Finn's Goose is sending some gooses to some bruces!

3 Christmas Gooses - check! The goose stuffie is a really cute project from The Long Thread blog, found here. I made a couple last year too, but forgot to take photos. These photos were taken at 10am in the dark, yes folks, a 6 or 7 hour drive north from our house and you can kiss the arctic circle if you're so inclined. It has been a dark November and December, many of us are looking forward to winter solstice and longer days. There are more photos of gooses and contents of those drawstring bags on my flickr site, but if you are K, you aren't aloud to peek! I've already shown too much but had such fun putting these presents together that I couldn't wait to share. Finn will be excited to see his goose after school today. A few notes on goose-construction, it is really worth it to take the time to hand stitch the beaks first, then machine stitch. I learned this the hard way as my beak was very crooked the first time around (and Finn's goose has the most crooked beak but I'm hoping he won't notice!). I also skipped trying to stuff the skinny feet, it was beyond my patience! I'm impressed with Ellen at the long thread for stuffing those feet!

The 12 Days of Christmas Market

Last chance to stock up for Christmas. We were busy setting up this morning and wow! There are some really lovely things at the Firehall for the next 12 days. I have EVERYTHING there for big and little people. Stop by and take a look - fresh baked goods too (not by me but by many others). So yummy! I was very tempted to stuff my pockets with chocolate and eat it for lunch!

13th Annual Littlest!

13th Annual Littlest!, originally uploaded by Georgi Pearson.

70's Dress redo

So, not only do I sew a pile of lovely things to sell and share with everyone, I also have this terrible need to make something new for me to wear when I do a show! This time around I made a retro 70's McCall's #2008 brown linen dress that was fine but, well, it was brown and, in case you haven't noticed, my fabrics are usually quite bright and quirky. And my good friend T said "you can't wear BROWWWN to the Cranberry!!!". Rightly so. I made dress number 2, a 70's McCall's #2004 with a really fun streets and cars and trucks fabric that was meant to be quilty pants. It is very comfy and nicely fitted, the belt detail across the back is really nice, I cheated and skipped the back zipper - not the smartest, but time was tight and I didn't have one "in stock"!! I think I'll be making another one of these soon! A note to sewists out there, retro patterns may look groovy but man, they really made their lives difficult if you follow the construction instructions. There are faster, smoother techniques in garment making in our modern patterns, so, if you are making a vintage pattern, read it through and if you think you can skip a step or do a step in a different order to make your life easier than do it!

3 vintage wool blankets

I've had these blankets for a few years, hoping to remake them one day into embellished blankets and pillow covers. Finally, that day arrived and they were ready for the Cranberry Fair. All the pillows have new homes and one blanket remains (the pink one). The pillow covers turned out sooo nicely. They are so warm and heavy, really nice to cozy up with. I'll have to keep my eyes open for more wool blankets! The Fair was great fun by the way! Lots of people and lots of beautiful handmade arts and crafts. The Yukon is full of very talented, hard working folks. I'm also thankful that my good friend R was my helper! A month ago I foolishly told her I would be ok and do it alone, luckily she was available to join me when I called her last week! Thanks R! I had a great time and look forward to next year!

The Bits

These are my favourite parts of sewing - the bits and pieces. I've always wanted to show people my garbage piles from the sewing process, how weird is that? Luckily a good friend with a GREAT camera came by the other day and took some photos - click on this one to see the others!

44 Belts

Belts for Cranberry Fair by the case load! Like most things lately, I can make them in my sleep! While I have been busy sewing for Cranberry, LIttlest and 12 Days, I did manage to fall off the wagon and make a skirt (or 2) that are not part of the plan. Sometimes when an idea comes along, you just have to make it! It's a horizontal stripe skirt of 6 or 7 fabrics with a simple elastic waistband. I may make them for Littlest but they are kind of silly for this minus 25 and 30 weather we're having! Unless you're heading for a beach holiday soon! Hmmm... maybe I should make a couple more - and lose the turtleneck sweater!

Sewing

The Cafe Apron goes like this:
Cut all pieces, sew loop, press, iron hems, sides and bottom, iron top edge of fabric panel, sew fabric panel to apron, right sides together, sides and top, turn, press, sew along bottom edge of panel, don't forget to insert hang up loop, sew all around apron, sew tie across and tie ends, add label. Press. Repeat.

The Market Bag goes like this:
Cut all peices, hem and sew pocket top, sew up straps, press, sew sides of bag, serge sides, sew corners of bag, serge corners, press upper hem, sew upper hem, sew straps on (least favourite part, only takes 4 minutes but need to do it 4 times per bag = tedious!!). Add label. Press. Repeat 34 times. 68 straps. 136 strap attachments.

