Plaid Trousers for Fall

I’ve finally added a pair of plaid pants to my fall wardrobe.

My inspiration was the newly released McCalls 8006 pattern with a pair of plaid trousers featured on the front. The plaid plus the trending high waist and sash belt looks like a perfect pairing. When I found the plaid viscose from The Fabric Guys, it was all settled, or so I thought.

Read about what actually happened on the Sewcial Network blog featuring the plaid tartan from The Fabric Guys. You can read the full details here.

As always, thanks for reading today.

You can follow me on instagram, Bloglovin, or by entering your email in the right side bar.

**As an ambassador for The Fabric Guys I receive complementary fabric to use for a project in exchange for sharing it with you. These are my opinions about it.

You might also like my Corduroy Chi Town Skirt

Padded Headphone Case for Sew Long Summer

I’ve made a padded headphone case to say Sew Long Summer and hello to back to school. This is my second post this week for the Sew Long Summer blog tour I’m hosting (read on to see more about the tour).

Headphones are a required school supply, so after the little guy broke two sets of headphones last year, I’m hoping a padded case will keep the newest set in one piece.

I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel, so I used the Taco Zipper Pouch tutorial and template (printed at 125%) that I wrote for On The Cutting Floor last year. I added a lining and batting to all my layers and cut my base and zipper strip to 3 3/4in width to account for the depth of the headphones. The little guy wanted “just one” handle, so I added that in too.

The little guy likes the Minions, but I think he couldn’t care less about the case. Oh well. My fingers are crossed that these headphones will survive the year.

Thanks for reading today. Now about the tour.

Sew Long Summer is all about getting those transitional wardrobe pieces ready; finishing up all those things we meant to make this summer; and well, basically whatever Sew Long Summer means to you.

The full tour includes these talented sewists, so I hope you’ll follow along and comment on their posts this week.

Sept. 9th   Sewing A La Carte,  mahlicadesigns, Sewing Vortex, Sewing With Sarah

Sept. 10th The Bear and Pea Atelier, Auschick Sews, Stitched by Jennie, Miss Marah Sewn

Sept. 11th Sew Cute Couture by Kathy, A Rose Tinted World, mahlicadesigns

Sept. 12th Little Heart Threads, Lulu and Celeste, The Crafting Fiend, Fils Anddraps

Sept. 13th  Petite Font, Sew 4 Five, The Sewing Scientist, Sew Cute Couture by Kathy, Kitty Makes It

You can follow me on instagram, Bloglovin, or by entering your email in the right side bar.

Underwood Tank and Dress

Last summer we had a week of 100 degree temps, the upper level of our home was in the 90s, and my husband was trying so hard to get our evaporation cooler working. It was one of those weeks where we have serious discussions about if it is worth the big money to install air conditioning.

So when Peggy of Sew House Seven put out a call to test her new Underwood Tank and Dress pattern and mentioned that she had those hot summer days in mind when she designed it, a chord was struck in my mind. A barely there dress- yes, yes please!

My first version (the test version) I made up in a floral rayon spandex that I received in a prize box from Simply By Ti. I’m not big on florals or pink but I thought this would make a great nightgown and it does.

My second version was the tank option (final pattern) made up in the Bordeaux Organic Bamboo jersey from DG Patterns*. This final version of the pattern has the straps shifted slightly outward toward the shoulder. I honestly can’t tell the difference between the final and the beta version. Both cover bra straps so I’m good. The pattern includes options for a single fold hem finish at the neckline and armscyes or a facing. I really like the low bulk option of the single fold. I think it works really nicely to make this a light weight dress and top.

So far, this summer in Colorado hasn’t been a scorcher, but I’m ready none the less. What do you sew to cope with the summer heat?

The Pattern: The Underwood Tank and Dress. Knee length dress and tank versions made in size 10 with no alterations. I usually have to shorten everything, but I liked where this dress and tank falls. Keep an eye out for expanded sizes in the future for this pattern.

