by Sherri Sylvester | Nov 1, 2013
I had so much fun meeting two wonderful ladies from two of the online fabric shops in Toronto at the festival! Both of these ladies were really great and helpful and over email so I was excited to meet them in person. They do not disappoint and are super-nice in real life too! One at a time now… (I did a random draw to see which one should come first – really and for true!)
Friday’s Off Fabric Shop was the first booth in the mix – being numbered in the 100’s! Alanna was ready with yardage and fat quarters enough to satisfy my Tula Pink Acacia fix for now – though I totally should have gotten more! Thankfully I came on the Saturday or I may not have been able to talk to her – apparently everyone comes to Creativ Festival on Fridays for fear of missing out on “the good stuff”!
YAY – here’s a photo of us together! I love seeing photos of people I’m used to emailing. Seems like everyone is so close, but so far away when you meet online. And remember – she just had a baby 3 1/2 months ago – can you believe it?!
I’ve got to show off my Acacia goodness one more time, since I said I would show you last post. I thought the racoon – we should really name him! – would be my fave pic from this bunch. But it turns out I love the Hummingbird in Midnight even more. It’s this amazing mix of teal and… well… midnight! I may have to try to sneak this print into my red and blue living room scheme somehow!
On with the show (quite literally!)… Check out the Warp & Weft booth.
Esmari was surrounded by gorgeous fabric as well, and having teamed up with RE:Style Studio some amazing upholstery – did you see the chair above!?
She was kind enough to take a photo with me too – just to prove to you that I was really there. Who’d have thought we’d even have the same hair cut? And you have to take a second look at her Design Team fabric apron – I totally need one of those! I think my cooking would taste at least 100 times better if I wore one while I was making it!
Esmari also had lots of pre-cuts and yardage available as well (you saw which ones I fell for a few days ago). I had trouble waiting for sunlight to photograph them all wrapped up so I could unwrap them and really see the prints – and then take more photos!
The Fall fat quarters above are almost like custom made tiles and I could totally see them in some kind of quilt – all together just as they are – with maybe some white sashing? Do you know of an easy modern style quilt project that takes 7 fat quarters and one or two solids?! I’d love to know about it.
These fun prints are 10×10’s – like a layer cake from many different fabric lines! I don’t plan on pre-washing these, so I’m going to get creative and make things that likely won’t need washing… like this cell phone case!
I just got a mini tablet new phone – (Reference: my frustration trying to tweet the Creativ Festival!) and it needed some protection. I got the Samsung Note 2 which is a super large with a stylus and amazing for posting/replying to my Twitter, Facebook and (NEW!) Instagram stuff straight from my phone.
I used the same scalloped edge as the basket I made a few months ago. I also decided to mix three amazing prints together – and though you may be horrified at my results (trust me I wasn’t sure at first either), I love it! Since I used the 10×10’s I had to be careful to save the one’s I am hoarding saving to use for a kid project – like the bunnies and the cuckoo clocks and the deep pink one next to it. I started with the base fabric – Moda, Birds and Berries and then matched it to the lining – Poppy Birds from Lotta Jansdotter. Then I sat and “matched” for about 15 minutes before I came back to the Saltwater, Floaties and Sinkies (love the name, it’s hilarious!). I do feel as if some of you may write me off as crazy for putting the Lotta Jansdotter in where you can’t even see it most of the time, but it works so well there! And, can you imagine what a white phone case inside of a purse would look like after about a week? Impractical, I say!
I suppose that wraps up my Creativ experience. I want to especially thank Esmari and Alanna for allowing me to “sneak” around their booths with my camera! I’m going back next year for sure… and maybe to the Spring show too?!
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 31, 2013
I got it done! Hooray, I finished the costumes! Maybe not 1 hour a day for 7 days in a row, like the KCW challenge – but they are done! And one full day before Halloween! Oh, and Happy Halloween to you and your family… The kids wanted to be princesses again this year, but (rightly or wrongly) I dissuaded them because every girl this age is a princess – and we did the Cinderella thing last year. Still we ended up with a princess – but at least a Pirate Princess – and my youngest is Izzy, both from Jake and the Never Land Pirates. And – most important – my girls are very happy!
I realized soon after starting, that I was never going to finish them if I did a full tutorial – but if you are curious how part of it went together please feel free to ask! I am going to post a tutorial (ignoring the fact that it will be after Halloween) for the Pixie Dust bag Izzy carries and the Pirate Hat on my oldest because I think they will transfer well into other costumes and party ideas. And the little bag would be a cute matchy addition to a little girl’s handmade dress. Or a boy’s treasure bag if you shorten the strings – maybe for carrying all of those tiny cars around?!
