Other Stuff.|Thread Riding Hood

Tale of a Teddy Bear

by Sherri Sylvester | Feb 1, 2016

Meet Teddy! This very important bear has been through a lot. Up until the moment my daughter decided he was hers, Teddy’s life was pretty standard. He sat and watched life go by and was dusted every so often. While a bit boring perhaps, it was safe.

Then my daughter took over. Now he definitely shows all the love he’s been given in the past eight years! He has patchy fur, threadbare paws and worn ears. Somewhere in him there is a hole that keeps losing those clear weighted “bean things”, but for the life of me I cannot find it. We finally hit a tipping point right before the holidays and had to put him under to fix some major structural damage.

One (very early) morning, while I was (very much) asleep, my daughter showed up beside my bed and said “Mom, look!” Bleary eyed, I looked at her holding Teddy’s body in one hand and his head in the other. Yikes! What a way to wake up!

Needless to say, I made it a priority to fix the problem before she came home from school that day. It was a surprisingly time consuming process, mostly because his head is made so it can turn. I even had to unpick his shoulder seam, harder than I thought with 8 year old fur! More than a little hand sewing and some button thread later, Teddy was back, good as new.

Some things are so important that you should drop everything and take care of them. Even when it feels like your seams are coming un-sewn and your head is falling off! If you keep your priorities straight it will all work out in the end.

19 Helpful #Sewing #Hashtags You Should Know About

by Sherri Sylvester | Jan 19, 2016

We’re talking about hashtags today. Either you #loveem, #hateem or wonder #whatisahashtag anyway?!

A hashtag is added to many types of social media platforms as a categorizing tool. It can be written as anything you’d like, so long as it has no spaces and is prefaced with a “#”. When you click on a hashtag, your social platform will show a list of posts categorized with that tag.

I’ve been using them (mostly on Instagram) for inspiration, to find new project ideas, and to see what everyone has been trending toward in sewing-land. It also helps to tag your projects properly so others can find them. (This blog even has a hashtag! Search or tag #alongforthreadride to see Thread Riding Hood specific giveaways, tutorials and projects.)

Comment to tell us about your favorite hashtags, so we can check them out!

#isew: This general hashtag categorizes anything to do with sewing. It’s easy to get lost on this one – so many gorgeous pictures and great inspiration of all kinds.

#quilt, #patchwork, #patchworkquilt: Again, a general tag. And again, gorgeous work. This hashtag includes fully finished quilts, WIP’s (Work In Progress) and quilt blocks.

#quiltblock: These are so much fun to look through – piecing, paper piecing, english paper piecing! It’s not hard to find a new project to work on after searching this one.

#sewingforkids, #sewingforchildren, #sewingforbaby, #sewingforgirls, #sewingforboys: These are self explanatory I think! Use this hashtag to find children’s clothing inspiration, tutorials and free patterns.

#sewingformen: Many sewing-related hashtags refer only to women’s patterns, this is great inspiration for men’s projects all in one place.

#thegreatfabricdestash, #fabricdestash, #thegreatcanadianfabricdestash: Watch out, this hashtag is truly dangerous. Anyone selling their fabric stash uses this tag, and you can buy it from them! Check back often to make sure your favorites don’t disappear. You can often find OOP (Out of Print) fabrics here.

#sewingpattern, #sewingtutorial, #freesewingpattern: Lots of great information here. Find patterns for almost anything, and information from others who have sewn them.

Last but not least – check any indie sewing patterns you have for their own specific hashtag. If the pattern maker has chosen a tag, it’s written somewhere in the pattern instructions, usually at the very beginning or end. This is an amazing resource, and allows you to see different fabric placement choices and get tips about the pattern itself from people who have made the pattern or are currently sewing it.

Hope you have fun searching, and be sure to leave yourself lots of time to check these out – they’re addictive!

Please note: These hashtag photos are live, directly connected to the hashtags they are related to in real time. I am not responsible for the content shown in any of these photos. Please click each photo to find information about the authors.

Year in Review – 3 Top 15’s from 2015!

by Sherri Sylvester | Jan 5, 2016

Happy New Year! Thank you so much for following along with me through 2015. I love analytics and it is especially fun to see which post you loved most last year. So… here are the 15 most popular blog, instagram and pinterest posts from 2015. Plus, a few numbers to start… because #chartsandgraphsaremyfavorite!

Introducing… My Mom!

by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 17, 2015

I am so pleased to feature another Maker today, my mom! I grew up crafting, and sewing was a natural extension of that. I am so grateful that my mom taught me how to sew, it has been such an amazing part of my life. The freedom to create and turn fabric into something usable is my favorite!

Recently my mom opened up an Etsy shop – Out of the Sewing Box – and even more recently she showed me the dolls she is making. Each one unique with a hand-painted face and handmade clothes. I thought it would be fun to show them to you – as a change from what I’m doing all of the time. I definitely am afraid to tackle these as a project – give me a bag or clothing pattern any day! Aren’t they great?!