The Fabric: Organic bamboo jersey in Bordeaux from DG Patterns shop and Floral rayon spandex from Simply by Ti.

As always, thanks for reading today.

You can follow me on instagram, Bloglovin, or by entering your email in the right side bar.

This post may contain affiliate links that are denoted*. If you purchase through my links, I get a small commission to help pay for my sewing hobby.

Crossback Tracey Bee for Seen & Sewn Together blog tour & giveaway

I made a cropped Tracey Bee top earlier this year and mentioned that I ought to make a sleeveless version for summer too. Well looky looky, I actually did it. Not only that, but I took a creative spin with the pattern for the Seen & Sewn Together blog tour this week. (Keep reading for giveaway and blog tour details)

I wanted to make two modifications to the Tracey Bee.

First off making it sleeveless and a little less cropped. This was no effort at all, I simply bound the existing arm hole opening with a bias tape turned to the inside and lengthened the cropped version by 2.5in at the hem line.

The second modification I wanted was to make a crossover with triangular points near the center back. I traced off the back pattern piece to make my adjustments and drew and redrew the angle several times. I was trying so hard to make it an equilateral triangle, but I just couldn’t make it work out. I don’t think anyone will notice.

Here’s what I ended up with. Mark the point 3in out from center back and 11in down from the High Shoulder Point. Then draw the angled lines connecting to the existing shoulder point and 1/2in in from the hem line at the side seam. (1/2in in from the side seam to account for the seam allowance)

You’ll also want to make facing pieces for your new crossover edges. Cut them about 2 1/4in wide (match the width of the front facing) and as long as you need for your new back edges. I attached my front and back facings to the top and then made sure I caught the back facing with the side seams. Finally, when I turned up my hem I made sure it covered the side seam allowance neatly. I did find my facing tended to flip outward along the bottom portion, so I used about a 10in strip of fusible interfacing to tack it down. (I cut my facing about 1.5in wide. This is fine if you don’t mind a mismatch of the facings at the shoulder.)

 

The last step was adding the back buttons. I made sure that centerback was lined up on both pieces and then eyeballed the button placement. My buttons are tacked through both layers to keep everything in place. The Tacey Bee can slip over my head so no need to make button holes.

About the Tracey Bee**: I made a size Large per my bust measurement and made the above modifications. I used a cotton floral print shirting with a solid purple cotton(?) both from stash.

What do you think of my Tracey Bee? I’m wondering if the back buttons need to be larger.

Thanks for reading today, please read on about the blog tour & giveaway.

 

Welcome to the Seen & Sewn Together blog tour.

Arielle from Seen & Sewn Patterns is creating patterns with a focus on encouraging people to join the #handmaderevolution by sewing their own handmade wardrobe.

A nice group of sewing bloggers have joined together to share with you how we’ve taken the Seen & Sewn Patterns and let our creativity loose with them. We want to inspire you whether you’re just starting or well on your way to building your handmade wardrobe.

The extra fun part for you is that we have a prize pack giveaway from Seen & Sewn Patterns that you can enter below. The prize pack for US residents includes 1 pattern of choice, a Slow Fashion Tee, and a Slow Fashion Pin. For our international readers the prize pack includes a copy of all Seen & Sewn PDF Patterns. Bonus! All entrants will receive a coupon code for a $1 pattern of choice -so make sure your email is up to date in your profile when entering.

The tour includes these talented sewists, so I hope you’ll follow along this week.

Monday June 17th

Sew 4 Five, Sewing A la Carte, Aurora Designs

Tuesday June 18th

Idle Sunshine, That’s Sew Lily, House of Estrella

Wednesday June 19th

Mahlicadesigns, Sewing with D, Fee Bricolo, Aurora Designs

Thursday June 20th

Let’s Go Hobby, Sewing from Scratch, Craftstyle Living, Mama You Can Make It

Friday June 21st

Claire Cruse, Make It Sew with the Bear and Pea Atelier, Sew Cute Couture by Kathy

Enter to win something good here!

