by Sherri Sylvester | Sep 29, 2016
We’re doing something totally new-to-Thread Riding Hood today! Take our Quiz to find out “What’s Your Maker Style?” This is a super-fun look at different sewing styles, coinciding with the release of the new Janome M Series of machines and the M Series Look Book full of “ideas, projects and techniques for the Maker in you.”
This post is sponsored by Janome Canada. Thank you for your support!
As part of the M Series Look Book I sewed-up a series of Maker Aprons – 3 different styles for 3 different types of Maker. I’ve got lots of tips, tricks and a new free pattern download planned for the next 3 weeks, but first we need to find out What Your Maker Style is!
Take the Quiz!
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So! What is Your Maker Style? Let us know in the comments. Did the quiz get your style right? Were you hoping for a different answer? (P.S. Share it with your friends to find out what kind of maker they are!)
Design Diva? Get your Free Apron Pattern Here
Workshop Wizard? Find your Apron, Must-Have Tools, and a Leather Label Tutorial
Eco Expert? Upcycling Goodness – Tips and a Round-up of great Projects You Need to Try
Whatever your style, this is the first in a 4-Part mini-series. Each of the next three weeks I’ll be talking in detail about all of them, including how you can make each of these aprons yourself! The series will end just before Creativ Festival in Toronto, where you can find lots more sewing inspiration. (I’ll be there with Janome, speaking and doing a workshop, you can find out more in this post.)
Be sure to check out the M Series Look Book. It’s not just about the new machines, it includes tons of free content from Canadian Janome Artisans and more fun ideas, tutorials and inspiration. Plus, you can download the York pattern from Seamwork magazine – totally free!
Enjoy sewing! I’ll see you next week.
by Sherri Sylvester | Sep 26, 2016
The past year has been full with preparation. I’ve been working behind the scenes and can finally share them with you. It’s so hard to keep a secret and I’ve been allowed to be a part of some super amazing projects since last April!
First off, I’ve been fortunate to work with Janome Canada as one of their Artisans for almost a year and a half now and I’m thrilled that they’ve just loaned me the next in their series of Skyline machines – the Skyline S9 – a combination sewing and embroidery machine! This baby has above and beyond the bells and whistles. (And I thought the S7 had them all!) Lots more to come about the machine later this year.
The photos above are a sneak peek at one of my first projects – a pillow with an embroidered butterfly using one of the Anna Maria Horner designs included with the machine. My girls have kept me busy with requests for embroidery on everything as I practice and prepare a new post series, coming later this year!
Creativ Festival is coming again soon – October 27-29 in Toronto – and I’ve been invited back! This time I’m speaking and teaching a Janome-sponsored workshop too – eeek! (Sooooo nervous, and sooooo excited!)
Remember the Fat Quarter Skirt tutorial above? I’ll be teaching a 3 hour hands on workshop where everyone will sew one! This is a great beginner project. And I’m thrilled to fuel lots of new sewists’ passion with the ability to sew a simple cute skirt! Of course if you are an advanced sewer and want to sew 1 or 3 of them, please come out too! I’ve got lots of tips and tricks planned, plus handouts and pattern information for sizes 2-6 available only with the class.
The Fat Quarter Skirt Workshop is at the Creativ Festival, Thursday October 27th from 9am – noon. Sign up today – the class limit is 20 people!
Be Brave and Sew – a Trunk Show
Also at Creativ Festival, I’ve been invited back to continue the series “Be Brave and Sew”, Part II! New projects, old projects and tons of tips and tricks. All to hopefully inspire everyone on the fence to become as stash-crazy as me! Or at least maybe to sew something once in a while *wink*. #sewistswillconquertheworld!
Be Brave and Sew – Part II is on the Creativ Festival Fashion Runway, Thurs and Fri at 2:30 and Saturday at 1:30. There are lots of free events planned, you can see them on the event schedule.