Here is a run-down on the Izzy costume. I used the raglan sleeve dress pattern from ikat bag again to make the shirt. She has kindly provided a size 5 and a size 3 version – but it is very easy to add extra room to this style of dress if you want to re-size it – just add the width to the edge that is on the fold when you are cutting the fabric. I used the size 5 and added a bit of width because I want it to fit over her fall jacket. The leggings are Fancy Pants Leggings in a super sparkly stretchy purple knit. I about pulled my hair out stitching these the first time, but sorted it out when making the second pair – since they each have one. Seems my machine would stitch horribly through 2 layers, but it worked great with 3 layers. So I cut 3/8″ wide strips and fed them in under the presser foot along the seam allowance as I went. Now we have amazing sparkly seams on the inside too! I would show you but the pants are with my daughter at school – hmmm… forgot to think ahead there.
Izzy’s Pixie Dust bag tutorial will be coming soon and I’ll try to remember to link this post to it. (*Update: Izzy’s Pixie Dust Bag tutorial link) The bandanna was not too bad – a triangle with extra length at the corners for tying. I hemmed the front edge, added elastic in a large rounded shape so it would gather, then tied it on my daughter’s head for size so I could stitch the tie in place – Now they can play dress-up without asking me to tie it on each time! The white swirls are “puffy paint” dried in 10 minutes with a hair dryer (yes, I am that impatient!).
Pirate Princess photo via
For the Pirate Princess (does she have a real name?!) I was required to be a bit more creative. Again, an ikat bag dress as the shirt with elbow length sleeves. I wanted the dress to be elasticized across the back – similar to ready-made ones, so they can fit more than one size. To do that I made the front fabric a bit slimmer than the original size 5 pattern and added extra to the back dress bodice piece. I cut the vest to the same size as the shirt pieces and stitched them on together. Then I added elastic across the back in two places so it still fits without being too baggy.
The vest “corset” lines are yellow bias tape stitched under and over the edges of the vest fabric. The skirt is a long rectangle rounded on both bottom corners with a ruffle along the edges. The waist is sparingly gathered leaving room for stretch and then attached to an exposed elastic waistband. I attached the shirt to the elastic as well so it is one piece – easy on and off for the kids (again with playing dress-up in mind!). The “real” Pirate Princess carries a sword with a diamond on the end to make rainbows – but we already had a diamond wand at home and there have been no complaints, so we’ll leave it that way! Ditto on the boots – they are “supposed to be” purple with a scalloped yellow edge – but that takes more time so the purple rain boots stand in. I’ll link up a tutorial to the Pirate Princess hat when it goes up as well.
It’s a good thing my kids aren’t too picky about the little details yet! I was sewing these like a crazy person and used my pinking shears to their full potential to finish the edges on all of the (one fold) casings and hems. Saving time is very important around here!
We’ve got a rainy day today – with the potential for a very wet night. And of course it is chilly, being up North, so Izzy and the Pirate Princess will look like they have gained a bit of weight with coats underneath! But I’m sure they will be excited to get their fill of candy anyhow – wet or not. And I know these costumes will get a lot more use because the kid’s love to act out their favorite shows – one reason why I still “bother” to sew their costumes! Ok, that and the look on their faces when I am finished – makes it worth every hour spent!
Did you make your kid’s costume? I’d love to see it. If you want to check out more costumes I am linking this one up to the Project Run and Play costume link-up, and to the KCW site as well (click below) – since it really was a KCW project anyhow!
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 30, 2013
I got to hang out at Creativ Festival (Fall ’13) this past Saturday! It was just as big as I had gathered it would be after going to the Spring show. Aside from some things for my stash I also met a lot people, found a new 4000 sq. ft. brick-and-mortar quilt shop near-ish to me and made some great online shop contacts! I was also super-excited to meet Lisa from Lisa in Port Hope – I met her at the last Creativ Festival and we have been following each other around blog land ever since.
For whatever reason – maybe the fact that my phone decided not to tweet or post on facebook (argh! but it’s okay I just got a new one – hooray!), or the fact that I was so excited just to be there (ok, probably more like it!) – I “only” have photos of the Warp & Weft and Friday’s Off booths. Not a bad thing, though! I will write about them later on in the week because this post is becoming crazy-long. Today you get my pretty fabric photos!
For those of you in Canada – you likely try to find modern fabrics online here because of the added time and cost to ship from the US. I started the Canadian Online Fabric Stores Pinterest Board about a year ago to help deal with the problem. Yes, I agree – the title is too long. We could call it the COFS Pinterest board – but that sounds more like something you don’t want to catch! Back to the board – turns out there are a lot more Canadian stores than I originally thought. I was excited to be able to meet and talk to 5 of the online shop owners.
First off, Devorah from Studio Fabric Shop, who’s fabric shop has just opened recently. She was super-helpful and let me disturb her table to cut some yardage of the delicious Robert Kaufman Dill Blossom print (right side, photo above). It’s an amazing coral colour and I found a semi-matchy pink bow print at the Lens Mills booth. They will be perfect for the Sally dress my oldest requested – similar to the one I made here, except it must have elbow-length puffed sleeves! (I see another pattern alteration tutorial in your future!). I also spoke with Nicole from Log Cabin Yardage, she was already on the list, and it was nice to meet her in person.
