Craft of Craft show - afterwards

City of Craft was amazing! Everyone was raving about how well organized it was and it was so busy. It's so much fun to have lots of people visiting and to walk about myself and chat with fellow crafters. The ceiling was decorating with tons of beautiful tissue snowflake hangings and the whole place looked so busy and full of so many great things!
I was so busy managing my table and looking around at everyone else's I didn't think to take any pictures of my display. This is a quick pic taken with only three needle books left and only one deer pincushion.

Some little gift tags, with my Thumbelina illustration and a detail from my Owl and the Pussycat illustration

As usual I bought lots of things that I couldn't resist and there were a few more I barely resisted. I noticed a few things at the beginning that I liked and many of them were gone by the middle of the day. I'll show the things I bought in the next post...

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The impatient quilter

I started a quilt at the workroom a month ago by cutting out strips of blue patterned fabrics I had collected from my stash. I started cutting fabric before I'd decided exactly what to do, mainly because a quilt is such a big project I thought I should just start or I never would. I thought I might just do horizontal bars of the blue prints.

Since then I was re-reading Jane of Lantern Hill for the nth time and discovered something funny. When I was little and read the book she described her bed as a wooden "spool" bed and I imagined something shaped a bit like a wooden spool of thread, but shorter and wider in proportion. Reading it again now I realize that a spool bed is actually one with turned wooden posts, which is exactly what we have(this links to an old post that has lots of "before" pictures of our house too).

So when I came across her description of three quilts that her father gave her for their new house on the island I looked them up online. The one she put on her bed is an Irish Chain, and I decided that was exactly the pattern I would like to do for mine. It's fairly easy to make, and pretty and has that lattice look I like. Also I wanted lots of white in the background so all the prints wouldn't look too busy.

It's very simple. First I cut 6" squares, then divided each one into thirds, ie. 2" x 6" strips (below right). Then these are sewn together alternating the colours with plain white (below bottom left). You do colour-white-colour, then half as many that are white-colour-white. Each of these are then trimmed into thirds again (below top left).Then you piece together squares that look like a checker board. At this stage I trimmed each square again to make sure it was just the right size. These squares are then alternated with plain white squares. Once you put it all together, you don't see the checkerboard pattern, but a lattice, ie. diagonal lines of coloured squares. Especially if you kind of squint your eyes when looking at it.

I laid out all the squares onto a sheet so I could see how the quilt would look and Bradley helped arrange them so that there was a good balance of patterns.
So far I've sewn together all the rows, and now I need to join the rows to each other to finish the quilt top. Which I'd like to do in time for the Workroom quilting Sunday and then I will work on basting the quilt top to the batting and backing.
I say impatient because I've rushed through a lot of this and it's not as perfect as I'd like. Little mistakes tend to compound and the squares don't meet perfectly at the corners throughout as they should. I realized partway through that I should be using the hem guide that came with my sewing machine and it's made a huge difference. I've had to rework a few pieces to make them the right size, but it's going together fairly well now and will probably be nice once it's done. I hope!

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Valentine's Trunk Show 2

log cabin heart pin created by Jen Anisef, Toronto Craft Alert

The Valentine's Trunk show was great, so many people showed up and it was great to see what everyone had made. I took home a few treats, there were just too many nice things to tempt!

Back view of the heart pinSilver sheep charm necklace, created by Allison Wells, Papersnake Jewellery

Vintage rosewood crochet hooks, Becky Johnson, Sweetie Pie Press

Assorted vintage buttons, Lucie Davies, Button Me Up

I also bought this blue bamboo fabric from Karyn and it's been whipped up into curtains that are now gracing the sliding doors that are in our kitchen at the back of the house. And they're everything I hoped they would be.

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Valentine's Trunk Show

Let's see, in my suitcase I have two needle books, several bags, including two messenger bags with vintage barkcloth decorated flaps, some knitted cosies (including a tiny pink one for a shuffle), one knitted hat with flower pin attached, and one crocheted scarf with scalloped edge, a linen eyeglasses case with a bird embroidered on it, silver beaded jewellery, some pincushions, fabric shopping bags that fold up into matching cases, a few stray bird postcards and lots of fabric zippered pouches. A Mary Poppins-worthy suitcase.

