I just checked the mail and look at what has arrived: new fabric! And it is so pretty.
I have been so busy and haven’t had time to sew much and have had even less time to blog about it. But I think this is just the trick to kick my sewing mojo into high gear.
Now what to make… I think the red roses might turn into a Lady Skater. Decisions, decisions.
Caroline, of Sew-Eng. has just announced, not one, but two summer meet-ups for Montreal sewing bloggers. Of course, you don’t need to have a blog, or live in Montreal to attend. (Oh, et c’est bien sur, un événement bilingue!)
The first takes place on Saturday, June 14, 2014 and starts at noon. It includes lunch, fabric shopping on Saint-Hubert, and then a 5 à 7 afterwards. Since lunch is involved, RSVPs are in order.
The second takes place on Friday July 18, 2014 and also starts at noon. It includes lunch, fabric shopping on Chabanel street, and then a 5 à 7 afterwards. Since lunch is involved, RSVPs are, again, in order.
Last time there was a fabric and pattern swap, so I hope there will be again. We’ll see.
So hop over to Caroline’s site and sign up! Maybe I’ll see you there.
Last week I got my latest Warp & Weft Sewing Society package. Exciting. They always come wrapped in brown paper and tied up in string. It’s such a nice touch.
Anyway, here are some “before” shots of some upcoming projects. Of course, I had two kids who refused to nap photobomb my photo session. Just one of those days…
Kid No 3 loves ladybugs and walked around with this fabric for two days. No idea where she gets it. 😉
When I made my very first quilt I had the toughest time finding fabric for the backing. So I scoured the web and found something perfect.
I chose the Spade in Charcoal from the Grand Bazaar collection by Patty Young for Michael Miller. I bought it at Tonic Living , a Canadian fabric shop, and it was also the very first time I bought fabric online.
So it’s a little bit sad for me that Tonic Living has decided to stop selling quilting cottons and focus on home decor. On the other hand, it means that quilting cottons are on sale (while quantities last). You can find them all here. They even have some Spade left, though not in charcoal.
Janine from Tonic Living has generously offered a discount for my readers. If you use the coupon code FINISHEDGARMENT you will get an additional 10% anything in the store (on top of clearance prices.) but hurry, the coupon code will expire at the end of Friday October 11.
I am super excited to announce my very first custom fabric bundle! Come look!
It’s called Snow Day and it’s available now (and is even on sale!) from Warp &Weft.
This is the really fabulous copy: “A cool and contemporary selection of aquas, reds, greys and crispy whites hand-picked by Shannon Smith of The Finished Garment exclusively for Warp & Weft | Exquisite Textiles”. Oh my!
When Esmari of Warp & Weft contacted me and asked me to create a custom bundle for her first anniversary, using fabrics from her shop, I was so just so thrilled. The tough part (ok, the really, really fun part) was narrowing down the choices.
I wanted something fun, and something with some sort of theme. And winter is coming (which really it always is, unless it is already winter). And of course what does Montreal have a lot of? Winter! (Gotta represent!) So a snow theme just sounded perfect.
I am really happy about how it tuned out. Can’t you just see these in a quilt with a lot of white for the snow?
You should take a look at the other guest bundles too. Each of the members of the Warp & Weft Sewing Society contributed their own bundle. Carla’s is called Candy Floss and Cynthia’s is called On Rosamund Street. Aren’t they beautiful? And so different, like each one of us.
Special Discount
Anyway, enough gushing. I feel like I’ve already used up my quota of exclamation marks writing this post.
If you order any of the three bundles in the next week, they are also 10% off! Yay!
Happy Anniversary Warp & Weft! Thanks for inviting me to the party!
So where have I been, you may be asking? Each I year I co-organize an open source tech conference. It was on June 29-30. It is huge and crazy and getting through the pile of laundry afterwards is an amazing feat. But I am officially back in my usual, crazy, mum-of-four swing of things.
My first job has been to tame the email, and what was awaiting me there? A prize!
Yes, I am one of the official winners of the shorts on the line giveaway. My prize is the Kid Shorts by MADE. It looks really cute and I can’t wait to try it out. And since it fits kids 12 months to size 10, that means I’ll have to make four. Shorts, shorts, shorts! Thanks to Rachel of Imagine Gnats and Carla of Small + Friendly for organizing both the Shorts on the Line contest (which I also entered) and the giveaway. And thanks to Dana of MADE for donating the prize.
And what else did I get to now that life is getting back to normal… the fabric store!
It’s about 40 degrees with the humidex during the day here in Montreal – unbearably hot and humid. I kept seeing all the local mums in these fabulously comfortable jersey maxi dresses. I’ve been having babies for so long now that my (non-maternity) wardrobe is just pitiful, so I figured it was time for some summer sewing for me.
This is some really soft, really spongey bamboo jersey and McCall’s M 6760. The photo makes the fabric look darker than it is. It’s actually a medium grey and medium-weight. Now that I’ve blogged it I will be forced to sew it. No procrastinating allowed!
I know, I know, all the dresses on the pattern envelope are made of georgette or some other airy fabric, but definitely not knit fabric. But there it was on the back of the envelope, “jersey”.
And the bonus is that with jersey, I won’t need to line it or use an invisible zipper. I’m just a bit concerned that the jersey might be a bit heavy and weigh too much on the waistband, but we will soon find out. The waistband is meant to be interfaced, but then it won’t be as comfortable. Hmmm. dilemma, dilemma. I love the fabric, but I could also do a glorified t-shirt maxi dress instead. Maybe a bit dull, in grey though. What would you do? Suggestions welcome.
I have some big news! As you know, I’m a big fan of Canadian fabric shops, so I am super excited to announce an ongoing collaboration with Warp & Weft Exquisite Textiles.
