Thread Riding Hood

Fabric Spark – a Canadian Online Fabric Store {+ a giveaway!}

by | Apr 4, 2014

Welcome to an Online Fabric Store post with a giveaway today! I get to introduce you to the 7th Canadian Online Fabric Store in our series – Fabric Spark, located in Toronto, Ontario. Since I’ve been collecting online fabric shops on Pinterest, I’ve had quite a few contact me and ask to be added to the list. Daryl’s shop opened just recently and already she has an extensive and beautiful collection!

Daryl worked in advertising and marketing for 30 years before she sold her business and took a year to “live creatively” in 2013. The name of her store comes from a desire for every fabric she chooses to spark your imagination – to get you thinking about what you could create with it! I’ll let her tell you a bit more about her background…

“I’m from a large family of do-it-yourselfers. They’re all really creative and we are great cheerleaders for each other’s work. We do a few group projects too. Last year we were dying fabric at the cottage and all of us had purple hands for a few days.

I’ve been sewing since Miss Fair taught me how to straighten the grain in Grade 7. I’m sure she didn’t predict that I would stick with it, but I’ve always loved fabric and have an embarrassingly large personal stash. I buy fabric when I travel and people buy me fabric as gifts. I’m especially fond of Indian textiles, I have a few saris that I treasure.”

When Daryl contacted me, she wanted to know if I would like to curate my own fat quarter bundle for her shop. Would I? Ummm… ya! So, without further ado – here is the Thread Riding Hood Fat Quarter Bundle currently available for sale at Fabric Spark! (Eeeekkk!) I’m so excited to have been able to choose from Daryl’s amazing selection. I still have the page I printed out with over 35 fabrics to add to my “must have” list!

Thread Riding Hood: What inspired you to start Fabric Spark?

Daryl: “I called 2013 my year of living creatively.  I committed to making every gift that year, and in the process, became smitten with this amazing community of creative talent around fabric, quilting and sewing.  They are generous, inventive, funny and enthusiastic makers. I think that collective is what really inspired me.”

Thread Riding Hood: What is your favorite type of sewing project?

Daryl: “I think the honest answer is whatever I’m working on in that moment.  I’ve only made a couple of quilts but I loved making them.  With my sisters, I slipcovered all of the old furniture in my little cabin in the woods and loved that.  I love smaller projects like bags and pillows.  I am probably the most chicken around apparel – but I LOVE the Merchant & Mills patterns so I’m being brave and sewing clothes.”

Thread Riding Hood: What is something coming up in the near future that you are especially excited about?

Daryl: “I’ll be at Creativ Festival on April 25 and 26.  Fabric Spark will have a booth in the show.  I’m excited and curious to see what that’s like.  I have four sisters helping me who are all incredibly talented makers (sewing, knitting, needlepoint, felting, etc.).  I’m excited about us being there together, though not at the same time…we won’t all fit.”

Daryl is giving away my most favorite fat quarter bundle ever – mine! (hee, hee!) This giveaway is open to all Thread Riding Hood readers, internationally (No one gets left out, hooray!). It will be run from today, April 4th – until Thursday, April 10th at midnight. Enter by filling out as many sections as you wish in the Rafflecopter widget below. More points = more chances to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
And just so you have somewhere to start shopping… like you need an excuse?! Here are links to all of the Thread Riding Hood bundle fabrics – pick your favorites and go get ’em! Of course, they are amazing all together – so you can also get the bundle here.

Note: Fabric Spark is a Thread Riding Hood sponsor and I have received my own fat quarter bundle as part of this post. As usual, I will not post anything that I don’t love myself, and my opinions will always be my own.

