to market, to market

So this spring I got myself a sewing room (more on that later!!).  But in the process of moving my stash, I realized how much I had hidden in the bowels of every closet of my home!  Time to streamline a bit.  So I took all my very favorite must-keep fabrics and put them on the shelves, which left me with multiple containers full of "second string" fabrics that I needed to do something with.  While I plan to destash some eventually, I decided the best way to get rid of it was to sew it up!  So, along with a local friend in a similar fabric hoarding predicament, it was decided to sew stuff to sell at the Farmer's Market held Saturday mornings near our cottage. I have always shied away from making things to sell- I am far from perfect and not patient enough to make things so.  I figure if it is given for free, they can't complain, but when buying, a more professional standard is expected.  Plus I have a job already, and don't feel the need to turn a hobby I love into a business.  So Megan and I went into this with a mutual understanding that we would only continue to do this if it was FUN.

We had our first go at market last weekend, and FUN was definitely had.  The market is like a big social occasion- locals and cottagers all come out and mingle, get their produce, local farmed beef, baking, and there are tons of handmade goodies to peruse.  I think I got way more hugs than sales but that was awesome!!  So great to see friends, new and old.  Despite crazy weather (3 apocalyptic style thundershowers in as many hours), there was a decent turn out and we sold a good portion of our supply- enough that I have had to be busy this week generating more! The other vendors were very welcoming and we were well received by the shoppers.  A great day! 

Megan and I each had things we made for sale.  My contributions were:

coin purses
wristlets
cameral strap covers
patchwork pouches
mesh laundry bags
fold up market totes

Of course if we were going to do this, we had to do so in style- we named ourselves "Dockside Handmade" and had a sign made, as well as some cute business cards that doubled as price tags.  And I had to find all sorts of fun containers for display-----go cute or go home!

And I had to make us each an apron from the pattern by Spotted Stones Krista from the Make It, Take It book by Poppyprint Krista! was perfect for keeping change, pen, phone, etc handy.

So if you find yourself in Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba on a summer Saturday between 10 and 1, be sure to drop in to say hi!

Make It, Take It blog tour!

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!


Welcome, friends of Make It, Take It by Krista Hennebury, the fabulous crafty book about retreat-worthy projects! This is one of the last stops on the blog tour train, and so happy to be part of it and this book.  As with the other contributors, I will be giving away a digital copy of the book today, so for your chance to win, please leave a comment below about your favourite retreat experience.  Winner will be drawn on Thursday April 16!

My contribution to this book was the Knitwit Needle Clutch, hanging out on page 40.  This project is the perfect combination of both of my stitchy loves, sewing and knitting.

*image from Make It, Take It by Krista Hennebury, Martingale, 2015; used by permission. 

Photo by Brent Kane.  All Rights Reserved.

This clutch stays in my current knitting project bag and I have taken it with me pretty much everywhere over the past 2 years since I first designed it.  It really is handy!  Here is my own personal Knitwit Needle Clutch in Echino :) And my current sweater project that I hope to finish soon to enjoy for spring!

The inspiration for this design came from need.  (ha ha!  "Need" in the loosest sense....) I have one of those fabulous sets of interchangeable needles, and wanted to organize them in something a bit more stylish than the package they came with.  Thus, the Knitwit Needle Clutch was born! Using some fun knit-themed linen I had been hoarding for who knows how long, I made a fun organizational pouch with clear vinyl pockets to allow you to place labels to customize to your personal needle and cable collection.

There is a flap to keep all of the needles from slipping out the side of then clutch when closed:

It all folds up into a fashionable, compact and functional carrying case, with room for needed notions and such as well in a zippered compartment on the back.

If you are of the "bi-craftual" orientation and happen to make a Knitwit Needle Clutch, be sure to email me with a photo or tag me on instagram, I would love to see it!

So many wonderful projects in this book.  I hope you do enjoy it.  Good luck in the giveaway!

Make It, Take It!

I am really proud to say I am a contributor the book Make It, Take It by Krista Hennebury of Poppyprint!

