Warp & Weft Sewing Society - July

It's so amazing how small the world has been become, how you can connect with people around the world in an instant and share your interests regardless of where you are.  I recently had the honour of making one of these connections with someone who has a passion for beautiful textiles and design.  Just having a conversation with her inspired me to reflect upon what I do and the way I create with fabric.  Her name is Esmari Taylor, the owner of Warp & Weft.  The combination of her passion for fabric and design is why you will find her shop filled with exquisite, high quality textiles.  There's a risk when you buy online because you can't feel the fabric, but with Warp & Weft, you can be confident that you'll receive exceptional quality every time, all wrapped up in a brown paper package tied up with string (which literally had me singing when mine arrived!).  

Warp & Weft goes beyond just stocking their shelves to make sales.  They strive to know the the inspiration and story behind the fabric and honour the process of how the concept is translated onto the fabric.  It's discovering that kind of passion that compelled me to become a member of the Warp & Weft Sewing Society.  And here I am, the newest member, honoured to be given the opportunity to share with you each month how the fabric I receive from Warp & Weft has inspired me to create.

And speaking of inspiration, here are the three fabrics used for my creations this month:

When I saw Bluebird Park Lamp Post Hummingbird by Kate & Birdie for Moda, it immediately reminded me of a wonderful place my family and I visited earlier in the summer.  We stayed at a cottage on one of the beautiful Gulf Islands off the coast of British Columbia.  Upon arrival, the owners introduced us to the newest inhabitants of their charming cottage:  two baby hummingbirds in the tiniest little nest practically within reach of one of the balconies.  Watching them and their devoted mother was one of the highlights of the trip and a treasured memory of our stay.  

The bold, dynamic Mixteca Chevrona Azul by Eleanor Grosch for Cloud9 Fabrics just needed to be made into a stylish shirt for my boy.  I was very drawn to the mix of colours and the graphic of the design.  The blue and green is such a perfect combination for summer.  It's also 100% organic.

I chose to compliment the prints with Essex Linen in Natural by Robert Kaufman Fabrics.  It's a blend of 55% linen and 45% cotton that is so perfect for clothing.  It's soft, yet sturdy, and has less wrinkle than your typical linen.

And with these exquisite fabrics, I made two outfits for my children.  They turned out exactly how I had envisioned, and as always, it's so satisfying when my little ones love their new clothing!!

Tobias' shirt: #20, Ottobre 3/2014, size 110 modified by shortening the sleeves
Tobias' shorts: #27, Ottobre 3/2014, size 110 modified by omitting the elasticized pant legs
Anja's dress: Happy Homemade: Sew Chic Kids, by Ruriko Yamada, Dress b, size 4

This post is sponsored by Warp & Weft and the fabric used was complimentary.  

All opinions, as always, are my own.

Kids' Choice Winner - SewsNBows

Another Kids' Choice series winner is here to share the creations made with her winnings.  Amy blogs over at SewsNBows and inspires with her beautiful sewing.  It such a pleasure to have her here today!  Thank you, Amy!

I'm Amy from SewsNBows. It's so nice to visit today! A while back I won the Kids' Choice celebration here at E&E, and got to order some beautiful knits from L'Oiseau Fabrics. I wanted to stop by and tell you about the experience.

L'Oiseau Fabrics

The store owner (Michelle) was extremely friendly and helpful. I confessed to her that it's difficult for me to purchase knit fabric online. I need to touch it!! She was so kind, and helped me choose a variety of Euro fabrics that have been knocking my socks off. I've already made my second order...and since I've tried a little of each type of knit, I don't feel like I can go wrong. It's my new place:) This fabric is Menagerie; a Stenzo jersey knit. The Stenzo knits are absolutely magical to sew with. They are so soft, with a ton of stretch. The best part is, they look exactly the same after every wash. No fading or pilling. Perfect for undies! (And pretty much everything else.) I Made this dress with Plum & Ginger Stripes. It was the first successful garment I ever made for myself. It feels so good to wear! This costs a little less than the premium Stenzo, and still such good quality. It has a billowy drape, and still tons of stretch in all 4 directions. I have enough left to make a t-shirt; and I should really make something for my daughter. But I won't. The leftovers are mine too.
 Here's some more of the Menagerie print in action. I didn't even notice that I sewed it upside down until I uploaded this photo. Since it wears so well, I'll be able to chop and stitch this into something else once it's outgrown. Something else right side up. I wrote a knit waistband tutorial using this L'Oiseau fabric. It's another Stenzo print; Stars! in baby blue. There are several other colors available in this print. Guess what pattern I hacked for these shorts? Heidi's Bubble Pocket Shorts!
 L'Oiseau also carries some nice poplin, denim, corduroy, & velour. I couldn't find any more of this poplin print in the shop; but there are so many pretties that you can't find anywhere else. I love this floral print with birds sooo much!
I used it to make the Spin Skirt, and I'm showing it on my blog today. If you'd like to see some more L'Oiseau fabric in action, head to my place to see my why Heidi's Spin Skirt is this month's Tween Pattern Showcase!