 

Warp & Weft Sewing Society: Storybook – Flutter Sleeve Nightgown {a tutorial to draft & sew}

by | Apr 1, 2014

When I opened my email a few weeks ago I saw there was a note from Esmari, owner of the online fabric store Warp & Weft. When I read what she had to say I was excited, to say the least – Esmari was asking if I would like to be part of her Sewing Society. Umm… really? The one I obsessively follow around the interweb? Yes, ok, sign me up (like yesterday!). Break for an extended happy dance! Here is an introduction to Warp & Weft and my first Sewing Society reveal, a darling tutorial for a nightgown every little princess would love to wear. (Trust me, I’ve got 2 of them!)

The Warp & Weft Sewing Society centers around some really great bloggers and sewists from across Canada that sew using Esmari’s well-curated stock of fabrics. If you have not visited her shop as yet, you are in for a treat. (I also interviewed her last year.) Esmari has an amazing sense of design and has chosen her fabrics accordingly. When your fabric arrives it looks as amazing as you would want to expect – brown paper packages tied up in string – literally. Gorgeous, and that’s just the packaging!

For my first reveal, I was able to work with Storybook, the latest fabric collection by Kate & Birdie for Moda. This fabric is seriously the softest brushed cotton you can imagine. If it were not for the nightgowns, I would have made a baby quilt with it, front and back – it’s that soft! I used the “Hot Air Balloon”, “Castle”, and “Mistletoe” prints in peach, but Esmari has the more unisex Banana and boy-centred Aqua colourways available as well – making your choice that much harder! (Trust me, you should just buy the bundle!)

Want to make the nightgown? I’ve included all of the steps you need below. This raglan sleeve nightgown has an elasticized neckline to help the little ones with dressing. It also makes it super comfortable and easy to customize for multiple sizes. I was able to use the same size for both of my daughters by only changing the elastic and hem lengths. This tutorial may seem long, but it is not hard, just follow the steps one at a time. I’ve included lots of information and photos so you get a great result!

Please email me if you have any questions, sherri@threadridinghood.com, and I’ll do my best to help you out. And of course, I’d love to see your creations! You can share your projects on Twitter and Instagram @sherrisylvester with the hashtag #alongforthreadride or #threadridinghood, or post them on the Thread Riding Hood Facebook page. (As usual, this tutorial is for personal/charitable use only – thanks!)

To Draft this, you will need:

  • large roll of paper
  • letter size paper
  • pencil/marker for drafting
  • scissors
  • ruler/straight edge
To Sew this (check below for sizing information), you will need:
  • 1 yd/metre for the main fabric & flutter sleeves
  • 1/4 yd/metre for the casing & contrast band (a fat quarter (18″x22″) will work as well)
  • 1/4 – 3/8″ elastic
  • Matching thread
  • Self-drafted pattern piece with sleeve, casing and contrast band measurements (as per instructions below)
  • your normal sewing supplies
Before you begin:
  • Will this draft a pattern piece that will fit my child? This tutorial uses a 1 yd/mtr piece of 42″ wide piece of fabric (after it is pre-washed). Measure around your child’s chest. Due to the loose fit of this gown, if the chest measurement is roughly 18″-27″ this tutorial should work to fit your child. To determine if the gown length will fit within 1 yd/metre, put a well-fitting but not tight tee on your child and measure from the bottom of the armhole to the desired length. If this measurement is not longer than about 26″ everything should fit within 1 yd. Of course, please draft the pattern piece first, and take into account the sleeve, casing and contrast band pieces before purchasing your fabric to avoid disappointment. Also, if the length is too long the child will not be able to walk within the 40″ circle of the gown hem. It is good to double-check this before you begin.
  • This doesn’t fit my child, what should I do? You could use a thinner/wider piece of paper (for “Drafting the pattern piece: Step 2”) to change the width of the gown to fit a smaller/larger child or even an adult. Take the recipient’s chest measurement and divide it by 4. Double this number and use that as your new paper width measurement. If you are short on fabric, you could probably even get away with only adding 1/2 of the divided chest measurement, instead of doubling it. Take all of the pattern pieces into account when buying fabric. The cutting layout may also need to be different.
  • Measure the Length: Place  a well-fitting (but not tight) tee on your child. Measure from the bottom of the armhole down to the desired length. Note this for later. Keep the tee around, you will use it to draft the pattern piece.

