Home of the Organized Crafter.
Just because Mom’s are such a special group (honestly, I don’t know how you all do it. I would be a wreck) I thought it would be fitting to have a Mother’s Day Sale in the shop. All of my photo card sets are on sale until May 7th. No need for a coupon code or anything fancy, just check out my sale link in the the shop.
And as an aside? Our bedroom was featured on Shelterpop yesterday. Isn’t that neat? Thanks to those who are stopping by from there!
I have been sewing like a crazy woman this week, and I am happy to say I have lots to show for it. A huge shop update this morning, woot! I tried out some new Art Gallery fabrics for some of the rolls (the purple and the turquoise rolls) and they are simply devine. I don’t know what it is about these fabrics, but they are so unbelievably soft. They almost feel like really high end sheets. They have a really nice drape and hand to them. (I think I am going to make a couple of skirts from them as well).
The shop is full of goodies that are perfect for the rapidly approaching and very important Mother’s Day. You should get yourself something too while you are there to congratulate yourself on being such a good kid.
Next week I am going to be adding some tote bags to the shop. I need to do some major fabric shopping this weekend! (Yeah, that’s the worst part of my job. The things I have to put up with….)
Have a great weekend everyone!
My March sweater (part of my 12 in 12 challenge) is finally done. Two weeks late. Gah. Luckily I have chosen what I think will be a quick knit for April, so there is still a chance of me getting it finished on time.
Meet Ambroisa!
Pattern: Ambrosia by Katya Frankel
Yarn: Berroco Remix, 3 balls
Size: Small
Needles: US 6 and 7
This was a simple knit with enough interest to keep me entertained. What I really loved about this one was the yarn. Remix is a blend of all recycled fibres. It is light and soft – sort of like wearing a thin sweatshirt. It bloomed together really nicely when it was blocked, but I still think it shows off the cables in a soft way.
The only modification I made to this sweater was on the closure. It called for you to use hook and eye tape down the front. I have a shirt that has hook and eye tape, and it is a pain in the butt. It is hard to do up, hard to undo, and it pops open if you bend the wrong way. I figured that since I wasn’t ever going to be wearing this sweater open that I would just mattress stitch the whole thing closed (which I did after I blocked it). So it is technically a pullover now, which I am ok with. If I ever decide to change it I just have to pull out one seam.
I know that I will get a lot of use out of this one, as is evidenced by the fact that as soon as I finished the closure this morning and tried it on, I decided not to take it off. 
Now, onto April’s sweater!
My 14 year old niece, 12 and 8 year old nephews knitting away in my living room (they were visiting for March Break). Happy.
Recently I joined the new SWV Modern Quilt Guild that runs out of the shop. The main reason I joined the guild was to try to stretch my quilting a little and start doing some things without patterns and with a more modern flair. Also, we are having a sew in once a month, so I was hoping that would give me a chance to do some “just for fun” sewing (rather than business stuff). In case you are interested in joining us, all the info about the guild is here.
The first challenge that we had as a group was to use the charm packs generously donated to us by Robert Kaufman fabrics to create a name tag quilt. The max size was 25″ x 25″ and we were to include our name and also the name of the guild. As soon as I saw the colours in the charm pack, all I could think of was those little watercolour paint trays I had as a kid. You know the ones, from the dollar store? With the cheap-o little paint brush? Well, here it is recreated in fabric.
This is the outside, with the quilt paint box “closed”. When you unfold…..
…you see the paints and my name. I use the spray starch method for my circleapplique, and then I just used a straight stitch to sew down each paint. I knew it was unlikely to ever get washed, so I wasn’t too worried about the edges getting frayed. The letters in my name are made using the fusible web style of applique. Then I used Laura’s machine to do the quilting; straight lines on the bottom to make the trays, and circles on the top to mimic the paint shapes.
As a final touch I added an actual paintbrush (secured with a little loop of ribbon). I am quite happy with how it turned out – I have it hanging on the wall in my studio now!
Hope to see some of you join us at our next SWV MQG meeting!