Coming Soon: Knock it Off 2014

If you've ever seen a garment or outfit in a store and said to yourself, "I think I could make that!", then you're going to love this series.  Fourteen very talented designers are lined up and ready to inspire you.  It's about dressing our children in clothing we see and love, but don't want to spend the big $$$ on.  Or maybe you just love to sew and get personal enjoyment from creating the outfit yourself rather than buying it.  Whatever your reason, get ready to sew-along, too, because there are going to be some great prizes awarded randomly to some lucky readers who upload their creations to the Knock it Off Flickr Group.  The Knock it Off series last year was amazing, so I can't wait to see what this year's participants have in store for us!  Speaking of the participants, here's the incredible line-up of guests:

See what I mean?  With a group like this, you know we're in for some spectacular creations!

Ready to start planning what you'll make?  Grab a button and spread the word if you're going to join in on the fun!

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<a href="http://www.eleganceandelephants.com" title="Elegance & Elephants" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg498/EleganceandElephants/knockitoffsmallgraphic_zps2a74815f.jpg" alt="Elegance & Elephants" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Bohemian Babydoll on Tour - Straightgrain

Today the Bohemian Babydoll is on the blog of the very talented An from Straightgrain.  Not only did she make this beautiful dress, but she's also offering one yard of the Michael Miller fabric she used for the bodice!  Head over there to she more of her dress and enter the giveaway.

Kids' Choice Winner - Snippet

Remember the Kids' Choice series back in May with all those awesome outfits made with fabric that the kids got to choose?  Well, today we get to see what one of the winners made with her winnings from l'oiseau fabrics.  Angela is a stay-at-home mom who sews, knits, and takes beautiful photos of her adorable little girl for her blog, Snippet.  I'm so happy to have her guest here today!  Take it away, Angela!

Way back in May, I participated in the Kids' Choice contest, and much to my surprise and delight, was one of the winners! In the spirit of kids' choice, my daughter and I sat down together and planned what we would buy with our $50 gift certificate to the lovely l'Oiseau Fabrics. My goal was to make a few casual, comfortable summer pieces that will work with other things in her wardrobe. Considering that all three pieces had either grass stains or melted ice cream drips on them by the time I took pictures, I would say that they are working out well.

First, I made an Oliver and S Swingset tunic in the blue Trellis print from l'Oiseau. I have to say that I initially bought the Swingset pattern just for the skirt, and had kind of overlooked the tunic. But when I was browsing through my pattern collection to find a summer top, I decided to give it a try. For some reason, it wasn't my favourite O & S pattern to sew, but I do love the look and fit of the final product. It is light and airy, and really a perfect summer top. The tiny floral pattern is sweet and so perfect for a little girl. The Stenzo poplin is light and drapey - much nicer for garment sewing than regular quilting cotton.
The pants are made with Made by Rae's Parsley pants pattern, with and added tab and button so they can be worn rolled up. They are sewn from a grey stretch poplin, which seems to be sold out. I made the pocket piping (yay, my first time!) and button tabs out of the floral fabric. They are nice and light and look super cute (the flat-front Parsley pants are a proven winner around here - this was E's fourth pair, but first summery version). They look nice rolled down too.

The pink-and-white striped T is a modified Flashback - I cut the neck opening slightly larger, used short sleeves, and added a band at the bottom (this is an experiment to see if E will be less likely to feel the need to stretch the banded hem over her knees, because she usually blows out the hems on her t-shirts in no time). The fabric is a Stenzo jersey, and it is soooo soft, and a lovely weight for t-shirts. Love the Stenzo jersey!

Also in the works are a pair of summer PJs using another Stenzo jersey, cut out and ready to sew. Anyone else have a sewing room that is currently too hot to actually use? Mine is in a sweltering hot corner of the upstairs of our very old, uninsulated house. After about 11 am, it's a no-go, so my sewing hours have been limited. After a rainy, cool June, summer has really and truly arrived where I live, and we are in slow-motion summer mode here. Beach, swimming, picnics in the park, camping. In the spirit of summer, here is a shot of E trying out her new outfit at the park, flying the kite that we made at an art class last week:

Thank you so much Heidi for hosting Kids' Choice, and allowing me to share some of my projects. And of course, a big thank you to l'Oiseau fabrics for the lovely gift! I am so happy to have found a great selection of garment fabrics from a Canadian source, and will definitely be back for more. Have a great summer everyone!

Bohemian Babydoll on Tour - Sewing Like Mad

When Mie from Sewing Like Mad get a hold of your pattern, you know she's going to make something amazing with it.  Sure enough, take a look at the Bohemian Babydoll she's sewn!  More adorable pics on her blog.

Bohemian Babydoll on Tour - Heidi & Finn

Fellow Canadian designer and friend Christine from Heidi & Finn made the Bohemian Babydoll into this gorgeous tunic.  She self-drafted the other pieces of the ensemble to make this all together gorgeous outfit.  See more at the Heidi & Finn blog.

Bohemian Babydoll on Tour - sewVery

There's nothing about this Bohemian Babydoll made by Veronica from sewVery that I don't absolutely love!  It looks lovely on her daughter and so well made.  Go see more photos at sewVery!