Here we go – Drafting the pattern piece:

  1. Fold the tee in half with wrong side out and fold sleeves into the body along seam line.
  2. Cut a letter/A4 size piece of paper to 10″ wide (or other width as discussed in the “Before you begin” section above).
  3. Line up the folded tee with the side seam on the right side of the paper and the neckline at the top of the paper.
  4. Mark the right side of the shoulder seam (where the neckline is) on your paper. Also mark the top of the side seam (where it meets the armhole).
  5. Remove the tee and draw a curved line between the two marks. This is your armhole. (It is helpful to have the curve end in a 90° angle  between the bottom of the armhole and the side seam.)
  6. Measure the armhole and make a mark at the halfway point and at 1″ past the halfway point (towards the shoulder seam).
  7. Draw a straight line across to the left side of the paper that is parallel to the paper top & bottom. Now, curve the straight line starting about halfway across up to the 2nd armhole mark. Cross off the second half of the straight line – you will not use this for the pattern piece.
  8. Measure the armhole mark from the top of your paper to the 2nd armhole mark. Multiply this measurement by two and write it down. This is your strap length. (My measurement was 5 1/2″ for both girls.)
  9. Cut out the pattern piece along the neckline and armhole. This is the top of the dress/gown.
  10. Get out your large sheet of paper. Kids’ easel paper is great for this step, or taping several sheets of letter paper together works as well.
  11. Place the left side of the pattern piece on the left side of the larger paper, trace the top of the pattern piece.
  12. Subtract 4″ from your length measurement (from the “Before you begin” section, above) for the bottom contrast band. Measure down to this new measurement – this will be called the hemline. Draw a straight line between the armhole and hemline, and then another line from the side seam back to the left side of the paper. Make sure the pattern piece is 10″ across (from edge to edge) all of the way down. (My length measurement was 18″ for my 3 year old and 22″ for my 6 year old.)
  13. Add 1/4″ seam allowance to the neckline and 3/8″ seam allowance to the armhole, side seam and hemline.
  14. Write “Cut on Fold” on the pattern edge, and the pattern details in the centre – including:
    1. Strap Length: This is from step 8. My measurement was 5.5″.
    2. Strap Size: You will need 2 pieces 5 1/2″ wide x double the Strap Length (My strap length measurement was 5 1/2″ so I doubled it and cut 2 pieces 5 1/2″ wide x 11″ long.)
    3. Contrast Band Size: Measure the pattern’s hemline including the seam allowance. Cut 2 pieces 8 3/4″ high x double the width of the hemline measurement you just took. (My hemline width was 10 3/8″. I cut 2 pieces 8 3/4″ high by 20 3/4″ wide.)
    4. Casing Size: Measure the pattern’s neckline. Your Casing Length = “Neckline Width x 4” + “Strap Length x 4″. Cut 1 piece 1 1/4″ wide x casing length. (My casing length was 54”. Which cam from me adding 8″ x 4 plus 5 1/2″ x 4.)
  15. Done! Cut out the paper pattern piece.

Here we go – Cutting out the Nightgown:

  1. Make sure to pre-wash your fabric and iron well before you continue.
  2. Fold your fabric in half and iron to mark a crease. Unfold and fold each selvage (pre-finished, not raw) edge to the centre mark. You will have an aprox. 10.5″ wide folded edge on each side of your main fabric.
  3. Lay the pattern piece on the fabric with the fold at the left-side fold of the fabric (noting one-way fabrics are in the correct direction). Cut one. Turn the pattern piece upside down, with the top of the pattern piece still at the top of the fabric.
  4. Line up the fold edge at the right-side fold of the fabric. Cut one. Now you should have two opposite main dress/gown pieces.
  5. Cut 2 sleeve pieces from the bottom of the main outer fabric.
  6. Cut the casing as multiple pieces from the 1/4 metre. Stitch them together to make the correct length as noted on your pattern piece.
  7. Cut 2 contrast bands from the 1/4 metre as well.


Here we go – Sewing the Nightgown:

  1. Prepare the casing: Turn 1/4″ to the wrong side along one edge of the casing length. I recommend using this folding template.
  2. Prepare the sleeves: Fold each sleeve piece in half lengthwise. Iron well.
  3. Prepare the contrast band: (1) Match up each short edge with right sides together. Pin. (2) Stitch with a 3/8″ seam allowance to make a large tube. (3) Iron your seams open. Fold the tube sides in half lengthwise with the wrong sides together, matching raw edges. You will have a large tube with right sides showing on both sides, one folded edge and one raw edge.
  4. Attach the sleeves to the front: (1) Lay one dress/gown piece right side up. Match up the top of the armhole with the short raw edge of one sleeve. The raw edges of the sleeve will line up with the neckline, the folded edge will be within the armhole area. Double-check any one-way fabric to ensure it will be right side up once it is sewn. (2) Stitch each sleeve with a 3/8″ seam, starting at the neckline and continuing to the edge of the armhole. We will be using the seam line to hem the edge of the armhole later on.
  5. Attach the sleeves to the back: Lay the front dress/gown fabric right sides together with the back. (The front and back are the same.) Match, pin and stitch the sleeves to the back the same way you did for the other side.
  6. Side Seams: (1) Match the side seams of the front and back dress/gown. Pin. (2) Stitch both side seams with a 3/8″ seam. (3) Finish the edges of your seam with pinking shears or sew a zig-zag stitch over the edges so they will not fray.
  7. Finish the armhole: (1) Use pinking shears or a zig-zag stitch to finish the straight edges of the 2 armholes (the curved edges will resist fraying because they are mostly bias-cut). (2) Clip the bottom of the curve 5 or 6 times to allow it to open up.
  8. Finish the sleeves: (1) Press each sleeve seam allowance towards the main dress/gown. (2) Press the rest of the armhole seam under along the stitching line. Make sure to fold the seam over enough to hide the stitching inside your dress/gown. (3) Top-stitch about 1/8″ away from the armhole seam. Stitch from neckline to neckline on each armhole, this will stitch down the sleeve seam allowance and hem the underarm portion of the armhole.
  9. Adding the contrast band hem: (1) Place the contrast band tube over the bottom of the dress/gown matching the seams and raw edges. Pin. (2) Stitch with a 3/8″ seam allowance. (3) Finish the edges with pinking shears or a zig-zag stitch. (4) Press the seam up towards the dress/gown. Top-stitch along the bottom of the dress/gown aprox. 1/8″ away from the edge of the contrast band.
  10. Adding the casing: (1) Pin the unfolded edge of the casing to the dress/gown neckline somewhere on the dress/gown (do not start the casing on a sleeve). Match the right side of the casing to the wrong side of the neckline. (2) Starting aprox. 3″ in from the beginning of your casing, stitch along the edge of the casing/neckline with a 1/4″ seam until you reach the point 3″ from where you started. Stop stitching and remove your fabric. (3) Fold the fabric in half about halfway between the un-stitched space. Line up your casing and pin. (4) Draw a line on the casing that follows the folded edge of the dress/gown fabric. (5) Stitch along the line being careful to only stitch the casing. Trim the casing seam allowance to 1/4″. Unfold the fabric and casing. Finish stitching the casing to the dress/gown. Iron the casing up, and fold it over the front edge of the nightgown so the wrong side of the casing is on the right side of the gown/dress. (6) Iron the casing up along the neckline, but do not press out the 1/4″ fold you added previously.
  11. Finishing the casing: (1) Fold the casing down over the front of the dress/gown along the seam line. Pin the casing to the neckline making sure the 1/4″ edge is folded under. (2) Top stitch the casing to the neckline along the bottom folded edge with a 1/8″ seam allowance. Leave a 1″ gap in the seam for inserting the elastic.
  12. Insert the Elastic: (1) Feed your elastic through the entire casing. (2) Find the sleeve seam you reached when inserting the elastic, stitch through the casing from top to bottom to secure the elastic. (3) Find the next sleeve seam and measure between the seams. Pull the elastic through the casing to tighten/loosen this measurement until it equals the Strap Length from “Drafting: Step 14”. Secure the elastic by stitching through the casing at the second sleeve seam. (4) Now measure across the back/front neckline between the sleeve seams – this should be 1/2″ or so larger than the Strap Length. Secure the elastic by stitching through the casing at the next sleeve seam. (5) Repeat Step 12.3 for the next sleeve and then the final neckline back/front.
  13. Finishing the Dress/Gown: (1) After measuring the final back/front, cut the elastic with 1/2″ extra space for overlap. (I had not trimmed the elastic in the photo.) Pin, stitch to secure. (2) Place the elastic within the casing, top-stitch the gap shut, matching your other stitching. Done!

Try your lovely nightgown on your little one and watch their happy dance. Or maybe a fairy princess ballet? They’ve inspired both in my daughters!

Love it? Don’t forget to pick up your own Kate & Birdie Storybook fabric from Warp & Weft!

** Please note: This is a sponsored post and the fabric was provided to me at no cost by Warp & Weft. However, as always, all opinions are my own and I will never promote something to you that I do not love myself. **

Why I Buy Designer Fabric.

by | Nov 29, 2013

I’m surrounded at all times by amazing fabric. Not only in my own home, but in all of the blogs I read. It’s a work hazard that I am happy to deal with! As a graphic designer I’ve always been attracted to well designed fabrics, they make a project. If the project is amazing, but the fabric is not, it can be seen as less appealing. The same pattern, followed exactly in two fabrics can be completely different and that is part of the reason I love sewing. Things can always be altered and changed. You can add a gathered sleeve, or a hem band and create a new unique piece!

Sewing allows me to be creative. To take some flat pieces of fabric and create something 3-dimensional. These gifts make other people happy and taking the time to create something for them sometimes means more than the use of the item itself. But I’m getting off track…

Back to designer fabrics! When I sit and think about how much my stash is worth, I sometimes wonder if it really is worth buying the “expensive stuff”. I feel wasteful and a bit like a hoarder. Anyone relate?! The other day, however, I was reminded of one reason why I spend the extra cash. I washed the fabrics for Monday’s Sally Dress and accidentally leave them in the dryer for longer than I intended. Here’s how they came out.

The fabric on the right is designer Robert Kaufman fabric. The fabric on the left is cotton at less than half the price. Can you see the wrinkles?! I don’t know how many of you LOVE to iron, but it’s not my favorite. I iron everything when I’m sewing it, but once a garment is finished I like to wash and wear it as much as possible. The designer fabric is so much less wrinkly than the less expensive cotton. I have been amazed in the past when I hang up other dresses I have made, damp out of the dryer, to find the next day that they are virtually wrinkle free. I didn’t make the connection between the fabric quality and the wrinkles. Only problem is… I mixed these two fabrics in the one dress… hmmm…. I suppose I will be ironing the pockets!

That said, a lot of expense is tied up in my addiction and I am working on buying less stash and am hoping to make a few Christmas gifts this year without buying much more than some zippers and thread. Which is totally do-able, I just have to make it work – and maybe cut into those pieces I have been saving for “just the right project”. It is just fabric after all right? (Or maybe not!)

What do you think? I know that Dana from Made rarely (if ever) uses designer fabrics. And we all know how popular her projects are! Do you go for the local sewing store fabrics, or are you addicted to the rush of designer fabrics in the mail (like me!)? Do you think twice before spending the extra cash?