I've got enough things to go in my suitcase, just needs a little tidying. This is for the Valentine's Trunk show tomorrow. In case you're not sure, everyone is absolutely welcome to come, all the vendors will have their things for sale displayed in suitcases, and there are snacks. For example I'm bringing some chocolate chip cookies with walnuts and raisins in them. Also, if you have any extra new hand-knitted items please bring them to donate to the StreetKnit project.

Where? the workroom
When? Sunday February 10th, noon until 5pm
Who? City of Craft's site has a list of vendors and links to their sites
Why should I go? Find cute presents for your valentine, or a little treat for yourself. Why not? Maybe something cheerful to get you through the winter. Also the workroom is very cosy and nice.

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Valentine's Trunk show

This is my new logo, created for the web page for the The Valentine's Trunk Show in February. This is such a nice idea for a fair, all the vendors are displaying their handmade things in a suitcase each and then we can mingle and have snacks. I love it. Obviously I will have to find and buy a charming vintage suitcase. I was thinking this could become the perfect place to store my shop between shows.

As you know I also love the Workroom so I think it's the perfect venue. If you haven't been yet, you have to come just to gaze adoringly at Karyn's covet-worthy shelves of fabric.

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My craft table

You can see one of the messenger bags in the corner of this picture

The craft sale at the Tranzac went pretty well. I had Bradley to keep me company and a few friends dropped by. So nice to see you!

I'm wondering about going back this weekend. I don't have a table reserved but the organizer said I could come by and there would either be a cancellation or she could find me a small table/corner. So if you missed me last week you could come this weekend.

My table was a bit dark so these aren't great pictures, but here are some of the bags:These are my new needle books. There are just three left. The covers are brown cordoruy or linen, with wool applique flowers and cream-coloured wool pages.
I found this glass tray recently and used it to display my jewellery:
I like the Tranzac Club. I used to live on Brunswick Avenue in a rented studio apartment on the third floor of one of the old Victorian houses. Now that I think of it, the bathroom floors on the second floor had nice old hexagonal floor tiles. And I used to go to the Tranzac a lot. They have lots of different events there, including my friend John Southworth who played last Saturday evening - a show I was sorry to miss. And they've had lots of crafts shows over the years, back when I was wondering if I would try it myself one day. So it feels quite cosy...and sort of nostalgic.

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Craft sale preparations!

We're back at home and all the tiles are installed. There's still some finishing work to do but I think it's going to be really nice. So today I'm getting everything ready for the craft sale tomorrow:

The Artisans Gift Fair (free admission)
The Tranzac Club (south of Bloor between Bathurst and Spadina)
292 Brunswick Avenue
from 12-6pm

I've made a few pincushions recently, from lovely fabric I bought at a wonderful new shop, The Workroom, that we visited the other day after the Designer Fabric Outlet. The owner Karyn, imports all the best Japanese fabric, and has pretty displays of vintage threads and jars, and has a row of little tables with sewing machines you can rent by the hour. The shop has classes and a library with all the best crafts books. It was like looking at my own bookself!Today I'm finishing up little details such as adding nice pearl snaps for the handbags. I really love my new labels and have been adding them to everything. My table will have pouches, handbags, totes, pincushions, needle books, silver beaded jewellery, portable shoppers made from red and white leafy IKEA fabric that have matching little bags to keep them in, wool trivets for your teapots, knitted eyeglass cases and every purchase comes with free Thumbelina gift tags! Hope to see you there...

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Velvet flower purse

I spied this fabric at the Designer Fabric Outlet store on Queen West (1360 Queen St. W, between Dufferin and Landsdowne) recently. This store is amazing, they have, if anything, too much choice. My favourite part is that all the fabric is in small swatches on hangers, organized by fiber, colour and pattern, and so it's very easy to browse through. My friend Sarah and I spent ages in there. Don't forget to go upstairs for extra fabric on bolts - and even more choices.As promised I'm showcasing some of the things I'm making for my table at the Artisan's Gift Fair this Sunday. I thought this fabric was really gorgeous and perfect for a evening bag. I love the colour scheme of tan, grey, white, black and red. Also the black parts of the flowers are velvet and very soft. Since I'm not home I don't have all my fabric with me, so it's lined with some of the linen I bought. Usually linen is a bit pricey for a lining but since I don't have anything else with me, this bag is just that much more special. There's a pocket inside, and I'll be adding a snap or button clasp when I get home.

