for your chance to win the Cuddle you need to make the blanket!
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 13, 2015
This weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving. We feasted on turkey, ham, sweet potatoes – and this gorgeous scenery! My in-laws live near this river and every year we take a walk (or climb for the kids!) to see the salmon making their way upstream. And to see the changing colours of the leaves. Makes me glad that I live in a climate with four seasons.
I was also reminded to be thankful because this blog reached two social media milestones. The Thread Riding Hood Facebook page now has over 2000 likes, and Instagram has reached more than 1000 followers! I am so blessed to be surrounded by such an amazing group of creative sewers, and humbling to have this many people excited to see what I do on a regular basis.
Thank you so much for following along!
I took some time yesterday to pull out some stash and make two giveaway bundles that I will be giving away to try to say “Thanks!” Make sure you are following along, I will be posting how you can win the bundles on Instagram and Facebook, Wednesday October 14, 2015. (Hint: It is made up of 6 solid fat quarters + 6 matching fat eighths + a cute surprise!)
In other news, I am also really excited to be going to my first blogger conference this weekend! Yippeeeee! I am going with a friend (Joanna from Nesting Story) to find out all I can about how to make this blog better and I cannot wait! We are going to be at the Blissdom Canada conference starting this Thursday. If you follow along on Facebook and Instagram for the giveaway information, you can also see some of what I’m up to.
For all of you in the Toronto area, I cannot forget to mention that you should all be going to Creativ Festival this coming weekend! It took me a while to decide which to choose when I realized both Creativ and Blissdom were the same weekend. Thankfully I know I will be at the Spring Creativ Festival, so I will see you there instead. Say “Hi” to my sponsors for me! Lots of them will be there in person – so stash away, stash away, stash away all! (Is it too early to make a Christmas reference?!)
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 8, 2015
I’m happy to be able to feature another Canadian Online Fabric Store interview today! Meet Melissa, owner of Funky Monkey Fabrics. Today she’s offering you a discount and a bundle giveaway from her shop! Funky Monkey Fabrics is based out of Ontario, Canada and they ship worldwide. (The giveaway is open internationally as well!)
“I started my sewing and embroidery business, Custom Creations, in 2009 while on Maternity leave with my first baby. After a few years of driving to the USA for fabric I opened up my fabric shop in 2013. I started with about 10 bolts of fabric and now have over 2000 products available in my store! It’s been a lot of hard work, but I have the most amazing customers and I get to cut beautiful fabric every day… It doesn’t get much better than this!” ~ Melissa, Funky Monkey Fabrics
I’ve been to Melissa’s shop a few times, but it wasn’t until recently that I realized just how much stock she has. And so varied! Take a look at all the notions she carries… everything you need to make your project – all in one place. Plus, I know a lot of you have kids that love licensed fabrics – she’s got cotton Minions and Disney knits! So good!
Just to show how varied her stock is – here are a few of my favorites. I had a hard time choosing only 6! I guess you’ll have to go and peruse the rest on her website… or, if you’d prefer and live near Varna, Ontario – book a visit to her shop. Melissa has a “by appointment” retail location open pretty much daily during school hours. If you can’t make it there, she is willing to match fabrics and send you a photo so you get exactly what you are expecting!
Thread Riding Hood: Why did you decide to start Funky Monkey Fabrics?
Melissa: I started Funky Monkey Fabrics because I couldn’t find the fabric I was looking for in Canada. There were lots of places to buy in the USA but there was a void here. I wanted to bring the fun, popular, & modern fabrics here at competitive prices so other Canadians didn’t have to worry about duty, exchange, long shipping times etc.
Thread Riding Hood: What is your favorite type of sewing project? Quilting, Apparel… ?
Melissa: I recently started experimenting with knits, so right now I’m having a lot of fun sewing clothes for my kids!
Thread Riding Hood: What is something coming up in the near future that you are especially excited about?
Melissa: My husband is building me floor to ceiling shelving because I have maxed out the space I have. So that means I will have more room for MORE FABRIC! I am continuously bringing in new stock. Recently I have added Double Gauze, Essex Linen, a variety of stabilizers, and a wide range of knits to my store.
Thread Riding Hood: Thanks Melissa!
How would you like the chance to get $50 worth of fabric from Funky Monkey Fabrics?! Melissa is amazing and has offered one lucky reader the chance win just that!
This giveaway is open to everyone, from today (October 8) until midnight October 14, 2015. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter – and if you don’t have Facebook to sign in with, just use your name and email address. There’s a “click to enter”, no social media login entry too!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Check out the amazing amount of inventory at Funky Monkey Fabrics and get a discount when you buy your favorites! You know you need some project supplies right?!
Use the discount code “TRH10” to save 10% on your order at Funky Monkey Fabrics until October 19, 2015!
Here are a few more pretty things to get you started!
Thanks for reading. Don’t miss a post – Follow along below!
Disclosure and Privacy Policy: I asked Funky Monkey Fabrics to be a part of this series. I will never recommend or highlight a shop that I do not love, and my opinions will and have always been my own. Thanks for reading!
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 7, 2015
If you were on a desert island with a sewing machine, an iron and unlimited amounts of fabric… (pause, just imagine it for a second! Sounds good right?!… ok, back to real life…) Which essential items would you choose to put in your sewing box?
Answer: I’d choose 16 things, and they are all in my latest Bluprint post! Find out if your desert island list matches mine…
Sew, what do you think? What have I missed that you would have included?
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 1, 2015
Ever since I made four more Noodlehead Cargo Duffles at Christmas last year I’ve been wanting to make some for my girls. They would be perfect for overnight stays at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. And how cute would it be to go on vacation with some too! I’ve recently been looking for the pattern yardage information and it reminded me that I meant to post this yardage-saving information earlier this year. Oops.
Moving on! When planning to make my family their Cargo Duffles, I wanted to do it as cost effectively as possible. When all the pieces were laid out, I noticed that the Cargo Duffle pattern yardage can be reduced quite a bit if you are careful! Of course, if you like having extra fabric around, Anna’s suggestions are just fine – and leave you room for error. Always a good way to go!
If you are looking to save fabric and use up some smaller cuts, the cutting layouts below work great and save you an entire yard of fabric. I would recommend that you are VERY careful when using the Exterior Main cutting layout (see below). It fits absolutely perfectly into a 1/2 yard cut. This leaves no room for error, or pre-washing/shrinking even! Make sure that whoever cuts your yardage is precise – and that the print is on-grain or not obvious – so if it is not straight it won’t look wrong when you make the bag.
Note: These cutting layouts do not include measurements. These are available in the free Cargo Duffle Pattern by Anna from Noodlehead. All other measurements in the pattern should be used as they are noted in the original Cargo Duffle Pattern. These layouts do not include the binding and canvas, interfacing etc.
Hope it helps! Let me know if you have any questions. One day I’ll make some for my girls… (I hope!)
Have you made an Overnight-Style Bag before? What is your favorite one?
Other useful Cargo Duffle related posts I’ve written are here:
