365 : folksy flannel pjs

My first completed project of this year was a mandatory pair of Folksy Flannel pajama pants. I definitely need more flannel in my life. I used the Amy Butler lounge pant pattern for the third time, taking the original wide leg in by just over an inch. I’m not ashamed to say that over my mini break I wore them all day long.

Okay, so the majority of my trip to Quilt Market was actually spent wandering around in a bit of a daze surrounded by ridiculous amounts of fabric and more quilts that you can ever imagine. Whoa. For someone who loves textiles, it’s definitely sensory overload.

Let me start by explaining exactly what Quilt Market is. It’s a huge trade show for the quilting industry that happens twice a year. The fall show is in Houston Texas, while the spring show moves around from city to city. The spring 2010 show will be in Minneapolis. The first part of quilt market is to the ‘trade only’ and all the fabric manufacturers, designers and distributers have booths where they show off all their new collections. The booths are usually filled with quilts, accessories and clothing made up from the fabrics and you can sit down and look through all the collections and place orders for your shop. Sewing machines, notions, quilt patterns, books and magazines are also represented. You would not believe all the sewing gadgets, accessories, and even lotions and potions that are represented. I was surprised to see several vintage dealers who sold fabrics, quilts and even buttons and jewellry. I treated myself to a sweet pink vintage feedsack and a few yards of an old orange floral fabric.

There is also a Quilt Festival that happens right after Quilt Market and this is open to the public. There is a huge exhibit of vintage quilts, along with quilts that have been entered into competition. The lighting was pretty awful in the convention centre and especially in the exhibit, but I tried to get photos of my favourites. It’s fascinating to see all the different types of techniques that are used in these modern quilts, including all kinds of hand painting, beading and photo transfers.

Since I was hanging out with the Soak gals, I got to tag along to their meetings with some of the designers. I got to meet (and secretly gawk at) Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner, Heather Bailey, Joanne Figuerora, and Sandi Henderson. Each of these talented ladies were so incredibly sweet and I was just blown away with the new amazing collections and patterns they have come up with. You can be sure to find lots of their new stuff coming to the workroom a.s.a.p. I was especially charmed by Anna Maria Horner’s new line of flannels for kids – FINALLY, flannel prints that are modern and not too cutesy. Heather Bailey won for best booth design at the show and it was well deserved. I loved her wallpaper, clothes line and she even had real sod laid out. Check out her cute new patterns – Henrietta turtle and Claira & Clancy pig dolls. I can’t wait to get them in the shop.

There were so many independent quilt pattern designers at the show, but the one that stood out for me was Carolina Patchworks. In particular her Another Brick in the Wall and Golden Waves seemed like super fun quilts to make. I picked up four of her patterns for the shop and can’t wait to try them out.

I told you before I left that I had two missions – Japanese fabric and felt. Sadly I didn’t discover a good source for felt, but I hit many home runs on Japanese fabrics! I made great new contacts and ordered some unbelievably awesome Japanese prints. I was so excited about them that I completely forgot to take photographs of them, but this way you’ll be surprised and delighted when they arrive.

I do have a sneak peak for you of my favourite find – Puti de Pome. I ordered quite a few of these prints including this sweet map fabric, these cars and this border print. Of course, I also ordered some of the new echino line. I tried not to go overboard, but it was really hard.

To sum up all that – great food (not counting the convention centre food), quilt mania, inspiring designers and new fabrics and lots of J-A-P-A-N-E-S-E cuteness on the way!!

Check out part two of my slide show…

The quote above is from ‘Twilight’. I read the first book on Monday and last night I read the entire second book, “New Moon”. It’s safe to say that I’m completely hooked and that my day job is currently interfering with me spending more time with Edward Cullen. I haven’t seen the movie yet. I’ve decided to wait until I’ve read through the rest of the series first. The premise of the books is that a young teen girl falls in love with a hot vampire and misadventure ensues. It certainly isn’t for everyone, but I’m so pre-disposed to teen drama. My So-Called-Life, Dawson’s Creek, Felicity, Gossip Girl – you name it, I love it. I’m curious if this obsession will ever end or will I still be hooked on the lives of fictional teens in twenty years?