The premise of the book is that all the projects are crafts centred around retreats.  The projects are either things that you can make while there, or prior to the retreat for storing and toting your supplies.  There are some really fabulous and creative projects in there!  I have received an advance pdf copy and all of the projects are truly top notch.

My contribution?  An amalgamation of my two loves, sewing and knitting!  It's called the Knitwit Needle Clutch, the perfect place to store all of your knitting needles and notions while on the go. Here is a sneak peek- more details to follow (along with a giveaway!) in a future post.

The book is available for pre-order at Amazon and Chapters, but is being released today at shopmartingale.com if you can't wait.  Also, Krista will have some advance copies for sale at QuiltCon, and will be there to sign it for you!  I hope you enjoy the book- it was great fun to be a part of this collaboration.

*images from Make It, Take It by Krista Hennebury, Martingale, 2015; used by permission. Photos by Brent Kane.  All Rights Reserved.

teacher gifts

It's the last day of school today, so along with the sheep happens bag and yarn I gifted to one of my kids' teachers, I made a couple summer totes with some Anna Maria Horner "stacked" fabric in home dec weight.  This book-inspired fabric is the perfect choice for a teacher, wouldn't you say?

I accented the handles and lined them with a couple other of her coordinating prints.  Then filled them with summer goodies- a water infuser, some chips and Smarties (for helping make my kids so smart!) and a gift card for them to choose some summer reading.

I made the totes without a pattern, just sewed some rectangles together, made a gusset bottom, lined and added a slip pocket.  Sometimes simple is best!

Blogging will be sporadic for July and August as I will have 3 energetic little people wanting my attention on my days off!  Plus heading out to the lake for some family R&R :)  But,  I do hope to sneak in some regular sewing while I am there.  I have a stack of quilt tops meant for the cottage bunk beds that need quilting and binding!  Plus a couple secret swap projects that I plan to finish up.  So, hopefully some good things to show you once routine is restored. 

Wishing you all a fabulous summer (or winter, in the other hemisphere!).

xoxo Kristie

personalized tote

My friends's daughter is a crafty little thing (and by crafty I mean likes to make crafts, not devious).  I had previously sent her the Crafty Chloe book, illustrated by Heather Ross, as a gift, and decided to make her a Crafty Chloe tote, filled will art supplies, as a birthday gift.

A band of crafty Chloe fabric across the top, and some girly echino polka dots for the body.  Lined with Crafty Chloe, too!

I personalized the tote with her first initial for added fun.  A sweet, quick gift!

Liberty fun

While in Toronto I visited one of my besets friends, Samantha, who has a wee thing for Liberty of London fabric.  She is heading to London in a week's time, and is visiting the Mothership itself.  She mentioned she bought a new iPad mini to take on her trip, so I thought I would put something together.

I started by using scraps and neutrals and put them together to look a bit like flying birds...

Then brought it all together to make a cover for her mini, with birds on front and back.

Did some accent stitching around the birds.

And lined it with Liberty, too!

And easy project and so much fun.  I think I need to make a mini quilt with some Liberty birds for me!

mother's day make

I hope all you moms out there had a fabulous day Sunday!  I started the day sleeping in at a hotel in Toronto after a fabulous weekend away and ended it being welcomed home at the airport by 3 sweet kids (and their Daddy) waving signs and giving me lots of hugs and kisses.  It was perfect.

I made a wee something for my own mom, who recently got a Kindle.  Just a slip case with a button enclosure to keep it protected in her purse.  I was pretty psyched about my Victoria and Albert books fabric choice ;)

And some green text inside.

Big hugs to all the moms out there, who have the hardest and best job there is!

