by Sherri Sylvester | Jan 12, 2015
This is one of those projects – the ones you envision during a spark of inspired genius towards the end of the summer and say (to no one in particular) … “Hey, do you know what would be awesome? I should make 4 Cargo Duffles for my family for Christmas!” Then you email them right away and ask for their favorite fabrics, but it takes you until October to order the fabric, of course. After it arrives and is pre-washed (just in case), everything sits through sewn Halloween costumes, your oldest’s birthday party, your wedding anniversary weekend away, Christmas shopping… until finally – on the 12th of December – you finally realize that you are going to have to start!
I’m sure you have had this happen to you before?! Thankfully I finished them up in time to mail out on December 23rd. A little late – but finished. And my family loves them and they have already been put to good use. So now I can share them with you! (I got most of these fabrics from my sponsor Fabric Spark, a linked list of fabrics is located at the bottom of this post. The others were from my stash or from Warp & Weft, which has recently closed.)
These bags were so much simpler to make this time around! I still love my first Cargo Duffle – in fact it is one of my most favorite projects. As usual, making something the second (or 5th time around) you know what you are doing already. I got to use my zipper tutorial again – the one that explains how to change a double zipper so the sliders meet in the centre, instead of finishing at the ends. I had forgotten how simple it was to do!
To make my life a little easier, I substituted a large zippered pocket instead of the pattern’s two cargo pockets (tutorial coming soon). It is my own design and all of the edges are finished inside. The zipper creates a fully closed pocket – so I feel more confident filling it! I also used strapping instead of sewing the handles – which made me a little sad, since the handles look amazing sewn – but speed and time was of the essence!
I’ve also been asked to post the measurements for the Cargo Duffle Backpacks I made in 2013, so that will be coming soon as well. They use the same construction as the duffle bag, but with different measurements. The girls still use them a lot and the Ann Kelle fabric is just so cute! I recently made new serged-edge Beach Robes for the girls using the Ann Kelle Girlfriends mermaid fabric – perfect! You can see them here on Instagram.
I hope you are having a great start to your week and I’ll see you again soon!
Fabrics: (top to bottom, see photo below)
- Parson Gray – Empire Felucca, Indelible -Spirodraft, Kona Cotton (likely Charcoal)
- Lotta Jansdotter – Blomster (out of stock, similar here), Kona Cotton (stashed mystery colour), Essex Yarn-Dyed Linen/Cotton – Black
- Ghastly Forest – Mist, Essex Yarn-Dyed Linen/Cotton -Flax, Stashed Black Denim
- Tula Pink – Foxtrot Shade, Tula Pink – Moonshine Swarm Fern, Stashed Black Denim
- Bias Tape: Parson Gray – Empire Fishnet, Ghastly Bramble – Tea Stain, Stashed Red
by Sherri Sylvester | Jan 7, 2015
And we’re back with another giveaway and discount code AND the 12th post in the Canadian Online Fabric Store series! Today I’m interviewing Judy from Sew Sisters – an Ontario-based brick and mortar shop with international online shipping. She and her sister Karen started Sew Sisters together in 2000. I’ve visited their booth at the Creativ Festival and I always find something new and fun to purchase!
I am super excited about their monthly fabric clubs – they have 3 of them! A Kona Club, a Bargain Lover’s Club and a Batik Lover’s Club. As if the cute graphics were not enough – you can get fabric shipped to your door every month, hooray! I’ve been meaning to sign up for the 1/2 yard Kona Club for a while now and I have finally done it. I don’t stash enough solids to go with my projects and now I’ll have them. I love the surprise factor too – it’s lots of fun checking out which colours came in the mail!
Before we get too far – here’s a little preview of a few of my favorites from their shop:
Want to know more about Sew Sisters in 3 sentences? Carol has written up a tidy summary for you:
Sew Sisters Quilt Shop is A Canadian Source for Top Quality Quilt Fabric at Fair prices. Whether shopping online or in person at 3961 Chesswood Drive in North Toronto our goal is to provide you with great service and offer top quality products at the lowest possible price. Sew-Sisters have a large selection of quilting fabric and classes, patterns, books and notions – everything you need to complete your unique quilts!
Thread Riding Hood: Why did you decide to start Sew Sisters?
