by Sherri Sylvester | Apr 10, 2017
Can NOT even believe the last time I wrote here was halfway through March, and now it is already into April and almost Easter. I’ve spent a lot of time on the couch thinking the last few weeks was due to as-yet undiagnosed vertigo and tiredness that doesn’t seem to want to leave. Though I’ve tried (valiantly, even) to send it on its way!
It’s been a battle of my mind as much as my body since I hate not being able to “do”. Despite my lack of ability to sit for long periods of time, it has been a good time to reflect. Things that were happening in the background of my life became a lot more visible and important.
Short story – I think I am finally ready to try to slow down and remember why I started blogging in the first place!
Long story – If you’ve been following this blog for a long time (THANK YOU so much!) you’ve probably noticed the content has changed over the past year or so.
Last year I found I was having trouble keeping up – my self-imposed deadlines loomed and I constantly fell behind. Instead of creating, I spent my time worrying. New things like speaking at conferences took a huge toll on my mind. Anxiety set in and my body started to rebel. Simple tasks felt like huge mountains. And yet, I still imposed crazy deadlines and knocked myself down each time I “failed”.
So I’ve decided (with my husband’s help) that this year I will focus differently. I want to start by taking some of the time spent worrying or working and use it to play with the kids, plan and make healthier meals, clean the house better, finish my quilt tops and sew the projects I have planned that I can’t ever seem to get to. (Some of them have been waiting for years!)
I’m going to try to ignore the impulse to “not miss” an opportunity I could take due to the unknown “good thing” it could do for my business. I’ve started changing my diet to be healthier and trying (again) to add in some exercise.
I started this blog to share my love of sewing and learned along the way that my passion is to help people learn to love sewing. Unfortunately, along the way, I’ve let myself become pressured into making it about gaining readers and doing “that thing” that will grow the blog. It’s exhausting! Plus, I’ve learned I’m not very good at self-promotion (it always feels funny) and that doesn’t help when you need social media promotion to grow.
I will be slowing down. Writing here needs to take a bit of a backseat to other life things right now. I need to detox from the “pressure to post” and remember how it feels to love doing it again.
I will still be blogging though! In fact, I’ve been asked to join some newly-releasing fabric tours, so they are already planned and booked. I’m still working with Janome and have exciting things coming up! Plus I have long-term projects with other people that I really want to finish and patterns I’d still like to release. And, of course, I want to show you my girls’ Easter Dresses! (Still gotta work on those… eeep!)
I will still be teaching workshops. It is refreshing to teach and recharges my love of sewing, plus I think it’s good for me to get out of my house! I’m in the middle of this 4-week series and it’s been so enjoyable to talk with like-minded people.
Thank YOU! I am and have always been amazed at the growth of this blog. I am so, so grateful for each person who comes by and spends time here. I love comments and questions. I love coming up with fun tutorials and projects. This blog could not go on without you and your encouragement.
This summer marks 5 Years in this space! It feels like a good milestone to take time to reset and make sure it stays true to my original intentions.
P.S. I recently re-read this post I wrote 2 years ago with practical suggestions I hope to start up again.
P.P.S. These photos are from our day yesterday. My husband had a work project to finish up and so the kids and I went out. First a trip to Ikea, where I discovered the play area was closing early. Thankfully, the kids agreed that “texting funny photos to daddy” would make shopping more fun. It was so nice to be outside, that we stopped by the lake for dinner and had our first trip to a playground this year. Note to self: Must do this more often!
P.P.P.S. The youngest declared her socks “look cool” this way. Her decision, not mine or her sisters – as usual! Love it!
One more photo from church yesterday morning. They’re getting so big!
by Sherri Sylvester | Mar 17, 2017
Hi there, how is your week going? We’ve had a “week off” for March Break, no school for the kids, and the usual juggling and scrambling for my husband and I!
Lots going on (including these adorable sock bunnies!) and in the middle of it all, I decided to get a migraine for the first time in years. So… my wonderful husband took over Wednesday, and I got some rest Thursday, and now I’m trying to ramp up again slowly and still play catch-up. It’s so nice to have help at home and so good to have older kids that can play on their own. (And draw me “get well” cards and get me water and pillows – they’re so cute!) I’ve been well taken care of.