The quote is typewritten on muslin and stitched to the inside pocket of my new Birdie Sling. I forgot to press the space bar between two words, so it’s not perfect, but that’s the charm of the typewriter. There is no delete button.

It was definitely time for a new bag. After six months of daily use, Birdie Sling #1 needed to retire. Plus, I wanted to be a bit matchy and make something to go with my new coat.

I did a couple things differently this time. Instead of fusible interfacing, I just basted a layer of washed cotton muslin to all of the bag’s pieces. I really like how this turned out. I often find fusible interfacing rather frustrating when it bubbles and doesn’t stick properly. For the pockets, I turned the small pocket into a zippered pocket to add a secure spot to keep my ipod, phone charger and lip balm.

I also made a matching zippered pouch for my Shinzi Katoh agenda. This way I can keep my pens, cheque books and business cards altogether. This system is working out really well for me and makes me feel like I’m making progress with my life-long wish to be more organized.

But really – Twilight, anyone?

There’s something about these pants, perhaps it’s in the name. I definitely have been doing more lounging these days, which is a good thing, considering my self-imposed busy schedule.

For my second pair, I did end up slimming down the pattern by 3cm on each side seam (for a total of 12cm). The pants are still wide legged, but now I think they’re perfect for me. If you’re planning on doing the same, I recommend making a first pair as the pattern suggests and making your second pair with any fit adjustments. Once you make one pair, you will at least want one more pair so that you can wear them every single day. Trust me.

The fabric is from Amy’s new line, Daisy Chain, and the print is called Dandelion Reed. I couldn’t resist the blue and grey, since it matches my bedroom and my quilt in progress. I might make one more pair, but that’s it. The Kimono Robe and Bedside Organizer are next on my list from the In Stitches book.

I was surfing around on BurdaStyle last night and found a few patterns that I’m thinking of trying out. My current winter wardrobe is very uninspiring.

I’ve been meaning to try a few projects from Amy Butler’s In Stitches book for some time. Last week, I was feeling the need for a quick project that would give me some instant gratification. The lounge pants looked like just the project to fit the bill. While sewing pants is extremely challenging, sewing pajama pants is super easy. Amy’s pattern provides you with the top part of the pattern and requires you to draft out the legs of the pants. Easy. I decided to go with some Amy Butler fabric, the print is called Nouveau Trees. I have a particular fondness for the pink and green combination, it reminds me of my childhood bedroom.

The sewing is very simple. It took me about an hour, perhaps less. I omitted adding trim to the bottom and opted to use some of the cute embroidery stitches on the Bernina Artista to hem the pants. As I was sewing, I thought about how these would make a really nice gift. It wouldn’t be hard at all to make several pairs quite quickly, once you had them all cut out.

The pants are really cozy, perfect for these chilly nights and mornings. From what I’ve read online, most people doubt the extreme wideness of the legs as they are making the pants and then fall in love with them once they are done. This happened to me too, they just seemed ridiculously wide. Now, I love them. On that note though, the next time I make these pants (there will definitely be at least a couple more pairs), I will try slimming down the leg a couple inches, now that I know my sizing.

There are a bunch of other projects I’m planning on doing from this book – the bedside organizer and the kimono robe are on the top of the list. If you need a fun, simple project that you can wear, this is it. You’ll be so happy when you’re wearing your new lounge pants in bed watching episodes of Gossip Girl in the dark.

Pattern: Amy Butler Anna Tunic
Fabric: Art Gallery Fabrics Pink Le Fleur

There is just over a week until Labour day and somehow I’ve fallen behind in my dress challenge. Reading back on my first post about the challenge, it seems a bit fuzzy as to when the challenge officially ends. I did say the end of summer, which technically isn’t until September 22. I still have three more dresses to make! What do you think? A little leniency for a busy girl?