Judy: In 2000, I made an “I spy” quilt for my son that required almost 500 different pieces of fabric. I had to do a lot of shopping, trading and searching to amass the collection and when it was finished, I had both a lovely quilt and a massive amount of leftovers!
Figuring that other people making I Spy quilts would have the same problems I had finding enough fabric, I decided to sell packets of my leftover fabric online. The fabric square kits did very well, so much so that I began to think about continuing to make and sell them. I did so, and as the square packets became more popular, my sister joined me. Karen took over the shipping end of the business and soon we were able to expand the number of products we carried.
After many successful sales, we realized that our hobby had grown into a business! We registered a name, got a tax number and hired someone to do our books – our Dad, a retired accountant. Local quilt shops became interested in our square packets so we started supplying them as well. Soon we started selling at local guild shows and larger craft shows such as the Creativ Festival. Each year we continued to dramatically expand our product line until eventually we outgrew our house.
In September 2007, we opened a retail store at 3961 Chesswood Drive in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Our shop is loaded with fabric, notions, patterns and books that inspire quilters to create quilts to treasure. We are constantly growing and stretching to provide our customers with a larger selection, more projects and greater service. My passion for quilting and serving the public know no bounds and we aspire to provide the best customer service and the best prices possible in the market place!
Thread Riding Hood: What are a few favorite sewing projects you can share with us?
Judy: We had a week long Sew-a-thon a few months ago and made some great projects with Tim Holtz’s Eclectic Elements, Jenny Pedigo’s Quick Curve Ruler and Northcott’s Stonehenge Oh Canada fabric. It was such fun! (You can see the projects here!)
Thread Riding Hood: What is something coming up in the near future that you are especially excited about?
Judy: We’re having a 3 day Free Shipping in Canada event this week! This is always fun for our online customers.
Thread Riding Hood: Thanks Judy! I really like how your quilts took you from a hobby to a brick and mortar shop. Such a unique beginning!
Sew Sisters has decided to give away an amazing 10 fat quarter bundle of Tim Holtz’s Eclectic Elements! WOW!
This giveaway is open to everyone, internationally from today (Jan 7th) until midnight on Tuesday evening, January 13, 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
All ready to get some fabric? Sew Sisters has generously offered you a discount! Use the code “THREAD1015” to get 10% off your purchase from January 7-13th, 2015! Here are a few more fabrics to get you started. And don’t forget about the free shipping (within Canada) offer from the 9th-11th this weekend!
Disclosure and Privacy Policy: I asked Sew Sisters Quilt Shop 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 | Jan 5, 2015
Here’s to another great year last year! This year especially there have been many, many times I felt amazed because of a project opportunity or a relationship that was built. I feel fortunate to be a part of the online sewing community.
Thanks for hanging out and sticking around! You are so appreciated!
As I was working on this post I moved all of my 2014 post files away in their own folder – that makes 3 sections now – 2012, 2013 and 2014! It’s fun to think of how much this blog has been through. I was inspired by the Sewing Rabbit to create an infographic of sorts to summarize what happened last year. Lots different from my usual wordy posts – so I hope you don’t mind the numbers. I had lots of fun going through my stats finding out which posts were the most read, and I was excited to see that most of my favorite projects were your favorites too!
Below the analytics in the graphic, I’ve listed the top 10 posts created in 2014 and the top 5 posts of all time. (I linked each section – so you can click on them if you want to find out more.)
Happy New Year and I hope you and yours have a wonderful memorable year!
To talk bloggy – SO many moments stand out over the year! The day I got 11 938 page views because The Quilt Show linked to my Fabric Tray. The day I met Elizabeth Olwen and started planning the Warp & Weft Weekend Event. Designing the Forest Glen Satchel. The day I taught my very first workshop. Releasing the Satchel pattern! Sewing my youngest her Red Riding Hood costume and making my first Alder Skirt. I still LOVE the girls’ Easter dresses the most of all. Winning the Crafting Con Avenger’s month challenge was pretty cool too!
Looking ahead? More purposeful posting. I’m also excited to start quilting a bit more in 2015. And more clothing! Now that I have a serger for finishing seams the thought of stitching something up seems that much more simple and quick. I’ve got quite a few pieces waiting to be photographed and posted too… I could think of more – but I’ve got to run shower before going out in the (feels like) -22C weather to pick the kids up from school. See you again soon!