Last but not least (sneaky intro for later this week!) Janome has just launched the M Series and I was asked to make a set of Maker Aprons to go along with it, there’s a new blog series starting this week as well! You can check out the aprons on pages 10-12 of the M Series Look Book – almost 50 pages of free patterns, tutorials and tips from lots of super talented people.
All of these crazy-amazing opportunities couldn’t happen without you! Thanks so much for being here through it all.
My favorite part is always talking to other sewists as passionate and crazy about sewing as I am. (That’s you!)
I hope to see you at the Creativ Festival! If not, leave a comment sometime and let me know if you have any questions, or just tell me what you are sewing right now! I’d love to hear about it.
by Sherri Sylvester | Aug 22, 2016
Before I get too far past the event – because it’s going on a month now (already!) – I want to talk about Quilts at the Creek. I was thrilled to be asked to speak in one of their Trunk Show presentations this year – and the venue and event don’t disappoint either. My kids even got to help with the Trunk Show on Saturday and they were so excited!
Quilts at the Creek is an outdoor quilt show held at Black Creek Pioneer Village – and it’s gorgeous! I’m sure you all know that I don’t profess to be a quilter, but I do love them and was blown away by how amazing they look when they are hung outside. It’s so different from the one-of photos you see online. And there are so many quilts in so many different styles. All of them hung side-by-side. Really something fun to go see.
The Trunk Shows are held in the Town Hall, which makes for a really unique set up! I loved talking to everyone I met and hearing about their sewing projects and experiences. I really enjoyed my Sunday presentation to a bit smaller group because I was able to hand around the projects and chat back and forth better with everyone. Hearing what you all have to say is my favorite!
This show really was for the whole family. Along with seeing the quilts, we were able to see Black Creek Pioneer Village. The kids loved hearing about how to weave fabric and rugs and how to make the yarn they wove with. My husband even enjoyed it. Lots to see and do, even if you are not a quilt lover.
I will leave you with photos of a few of my very favorite quilts, with close-up shots of the quilting of most of them. I’ve tried to credit each maker as best I can. Enjoy!
Under Another Cover – Kat Akerfeldt
Kathy Doughty (no quilt name given)
Celeste Compion (Meerkat Shweshwe) – Indigo Shweshwe Half Square
Yet Another Scrappy Quilt – Nadine Wright
Purrr…fectly Russian Blue – Joanne Hannon Shaw
by Sherri Sylvester | Aug 8, 2016
It’s SUMMER! It’s been fun and busy over here – with things happening every weekend – as you can tell from the infrequent posting going on over here! After visiting Chicago, Minneapolis and Green Bay on a two week vacation and recovering from the craziness of Thanks to YOU Week and two trunk shows at Quilts at the Creek, I’ve been cottaging in Killarney, Ontario without cell service and then planning my youngest’s 6th birthday party – cat themed! Whew! I’m hoping to get better at quick, fun photo-based posts so I can share them all with you.
With all of this going on, I haven’t sewn anything significant in 5 weeks. I’m going a bit crazy over here and need to get my fix in! It doesn’t help that my sewing room is a mess – which is not really conducive to making anything. Since we don’t have any major plans before school starts in September, I’m hoping to blog about past projects and get on with making some new ones so I can share them with you in the fall. I’ve got some photos from a few years ago to share!
Today’s project is one of my favorite things – and I got to give it to my sister earlier this year for her birthday! I posted progress photos of the project on Instagram in black and white, so she hopefully couldn’t tell what I was making. It’s a fun series of photos to go through!
This Makers Tote is a pattern from Noodlehead, one of my favorite bloggers and bag designers – I love her simplicity. Nothing is over-complicated, the projects have clean lines and are super-useful – my favorite! The linen is my current favorite fabric crush, Mochi Dot from Moda, gorgeous!
