by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 19, 2014
A few years ago my daughter’s school sent home a letter asking for donations to local charities instead of teacher gifts, and it got me thinking. I always have a hard time choosing fabrics and sewing for teachers. I’m never sure if they will use what I’ve made, or even if they will like it. So this year we did things a little differently. Still, with some sewing – because I HAVE to sew them something!
We gave each teacher a fabric envelope filled with a painted salt-dough ornament, a handmade card and a certificate saying we bought a World Vision gift in their name. The fabric envelopes are part of my Fabric Gift Bag Pattern, and I modified them by adding a button and leaving off the strap closure. The girls picked the fabric from my stash of fat quarters and I sewed them up yesterday – as per my “regular” last-minute rule!
The girls were already painting ornaments to give as gifts at the retirement home where we will be singing carols this year. So we made a few extras for their teachers as well. And they worked hard to make some cards for their teachers after school yesterday. My oldest is in French Immersion and I’m so amazed at how quickly she picked up another language! She made a card in each language – one for each teacher.
The World Vision gift we chose to give will donate books and literacy support to kids in need. It made me tear up when I bought it – but maybe it’s just a product of multiple late nights I’ve stayed up sewing? My kids love stories and reading. To think that we have a (small) part in helping other children to have that ability as well – it’s a great feeling! I printed each graphic straight from the e-card. Easy Peasy (and thankfully fast!)
Now we are almost ready for the holidays, I’ve just got to tackle the gift wrapping!
- Reader Feedback: What is your favorite go-to appreciation gift?
by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 17, 2014
We’ve got a treat for you today – the 11th post in the Canadian Online Fabric Store series. I’m interviewing L’Oiseau – an Alberta-based shop with international shipping (and they are giving away fabric to one lucky winner!). I’ve known about L’Oiseau for a while now, but I did not know about their amazing collection of apparel fabrics!
(Before we get too far – L’Oiseau asked me to mention that they are having a HUGE Winter Clearance sale right now. Click over to take advantage of some amazing prices! – Ends Dec 21, 2014)
Here is a run-down of just some types of fabric they offer: Cotton Poplin, Jersey Knit, Sweatshirt, Denim, Corduroy, Organics (Hemp, Bamboo), Velour & French Terry. Not to forget the ribbon, iron on transfers, labels and patterns. They also have a Knitting Shoppe – in case you knit or crochet. How’s that for an introduction?
I happen to know about a little something that is under our Christmas tree (ahem*cough*hint*serger!*cough) so I was especially excited about owner Michelle’s collection of knit fabrics. I’m hoping to make good use of my stash and then start ordering from her!
I’ve included a few favorite fabrics here – but you have to know that I have spent more time browsing this shop than I have for any other interview post to date. There is just so much goodness! Every page on her site has something I’d like to sew with and there is a great variety, lots of solids and some stripes too.
Here’s a little bit more about L’Oiseau via a little bio Michelle wrote up for me:
We started our shop April, 2013 and as a result of my endless search for great fabric. We focused on Euro fabrics and products because I had been personally so inspired by their fun, playful attitude toward sewing. And their quality, colour saturation, and functionality is unparalleled. We wanted to offer these great fabrics to Canadians and beyond!
Thread Riding Hood: Why did you decide to start L’Oiseau Fabrics?
Michelle: I wanted the Euro fabrics for myself! I loved their quality and the certifications that came along with them and I spend so much of my time and resources scoping out the fabrics that one day my husband implied maybe I should just open a store. He may have been joking but I thought, “What a great idea!” And here we are.
Thread Riding Hood: What is your favorite type of sewing project?
Michelle: Kids clothing; hands down. Colour, texture, applique, ribbons; you can do it all and really your only limitation is your imagination. And they love it…what’s more rewarding than that?
Thread Riding Hood: What is something coming up in the near future that you are especially excited about?
Michelle: We are simplifying and I am excited about that. We are going to focus on more of the great quality, basic apparel fabrics because they always work and are a sort of launching pad for amazing things.
Thanks Michelle! I love what she says about sewing clothing for kids. It’s so true!
Michelle has generously given us a “Choose Your Own Adventure” giveaway today! One very fortunate winner will get to choose 1 metre of any fabric from the L’Oiseau Fabric Shoppe!
This giveaway is open to everyone, internationally from today until midnight on Tuesday evening, December 23, 2014. 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
Disclosure and Privacy Policy: Please note, this is a sponsored post. I asked L’Oiseau to be a part of this series, and as a result they have decided to become a sponsor of Thread Riding Hood, making this a #sponsoredpost. 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 | Dec 11, 2014
Last page folks – truly and for real! Thisis the last of the Quiet Book pages. Now all we need is the cover and all will be right with the world…. except I need to start sewing my other Christmas gifts… hmmm!
This page is the size of 3 regular sized pages in this book, since it opens up to become a full sized race track. This page is significantly different from the original book – so much so that I haven’t included the original photos. If you need a reference point you can refer back to the original quiet book photos in this post.