The Fat Quarter Skirt PDF Pattern is Now Available!
Purchasing this fully tested skirt pattern gives you access to 5 sizes, child’s 2-6, to create a skirt that is 9-11 1/2″ (23-30cm) long. Expect lots of tips and tricks throughout, a glossary of terms, recommended best practices and instructions geared towards an absolute beginner. This pattern is truly a quick sew – allow yourself just 1-3 hours to finish, including your fabric cutting time. It’s also a great stash-buster, requiring only 2 fat quarters and a length of elastic… things you probably already have in your stash! To find out more about the pattern, click here.
Purchase the Fat Quarter Skirt PDF Pattern – $8.50 CDN
Thank you for your support!
by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 30, 2014
I hope you have had a great holiday season. And there is more to come tomorrow as we start a new year! I’ve inadvertently taken a week off and I’m excited to get a little more sewing in before things ramp back up again in 2015. The kids are still on holiday for the rest of this week and that slows things down a bit – so I’m rolling with it! I’ve got a new serger to play with (YAY!) and I’ve already made my husband his requested (second) Finlayson and resized my old housecoat for my oldest (on tap since last winter…).
I decided that my first serger project should be small and simple – so I made my youngest a few pairs of underwear using my Red Kitchen pattern. It’s in round 4 of alterations – every pair I make gets a bit more of a tailored fit. I wonder if she understands what she is getting? Seriously – underwear tailored to your every curve – amazing! I am in de-stashing mode, so I’ve been using tiny shirts that belonged to my girls to make each pair, along with a discarded white undershirt to finish the leg holes. I am so excited to be using things up.
The latest fabric giveaway ended last week, and I randomly selected the winner yesterday. Vicky B. is the fortunate owner of 1 metre of fabric of her choice from the L’Oiseau shop! Turns out that Vicky has been a customer of L’Oiseau for quite a while – how exciting to be able to give back to her!
The rest of the week consists of me cleaning the office – yikes – what a mess present wrapping creates. And I’m filling in the breaks with projects I’ve had around for longer than I’d like to admit. Thankfully my serger has brought a renewed sense of excitement – and speed… aside from the hour and a half it took me to thread it the first time. Thank goodness for instructional videos!
I hope you have a wonderful start to your New Year! Thank you so much for following along, I am so grateful for you. Your comments and the time you spend here are so appreciated!
by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 22, 2014
I’d like to introduce one of my newest sponsors, Fabricville. They have provided us with a discount today (scroll down for the code!) and I can’t wait to tell you what you can spend it on. For those of us in Canada, the logo will look very familiar – and their in-stock items are no different! Fabricville started in 1970, when Fabricland (similar to JoAnn Fabrics in the US) expanded into Quebec and Eastern Canada.
Their new, redesigned website (new this year) lets you order any of the items you’d normally get in-store – and ship them right to your door! So – all of you that live in rural areas and can’t get to a fabric store without a lot of trouble? I am pleased to introduce your new best friend! In addition to fashion fabrics, fleece and flannelettes – they stock drapery and upholstery fabrics – in fact they have the largest inventory of these items in Canada! I am most excited that you can get your notions, thread, zippers, buttons, elastic, needles, batting and more. I am part of an amazing Canadian group and have heard so many stories of people unable to easily purchase sewing supplies – now they can be shipped to you!
Here is a little bit from Fabricville about their chosen featured fabric:
For this time of year we thought we would offer the warmth, cosiness and versatility of fleece and flannelette. We carry a huge selection of these practical fabrics at great prices.
Our fleece is available in a multitude of solid colors, patterns and textures (regular, anti-pill and micro chenille fleece). It is as great for craft projects as it is for clothing. Fabricville carries over a hundred printed options including Disney themes, animal prints, floral and children’s prints. Fleece is often used for beginner craft projects because once cut, the edges do not fray. Flannelette is most often used for sleepwear and bed sheets It is an easy to sew and easy to care for fabric, making it a good choice for many sewing projects.
So many options! (PS. They also stock needlework supplies.) Here are a few links they have highlighted to get you started:
Save 10% on your purchase at Fabricville by using the code “threadridinghood”. Use this code until January 31, 2014! Valid on any purchase over $20.
Disclosure and Privacy Policy: Please note, this is a sponsored post. Fabricville is a sponsor of Thread Riding Hood. 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!