I have a dressy black dress that needs something just like this to go with it! Just one question, should the closure be a snap or button? A snap is more practical and easier to open and close but a button could be prettier. What do you think?

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Schoolhouse light

I mentioned to a couple of people that we got a new light for the front room and said it was a "schoolhouse" light and got blank looks. So I thought I'd show some pictures. This is a very traditional style of milk glass light fixture, in this case a semi-flushmount with a brushed nickel base. I thought everyone knew what a schoolhouse light was, but realize now that years of reading Canadian House & Home, Country Living, Domino, Canadian Home & Country, Elle Decor and Style at Home has possibly taught me things not everyone knows.

When did I become so home decor obsessed? I'm not sure. It had some practical applications when we were fixing up our condo in order to sell it, and of course we need to fix up our new home to make it comfortable, but I think you can tell it's gone beyond that. Luckily my girlfriends also seem to be a bit home decor obsessed themselves lately so I don't have to feel too sheepish for wanting to talk about tiles, paint colours and light fixtures all the time. (speaking of tiles we found some white 1" hexagonal floor tiles for our bathroom - I can't wait to install those!!)

Anyway, I love the new schoolhouse light, even to the point where I find myself gazing adoringly at its reflection in my bookcases:

(That and my new vintage golden book Birds)

So this front room is our living/dining room, but it's also working really well as my studio during the day. The computer is to one side in my secretary desk, and the dining table is perfect both for watercolour painting and sewing. You may notice the ironing board in the hallway - very convenient so I can do my cutting and pressing on it as I work on sewing projects. Right now I have my sewing machine out because I'm making a present for Bradley. Speaking of which, are you wondering why all the posts all of a sudden? Well it's an extra-posts-for-the-week-before-your-birthday treat for Bradley. And tomorrow is the big day! That's when I'll show you what I made for him.

p.s.



This is the old light fixture... just didn't really work with the decor and made the ceilings seem lower than they are, plus Bradley kept bumping his head. Plus environmentally speaking it was using a whopping 480 watts!

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Easy peasy napkin rings tutorial

This is a nice little project that you can do quickly and use up some of those bits of fabric. If you've been working on something big or complicated, it makes for a nice break. This is also an excellent beginner's project.

It started with a set of eight blue napkins I found at Goodwill, they were such a pretty blue and nice soft cotton fabric. I've had a small piece of turquoise pictorial satin that made a beautiful combination. I'd been saving this scrap but never knew what to do with it. It's a bit droopy, so I paired it with a fairly sturdy plain turquoise cotton for the backing. I'm not crazy about interfacing, I use it sometimes but I didn't want to here. You could though if you want to really make your rings crisp.Step 1: (above) cutting out your fabric. I wanted eight rings so I cut eight strips of fabric as large as I could from the little piece I had, then eight matching pieces for the backs. (You could use the same fabric for front and back of course - in which case you would just cut one piece and fold it in half lengthwise). The pieces should be around 6" long to go around a typical napkin, and it's up to you how thick to make them. My pieces were cut 3" wide, for a 2.5" finished size. I wanted them to be large enough to see the little scenes in the fabric.

Step 2: Place right sides together and pin in the middle. Then sew down each side, with a 1/4" hem.Step 3: Turn the ring right side out
Step 4: Press flat. Then tuck inside a 1/4" hem on one side and press. Then tuck the other end in to make a loop. Pin in place. Handsew together using blind stitch. I sewed the outside, then turned the ring inside out to sew the inside. As you go you can tweak the way it's tucked together to make it neat.
Done! I love how they look with this vintage linen tablecloth. I found this one at the St. Lawrence antique shop for $10.

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Needing the barkcloth

I've been hoping for years to have lots of things made and be able to rent a table at a Fall/Christmas crafts sale. I've decided this year I'm finally going to do it. I've even ordered "needle book" fabric labels to put in my things. I was inspired recently by Practically necessary's barkcloth bags. I finally won a little bit of barkcloth on ebay and made some messenger bags. I love how they turned out, the hard part will be parting with them.I've also been making granny bags after creating a pattern for myself. A bit tricky but I think anyone could do it. Mine are all one-of-a-kind, depending on how big I want to make them, the amount of fabric I have and where I feel like putting the pleats. I make coordinating lined pockets to go inside and of course attach those before assembling the bag.