 

 

**This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through my links, I get a small commission to help pay for my sewing hobby**

Seen & Sewn Together blog tour begins

Welcome to the Seen & Sewn Together blog tour.

Arielle from Seen & Sewn Patterns is creating patterns with a focus on encouraging people to join the #handmaderevolution by sewing their own handmade wardrobe.

A nice group of sewing bloggers have joined together to share with you how we’ve taken the Seen & Sewn Patterns and let our creativity loose with them. We want to inspire you whether you’re just starting or well on your way to building your handmade wardrobe.

The extra fun part for you is that we have a prize pack giveaway from Seen & Sewn Patterns that you can enter below. The prize pack for US residents includes 1 pattern of choice, a Slow Fashion Tee, and a Slow Fashion Pin. For our international readers the prize pack would include a copy of all Seen & Sewn PDF Patterns. Bonus! All readers will receive a coupon code for up to two patterns of choice for $1 each (expires 6/30/19)

The tour includes these talented sewists, so I hope you’ll follow along this week.

Monday June 17th

Sew 4 Five, Sewing A la Carte, Aurora Designs

Tuesday June 18th

Idle Sunshine, That’s Sew Lily, House of Estrella

Wednesday June 19th

Mahlicadesigns, Sewing with D, Fee Bricolo, Aurora Designs

Thursday June 20th

Let’s Go Hobby, Sewing from Scratch, Craftstyle Living, Mama You Can Make It

Friday June 21st

Claire Cruse, Make It Sew with the Bear and Pea Atelier, Sew Cute Couture by Kathy

 

Enter to win something good here!

Breaking Ground blog tour 2019- Kick Off!

Welcome to the Breaking Ground Blog Tour 2019. This year over 25 bloggers from around the world are joining with me to break new ground by trying a pattern designer that is new to them, try new techniques, new styles, or whatever way they want to push themselves. (Read on for Giveaway info)

The Full Tour includes all these creatives… we hope you’ll visit us each day:

Monday March 11– That’s Sew Lily, Sewing A La Carte, Mijn 11jes & ik

Tuesday March 12– mahlicadesigns, Embrace Everyday, Jot Designs, auschick sews, Raising Stripling Warriors

Wednesday March 13– Musings of A Seamstress, Very Blissful, Sew4Five, Just Sew Something, Hazelnut Handmade, Crafting Through Time, Tales From A Southern Mom

Thursday March 14– Make It Sew with the Bear and Pea Atelier, Ronda B Handmade, SequioaLynn Sews, Sewing with D, The Sewing Goatherd, OOYAmade, My Golden Thimble, Custom Made by Laura

Friday March 15–  Sew Cute Couture by Kathy, Sewing Novice, Ronda B Handmade, Momma Bear Sews, MeMade, My Golden Thimble, Lulu & Celeste

Breaking News: our tour sponsor Phat Quarters is offering 2 patterns of choice from her pattern shop to one lucky winner.

Enter Here!

***

We’d love to see how you’re Breaking Ground this month. Share with us what you’re working on by using the hashtag #BreakingGround2019 across social media.

Double the fun and join the Sew Alongs & Sewing Contests facebook group to sew along with the Breaking Ground theme for the entire month of March. In the group you’ll find support and encouragement for your projects and fun themed challenges.

As always, thanks for stopping by today.

Change up the Tee blog tour + GiveAway

What makes a tee, the perfect tee? Well, when it comes to sewing for my little guy, perfection comes when I don’t have to think about it too much. That’s what I found in the Primary Tee from GYCT. I just cut it out, sewed it up and bam! Perfect fit.

The Primary Tee comes with short sleeve and long sleeve options (plus a dress version), so I’m feeling pretty good about sewing tees for my guy all season long with this pattern.