DIY Canvas Art! or How to Stretch a Canvas with Perfect Corners in 6 Easy Steps! {a tutorial}

by | Nov 27, 2013

Have you heard of Spoonflower? It’s a printing company located in North Carolina. They print custom wallpaper, decals, gift wrap and FABRIC! You are able to print your own designs – or you can buy a design from their marketplace of amazing designs. I came across the idea to make artwork with their printed linen-cotton canvas a while ago and finally made it happen!

This project is a “no sew” project – amazingly! The design is inspired by a piece of art I saw about a year ago. I love what it says, but had to fight the urge to add “Canadian” to the list of words in my artwork. For those of you who live in Canada I’m sure you will remember the “I Am Canadian” commercial from Molson a few years ago. This commercial is funny mostly because Canadians are NOT like the guy in the commercial. We are generally super quiet about our country – though a little more enthusiasm would likely be good! Anyhow, I didn’t want a beer reference in my daughters’ room – so I didn’t add it in.

Wanna make one yourself?!

Here’s what I did to make my art:

I designed the artwork to fit within a fat quarter of linen-cotton canvas. If you need help with the art, you can check out the Spoonflower helpful-page, which has lots of useful information and suggestions for creating and uploading your artwork. Because the linen-cotton canvas is 54″ wide, a fat quarter is 27″ x 18″. I used a final artwork size of 24″ x 14″ for my art – which left me just barely enough space to wrap the canvas around my 1 1/2″ deep gallery-style stretchers – really it was too little, but it worked! I would recommend using a final size of 22″ x 12″, to give yourself a few inches of wiggle room when stretching the canvas (instead of 1/2″!). If you get the thinner 1/2″ deep stretchers you will have lots of room at 24″ x 14″.


You will need:

  • 4 stretcher strips – I found mine at my local art store for less than $3.50 each
  • staple gun
  • your Spoonflower printed artwork!
  • picture hanging eye hooks and wire

Here are the steps I took:

(1) Attach your stretcher strips by pushing them together at the corners. I used a block of wood and a hammer to help out. Measure corner to corner and then the opposite corner to corner. Wiggle them around until the measurements match. This means your frame is square. (Note: I think you are “supposed” to add a few staples across the stretcher joints to make sure they stay square. Mine were so tight fitting I omitted this step.)

(2) Lay the frame on your artwork in the approximate middle. The curved part of the frame is the front, the flat side is the back.

(3) Wrap the canvas around and staple an even amount of canvas at the centre of each side.

(4) Continue to wrap and staple the canvas around the frame evenly. Staple one side beside the previous staple, then staple the opposite side. Flip the canvas over after each staple as you go to make sure the artwork is straight. Remove and re-staple as needed. This proved to be a tad more difficult for me than I had expected, because the text needed to be straight I had to be super-careful not to overstretch the canvas or it made the letters wonky. Continue around the canvas until the staples are within 2 or 3 inches of the corners.

(5) Perfect corners! (a) Staple one of the canvas edges close to the corner. (b) Fold the canvas around the corner and on a 45 degree angle “inside” the other side’s canvas. (c) Staple the bottom layer of canvas along the edge to hold it in place. (d) Fold the rest of the canvas down, ensuring the corner matches the front corner of the frame and the edge matches the edge of the frame. The 45 degree angle can be wiggled around a bit to make everything match exactly. (e) This is a photo to show that the canvas folded inside the outer layer will show a bit.

 (6) Attach two eye hooks and a length of wire approximately 1/3 of the way down the frame. This will make sure the frame hangs correctly on the wall.

All done – now go and hang up your new artwork!

I hope this tutorial has been helpful. I am most definitely going to use this to make some more for myself. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments! 

More Creativ Festival Love! {and more stash love too}

by | 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?!

Creativ Festival Fall 2013 {& new stash photo bomb!}

by | 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.