I like this one, from a wool tweed:

This ones is from my Cath Kidston circus fabric with olive green straps:
And I've made a bunch of pouches:
My favourite pouch is made from Liberty fabric:My favourite fabric these days is still the scenic barkcloth and I'm trying to buy more on ebay, but I keep getting snipered with 5 seconds to go! One auction went from $75 to $225 in the last 5 seconds. My maximum bid was $220 for 10 yards of barkcloth which I already thought was high. But I loved the pattern and I was very disappointed. It was part of my new plan to think big, and invest in my craft business a bit more so I could make enough things to have a proper table.

It may be for the best though because my dining table is still covered with stacks of fabric...but that's another story.

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Cutie Mary Blair coaster set project

This is a little project I just finished which is very easy - anyone can do this for sure. I started out with an old coaster set from Goodwill. It had a plain wooden box and all the coasters had the same Kate Greenaway illustration. I love Kate Greenaway, but this particular image was a little bland, and also they were all the same.
I found my new illustrations from an old Golden Book anthology. Before you are horrified, please note the very bad condition of this book! (Still hard to cut the pages though). The reason I used a book rather than illustrations of my own are because I needed something professionally printed that wouldn't get damaged if it got a little damp. I wanted to be able to actually use the coasters!The next step was to trace the coaster onto a piece of white paper, then cut out the rounded square shape. This gives you a little window so you can frame the exact part of the illustration you want to have on the top of your coaster. After you have determined the placement you can trace an outline in pencil then cut it out. I find that it's best if you make it slightly larger than the coaster, then trim the image once it's attached to the coaster.
I attached the images to each coaster with a little pva glue. I found this kind of glue at an art shop, but other glues would probably work. The tricky part is to brush on enough glue so that your picture adheres everywhere, but not so much that it ends up wrinkled. Try doing a small amount first, then if it's not enough gently lift the paper up and reapply a bit more glue. I found the best amount is the amount you would apply if you were painting the coaster. I didn't add glue to the top of the image - this isn't decoupage - you don't want damp glue on the bottom of your drink!

Finally I primed the wooden box and painted that white. If you already have the glue, an old book you can cut up and some paint, this project can be very cheaply done. I only spent $1.99 at Goodwill for the old coaster set. And look how cute the finished set is!
These illustrations are by the wonderful Mary Blair. Look to vintage Golden books if you'd like to see lots of lovely illustrators. I found some other stories in the book illustrated by Garth Williams, and some by Richard Scarry. It inspired me to see earlier work by these artists (and cheered me up). Just a reminder that most artists aren't overnight successes.

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Lattice cork board

This is my current WIP - a white wool felted purse knitted up with moss stitch. The fabric in the picture is going to be the lining.

The other project I just finished is for the sewing corner - a lattice covered cork board. I see these in magazines all the time and decided to finally make one after finding a cork board at Goodwill for $0.99.
The first stage was to cover it with fabric. The frame was too securely attached to remove, so I had to find a way to attach the fabric and still have it look tidy. I used a light blue cotton cut to the same size as the frame. Then I used a pencil to mark the dimensions of the cork part.
The pencil line marks the hem allowance which you fold over. Then you pin the fabric in place and make sure it's tidy and even all the way around. I used a staple gun to attach the fabric to the cork.
The last part is the lattice. (I wonder why I love lattices so much?) The little white bookshelf has a lattice inset too, so it's kind of a theme in that corner. I made the cork board lattice by marking off even intervals then pinning bias tape in place with silver tacks.

The bias tape is single fold, which works best. (I just found out the difference myself - previously I'd only bought double fold which wouldn't have looked quite right for this project.) Also, the tape is cut on the bias of course, which means it has a little bit of stretch, so after pinning it snugly in place, it will hold your odds and ends without the need of extra pins.
Here it is in the sewing corner - I also added a hook to the wall for my aprons. I think I'm finally done now! Thank you all so much for all the comments on my crafts corner, I'm happy to have inspired so many people, because I think every crafter should have their own little corner to work in.

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