To Change Up the Tee for the blog tour I planned a fun ice dyeing project for my little guy and I to do together. Perhaps you’ve seen the beautiful ice dye projects on pinterest too. I tricked myself into thinking this would be super easy, but found myself in a pickle when I didn’t really read the directions too closely ahead of time.

I made up the little guy’s Primary Tee using white cotton/lycra from the Simply By Ti shop and sorta followed this video tutorial using Rit dyes. We were golden up to part where you have to rinse and set the project. The sorta part was I didn’t purchase the fixative (again I didn’t really prepare well by looking at the directions beforehand) and I didn’t rinse for 20 minutes in hot water- more like 5 minutes.

What I did was a short rinse in hot water with Retayne (the only fixative I have on hand), then refreshed my water bucket with hose water several times until it was running a little clearer. I did one last bucket full of water and fixative for a few minutes before bringing the project inside. At this point the tee looked great. The colors were vibrant purple, fuchsia, and yellow with portions of the white cotton/lycra coming through.

Next, I put the tee in the washer, washed on hot with more Retayne, dried on hot, and washed again in warm water with regular detergent. The final result is much more muted.

 

The little guy loves the tee and is proud of what we made together. I would have liked to colors to remain as saturated as they looked before going through the wash. I think another try at this is needed.

If you’d like to try Changing Up the Primary Tee, you can save $2 using code “SEWBLUE” off of the Primary Tee pattern, good from July 2-July 15, 2018

Thank you Made for Little Gents for hosting the tour and Thank you GYCT Designs for providing the Primary Tee as our canvas for creativity.

Thanks for reading! Check out what other bloggers are doing and come up with ideas for changing up the tee by following along with the blog tour below:

Fri. June 29
Made for Little Gents (Intro to Tour)
Mon. July 2
Family of Makers
Tues. July 3
Made for Little Gents
Wed. July 4
Frullemieke
Thurs. July 5
Made by Laura!
Fri. July 6
Auschick Sews
Mon. July 9
Kate Will Knit | Sew Cute Couture by Kathy
Tues. July 10
Tenille’s Thread | Mahlica Designs
Wed. July 11
Momma Newey’s Makes | Our Play Place
Thurs. July 12
My Sewing Roots | Elli and Nels
Fri. July 13
Dreams and Stitches | Stylin’ Stacy

Ready for the giveaway to GYCT Designs Shop? Here you go! Good luck!
Follow this link for the Rafflecopter giveaway!

Coffee and Cocktails with Elizabeth Made This

Today I have a guest post on the Elizabeth Made This blog about my creations for the Day and Night Dress Challenge.

Here’s a little sneak peek.

Please take a look at the full post at Elizabeth Made This.

ITS Love Blog Tour

My sewing friends today is the launch of the ITS (Itch To Stitch) Love blog tour.

Recently, Kennis Wong the designer behind Itch to Stitch Patterns returned to find her house thoroughly burglarized. While her fans were going bananas purchasing her patterns to help in her effort to raise funds, several of us thought it would be fun to do a blog tour to continue to support her. And hence the ITS Love Tour was born.

This week we’re showing our Love for ITS patterns and for Kennis by showcasing our favorite patterns new and old. We have tour sponsors that are showing their love and support for Kennis by donating a great collection of prizes for us to giveaway.

My hope is that you’ll follow along with the tour and if you’d like to lend your support you can do that by purchasing your favorite Itch to Stitch patterns from the shop.

Your ITS Love bloggers are

Monday: Sew Sophie Lynn, Merritts Makes, Sewing with Sarah, Sewing with D

Tuesday:   Shalini’s Blog, Auschicksews, Rebel and Malice, Sewing Vortex

Wednesday:  Replicate Then Deviate, mahlicadesigns, Sewing with D, The Petite Sewist,  kreamino

Thursday: Sewing Curves, Creative Counselor, Sew Mariefleur,  Fairies, Bubbles & Co, Sewing by Ti

Friday: Harper+Lu, MeMade, On Wednesdays We Sew, Heather Handmade, Bellevi,  and please visit by mooglii on IG

The ITS Love Tour sponsors have been so generous in support of Kennis of Itch to Stitch that we’ve been able to put together several prize packages to share with you.