So, today you get a random mash-up of what’s going on around here…
Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner! I emailed the latest winners this morning, one who gets a Fat Quarter Skirt Kit and the other three lucky ladies that get to play with the pattern. You can check out who won in the giveaway post.
I managed to finish up the Reversible Fat Quarter skirt I cut out last week. And finish photos for another #FQSinspiration tutorial on how to add Patch Pockets to a skirt. Hopefully, I can write and post it this coming week – the girls were fighting over who would do the photo-shoot, so you know it’s a good one! Plus I’m preparing for my workshop – there are still a couple more spaces if you want to snatch one up!
Also, it’s apparently only one month until Easter – so the usual (and all important) new dresses for the girls are in the works. As they get older, it’s getting trickier to sew for them. They have lots more to say about how things should look! I love designing their dresses – but if all the hard work doesn’t get worn it’s not worth it. So… they get their say, and I try to work out a compromise – ie. where the fabrics match as best as my stash and I can work out!
This year my youngest is on a big maxi-dress kick and we are going ahead with a “re-make” of my second favorite dress ever – this Annabelle for my oldest – only with RED! And I mean that in a good way. Many thanks to the Elizabeth Olwen fabric I picked up at Jo-Ann Fabric for incorporating turquoise so I can match it up with this gorgeous Henley Studio yardage from my sponsor Fabric Spark. I’ve had both sitting in my stash for far too long. (P.S. My most favorite dress make ever is this yellow one!)
The oldest is still into florals – big time! (Thus the large-scale florals… #seewhatIdidthere LOL) She wants her dress from fabrics she chose at Country Clothesline during last spring’s Creativ Festival and I’m so excited to finally put them together. They’ll match beautifully with this lace-edge fabric for an underskirt, if I can pull it off with the sample pieces I have. She wants a repeat of last year’s epic tulle extravaganza, thankfully the included “minus the tulle” pattern version!
It’s a little sad the girls won’t match this year – but at least they will still wear what I’m sewing. So #winwin all around I’d say!
What are you up to right now? Hope you have a great weekend planned!
by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 26, 2016
Merry Christmas! I hope you have had a lovely holiday season so far.
SO much thanks goes to each and every one of you! I am reminded at holidays especially, how grateful I am to YOU! For coming back and reading and following along all year. I couldn’t do this without you!
For everyone following along on Instagram. everyone is posting their “Best Nine” pics again. The nine photos in 2016 that got the most likes (thank you!) So I thought it would be fun to share mine here with links to the blog posts if they exist.
Thread Riding Hood Best Nine of 2016:
(Top to Bottom, Left to Right)
1) Reposting a photo when Instagram was changing their feed from chronological to “whatever it is now”! ~ 2) My youngest’s “A Very Hungry Caterpillar” skirt ~ 3) My youngest sewing an unblogged chalkboard zipper pouch. You can find out more about the sewing videos for kids she’s using though. ~ 4) Tree Party Cargo Duffles for my kids ~ 5) My gold Chobe handbag ~ 6) My Sister’s Makers Tote ~ 7) An Extraordinary Girl shirt for my oldest ~ 8) Our cat! Her name is Cyan – because of her eye colour ~ 9) Faux Leather Marmalade Jacket
Have a wonderful holiday and I hope you get to spend some time off relaxing – and sewing of course!
I’ll be enjoying visits with family and friends this coming week, but I’m hoping to check in with an old project I just finished. I’m really excited for what next year holds and I’d love to hear what you are up to as well!
(P.S. My daughter has been wearing her shweshwe Pinafore all season – it’s perfect for Christmas!)
by Sherri Sylvester | Nov 15, 2016
Hi there! I’ve been taking in the late-fall weather with a few books and detoxing my house from a month of neglect.
The lead-up to Creativ Festival was full of preparations, and while the event itself was fun, I needed to intentionally take time a bit slower afterward! There has been an overabundance of Creativ Festival talk here in the last month. And I promise we’ll get back to our more regular programming now.
My kids and I with a Janome #makerselfie after a long day!
I have scheduled post ideas all the way up to the end of January. (Eeep – trying to be organized!) They include lots of fun stuff that’s been sewn and waiting, new tutorials and Christmas things!
