Today she brought in the fabric and the wooden frame her carpenter built for her and we tackled it together. We did some math, measuring and digging around in the basement for a few little supplies until we completed this awesome awning!
 
And we had a lot of fun doing it too. She has very little sewing experience but she was perfectly capable of “following the scalloped line” and sewed the little edging perfectly on the first try. Then we had to get “Girl Scout creative” with our staple gun with a too short cord and no working extension cord and a little more garbage picking to put it all together.

All in all a very satisfying project and now Cammie can tell all the visitors to her basement Ice Cream Parlor that “I made that!” and be deservedly proud of her achievement.

Yesterday afternoon we had a fabulously fun Birdie Sling Class. It was a special class because it was also a birthday party. Happy Birthday Betsy!!!! (Nice bonus when my students bring treats and make me lunch!)

My favorite part is always seeing what fabric combinations everyone chooses and how they all turn out. The final reveal when the lining gets turned right side out is so exciting.

The finished bags were all so cute I may just have to make another one for myself!

I’ve added descriptions and materials lists for the new classes I’ll be offering this fall/winter. I’m still working on firming up times and days on the schedule so if you have any special requests, get them into me SOON!

Amy Butler’s newest handbag pattern, The Birdie Sling, is by far the most popular pattern in the store. Last week I finally had a chance to make a sample for the store. After the fabulous results of combining Heather Bailey Pop Garden fabric with an Amy Butler pattern I decided to do it again.

This time I used the “Peonies” in red for the main bag and “Sway” in ivory for the upper bands and handle.

The pattern went together for me much better this time than it did when I was teaching it for the first time last month. I also made one modification to the pattern directions. The pattern calls for fusible fleece to be applied to the lining pieces. We did that the last time and I liked the results but I wanted to see what it would be like unpadded. The fleece lining does give it a nice body and adds a layer of protection for your belongings. Without the fleece the bag is more like a tote bag. I think it works either way.

I’ve been working diligently on putting together my fall schedule of classes. I’ve decided due to the popularity of this bag to add it as a class. If you’re interested please drop me a line and let me know what fits your schedule best and I’ll see what I can do to get some times on the schedule that meet those requests. I’m also working on new classes for holiday projects. Quick and easy gift and decorating ideas.

They did a great job choosing coordinating fabrics. Amy’s great colors and patterns make it pretty easy anyway! Emily chose Temple Garden and Full Moon Polka Dot from the Lotus collection with Oxford Stripe for the lining. Lauren selected her fabrics from the new Midwest Modern line; Optic Blossom in linen, Martini in mustard and Happy Dots in grey for the lining.

This was my first time making this pattern too. As with any pattern, I’d advise reading through the directions before starting. Amy Butler patterns are very clear and detailed. This one doesn’t have a lot of diagrams and there were one or two steps that may have been clearer with a diagram. Also we had a little trouble getting the top of the bag pieces and the top bands to match up evenly. We managed to fudge around enough that the end result was fine. I haven’t found any references to this problem in other online reviews of this pattern so it may have just been our mistake. I’ll have to make another sometime to see if we weren’t precise enough in our cutting this time around. This turned out to be a two session project. On the first day we got through the first 6 or 7 steps in the pattern and finished up the last 4 or 5 on the second day. The laying out and cutting of the pattern pieces always takes longer than you expect it to and with the last few finishing steps it is always important to take your time and be sure you do a nice neat job.

The finished bag is very roomy and the pattern includes instructions for two interior pockets. One is divided and quite deep, Lauren commented that this one is the perfect size for her eyeglass case. It wouldn’t be difficult at all to add a zippered pocket to the lining or a smaller cell phone sized pocket to the nice wide strap. I’d also suggest adding a magnetic snap. The other feature I like about this pattern is the use of fusible fleece for the lining interfacing. It gives the bag a nice body and protects your belongings a little bit. (One caveat: the fleece interfacing I ordered came in non-fusible so we used a temporary spray adhesive to stick the lining and interfacing together during assembly. This worked just fine, maybe better than using fusible as my luck and experience with some fusible fleeces has been hit or miss.)

Overall I’d give this pattern an A and Lauren and Emily an A+!

Now that I’ve been at this for a month or so I’m seeing the need to adjust things a bit. I’m going to be changing the way classes are scheduled and possibly lowering the maximum number of students per class. This will give me more flexibility in what classes I can offer and provide more personalized service for students. Plus with physical space limited, it will make it more comfortable for all of us. Stay tuned for changes. I’ll post them here, in the newsletter and have new flyers in the store.

Saturday I had the pleasure of teaching Addie and Miriam how to make a custom tie for Father’s Day. Addie’s chose Amy Butler’s Midwest Modern Martini in yellow and Miriam chose Large Petals in Raspberry by Tina Givens. “Mr. Rick” is going to be one styling Daddy-O!

 
 
 
In addition to a lot of pinning, cutting, stitching, pressing and hand-sewing we had time for groundhog watching (I didn’t get a picture for some reason!), music appreciation, lunch and chatting. Did you know that groundhogs (or woodchucks, but NOT otters!) can climb trees? Not very well mind you but we did observe some mild tree climbing capabilities in the neighborhood herd. (It seems that I am located in the middle of quite the population of groundhogs. I may have to set up a video camera aimed at the neighbor’s on each sides’ porches and make my own “Groundhog Manor” show for Animal Planet.)

Overall it was a fun day.

*Beau Brummell is credited with introducing and establishing as fashion the modern man’s suit, worn with a tie.

    
If you would like to surprise that special someone with a one of a kind, handmade necktie for Father’s Day, join me to “Tie One On” Saturday, June 14 at 11a.m. ($50) Call, email or stop in the store to sign up and reserve your space. Supply list will be provided at registration.
 
What Annie Hall would’ve looked like if she had been a brunette circus clown?

I wanted each tile to represent a craft medium or product in the store. E and I brainstormed some ideas and got to work. She made the paint palette and the button on the bottom row.
  
This one with the scissors and real fabric stitched to the background paper was my favorite one. It was also the first one I made. I learned a valuable lesson. Always paint on a coating of gesso first, even if you are covering the entire thing with paper. It keeps the cork from warping as the glue dries. This one ended up so buckled that it would stay on the wall and when I tried to flatten it out, I broke it!

E’s palette has the same problem, I’m attempting to remedy it by gluing another piece of paper on the back side to counteract the warp. I’ll know if it worked tomorrow.
   
   
Click on the above thumbnails to view a larger image of the details.

That black, silver and purple one? That is duct tape! It was the last ditch replacement for the paper and fabric scissor one that broke. I think it is really cool. I can see variations on a traditional log-cabin quilt squares done in duct tape.

The purse is made from Amy Butler fabric and is slightly stuffed with a layer of batting under the fabric and then machine stitched to the background polka-dot paper. The “beaded” handle is made with paper circles covered with Diamond Glaze to give them dimension and shine.