On the same row I found Flare Fabrics. They stock batiks and some modern quilting cottons & quilting patterns. Though she tends to stock fabrics I would label as more traditional, I was excited to be introduced to Marsha Derse fabrics! I have not had a lot of experience with batiks – but fell in love with these. I bought the Mulberry Bullseye above to make something for whichever of my daughters claims it first! The modern feel of the patterns in these mixes well with the colouring to create a warmer feel to the fabric, since a lot of modern prints can come across as very stark.
Of course, the Festival would not be complete without a walk (or three) through the Lens Mill booth – 6 or 8 rows of stacks of fabric can’t be a bad thing! I picked up the Alexander Henry “Where’s my ‘stache” there. Along with the chalkboard-esque black for some teacher gifts and the gorgeous purple/mauve/green that reminds me of an amazing exotic rug!
As for the rest of the stash – I picked up a few bundles from Friday’s Off (above) and Warp & Weft (below). I’ve got photos of them “unwrapped” to show you later in the week!
So – enough for one day!? I’m off to finish Halloween costumes for photo-shooting tonight and posting tomorrow.
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 28, 2013
I’m working on a big project, likely too late to finish it for tomorrow – but I’m giving it a shot! That said, today’s project is a quick one! I needed a business card holder to carry around Creativ Festival on Saturday and this tutorial popped up when I went looking. It is so CUTE and super fast. Perfect!
I am not sure if you could call this a review or not, because the instructions for this tutorial are so short they aren’t even numbered! It is called “Business Card Holder” (makes sense!) by Jodi Nelson from Pleasant Home. The tutorial itself is a Craftsy tutorial – but it is a free download if you are willing to sign up for a Craftsy account.
The directions are super clear, and it requires a tiny amount of fabric – perfect for scraps! I dug into my tiny “Type” stash (by Julia Rothman for Windham Fabrics) from Needlework, that I picked up in July of this year. I’ve been waiting to use this one, and it is so perfect for a business card holder. I was also happy to find the perfect button in my stash – a little clear so I didn’t cover up the typewriter too much!
Honestly, I’m not sure what else I could say about the pattern! There is nothing wrong with the directions, the business cards fit 15 per side, just as she says they will. These would make cute gift card holders and would be useful to store all of the random cards in your wallet too.
I will be back this week with a Creativ Festival review (and stash addition photo bomb!), Halloween costumes and maybe more. Thanks for coming over today, stay tuned!
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 24, 2013
This one took two nights, but it is not the fault of the tutorial, it is my fault for trying to do too many things this week! KCW Day 3 I sorted out the measurements/fabric for the skirt and KCW Day 4 I made it. Tomorrow it is on to Halloween costumes – Izzy for my youngest and the Pirate Princess for my oldest (from Jake and the Never Land Pirates) – so you will likely not hear from me until Monday again!
I found the Daffodil Skirt tutorial when Jenya (While She Was Sleeping) commented on something here a while back. I love reading and answering everyone’s comments – and I also love checking out your blogs. I’m a super curious person, so I have to see what everyone is up to! I pinned her cute little gray daffodil maxi skirt tutorial and thought this would be a good time to make one. She has provided a nice tutorial for a flat front waistband skirt, the back of the waistband is elasticized for easy dressing. While you are thinking about it – can I just say how much I LOVE comments and hearing what you think about what I’ve written, and I ALWAYS answer back! Thank especially to everyone who takes the time to comment on a regular basis – it means a lot!
(back to the skirt…) When I saw that Jenya had used a small wale corduroy for her skirt I was especially excited to make it for the fall season, since corduroy is such a warm and cozy fabric. I have to admit that the colours are not very fall friendly – and that I am envisioning lots of mud stained eyelet. Especially since it is only 2 inches off of the ground! The reason I still used the fabrics is that my daughter chose the light pink with lemon coloured dots and green pears last November, and I still had not made anything with it. I already owned the darker pink and some eyelet – and they seemed like a good stash busting combination. I now have about half of the pink and lemon dots, enough eyelet to make a tiny dress (yay!) and I’m done with the darker pink – HOORAY! Right now I’m loving using stuff up.
Even thought the extra tier makes this skirt more “Little House on the Prairie” than Jenya’s version, I’m glad I added it in. My daughter loves it and it’s one of the only things she’s gotten in the last while that she’s been happy with enough to ask to wear it for the rest of the day. She tries to suggest numerous changes to most things I make anymore! I suppose when you are almost 6 you are allowed to have your own fashion sense. For now I’m happy to go along with it, even if she’s not the trendiest kid on the block – as long as she is happy!
ARRrr me hearties! I be off to stitch up some tiny pirate duds…. (Have a great weekend! I’ll be having fun at Creativ Festival on Saturday. Check me out on Twitter if you want to follow along!)
Click on the button above to visit the KCW site. If you want to see my Daffodil Skirt on the KCW site you can go here.