First, you may enter our giveaway to win one of three prize packs:

Prize Pack #1 includes:

5 Itch to Stitch patterns

$25GC to Simply By Ti  

$50 Raspberry Creek Gift Card

$50 Bella Sunshine gift card

Prize Pack #2 includes:

$50 Knit Pop GC

$25 Designer Stitch GC

$25 Chalk and Notch GC

3 patterns of choice from Coffee And Thread

2 patterns of choice from Hey June Handmade

Prize Pack #3 Includes:

$15 Thread & Grain store credit

$25 Maker Mountain Fabrics GC

$40 So Sew English GC

3 patterns from Halla Patterns 

A Rafflecopter Giveaway

Your second way to win is to share with us your recent Itch to Stitch creations (made between October and November 2017). Add your creations to our Link Up Party before Nov. 20th for a chance to win one of two prize packs.

LinkUp Prize Pack #1 includes:

5 Itch to Stitch patterns

 A $40 value PFRE Sly Fox Fabrics.

$25 Maker Mountain Fabrics GC

$50 Love Notions GC

LinkUp Prize Pack #2 includes:

$25 Stylish Fabric GC & sewing box kit

$25 Chalk and Notch GC

5 patterns from Rad Patterns

Pattern of choice from DG Patterns

 

 

Giveaway and Linkup prize winners will be announced on or abou

As always, love.

 

You can follow me on instagram, Bloglovin, or by entering your email in the right side bar.

Breaking Ground Blog Tour from mahlicadesigns

Welcome to the Breaking Ground Blog Tour. This week almost 20 bloggers have joined me to break new ground by trying a pattern designer that is new to them, with a focus on smaller indie designers. I also threw out an extra challenge to see who would break ground with new tecniques, styles, or whatever way they wanted to push themselves.

I’ll be posting here daily with teasers and links to each days bloggers and showing some of my Breaking Ground makes too.

Today we have:

Anne-Mari Sews,  Sewing By Ti,  Musings of A Seamstress,  Tenille’s Thread,  Couturious, Embrace Everyday,  Sewing A La Carte

 

The Full Tour:

Monday March 20- Anne-Mari Sews, Sewing By Ti, Musings of A Seamstress, Tenille’s Thread, Couturious, Embrace Everyday, Sewing A La Carte

Tuesday March 21- mahlicadesigns,  Kaleidothought,  Ronda B Handmade, Elizabeth Made This

Wednesday March 22- Rainy Day Sewing, Anne-Mari Sews, Sprouting Jube Jube, Sewing A La Carte,  Tales of a Tester

Thursday March 23- mahlicadesigns, Lulu & Celeste, Very Blissful, Sprouting Jube Jube, Ronda B Handmade, Adventures with Bubba and Bug

Friday March 24- Anne-Mari Sews, Tales of a Tester, Sewing By Ti, Musings of A Seamstress, Harper + Lu,  Sewing A La Carte

It seems like I’m constantly learning about new indie pattern designers and it can seem overwhelming to keep track of it all. I’ve recently added an Indie Pattern List to my blog to catalogue them all. I hope this will be a helpful resource for you.

As always, thanks for stopping by today.

Ahhhh spring, where are you?

I’ve been ready for spring since back in September when I started putting together my blog plans for 2016. Spring and summer are my seasons and I’m much more inspired by the season’s sewing too. My sewing wish list is pretty long, but I wanted to share my more realistic Spring/Summer goals.

What? What do you mean, it’s still February? If I want things to wear this spring I have to start now.

I’m planning to continue to work through my pattern stash, getting through a lot of them this year. Having the patterns I own on pinterest boards helps me plan out projects.