Warp & Weft is a Canadian online fabric and sewing store specializing in designer and imported cotton fabric, embroidery supplies and notions for creative sewing. The shop is run by Esmari Taylor out of Toronto.
She has some fabulous products (go check them out!), and I’ll be doing some sewing with her fabrics on a regular basis and possibly doing some embroidery (so excited!).
My late grandmother taught me to embroider as a little girl, but I haven’t done very much of it lately, and I’m looking forward to the trip down memory lane. I miss her!
I just got my first package, and there was some great fabric inside. I have some really fun projects in mind and I can’t wait to share.
The kids love the Seven Seas fabrics. So cute! I may need to get some more.
There were also some pretty florals, which are great for summer.
I have been adding this fabric to my online shopping carts for months and then not buying it because I had no specific project for it. But now I do!
And finally, linen! I think linen is my favourite fabric of all time. I always just buy black and white, so I thought I’d try some colour this time.
So consider these the “before” photos, and expect to see the completed projects in the coming weeks.
Honestly, the fabric is pretty exciting! But a couple of other nice things happened lately. We’ve always wanted to plant trees for each of our kids, and we’ve just been given four baby oak trees. Now we just have to choose where to plant them.
We also had a very special visitor drop in unexpectedly. We live outside of the city, so wildlife sightings aren’t rare, but the kids always seem to miss them. This time our friendly visitor stayed still long enough for us all to get a good look and for me to take some photos. Wonder if he or she will be back?
My husband is getting pretty tired of hearing about separating zippers and wool crepe. So I was very excited about the first Montreal Sewing Bloggers’ Meetup. We were seven sewists at the meetup. Not bad, especially on a very cold and rainy Saturday.
We started out with coffee at Caffè mille gusti. The service was great and the owner was super friendly. Also, cannolis! Mmmmmm. Then we had a fun pattern and fabric swap. Check out the damage.
I got two nice patterns for myself. A nice pencil skirt from Burda (view C is calling me), and an Anne Klein jacket. I also have a big box of homeless patterns for the next meetup. Ah, the 1980’s!
Then we did the tour of Saint-Hubert. Luckily for my budget, we mostly stuck to the more affordable fabric and notion stores. It was great fun. Heather of Closet Case Files knew all the shops and took us around to her favourites. I picked up a bit of pretty cotton shirting for only $6/yard. I also saw some really nice wools, but couldn’t decide what I wanted. And I think the other sewists convinced me I need a cape. I do need a cape, right?
I am so excited to find a group of people who are as excited about sewing as I am! So excited that I forgot to take photos. I’m such a bad blogger sometimes!
Who was there?
Shannon (me) of The Finished Garment
Suzie Suzie’s Sewing Story
Julie
Monserratt
Catherine of Ramble On Cat
Heather Lou of Closet Case Files
Vicki of Another Sewing Scientist
Everyone was so nice! Really! I’m not sure what it is about sewing that makes people so incredibly nice and friendly, but it’s awesome. And of course no one complains if you want to talk zippers and wool crepe.
I think we should definitely have another meetup and Vicki from Another Sewing Scientist and Map the Sewintists suggested somewhere with a terrace next time. But when? Suggestions for dates welcome!
And though we were only seven of us this time, there were other bloggers that just couldn’t work last Saturday’s meetup into their schedule. Hopefully they will be able to make it next time. Here are some of their blogs, in case you are looking for more local talent.
Caroline of Sew-Eng
Emily of La Bobine filante
Sophie of L’effet Créa
Véronik of St-Denis Yarns
Jennifer of Family Buzz
Mémère of Graine de mémère
(If you are looking for more bloggers to follow, but quilting is more your thing, you can find a list of Montreal modern quilting bloggers on the Montreal Modern Quilt Guild website.)
Do you know any other Montreal sewing bloggers? Or maybe you are another Montreal sewing blogger? Let me know who I’ve missed in the comments so I know who to invite next time!
I was reading all about the recent Toronto Sewing Blogger Meetup and I thought, we should do that in Montreal! Who’s in?
I was thinking it would be nice to meet on a Saturday afternoon, grab coffee around 1 p.m and hit the fabric shops on Saint-Hubert: Effiloché, Couture-Elle, Rubans, Boutons and more (or less, if everyone finds what they need right away). Montreal has some great fabric shops, but there is so much to choose from that it can be overwhelming, at least for me. I need a second opinion. That could be you!
But when? My schedule is just crazy, but the following dates would work. Do you have a preference? Let me know in the comments, or contact me directly.
I know some would prefer a Sunday, but most of the shops are closed that day.
And of course, out-of-towners are welcome and having a blog is entirely optional. If you are worried about language, don’t. All the shop clerks will speak both English and French.
Si vous êtes francophone, soyez la bienvenue. Je serai heureuse de converser avec vous dans la langue de votre choix. Je blogue surtout en anglais (question de paresse), mais je suis complètement bilingue (à part quelques coquilles ici et là).
So who’s in?
Update: The Sewing Meetup will take place on May 25. Read more here.
Look what arrived in the mail! Double Decker Fabric is a new Canadian online fabric boutique and they just sent me this beautiful gift.
These fabrics are as follows:
At least I think the last one is Turks & Caicos. There are a couple solids in similar colours on the website.
It’s just in time for Easter and the colours just scream spring. It’s perfect timing as well. I bought some small toys for the kids for Easter – we don’t like giving too many treats. Now there is something for me from the Easter bunny too. Fun!
Now what to make… Zip bags? Something for the baby? The diamonds would make some pretty spectacular quilt binding. I’m going to have to think about this.
A big thank you to Dorienne at Double Decker Fabric!
And if you haven’t seen it yet, there is a fabric giveaway from Double Decker Fabric here on my blog. It’s not too late to enter!
The Finished Garment 