Dress 10 is from Amy Butler’s Anna Tunic which many of you may not know can also be turned into a dress. The photo on the cover of the pattern is deceiving as it only shows the top version. The dress goes together quite easily, with only a few fiddly parts. I found the instructions on how to attach the facings to the body of the dress slightly awkward and wished there was a more elegant way to do this part. I had to read the instructions several times slowly at this point to make sure I understood what I was supposed to do. Basically it is just top stitching the facing closed after you have pressed under the seam allowance and pinned each section around the yoke. There is no zipper in this pattern. For those who fear zippers, you may enjoy doing the button loops and buttons. I like the button detail very much.

Amy Butler’s patterns always seem to be quite a-line. Often times it’s too much for me and I end up straightening out the silhouette. On this dress, I quite like it. I made the longer version of the Anna Tunic and even wore it with the belt. (I rarely wear belts) The dress is fully lined which makes it feel slightly formal, in a good way.

The pink fabric by Art Gallery Quilts is clearly inspired by Art Nouveau. I love the swirly motifs which remind me very much of Paris.

I wore this dress on Sunday at the Kids Trunk Show. For once I thought I’d show you photos of the dress in action and me without my head cut off. Looking over the photos of the show, you’ll notice a good percentage of them include cupcakes. The night before, I baked four dozen cupcakes from scratch. I also made 7 minute frosting for the first time, which I really loved. Most the kids only ate the tops of the cupcakes. That probably had more to do with all the candy piled on top of them than the ‘Madagascar Vanilla Bean’ or ‘Shaved Dark Chocolate’ frostings.

p.s. Yes, I ate all the leftover cupcakes for breakfast this week.

Dress #7, originally uploaded by the workroom.

Dress 7 – Burda E971 Tunic
Fabric - Grey Asha by Kaffe Fasset

This tunic dress is a free download from the Burda Fashion website. If you’ve never downloaded a pattern off the internet, it usually means that the pattern has been tiled over many pages. Be prepared to print off 30+ sheets of paper and then have to tape them all together. I found this to be one of the few perks of working in an office, the endless supply of paper and high quality printers to facilitate such projects

I was very excited about this dress. I taped the pattern together, cut it out, then cut out my fabric and started to read the instructions. OOPS! I quickly found out that the pattern did NOT include the seam allowance. I talk about this all the time in my classes, always check your seam allowance on a pattern. I had heard that some patterns don’t include it, but to be honest, I had never encountered it. It’s not just an urban sewing myth, they do exist!

The tunic dress is quite loose, so the biggest effect that not having the seam allowance made on this project was that it was impossible for me to put the sleeves in. There was just nothing at the shoulders for me to sew the sleeves onto. Thus, the dress turned into a sleeveless dress with bias trim around the armholes. The dress is still cute, but not exactly what I had planned.

Dress 8 – Burda E971 Tunic (round 2)
Fabric – Fresh Poppies by Amy Butler

I hope you don’t think that this is cheating, but I had to get this pattern right. I went back and added seam allowance on all the pattern pieces and started again. The second time around was pretty easy. I really loved the cute puff sleeves of the tunic. There’s a piece of elastic sewn into the sleeve cuff that makes those tiny gathers. It’s my favourite detail, I’m a sucker for gathering. I don’t often repeat the same pattern, but I’m happy that I did for this one, just for the sleeves.

There are some important lessons to be learned here. a) Always read through the instructions of your project before cutting out your fabric and embarking on a potentially heart breaking journey, b) a 1/2″ seam allowance doesn’t seem like a lot, but it has great impact on a garment and c) if something goes wrong, don’t fight it, just go with it and make the best of it. Mistakes are fantastic lessons and lead to unexpected discoveries. (or sleeveless dresses)

There’s only five more weeks until Labour Day and five more dresses to go….

Barcelona Skirt – Apron Overlay, originally uploaded by the workroom.

Amy Butler Barcelona Skirt – Apron Overlay

Outer Fabric – City Limits Black & White Tenements
Lining Fabric – Anna Griffin Bird Print
Ties & Waistband - My Folklore Floral

Anyone who knows my sewing history, knows that I started with the skirt. Learning to make a skirt was what got me hooked on sewing. I took one skirt pattern and used it as the base for drafting all kinds of different skirts. It was the only thing I knew how to make at the time and now my closet is full of them. Before there were 13 dresses, there were about 30 skirts.