I have a few items I want to make to further my Spring/Summer Core Wardrobe. I need sleeveless and short sleeve tops in almost all of my Core Colors. A few knit tanks would be useful too.

I may do another version of my VS. series this spring. I’m thinking of changing the format just a little by doing a regular post on the projects that I plan to feature in the VS. series, so you can have more detailed reviews of the patterns.

And just a few things that I’m considering:

I’m very intrigued by multifunctional clothing. After watching this many times, I worked out how to copy it, but I’m not confident my machine can flatlock the pieces.

I keep going back to look through Ralph Pink’s patterns. So far I’m exercising self control.

 

Be sure you’re following mahlicadesigns so you don’t miss what I’m doing next. (Over there on the right side bar)

2015’s Resolutions and what’s up for 2016

So December of last year I decided to try something new, actually making resolutions for the next year to come. You can see my plan here.

Time to come clean. I’d say I did about 50/50 in accomplishing what I laid out to do. While I was far from completing the list of goals, I do have a good routine for working through it and keeping myself accountable and that’s half the battle for me. For 2016, I’m going to continue the momentum I’ve established.

Sewing Goals for 2015

In 2015 I’d like to learn how to make a lapped zipper and try fancy seam finishes.

Actual: Lapped zipper yes, twice; fancy seam finishes not really

Finish up Core Wardrobe

Actual: Lot’s of new pieces added but still more to come

Work on the UFO pile, finishing four in 2015.

Actual: One item given up for scraps.

Serious destashing of stuff I won’t use.

Actual: About 5 pieces given away, still more listed on Etsy and Facebook

Organization goals for 2015

Getting things neatly in a place they belong. Small bites at a time, one closet or bookcase per month.

Actual: Finished two of these off my list.

Unpacking boxes from our move. One box per month.

Actual: 8 boxes done and finding it hard to move all those boxes of books into the house.

Downsizing. I’ve got stuff that needs to go! One thing/batch per month.

Actual: Best results here, about 9 things/batches.

The obligatory 2015 resolution list

Every year about this time I scoff about people making resolutions for the New Year. Why waste your time when utter failure is coming your way in less than two months? I really should eat some humble pie because I feel like I’m in a constant state of trying to get my act together and never getting there. So really, I’m frustrated all the time, instead of one big dose of it in January or February. So this year I’m making some resolutions like everybody else.

I’m sharing my list to keep myself accountable and I know some of you have similar goals. We can partner together to encourage each other to get it done. I’m trying to be realistic here. Some of these goals need more than one year, but its about getting the habits started.

Sewing

In 2015 I’d like to learn how to make a lapped zipper and try fancy seam finishes.

I already have a fair start on my Core Wardrobe resolution but need to finish it out.

Work on the UFO pile, finishing four in 2015. Below is one of my UFOs.

I need to do some serious destashing, there’s stuff in there that I’m just not going to use, but can’t bring myself to donate. I at least need to make a plan for getting rid of some of it.

Sister Suns quilt top

Organization

Part one is getting things neatly in a place they belong. Small bites at a time, one closet or bookcase per month.

Part two is unpacking boxes from our move 1.5 years ago. They’re all in our garage and it would be nice to get both cars in there. One box per month.

Part three is downsizing. I’ve got stuff that needs to go! Not sure how to measure this other than one thing/batch per month.

Wouldn’t it be nice if everything lined up so nicely?

I’ll be giving updates on my facebook page. Follow me there if you want to see how I do and leave me a facebook comment if you are interested in helping each other on a similar goal.

Some inspiration: This week I emptied one box of books from the garage, gave away our really big artificial tree on Freecycle, and listed some destash items in one of my etsy stores, and got a couple things up on craigslist. Thats pretty impressive, for me.

Going Hard Core this Winter

Ooo, sounds edgy huh? I am so far from. Here’s the real deal, I’m planning out my core wardrobe. I’m using a couple cute graphics as my visual guide to fill in some gaps, but if you want to take the 12+ step program in developing yours check out Coletterie.

