Barty's Parties!

I was excited to make Birthday Banners (or Barty's Banners!) for a friend who has ventured into a birthday party supplies and rentals business here in Whitehorse. Barty's Parties is a service that provides a selection of really neat cake pans for rent, as well as biodegradable disposable plates and cutlery, environmentally conscious loot bag gifts and lots of other party related items. The banners were lots of fun to make. Katie asked for a superhero theme (red and blue), a dinosaur theme (greens) and of course the pink and purple theme (which, I think turned out the nicest).

Reversible Bags for the Birdhouse

This is the second batch - the first batch is gone already and I didn't keep the one I liked the best! These reversible bags are organic cotton canvas in the solid colour and patterned cotton on the outside. This is another "everything" bag, big enough for an over nighter and small enough for an everyday purse. Oh, and I guess my blog entries were pretty non-existent this summer - a good sign of a hot summer and a few swims at Long Lake - amazing!

Belts for the Chocolate Claim

A quick scan of the blog revealed that I have only posted belt photos once - I make them all the time so I assumed they were blogged all the time! Alas, here is the most recent batch to go to the coffee shop. They are a lot of fun to make because they allow me to use every fabric in my stash and the variety is astounding (= i have too much fabric!). They are typically 42" long but I often have folks come by our house to pick their own fabric and length for themselves, a friend or a teenager or two. A very gratifying product for maker and client alike!

Happy Canada Day!

Vintage Barkcloth Sun Hat

Sun Hat season is back. Last year I made these hats for the trunk show and they were very popular. I'd forgotten about them and a few friends were asking so, rush down to the Chocolate Claim, I'm only making these 4 this year, 2 from Edna's vintage barkcloth curtains. They're reversible, large brims, perfect for sitting and reading, not so great for walking around if you don't want to bump into anything! Actually, the brim folds up in many different ways to aid in seeing where you're going. Very fashionable style nonetheless. They are "modified" Lotta Jansdotter Hats from her book Simple Sewing.

Flat Tote with Cigar Flowers

Cigar Flowers? Well, this fabric was a set of old curtains found at our local Sally Ann. It is clean, lovely fabric, incredible flower graphics... However, if you are inclined to iron said fabric, you will be looking around for someone smoking a cigar! It's actually not all that unpleasant, if you happen to have a happy memory of a nice, funny man that smoked cigars like I do.

Wristlets for Some Travelling Girls

My good friend's niece and friend drove across the country to visit the Yukon and loved the wrist cuffs I had made a while ago. So I whipped a couple up for them to wear home today (just in time before they hit the road again!). These really are fun to make and give, especially if there is a fabric that says something about the wearer - the cars in these are (obviously) to remind them of their road trip! The pattern is from the lovely JCasa site, the buttons are from our days in Brunei. Here are some photos from DH of the wristlets in action on a sunny day - of which we have had MANY I might add while touching wood...

A Summer Batch of Market Bags

It was market bag mania here yesterday - and I managed to plant the veggie garden too! I've 15 bags made (2 blue and green models not shown here) and I'm really hoping they'll last the summer, but that's probably wishful thinking! They are for sale at the Birdhouse Cafe and are doing really well up there. Morgan is so enthusiastic about them, if I'm ever feeling like I need a boost I should just go hang out with her! It's a lovely spot and they have a great locally made toy kitchen and play area too.

Kids Clothes Challenge, Day 5

Another pair of shorts from Happy Homemade, shorts "L". This time I skipped the faux fly since they're pretty busy with stripes, I didn't think it would be missed... The real reason is that I haven't managed to make that #@!#? fly without a seam ripper yet and I've done it twice! This time the pockets are lined with gears - just as good as frogs, if not better, for our little guy!

Kids Clothes Week Challenge, Day 4

Here is the shirt - look familiar? The fabric is the same as found on page 117 of Heather Ross' Weekend Sewing (a fantastic book, haven't made that shirt but have made the everything tote and, hmm... is that all? Add that too my list. I know I've drafted the pj pants in 2 sizes and the girl's sun dress in 2 sizes...oh, the cheque book, but I think cdn. cheque books are different than us. check books!). So the shirt was fairly straight forward although remind me to check the pattern instructions next time for the order of operations so I don't have to set in small sleeves! The easier way would have been to put the sleeve on the front/back piece at the shoulder and then sew up the side seam and sleeve seam, then hem the sleeve. I did snaps instead of buttons and I really like the grandfather shirt collar style! Everything I'm making this week is boys size 4, if you are wondering.
Check the Kids Clothes Week Challenge Flickr pool to see what everyone is up to.