The shopping list for this page looks daunting… but in the end it’s worth it! Not too bad, just lots of little pieces that go together quickly once they are cut. Here is a layout to refer to when placing items on your page.
You will need:
- Background Fabric (Grass): 1 piece quilting cotton 18″ wide x 9″ high (behind racetrack) + 1 piece quilting cotton 9″ wide x 6″ high (behind mechanic)
- Page Interfacing: 1 piece 18″x9″ + 1 piece 9″x9″ square, medium weight fusible interfacing (you will have this from your Week 1 shopping list)
- Mechanic Garage: 1 piece 9″ high x 6.5″ wide orange quilting cotton
- Mechanic Symbol: Black Fabric Paint, Freezer Paper (for stencil)
- Mechanic’s “Door”: 1 piece 4 1/2″ wide x 2 3/4″ tall clear plastic (6 or 8 gauge recommended)
- Mechanic Parking Lot: 1 piece 9″ wide by 3 3/4″ high black quilting cotton
- Parking Lot lines: 2 pieces 1/4″ silver ribbon 2 1/2″ long
- Race Track: 7″ x 18″ black quilting cotton
- Pit Stop: 1 1/2″ x 4″ black quilting cotton
- Pit Stop Yellow Lines: aprox. 11″ 3/8″ wide yellow ribbon
- Bridge Guard Rails: 4 pieces 1/4″ silver ribbon 3 1/4″ long
- Cars: Scraps of faux vinyl in car colours and wheel colour
- Cars: attachment strings, 3 pcs 20″ long 1/4″ wide grosgrain ribbon (not pictured below)
- River: 1 piece blue quilting cotton 6″ wide x 10″ high
- Black Velcro Fastener: 1″ long x 1/2″ wide (TIP: cut a regular piece of velcro in half widthwise)
- Fusible Web (I use Steam-A-Seam)
- Craft Knife: to cut freezer paper stencil
- Ribbon Tab: 3 1/2″ long for the side tab
- Matching Thread for Satin Stitching and Top-stitching
- Leather needle
- School Glue Stick
- Small Safety Pin
- Race Track Pattern Pieces -> Click here to download
Please ignore the cork and the yellow paint. The plan for them didn’t work out so well!
Before we begin/Important Notes:
- Print out the pattern pieces pdf on letter size (8.5″ x 11″) or A4 paper. Important: Do not select “fit to page” when printing, make sure you print at the original size. Once you have printed the pages, measure the 1″ test square to ensure the pattern is the correct size.
- Cut out all fabric that uses a pattern piece. Cut as indicated on the pattern piece, the racetrack is cut on a fold. Cut Fusible Web using the Race Track & River pattern pieces. Also cut one piece 1 1/2″ x 4″ for the Pit Stop.
- When you are sewing this book it is good to remember that some of the edges will be covered after the book is completed and sewn together. 1/2″ on the top edge of your page and 3/4″ on each side edge will not show in the final project. * This is especially important for this page *
- Remember to use your iron liberally when you are sewing this book. It is going to be a work of art when you are done! Since it is thick and some of the pages will not be iron-able once you are finished with them it is advisable to take all of the care you can to remove wrinkles so they are not accidentally permanent in your final book.
Here we go:
Cars
- Glue the end of an attachment string 1″ onto the wrong side of the “back” of one side of each car piece. (Glue is used in lieu of pins, to prevent permanent holes.)
- Glue the two car pieces wrong sides together with the ribbon in between the layers.
- Place and glue the tires in place – two on each side of the car. Only glue the part of the tire that is touching the car body shape. Let the glue dry to securely hold the pieces together.
- Top-stitch around the edge of the car, and over the tires, to hold everything in place. Backstitch-stitch over the tires and ribbon as you sew, for extra security. * You may need to use a leather needle to sew through all of the layers *
Mechanic’s Garage
- Fold the orange garage fabric in half wrong sides together to create a 6 1/2″ wide x 4 1/2″ high rectangle with a fold along the top. Draw a 4″ x 2 1/2″ rectangle in the centre of the bottom raw edges.
- Stitch the open sides of the rectangle with a 1/4″ seam allowance. Also stitch along the lines of the rectangle you just drew.
- Trim the inside of the rectangle to 1/4″ and clip into the corners. Clip the top corners of the side seams as well.
- Turn the rectangle right side out through one of the bottom openings. It’s a bit of a tight squeeze, but take your time, it will work.
- Use a chopstick or pencil to push out the corners and sides. Press the shape flat.
- Cut a 4″ x 6″ piece of freezer paper. Trace and cut out the mechanic symbol to make a freezer paper stencil. Apply the stencil, paint the symbol black and let it dry. If you have not used a freezer paper stencil before these are good instructions.