I’ve spent a little time over the last few months paring down my closet and evaluating the pieces. I have a decent sized stack of items to donate that I just don’t love or lets face it I’m not going to lose enough weight to fit.

Now, I have some problems to solve that came into view:

I have a bunch of skirts and tops that just don’t pair up with anything very well to make an outfit.

A few items need to be altered.

My body shape has changed.

My wardrobe screams business office.

What I do know:

I’d like my basic colors to be charcoal grey, black, and cream.

The tee’s I have fit terribly. I can’t believe I’ve put up with that for so long.

I’m down to just a couple pairs of pants that still fit.

Leggings will not be part of my core wardrobe.

I see about 12 outfits here. Not including the leggings.

The plan:

Evaluate body shape and find silhouettes that work for me.

Start filling in the gaps: 1. long sleeve tees. I have two fabrics in my base colors and high hopes I’ll find a pattern that fits right at the start. 2. I don’t own a longer sleeve dress for cooler months. I have a pattern picked but still on the hunt for a lightweight wool that is suitable.

Do a more thorough eval of existing pieces to figure out what I need to make them an outfit.

Reformat brain to sew outfits not pieces.

Work up some system so I know what pieces go together. I’m thinking hang tags with outfit options, I’m that befuddled.

Have you jumped on the core wardrobe bandwagon? Any imput for me?

Thread Boutique Denver

Last week I announced that I will have a sampling of my skirts in the Thread Boutique in Denver. Thread features hand made items from local artists and makers.

My photos show just sampling of a great variety of items in the shop. Be sure to check out this charming place the next time your in downtown Denver. Why not on Friday’s for Happy Hour featuring snacks and wine and meet some of the artists featured in the shop? Why not on the way to the next Rockies game? Thread is located at 1227 21st St. just a few blocks from Coors Field.

Oh hey! Like the skirts I’ve been talking about? Watch my etsy store in the coming weeks for some new things or convo me for a custom item.

Is Denver’s mini Maker Faire for you?

A few weekedends back I took a break from a three day CreativeLive course and hoped on over to Denver’s first mini Maker Faire with my toddler in tow.

I wanted to share my impressions of the Faire from the perspective of a sewer and arts and crafts maker.

About ten percent of the Faire booths were makers that would fall into my traditional areas of interest; Cei Lambert a fiber artist and designer with his loom, the Denver Sewing Collective with a few sewing projects to make and take home, Craftsy educator Carol Ann Waugh, Revive Gifts offering upcycled steampunk items, and some bobbin lace makers.

The Faire also featured quite a bit of technology related makers. I saw a lot of booths related to 3D printing, from companies offering their services, groups selling printers and 3D items, and a few make your own hackers. Robotics, technology and sculpture, laser and water cutters, and custom bike builders just to start.

I was really encouraged by a great number of booths that were education focused and most had activities for kids. My little guy was still a little small for most of the activities, but I think in a few years we could have much fun together.

 

All in all, as a crafty person I will pass on attending the Faire again. When my boy is a bit older, I think it will be a great experience for him.

Earl’s Marquetry

EarlsMarquetry is a blog I’ve been putting together as a gallery of my father’s marquetry work.

Scarlet Macaw

Not familiar with marquetry? Marquetry uses wood veneers as the medium to create an image.

Custom Pet Portraits

Check out Earl’s gallery.

Gulf Coast

Crazy Quilted Tree Ornaments

I’m so glad to finally have something new to share with you. Now that I’m getting settled into a new house and the new baby is not so new anymore, its time to refocus my creative efforts again. The machine is unpacked and I’m working on new items for my Etsy store. This week I finished up a new type of crazy quilted ornament.

Introducing the new Crazy Quilted Tree Ornament

I plan on offering this ornament in a limited number of colors, we’ll see how that plan goes.