It’s hard to sum up my experience at Creativ Festival this year. Instead of my usual booth perusal and fabric stashing, I concentrated on my workshop, speaking engagements and emceeing Project Creativ Catwalk. Quite a step away from my usual behind-the-computer life – and I’m excited to be slowly learning how to get better at speaking. Even when they put me up on a huge stage riser!
Be Brave and Sew – Day 1. My daughter’s Easter dress is one of my most favorite makes.
Be Brave and Sew – Day 3. My wheeled Bluefig bag was perfect to transport everything for each show.
Yikes that stage was high!
I want to give a huge shout-out to the fabric shops that provided giveaways and discounts for everyone that came out to the Be Brave and Sew Talks. Sew Sister’s Quilt Shop for their super-cute Tula Pink Bundle. Fabric Please! for the Farm Fun Panels, Charm Packs and discount cards. And Meerkat Shweshwe for their great discount cards as well.
Fabric Please! a Canadian Online Fabric Shop. Check out the Moda Stacy Tsu Farm Fun Panel animals on the top shelf.
Sew Sisters Quilt Shop. LOVE that they covered their tables in quilty goodness! Check out their Tula Pink fabrics.
Meerkat Shweshwe‘s unique fabrics are imported from South Africa. Check out more details along with this free pinafore tutorial!
I’d be hugely remiss not to mention Janome – so much thanks to them for all of their support! They sponsored all of my events and introduced me to so many amazing people over the 3-day event. (Plus I love their machines!)
My Design Diva Apron in the Janome Maker Studio. Get the free pattern!
The Maker Studio had so many projects from the new M Series Look Book – and most are free tutorials/patterns!
Love this giant tomato pin cushion at the Janome Booth. It was about 10″ across!
Last, but not least… I am so thankful and grateful to my husband for his amazing support of this blog and everything I do. He came out every day to out postcards and giveaways, help with set-up and take-down, shuttle kids and props around and was kind when my tiredness and nervousness took over. I do not know what I would do without him. (Ok – gotta quit – getting teary eyed over here.)
I’m still taking it in and am sure all will come out in some sort of emotional post when it’s ready. For now, here are some more photo highlights of everything that happened.
Mona, one of my workshop attendees with her daughter’s new Fat Quarter Skirt!
Gorgeous quilts in the Lens Mills display – I really should have gotten some close ups of these!
Tamara Kate’s “Whatever the Weather” quilt is a free Sew Along on the Janome Life blog.
Rachelle from That’s Sew Venice thought to take a selfie of us. I never remember!
I love meeting blog readers! I happened to run into the lovely Irene, from Irene’s Studio on Day 2. I also found Melwyk from Magpie Makery and my friend Laura from Seams Sew Laura came to visit too!
Cynthia Frenette’s amazing Making Merry Quilt was on display at the Janome Booth. Get the free Mod Pods Matching Pillow tutorial!
Loveliness from Tamara Kate‘s booth where she was selling her fabrics. I had so many photos tried to only pick these three. It was so pretty!
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 31, 2016
We’re big fans of the Disney movie Frozen over here.
Since we have two girls – so it’s hard to avoid! But, my husband and I are also impressed with the direction Disney has been taking in their movies lately.
Less “Princess + Boy = Happy Ending” and more “Princess/Girl + Bravery = Happy Ending”.
It’s a win-win for us and our kids. They get the princess story, and we get the more positive role model.
Earlier this year (think spring!) my oldest decided to be Anna for Halloween. No questions asked – this was happening. From here on in there was talk of being Anna. Especially as costumes started to appear for sale.
With my time being directed at getting ready for Creativ Festival, I didn’t think I could make costumes. But, even when face-to-face with the “perfect” Disney Store Anna costume my daughter decided that a mommy-made version was better. Awwww…. good for this sewing mama’s heart – and of course I could be convinced to make a costume!
I really am pleased this year – it’s a minimal effort, maximum effect kind of deal – like their Jake and the Pirate costumes. Thankfully it was also a quick one.
Here is a run-down of how I sped things up:
The Cape:
- Non-fraying and no-hem-needed Fleece for the cape
- Trim inspired by the Simon and Co – Simple Anna Costume tutorial
- Pattern: Cape from “Little Things to Sew” by Liesel Gibson (Same as this Little Red Riding Hood costume )
- KAM Snaps on the front instead of a tie.
- Cut a shorter duplicate of the top of the cape for the second layer.