- Stitch several straight lines through the piece of vinyl, to represent the frames in the panes of glass usually found on a mechanic’s garage doors. Use this trick if your presser foot sticks to the plastic.
- Place the plastic behind the garage door opening. Secure it with pins inside the seam allowance (to avoid permanent holes).
- Top-stitch along the sides and top of the opening to secure the plastic. Top-stitch along the top edge of the garage – this will be the opening for the pocket.
Finishing the Mechanic Page
- Fold the end of each 2 1/2″ silver ribbon under by 1/4″. Place the centre of each ribbon 3 1/4″ in from each side of the black “parking lot” rectangle. Stitch from the bottom to the top to secure.
- Place the garage at the centre bottom of the 9″ x 6″ background fabric. Top-stitch the sides only to secure and create the pocket.
- Thread the car attachment ribbons through the pocket and out at the bottom centre. Stitch them in place with a scant 1/4″ seam.
- Match the top edge of the parking lot with the bottom edge of the background, wrong sides together. Stitch with a 1/4″ seam. Press the seam open – being careful not to press the vinyl.
- Fuse the 9″ x 9″ interfacing to the back of the mechanic page. Be careful not to melt the vinyl! It is best to avoid fusing the centre of the page, just fuse the edges enough to hold it on.
Make the Racetrack Page:
by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 8, 2014
A while ago I wrote about wanting to make a difference with my sewing, and how Fridays Off Fabric Shop happened to contact me about how they had become a drop off location for Conkerr Cancer pillowcases.
I was so excited when my sewing group decided to take a night to sew up a bunch of these pillowcases. We were especially fortunate to be able to use my friend Laura‘s winnings (from a contest with Stay Home Fabrics) to augment our fabric supply for the project. Each of us brought enough for two pillowcases, and Laura kindly donated enough to make 7 or 8 more! In the end we made 14 pillowcases. That’s 14 more kids in our city’s children’s hospital that will soon be sleeping on a colourful pillow, and hopefully 14 smiles to go along with them!
I decided to try this as a little sewing project that my kids could be involved in. Something simple to make that will help them to think about someone else, someone who doesn’t have it as easy as they do. We took a trip out to Sew Etc, one of my local fabric shops, and they were amazingly helpful. The kids picked out two fabrics each – no help from me. I love seeing what they pick when I have no influence over their choice!
I sewed up my oldest’s pillowcase for her – since she’s not as excited about sewing and I don’t want to force her to love it. My youngest however, is trying to be a little seamstress and insisted that she could sew her own “all by herself”. I did my best to help as little as possible. I love the note she wrote to go with her pillowcase. I hope we can make so many more!
There is much more information about ConKerr Cancer available on their site and so many inspiring photos. They have chapters located throughout the US, Canada, South Africa and the UK. I would urge you – especially with Christmas right around the corner – to take a little time and consider ConKerr Cancer as a great place to give to! The pillowcases are simple enough that a beginner can sew one easily – and they make such a difference to a child in the hospital.
There is talk of another pillowcase sewing night with my sewing group already! And I’m hoping to make more every so often with my kids as well. It’s a great way to use our sewing skills to make a difference.
Reader Feedback: Have you participated in a charitable sewing project?
by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 4, 2014
This is it. Your perfect Christmas gift. (or Birthday, or Any-excuse-will-do-day!) I cannot tell you how excited I am to be a part of this amazing fabric subscription program put together by my sponsor, Fabric Spark.
They have teamed up with some amazing bloggers to offer a specially-curated fat quarter bundle every month! I don’t know about you… but I get a tad giddy at the thought of owning something one of my favorite bloggers has chosen. It’s like a little celebrity-crush and I get to own something they have put their mark on. Now… as I write this I realize that it sounds a little stuck-up, and please forgive me for it, because while I was writing I forgot that I am of those bloggers! Eeeek! It makes me so thankful for all of you who are reading this. Thank you so, so much for following along!
I am thrilled to be included in this amazing group. I’ve been following Maureen Cracknell Handmade – one of my most favorite blogs ever – and Very Shannon – Go Canada! – around the web for quite a few years now. Daryl (Fabric Spark’s owner) has recently introduced me to Fresh Lemons, Blue Elephant Stitches (also Canadian!), Modern Sewciety (amazing podcasts!) and the Tattooed Quilter. Each month, starting in January 2015, you will receive a bundle of 12 fat quarters, specially chosen by one of these great bloggers.
You can sign up for the Monthly Sparks monthly fabric subscription program here.
The winners of the Thread Riding Hood kits from Fabric Spark are posted as well! The giveaway was for three kits – one TRH Reusable Lunch Bag Pattern kit and two TRH Fabric Gift Bag Pattern Kits. I was excited to be able to email the winners earlier today. And even more excited to receive their lovely emails back – best part of my job! Congratulations to Anita, Jackie & Michele! I hope you enjoy using the kits (and please send photos when you are done?!).
Have a lovely Friday and a great weekend everyone!
