Like this dress? Yeah, me too. I love the simplicity and playfulness of it. I didn’t create the pattern. I am an expert garment sewist but even expert garment sewists aren’t always trained in pattern drafting. That takes years and years of education and experience. I love to sew garments, always have, always will. To tell you the truth, it’s my true love. I love quilting too but I started

This is a sewing and quilting blog. This is not a political discourse or anything that is meant to be controversial. So, I want to wrap up this project on a happy note. Is that possible? Let me try. There are very good people in this world that are affected by the actions of a few very bad people. When this happens we have to stand together and provide love

Just when you think that the world has gone to hell in a hand-basket, people do something wonderful. We have gotten so many quilts donated for Ukraine. If there’s anything that I cannot stand, it’s to see people being cold. Well we have made the world a little bit warmer. We are boxing up the quilts starting today. There have been so many generous donations. One woman came up on

We have decided to donate fabric to make quilts for Ukraine. We have a lot of participants, and hopefully you have been following our progress so far. The company that I have connected with to ship the quilts is located in Chicago. It is one of their many locations. It’s the closest one to us. When I started this, I knew that I needed to find someone to ship the

We have this pattern available in the shop. However, being who I am, I couldn’t leave “well enough alone”, as my mother would have said. I needed to line it. It only had a facing. I don’t like outerwear to not be lined, and I don’t consider a binding to be as professional a finish as a lining. The lining also provides a little extra protection from the wind. So,

I get so many requests about making the umbrellas. People love them. They’re functional and beautiful. They can be personalized so they make a great gift. Do you have someone that has everything? You cannot possibly buy them a gift because they have all that they need? Well, I would be willing to bet that they don’t have a handmade umbrella. These are extremely sturdy. I have sold over 2000

Prior to Christmas I was contacted by Redfin, a real estate company. They wanted me to discuss handmade additions to holiday decor. You can find the article https://www.redfin.com/blog/decorate-with-handmade-home-decor/. I had chosen a theme for my house for Christmas, and I called it “cozy”. I decorated with odd things as far as home decor was concerned. My garland was festooned with ear muffs and little knitted hats. My table had a

So many people come in to the shop and want the pattern for the Hidden 9-Patch that we have made up into a table runner. We have a continuous one that is made up with new charm packs. Kim Bates loves to make them and even though she doesn’t put in very many hours at the shop any more, she still makes them for us with the new charm packs.

So very recently a very attractive young man came in to the shop. He was holding a blanket that his wife had used and loved. She wanted a new one. Hers was worn out from loving it too much! Problem: it’s made with silky fabric that was probably a combination of silk and polyester. Slinky was my first thought. So, I had some of the Robert Kaufman silk/cotton blend fabric