The Cafe Apron 2011

More Cafe Aprons. Bring the Bistro home to your kitchen! This one is chocolate brown organic cotton with an Anna Maria Horner print that is really fun to look at - and the colours! Wow. There's a slate blue-grey that she has somehow gotten away with in there that is just amazing. Click on the photo to see the rest of the aprons on Flickr - sorry, winter light has made the photos not so great.

New Tote Style

This bag caught my eye on the cover of this book a while ago. It's a big bag and has a nice shape to it, more than just a tote bag. This is a japanese cotton/linen mid weight fabric that is really pretty in real life! I bought it in Portland last winter with this bag in mind. I've made 10 of them in various prints for the Cranberry Fair, November 27th. This will be my first Cranberry Fair, a juried arts and crafts show here in Whitehorse and I'm pretty excited to be a part of it. I'm hoping to have lots of lovely things. My biggest concern right now is how to display bags on a table... not the easiest thing to do...!

43 Pairs and Counting!

Click on the photo to see the rest of this year's Quilty Pants on Flickr. Frantically getting ready for tomorrow's swap and must go for a run - bye!

Corduroy Twirly Girls!

Three new skirts for the Kidz Swap this Saturday at Whitehorse Elementary School, 9:30 til 1pm or something like that. Yes, I know, only 3 but I got carried away with the quilty pants and have oh, maybe 40 pairs of those!! It's a bit crazy, I think I can sew them in my sleep. I'm hoping to take some pictures of them soon!

Matchy-Matchy

Another a-line skirt! These are a very quick skirt to make and a nice staple to the wardrobe. 2 twirly girl skirts accompanied mama's a-line and all 3 girls were very excited to dress matchy-matchy! I've recently made some twirly girls with a corduroy top layer, cotton under-layer that look like so much fun to wear - while being a bit warmer too! Twirly Girl skirts will be available this Saturday at the KidzSwap Meet. Stay tuned for photos!

Fresh Batch of Quilty Pants

Here are half the new stack of quilty pants to be made for the 2011 Fall/Winter season! Get your pick October 15th at the Whitehorse Elementary School Kids Swap Meet! After that contact me or wait for the 12 Days of Christmas sale at the Old Firehall in December. NEW this year, quilty pants are available in sizes 2, 3 and 4! Very exciting and thanks to the mamas that encouraged me to make them bigger!

My nephew's quilty pants - how cute?!

My sister in law has been an avid supporter and purchaser of my quilty pants and it was with great guilt that I FINALLY managed to give her lovely son a pair - he was almost one for goodness sakes! He really should have had a pair for everyday of the week starting at 6 months! But, now he is wearing them with great style, which I think he gets from both his mom and dad! My excuse for being late was that I wanted to make them with that super cute mini zoo fabric, even though I could have given a pair out of my supply, I really wanted to make a pair just for him - to match his zoo room! Thanks for the photo N - she is also a talented photographer!

A Castle Peeps Dress for River

This is my staple dress and has been since university - I'm trying to remember the first one I made and I think the recipient must be 16 years old by now! It's a burda pattern #XXXX. This castle version was for my very awesome niece with a great monster roar! Her dad is big in to knights and castles, and so is she! And monsters, and rocket ships, and robots and...

Square Neck Summer Dress - Happy Homemade Vol 2

Another lovely pattern and so quick and easy. The button loops at the back made for an easy closure - no button holes required.

Backpack

I've been eyeing this pattern for a year or more and when do I decide to finally get the pattern and make it? The night before Day 2 of Summer Camp of course! It is a terrific little pattern from Made by Rae (another terrific blog for sewing for kids, and moms too!). Easy to follow and the result is a very professional looking, sturdy little back pack for your little guy or gal. It's called a toddler backpack but is easy to size up, which I did for a 5 year old. The instructions even provide tips on how to do this (which I should have read to save me adding an extra inch that I ended up chopping off...). I added 2 inches in length and a name tag sewn on the back panel. There are no pockets on the exterior which I might add on the next one. I thought a side bottle pocket too with an elastic gathered top might be nice. I cut and sewed this up in one evening. I think Rae is a science teacher, you can tell by how methodical and well written the pattern is! I really loved making this up! And Finn seems to like it too!

Simplicity 3835 - awesome top!

Many of my favourite blog-sewers have recommended this top and now I know why. It's very fast and fits really nicely and it also comes in tunic and dress lengths. I can't wait to make another one in dress length next. I've had the pattern since last fall but was finally motivated by this one to get going and give it a try - I was also, most likely looking for a diversion from the other things on my sewing list - like a grad dress, curtains, quilty pants and a pair of room shoes for a friend... guess I better go and get those done!

Twirly Girl Skirt with Olivia!

