Manitoulin Threads

 I have decided that I really need to up my activewear game.  I tend to make functional (read boring) activewear, and I'm not really sure why.  It will be WAY more fun to exercise with some eye-catching fabrics and designs. So, when I saw this metallic stripe activewear at Elliott Berman Textiles , I knew it would be my first project for looking good while working out. STRIPE TEXTURE METALLIC ACTIVEWEAR KNIT. FRANCE I used needed a dolman sleeve funnel neck top pattern for creating my vision.  I decided to go with the  Petite Stitchery Arlo top/dress pattern.   This pattern was quite perfect as the front and back use the same pattern piece, and the sleeve is designed to be cut on the fold so I didn't need to redraft it with a center cut line.                        I then created the pattern lines by using a quilting ruler with the 60-degree angle markings and slashed the body and sleeve portions o...

What an amazing idea.   Vicki of   Another Sewing Scientist  has created a google map to Map the Sewintists 'round the world.  Be sure to visit the map and add your pin.  The directions are included on the left hand side of the screen.  Just a caution: when I first viewed the map and attempted to edit on my iPad I couldn't get it to work.  I tried to find a work around but finally gave up and went to the Mac to get it to work.  If anyone has an iPad workaround it may be helpful for others to post that info. Visit her original blog post where she shares the details of her endeavour. View Map the Sewintists in a larger map

Exciting news.  Ontario sewing bloggers are planning a meet up on Saturday, February 23rd on Queen St. West at 1 pm.  The event is being organized by Crafting a Rainbow blogger Gillian and Adrienne of  All Style and All Substance . The meet-up sounds like an amazingly fun time.  I wish I could take part, but I am playing hockey that weekend AND it is a 6+ hour drive away.  Perhaps another get-together in the summer will happen and I will be able to partake.  Anyway, I know I will be anxiously waiting for posts and pics sharing the good times and, of course, the fabric porn!

I have an obsession with purses.  However, I don't own many purses because (a) I have very expensive tastes in purses and (b) I am too cheap to spend a fortune on a purse. available at www.coach.com So, after a summer-long yearning for an amazing Coach purse with a hefty (for me) price tag, I decided that if I wanted a new purse I was going to have to make one. I used OOP Butterick 4624View C, but I changed the pocket options. I used the navy, tan and orange colour scheme from my dream bag (though the only orange I could find to include was a bead I added to the zipper pull!).  The main body of the bag is prequilted denim fabric from Fabricland.  I usually hate what I find there, but this is actually quite nice. I love long straps because I can only manage cross body bags...that leaves my hands free to hang onto each of my kids. I even added on a leather shoulder pad detail to the strap. The front of the bag has a zipped exterior pocket that I framed...

My latest pattern order is from Style Arc .  I decided bite the bullet and actually order 4!!!!! patterns for bottoms. Here are are my new patterns: Katherine Pant and Jilly Jeans Karen Walk Shorts and Tori Crop Pants I can't wait to try these patterns.  If they fit as well as the other Style Arc pants (I've tried the Linda and the Elle so far) then I will have a wonderful stable full of TNT pants patterns soon!

Yahoo, school's out for summer!  The past few weeks have been full of end of the year craziness, but happily, I now have two months of vacay.  I have done a lot of mental sewing (and virtural shopping), but not been near the sewing machines for a couple of weeks, which is a long time for me. My sewing plans/goals/dreams/wishes are as follows: Must do: quick dry camping pants for DD, out of navy quickdry fabric from Fabricland Should do: rain jacket for DD out of waterproof/breathable hot pink fabric sun shirt for me from Jalie button-up pattern with sun fabric from Rockywoods (red, white and black are the colours that I bought) Want to do: a supportive bikini top, using a bra pattern and underwires peplum top (a great one on Shawnta Sews using New Look 6130 ) shorts with the new Style Arc Karen Walking Short start planning and pulling fabrics for my fall wardrobe, and actually start to sew it before fall is over! to catalogue patterns and fabrics...

Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion is a just-been released book about today's garment industry. June 14th was the release date, and it thrills me that I got on the bandwagon right away rather than hearing about it months or even years later.  (I do live on an Island, in the middle of nowhere, with the nearest book store 2 hours away ya know)  I had to have this book as soon as I heard about it on the Patternreview    I grabbed my iPad and downloaded the book from iBooks, then proceeded to read the book in a day. I loved it! In fact, I loved it so much that I had to talk about it non-stop as I was reading it, to whomever was nearby to listen. Unfortunately, the 4 and 6 year-olds didn't really understand what I was talking about.  My DH appeared to be patiently listening, but I think he was just playing Mahjong on his iPad.  My mother, when she happened to call, made all the appropriate noises, and as a the person who fuel...