The Hat:
- self-drafted using the hood pattern pieces from the “Little Things to Sew” Cape (see above)
- I placed our previously made cape inside-out on my daughters head and traced the general shape of the hat. Then transferred it to the pattern pieces, adding a facing to finish the edges.
- To get it to stay on, my daughter had the idea to use a headband – which easily slipped into the facing around the front of the hat.
The Dress:
- Bodice is based on the Annabelle pattern by Violette Field Threads (also made in my favorite blue chambray, and as Easter dresses)
- I had some quilted knit in my stash that was perfect!
- We put a blue ready-to-wear shirt underneath instead of sewing sleeves.
- My daughter drew and painted the “embroidery” herself using fabric paint.
- Skirt is sewn from broadcloth, with a bit of a “V” self-drafted into the front.
What about the little one?
She was happy to wear an Owl costume we found at the consignment shop. Easy peasy – photos later today on Instagram I’m sure!
Funny thing though. I wanted to wash it – being thrifted and all – so it went in with all the week’s socks and underwear. When I opened the washer – Surprise! I had a tub full of stuffing! The owl’s lining fabric frayed, leaving holes where a large bucket of stuffing escaped and mixed with my clothes.
After spending 1/2 hour cleaning stuffing off of socks and underwear I’ve learned my lesson – always read the label. This one says “Spot Clean Only”, of course!
What are your kids dressing as this Halloween?
by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 3, 2016
Fabric comes from the most unexpected places! A few years ago, my neighbor was de-cluttering and showed up at my door with a bag of fabric. Inside were extra cuts of the specialty fabrics used to make the bridesmaid’s dresses at her wedding. Gorgeous soft green satin and a sheer green overlay – and there was a lot of it. (We still have more for another project!) I folded it all and put it on my shelf until inspiration struck.
I didn’t want to use it for just any project, so it took a few years, but we found a good reason to use it! My youngest was asked to be a flower girl last fall, so my oldest was feeling a little left out, it seemed like a great time to make her a fancier dress. Thankfully I remembered the green fabric, and there was more than enough yardage – it was perfect! This dress emerged, a mashed-up a few patterns, into a simple maxi dress. It was almost floor length last year – but she’s grown since I made it!
All the skills I’ve learned while sewing were tested on this dress. It is definitely different using specialty fabrics. Using the right needle, thread and tension is so important. You can tell that I should have lowered the tension on the side seams, now that the dress is finished and washed a few times, they are a puckering. (Could also be that I didn’t press the dress before we took photos! #reallife)
The skirt side seams are both french seams to prevent fraying. And the hem on the overlay is a baby rolled hem, so it doesn’t look too heavy. I was really grateful for my Janome rolled hem foot here -it has been used in a lot of projects. I would never have thought to do a rolled hem before, so I’m glad they include it standard with a lot of their machines.
The bodice is based on the Secret Garden dress pattern. Since I *love* the low back. It also has a side zipper – so you don’t really see it, which made the overlay look a lot nicer. The bodice overlay was drafted to be about twice as wide as the actual bodice, so it could be gathered. In the end I think I should have added less extra around the armholes – since, if you are a picky perfectionist (#likeme) the gathers pucker a bit much there. I really like how it looks though. And I made it easier on myself by gathering the front and not the back of the bodice. The skirt is self drafted, two large rectangles, gathered at the top and attached to the bodice.
The sash created a bit of a problem. Originally it was supposed to be a big bow in the back. I borrowed the sash pattern pieces from the Oliver and S Fairytale dress. Once they were attached, though, the front of the dress needed a little something – the two layers of gathers just didn’t look right meeting at the waistline. At this point I started feeling a bit ill, all the work to draft, gather and sew the new bodice piece and it didn’t even look good… *insert desperate look here!* Thankfully, the extra-long sash was long enough to be crossed at the back and tied it in a knot on the front – much better, Whew! #ideaforthewin
In the end I’m so happy with the dress, and really happy with our photo shoot. My daughter had fun running around in the field in her ballet slippers, and it was a great almost-fall sunny day. She also felt really special wearing it to the wedding, which was so important. And the fact that my neighbor had given us her special fabric made it even better. I’m glad I can sew nice things for the girls when they need them. Really good memories.
What was something you’ve sewn that has special memories?