Thanks so much for supporting my mom! It means the world to me. Your favorites and likes are so valued and appreciated. Please visit her at Out of the Sewing Box on Etsy or check out her Facebook page. (Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!)

The girls talk most Monday evenings on Skype with my parents. (They live super far from us in Texas.) Lots of weeks my mom will show her latest creation to the girls and they will think up names for it together. So cute, and hilarious when you hear some of the names the girls come up with! My mom has puppets, some clothing items and even a book on How to Run a Blacklight Puppet Show for sale.

Another reason these dolls came up, is that my mom made each of the girls one of these 31 inch dolls for Christmas a few years ago. One of them is the doll my youngest is photographed with in the recent reversible pinafore tutorial. My girls have loved playing with them. They’ve acquired a huge wardrobe, because the dolls fit into store-bought baby clothes, even the little ones my daughters wore when they were babies. Crazy how big they have gotten!

I’m so fortunate to have a crafty family that loves to talk about whatever we happen to be making at the time! It’s especially exciting around Christmas, when we get to see what fun projects we’ve been working on. I happen to know what my mom has made for each of us (including the girls!) and they are going to make for some amazing Instagram photos on Christmas day. I can’t wait!

I hope you are having a wonderful Holiday season. And wish you more hours in the day to finish your last-minute sewing projects – especially if you tend to procrastinate like I do!

What’s up with you? How are your holiday projects coming along?

You are all amazing!

by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 29, 2015

Wow everyone! Quick post today to say Thank YOU so much for your amazing responses to the last post. It is really moving to hear your experiences and how you feel. I’m so privileged to be part of the conversation. Any more insights into how you cope with having a “real job” would be wonderful! Thank you!

I’d also like to introduce to you Andrea and Heather today. I met them at BlissDom and they have just launched a fun new Canadian site I think you’ll like. is all about expressing YOUR creative side – recipes, home decor, sewing projects and more. Plus, right now you can enter to win a $100 gift card for Michael’s or Bed Bath and Beyond! #needallthethings

As an aside, these ladies are amazing, I had so much fun hanging out with them! Their creativity will to take them far.

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I wanted to introduce you all to their site because I think they do good work!

The weekend that has changed my life.

by Sherri Sylvester | Oct 26, 2015

I just realized that I have a real job.

This may not seem like a revelation to you, but for me it’s life changing! Being home all day with out a “proper employer” has wreaked havoc on my brain. It’s been almost two years since I left my part-time, one day a week job. And about 8 years since my last full-time workplace. I fell prey to the notion that money matters most, and you are only worth the amount you can make.

Let’s start at the beginning… I’ve been working at home since my oldest was born. Graphic design projects here and there, , blogging and being a mom. For some reason, this has never been enough to make me feel like my “job” mattered. I’ve had countless discussions with my husband about this topic. Usually ending in tears. It has been a really big struggle for me. I’m a do-er, figuring if I try hard enough I’ll “prove” it’s a real thing. Trouble is, I was trying to prove it to everyone around me when I didn’t believe it myself.

But that all changed this past weekend.

I recently spent 3 days at BlissDom, a social media conference. I was by myself, with my own hotel room – and it felt very weird and amazing all at the same time. In the process of meeting tons of amazing new people (scary for me as an introvert!) and enjoying amazing evening parties, I learned about social media, writing and how to take better care of this blog. I also learned that I was not alone. It was really, really life-changing meeting lots of other people with the same “real job” as me!

Bloggers “get” bloggers.

Just like electricians get electricians and quilters get quilters. (And all of their acronyms!) It was so nice to be able to talk about things that matter to what I do everyday. There are jokes that only we get. Information that only we know how to use. It made me feel connected, like my work really matters. We went on excursions that began with an explanation of which hashtags we should use when posting our photos. We hash-tagged things to win prizes and to keep track of the weekend. (#BlissDomCA) I learned that Twitter is better than email. And that the Blue Mountain Conference Centre chefs make amazing pasta!

It was also really helpful that lots (dare I say most) of the other people at the conference had kids. The struggle to take good care of your home and kids, plus running a business is so real! Being a mom (or dad) full-time has a bad rep – though I am happy to see many more people talking about it in a more positive light. I am hopeful that the next generation will have a more realistic, positive view of staying home to take care of your family.

Moving forward…

I don’t want to just to tell you about my Blissdom experience, but also to hope that it helps any of you that feel the way I did. I’m hopeful you don’t, of course! But if you do, please know that you have an amazing job doing whatever it is you do! You are amazing. Put your heart into your work, but don’t forget to take time for yourself. The kids/dishes/cleaning can wait… (though I’m still working on that one!) Everyone around you will be better off for it and you will come back with renewed energy. Find people around you that do what you do – talk to them, go out for coffee! Talk about things that only you both “get”.

What do you think… What is your real job? What do you do to take care of yourself?

P.S. I’m not fixed yet. I’m writing this as a reminder to myself as well. I know when I publish this that I will have no more excuses and that helps too. Let’s work on it together! You with me?! #workinprogress

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