Clearing out the cottage

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Tabatha

1970′s Vintage Pots & Pans

I spent yesterday clearing out the cottage and posting vintage goodies on Ebay and Etsy.

Besides the groovy paisley pots and pans, one of my favorite items, which I haven’t posted yet is this little Japanese spice set. The wooden holder acts like a miniature lazy susan, just turn the little wooden knob on the top. (Click any image to enlarge.)

Other items I haven’t posted yet inclue the ever popular pyrex bowls and cookware.

And groovy glassware.

If you see anything you like, drop me a line and we’ll make a deal. Also, if anyone knows how to get food staines out of pyrex, please let me know! I haven’t tried yet and I don’t want to unnecessarily scratch the cookware.

My friend Andrea is coming over to sip wine, hang out and do a bit of sewing, yipeee!

Be still my beating heart!

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Tabatha

Heirloom in Citrine

By now you’ve all seen Joel Dewberry’s new line, Heirloom, but did you buy any? If not, speed over to your favorite online fabric shop and get some NOW!

I LOVE.LOVE.LOVE this fabric! In fact I love it so much, I need to purchase more and not just one print, but all. I have 1/2 yard of each in the Citrine colourway and it harmonizes with Tula Pink’s Prince Charming line in honey AND indigo. I’m going to add this to my fabrics for our bed quilts, which probably won’t get started till after xmas.

Swoon Fabrics

I also received some Swoon in the post today from the Fabric Shoppe on Etsy, Melissa Averinos herself, helped me source some out thanks to Scott at Blue Nickel Studios. It’s nice to know that the big players aren’t too big to play with the little nobodies like me.

And just to let you know I haven’t been slacking off this past week (because I haven’t blogged), I returned to work after our two week vacation and still managed to sew two bibs, my first cathedral glass window pillow top and a bunch of 9 patch blocks for a baby quilt. Not one but two friends are having babies in September and I need to get these gifts ready, pronto!

Mom-in-Law’s birthday is coming up in October and I was able to score a charm pack of Moda’s Dogwood Trail for under $4.00, can you believe it? I’ve seen it online for $8.00 in the U.S. plus shipping! Next time we go to the cottage, I’m going to grab another if they still have some. This fabric isn’t my style but it is my Mom’s and Mother-in-Law’s so they’ll both be getting table runners as gifts.

Cat in the Hat Baby Bibs

Cathedral Windows pillow top

Disappearing 9-Patch Blocks

An Ode to My Husband

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Tabatha

I’m a tremendously fortunate woman, I am with a man who loves to cook, cleans regularly, hates hockey and football, encourages and enables my sewing addiction and spoils me often.

When I first decided to get back into sewing, he bought me a brand new Babylock Designer’s Choice. We could barely afford it as I had lost my job and was going through a nasty custody battle with steep lawyer’s fees. But he knew I needed to sew to keep my mind busy, and it made me happy.

I took a hiatus from sewing after that and switched from creating crafts and home dec to garments. I needed a sewing machine that had more precise stitch widths and lengths, the Crafter’s Choice had a slider, I wanted precision. I thought I wanted to stick with Babylock and get a Quilter’s Choice but the dealers in my area weren’t cooperative on price and didn’t want to give me anything for my Crafter’s Choice! My local Husqvarna dealer was selling off her teaching machines which had been used for about a year. DH urged me to get the used Sapphire 850 which was still steep in price but certainly much less than new and worth every penny.

He doubted my need for the Huskylock 905 serger (didn’t understand) but indulged me nonetheless. He understood my short lived infatuation with vintage machines despite the fact that I now have 7 that I don’t touch and purchased the Janome 1000CPX Cover Stitch machine for my birthday. He’s thrilled with my Brother HE-240 embroidery machine because there are so many fun designs available.

This past October he took me to Bremen in northern Germany, his hometown. He introduced me to all his friends and showed me his beautiful country, sparing no expense. DH is intellectual, a philosopher, always on top of current events, a wealth of information and a romantic.

Our 10th anniversary is is coming up and he asked me what I wanted. I told him that all I wanted was his love, “You have that” he said. Then let’s just have a nice dinner together. I don’t care if we go out or stay in, as long as I’m with him. DH is my knight in shining armour but more importantly, my best friend. Sure we’ve had our ups and downs, nothing is perfect but I know I’ll never find another like him, he’s one of a kind and he’s mine!

I’m so fortunate!

Sewing Revealed

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Tabatha

SewSister's Sewing Room

Here is my sewing area/cave, it’s more than 1/2 the basement and I count myself lucky, I have seen many sewing areas and know how fortunate I am!! My husband has the second bedroom on the main floor of our house, as his “man cave” and although he has floor to ceiling windows, I know I got the bigger, better deal!

My main machine is still the Sapphire 850 even though I have several vintage machines, I don’t trust them as much as I do her. I also have an older Viking Huskylock serger, she never lets me down!

I also have the Janome CPX1000 but haven’t used her much as I need to get to know her better.

Simplicity 3789

I’m still working on Simplicity 3789 and working with satin isn’t easy as I’m sure many will attest. I’ve discovered that putting the iron on cotton with tons of steam and using cotton flannel barrier between the iron and the satin will put a nice crease in the fabric.

As some may recall, polyester and my personal body chemistry, don’t get along well but I just couldn’t resist at $4.40 per meter compared to $14.00 per meter for silk. I’m still struggling with fit. All the seams WERE French but because it turned out too small/tight, I unpicked all the side seams and sewed 1/4″ on all but it still doesn’t fit. I think I may have screwed up on the front facing. But since I’m loosing a good amount of weight (8lbs in a month) on the paleo diet, I’m hoping to fit into it soon.

Simplicity 3789

Sleeve

Yesterday I worked on the cuffs and today I attached them to the sleeves. As you can see, I’m not afraid to use pins to keep my work straight.

I think I’m going to ditch the collar on this and use a mandarin collar on it which I like much more, I’ll steal the pattern from my Simplicity 3684 pattern. Actually, I really like that top and may make it in silk.

I have a number of other tops I made which I haven’t blogged about yet, if it would stop raining and the sun would shine, perhaps I could get my dh to take photos.

Busy Bee

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Tabatha

I admit that I’ve meen remiss in not posting my finished garments so here’s a few.

This is a linen tunic I finished in June and have worn it extensively.

Butterick 5465 Tunic

Along the tunic theme, I purchased Vogue 8504 fo my Mother-in-Law, this is my wearable muslin. I like it but I feel the style is too old for me. Opinions please!