Noodlehead Poolside Tote

It was about -40 degrees Celsius when Anna of Noodlehead asked if I wanted to pattern test her new Poolside Tote.  It felt so good to work on a piece of summer in the midst of our epic winter this year.  And it was just the slice of happy I needed! And The Middle Child agrees ;)

A wonderfully large tote designed for toting all those towels, magazines and flip flops to the pool or beach.  The pattern is well written with tons of diagrams and photos for all of the steps- very comprehensive, though I would expect no less from a Noodlehead pattern!  Anna made this pattern as part of the Bag of the Month Club, so it is available there exclusively until July, when she will also release it on her own site.

The pattern comes with directions for a slip pocket or a zippered pocket.  I decided to add both.  The zippered pocket is perfect for keeping little things like keys, wallets and phones secure.  I was so excited to put these adorable hexie flowers to use on the front that were a gift from my wonderfully talented friend Svetlana of Sotak Handmade- aren't they perfectly cheerful here alongside this colourful zipper? I added a bit of hand stitching, too.

On the other side I did the slip pocket option using a fun camping print. As you can see, it is more than roomy enough for magazines, books or e-readers.

Inside, I decided to use some Little Folks laminated fabric, which will be perfect for soggy towels and bathing suits.  I was thinking I was pretty brilliant when I came up with this, I ain't gonna lie.  And as you can see, the three beach towels I have in here barely make a dent in all the space!

(a better photographer would of folded or rolled those towels neatly, 

but I just jammed them in there as I normally would on my way to the beach!)

All in all, I have to give this pattern two thumbs up. Now, just add SUMMER!!

snap!

Just a wee, quick project for fun!

Bought some flex frames from here and decided to make mini coin purses.  You just apply a little pressure to the sides and they pop open- kind of fun!

I paired some Melody Miller fabrics with some genuine leather scraps and some Liberty lining. And in a snap, they were done!

One for me and two were shared with friends :)

sewn: epic bag #2

The original of these bags, my own design, was made for me, and you can see it here.  I have used it faithfully every day since, and I can honestly say that it is my favourite bag ever, made OR bought.  Perfect size, weight and just fun to look at.  I still have it in my head that I will make this into a pattern, and needed to refresh my memory on exactly how I made it! So I decided to make another for my "hitchhiking" friend's 40th in her favourite bright oranges.

I started with a small panel of piecing to use for the front pocket.  Paired it with some Essex linen and some hand stitching to make a fun and distinctive bag.

Added some accent handles and some hardware and some patchwork detail on the back.

Inside is a multitude of pockets, both zipped and slip.  The top also has a zipper to hold contents in securely.

It can be carried by the short handles over the arm or worn cross body as a messenger, resulting in this "fold over" look:

Wish I had planned and taken some pictures of it "worn" before it was gifted but all I have are these iPhone bathroom shots, complete with sweat pants full of thread, lol!

Anyways.

Love this bag.

It was loved by my friend, and I am happy to know we will be sporting sister bags even when we are across the country from each other xoxo

sewn: wet bags!

We have a few people in our lives who have had some babies recently or are expecting them soon.  I wanted some simple handmade gifts that would be practical, useful and not too labour-intensive for me to make!  I decided on wet bags- pretty zipped pouches lined with waterproof fabrics, perfect for toting those wet cloth diapers, soiled clothes, or even wet bathing suits.

We took the supplies out to the lake with us, and I was so excited to sew on my new/old table, a banged up antique drop leaf table I scored for $10.  Beautiful and sturdy ;)

The Middle Child wanted to be involved and so she helped choose coordinating fabrics and zippers.  She was so enthusiastic about helping with the sewing and pressing.  In her excitement, about 3 minutes in, she forgot that irons are hot and left it face down on the table......

Grr.  Good thing it was already "rustic."  Took a bit of scraping and four letter words to get the varnish off the iron, but soon enough we were back at it, and made a bounty of bags for the day.  I even pulled out some of my favourite and hoarded Heather Ross fabrics for the occasion! It felt good to USE them.

So here we have it!  I did some larger and some smaller sized bags.

For the girls:

Just love how the "just stay little" made it perfectly onto the handle :)

And for the boys:

The inner waterproof fabric:

Looking forward to gifting these and hope that they will be put to good use!