I didn’t really feel compelled to add another skirt to my collection. What interested me most about the Barcelona Skirt pattern was the Apron Overlay. I love to wear a dress with jeans and this just seems like a great way to wear a ’skirt’ with jeans.

Amy likes to use lots of fabrics in her patterns. I really find this challenging, mixing lots of different prints that I’m going to wear at the same time.  When I made the Lotus dress, I couldn’t even choose two coordinating fabrics. I decided to try it Amy’s way this time and do all three fabrics. My first selections were blues and greens, but I couldn’t get past two coordinating fabrics. I switched over to black and white and quickly settled on these three fabric choices.

While the Barcelona skirt pattern is super simple, the Apron Overlay requires a bit more attention to detail. As always, I’m impressed with Amy’s clever design and learned some great construction techniques with this reversible pattern. It’s the little touches, like the little pleat in the ties and the split front with contrast banding that make me love this sweet apron.

I wore it the other day with jeans because I had just finished it and couldn’t wait. With the crazy hot weather we’re having right now, I don’t know what I was thinking. Clearly I was in a ‘fashion trance’, where all logic goes out the window. I know I’m not the only one, ‘fess up to one of yours.

Summer Hat, originally uploaded by the workroom.

As much as I love teaching classes, I REALLY love taking classes. It’s a real treat for me to have such cool and gifted teachers at the workroom, each one having their own special talents. Sitting in on their classes, has been very inspiring.

We had the Summer Hat class the past weekend which was taught by Reva. I met Reva in the shop before the Christmas holidays. I complimented her on her handbag, which she told me she had made from the Lotta Jansdotter ‘Simple Sewing’ book. We got to talking about sewing, Japanese fabrics, craft blogs and printing fabrics. I learned that she was a trained costume designer and that we pretty much had exactly the same taste and inspirations. Naturally, I asked her to share some of her experience by teaching some classes at the workroom.

On Sunday, we had a full house of future hat-makers. We all decided to make the bucket hat, which is reversible. I used a sage green cotton canvas, lined with Amy Butler’s Optic Blossom in yellow & grey. I’m really pleased with mine. I often forget to wear a hat in the summer and I’m quite prone to getting sun stroke, so having a new stylish hat is just the incentive I need to cover up. The hat class is running again in August, so I’ll be making the military-style cap next.

Reva also teaches the very fun lino block printing class. I would love to print my own fabric one day, so lino block printing is a great way to dip my toes in that pool of water.

p.s. I used to have a real thing for hats when I was in high school. I had a large collection, many of them with big flowers and folded up brims a la ‘Blossom’. Perhaps I’ll try to dig up a funny photo for you.

Amy Butler Birdie Sling Pattern
Exterior fabric – Amy Butler Tree Peony in Lime
Band & Handle fabric – Lecien Centenary Collection
Lining fabric – Amy Butler Happy Dots in Grey

I tend to tote too many things back and forth from home to the shop. Piles of fabric that need to be washed and dried for projects, books, my camera, Maisy supplies, various groceries, wallet, and all the other extra bits of things that I may or may not need on a daily basis. The new Amy Butler pattern for the Birdie Sling arrived at just the right time. I was starting to feel like a sloppy bag lady.

This was my first attempt at one of her handbag patterns. So far, I really like her patterns a lot. There was a glossary of terms included with the pattern that explained all of the technical terms quite clearly. The pattern calls for both fusible interfacing and fusible fleece. I didn’t have any fusible fleece and just did the interfacing only. I’m happy with how it turned out, but if you want a much ’stiffer’ band around the top, you might include the fleece. There are two pockets on the inside, which could easily be further customized with a zipper or additional compartments. My goal was to finish the bag as quickly as possible, so I passed on doing additional any work. The one thing I did do, was make the small pocket using the handle fabric for a bit of contrast inside the bag.

This bag is amazing! You wouldn’t believe how much stuff it can hold and the shoulder strap is very comfortable. The design is very smart and easy for a beginner sewer. I learned a lot of great tricks from making this pattern. I especially like the curved gussets at the bottom and the pleating along the top.

I absolutely recommend this bag for both looks and function. I’ll be slinging this birdie with me everywhere from now on.