This is also the first time I used by Annie’s Soft and Stable and I love the easy structure it gives the bag. I used it again in these cute purses for my kids and they stand up to wear so well. They keep their super-crisp shape no matter how much they get tossed around. And it’s great for creating a nice quilted look. The only thing I’m not crazy about is that it’s on the pricey side. In the long run, though, it is really worth it, since it does create a more professional looking project. (I’ve ended up with some Pellon Flex Foam and Bosal In-R-Form through different recent sales and I’m interested in comparing pricing and how the final product looks.)
The Makers Tote comes in two sizes, and I made the smaller version. I’d love to make the large one sometime as well. My friend Lisa (Lisa In Port Hope) made one and brought it to one of our sewing night and it’s a really nice size – perfect for carting larger projects around. I can also see my kids using it as a small overnight bag, complete with pockets for toiletries!
This bag, despite taking me a long time to sew in small time allotments, is really simple to make. It’s very straight forward, and if you have a bit of experience quilting, you can add that in as well. The only tricky bit is sewing the binding around the bottom curves. My Janome Skyline S5 (on loan at the time) handled it beautifully! I even surprised myself and hand-stitched the binding! Not so bad as I assumed, and very satisfying. We might eventually make a hand-quilter out of me – just hang on until my kids get a bit bigger first!
The only thing I changed from the original pattern, was to sew the free end of the zipper to the outside panel – since the one I used was too long, and I didn’t want to shorten it. If you do this, make a pretty cover for the end of the zip and be sure to leave enough room for it to open all the way. I really like how it looks – a bit cleaner without the end of the zipper hanging off the edge – but it was tricky to do, since it has to be sewn after the bag is fully finished. Maybe would be simpler with a properly sized zipper next time.
As usual, with any Noodlehead pattern, I’d wholeheartedly recommend this one as well. And have you seen her cute new free basket pattern? I’m going work that into my organizing plan somewhere soon!
Is your summer busy? What are you working on right now?
Pattern: Noodlehead Makers Tote Green Fabric & Stabilizer: Linen Mochi Dot, Horizon Flora by Kate Spain for Moda, by Annie’s Soft & Stable (from my sponsor, Mad about Patchwork) Orange Fabric: Marmalade by Bonnie & Camille for Moda (from my stash)
by Sherri Sylvester | Jul 28, 2016
Hooray, it’s finally time to reveal who won the Thanks to YOU Week Giveaways!
As usual this is bittersweet for me, I’d love to give prizes to everyone! That said, I am super happy for the 15 winners! Many thanks to these amazing shops for providing our generous prizes!
All the winners have been emailed 🙂
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Frieda T. won this gorgeous bundle from Country Clothesline! |
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Gillian S. won 4 Charm Packs from Craft de Ville! |
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Rachelle B. won a $40 shop credit from Fabric Please! |
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Laura M. won this Half Yard Bundle of Eternal Sunshine from Fabric Spark! |
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Melissa G and Sherry VF each won a $25 Gift Certificate from Fabric Spot! |
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Genevieve C. won a $40 Shop Discount at Fabricville.com! |
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Donna V. won this Lecien jelly roll from Flare Fabrics! |
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Delaine E. won the August Full Stash Bundle from Fridays Off Fabric Shop! |
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Allison T. won a $50 Store Credit at Funky Monkey Fabrics! |
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Emma C. won this fat quarter bundle of Cotton + Steel Christmas fabric! |
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Melanie V. won these 3 fat quarter bundles from Meerkat Shweshwe!
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Sarah C. won $50 Gift Certificate from Sew Sisters Quilt Shop! |
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Pauline P. won a bundle of Elixer fat quarters from Stay Home Fabrics! |
by Sherri Sylvester | Jul 25, 2016
I hope you enjoyed shopping with your discounts over the weekend!
Just a quick post today to make sure you don’t miss your chance to enter each of the 14 Giveaways posted last week! Enter each giveaway until midnight tonight, July 25 EST.
All of the giveaways are linked by clicking on the shop logos below. Be sure to follow along so you don’t miss the winner announcement post coming later this week!