Here is a fun skirt for a birthday girl today! Luckily her birthday landed on Kids Clothes Week Challenge!! Another thing that landed around here was a snow blizzard this morning! Not many of us are impressed - probably just the 5 and under crowd think it's neat. Luckily it has melted and turned to rain which is greatly needed - haven't had any rain yet this spring!

Kids Clothes Week Challenge - Dad's made-by-me sweater gone wrong...

I like to think that every knitter worth his/her salt has one of these, misshapen sweaters in their repetoire. I knit this for my husband a while ago and it took forever and it was too big and we tried to shrink it but it seemed to be short in the back and long in the front and it never seemed to look right. So, I decided to chop it into a sweater for our five year old. I didn't think I could actually cut into it - pretty scary and it was so much work to knit, I think it was 2 years in the making! But, better to use it than to throw it away! Now it looks great as a tunic sweater. I kept the neck line which, might have been a mistake as it is a bit of a big boat collar now. I'm also thinking it would make a great sweater dress for my niece after Finn is finished with it! I have so much overdue sewing on my plate this week, I sure hope I find the time to sew for KCWC!

7 Pairs of Room Shoes

These little room shoes or house shoes are based on a Japanese pattern and tradition. For indoor wear, they are really fun and kind of like dress-up shoes for around the house! Finishing them all almost lead me to cancel the Trunk Show but I made it, they're done and ready to go! And I probably won't be making them again...!

Update from the Wishfactory

Click on that photo right away to take yourself to Tara's sneak peak at what she's been working on for the Trunk Show - so amazing!!
This little mama bird has obviously been collecting nest materials from the floor of my sewing room!

Can you tell what these are?

Another big batch of somethings for the Trunk Show - stylish Bike Cuffs, for saving your stylish flare jeans while riding around town! Fastened with velcro they've been working great for me for the past year. Come get them on Sunday at the Chocolate Claim - 10am til 4pm!

Little Blue Bird for Craft Book Challenge

As promised (!) here is a Craft Book Challenge project for April! The Itty Bitty Toys book by Susan B. Anderson has some lovely knitted toy patterns, this one was a good starter as it went quickly. My 5 year old requested the worm as he knew once the bird hatched, it would be hungry! The reason I bought this particular book (last spring actually!) was the topsy turvy patterns. I'm currently working on the lion-elephant topsy turvy for my son's birthday present (I'm a month late already). Hopefully I'll have a photo to share soon...!

I'm In!

It's Kids Clothes Week Challenge again! Hooray! This year I hope to make more shorts for Finn, and some twirly girly skirts for some friends and niece and and and...!

Polka Dots

This is a new Ticker Tape quilt for this weekend's Kidz Swapmeet at Whitehorse Elementary School! All polka dots. Intended for a child's room, but this one could go just about anywhere!

Hope for Japan Fundraiser at Yukon College.

Hello we are back. This was a last minute idea but I sometimes buy lovely cottons and linen fabric and pattern books from Japan (here and here and here if you would like to help them out) and managed to make a few items with these fabrics for the Hope for Japan fundraiser at Yukon College Friday April 8th. 2 lovely belts, two Zippy coin purses and one Flat Tote will be available for you to bid on if you attend the silent auction. I don't have to say what a good cause this is do I?

Craft Book Challenge

I just found the Craft Book Challenge. Can't remember which blog lead me where but I found it! I signed up over at the Liesl Made blog and committed to starting in April as I will be without my sewing machine for 2 months while we "winter" in Portland, Oregon (not many folks do that I'll bet...!). However, I realized that in my typical last minute sewing project madness, I'm actually using one of my favourite craft books Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karol to "whip up" a birthday gift for a certain pair of February Birthday Girls! I figure it will be fine if their Mama is peeking because she may need the demo-pictures to figure out just what we're sending and what to do with it when it arrives! It's the awesome puppet theatre that hangs in a doorway on a compression-fit curtain rod (and more importantly folds away neatly in it's own little pouch!). See here, here and here. So, I can actually say that I participated in January - barely! I'll be back in April with the next Challenge! For Christmas I received this book and this book and can't wait to get at them!

How cute is my nephew in his sling Auntie made??

A Barcelona Skirt

Happy New Year!
Sorry for the lack of posts. I think that's the trend around here. I've sewn so many things but my documentation is falling far behind! Here is the skirt I made to wear for Littlest (like I needed another project at that time!). I love this Tufted Tweets fabric - very vibrant. I was planning on making these skirts for that next trunk show but not many people could tell these were couches. I guess the graphic is a bit of a puzzle for the eye - or couches on a skirt are just so unexpected perhaps! The Amy Butler pattern is excellent and easy and belongs to my good friend K and she had it for a whole year unopened so I asked to borrow it! Hoping to repay her soon with a skirt of her own!