Happiness Through Sewing
For Thanksgiving I wanted my well-worn table to look as good as our newly painted and decorated dining room, without having to refinish the table. I knew I wanted to make placemats and not a full tablecloth but I decided that instead of making a placemat for each person, there would be six of us, […] Read more…
It took us ten years but we have finished the dining room. My husband built built-ins, we painted, hung art on the walls and bought plants that by a miracle are surviving as we learn basic plant care. It’s a great space and this Thanksgiving as we sat down to eat I didn’t want all […] Read more…
You know that word “free”. So eye-catching. Free patterns are great except when they’re a horribly frustrating waste of your time and fabric. I’ve sworn off free patterns with their unclear instructions, haphazard construction methods and unflattering results. Oh, but this one is different đ The Trail Tote pattern by Noodlehead (for Robert Kaufman Fabrics) […] Read more…
Ever have a skirt (or dress) that’s just too big on the sides? The fabric sticks out in an odd bell like shape? Having no crotch seam to stop us we wear our skirts at different places on our torso out of comfort or habit than the designer intended. This is why you may find many […] Read more…
As a kid when I needed to transport small toys out to the back yard, I would place them in the center of a bandanna and tie the opposite corners together. I thought it was the perfect little tote and even used it high school (and beyond) as a purse. The bento bag is a sort […] Read more…
I love it when things come together. And I really love it when they come together in an easy manner like this baby quilt I just finished for my cousin’s grandchild. This cousin wasn’t in my life much but her daughter made a special connection with my son when he was young and […] Read more…
The following video was made in 2013 but never put up on the site. We have always used cloth napkins, at first it was to save money, now it just seems, well, why not?. I stopped buying already made cloth napkins when I couldn’t find them in 100% cotton in the colors I wanted or […] Read more…
After seeing these pouches on Pinterest over and over again, and on a quest to use up the little cuts of fabric in my stash, I decided to try out Noodlehead’s Open Wide Zippered Pouch tutorial. Â (No, wait. Cut to reality – It wasn’t as organized and leisurely as that sounds. It was a last […] Read more…
How many clothes do you have in your closet right now? Â If you’re typical you would say your closet is too small for all your clothes. Did you know we consume 60% more clothes annually than we did even 10 years ago? Â It’s the era of disposable clothing. Worn today, trashed tomorrow. When garments […] Read more…
Since I first saw an article about her in Sunset Magazine (in the mid 1990s) I have admired Lotta Jansdotter’s work. So no surprise that I really like her new book, Lotta Jansdotter Everyday Style; Key Pieces to Sew. Yes, it has patterns, and yes that’s the first thing I noticed and yes, those nine patterns, for […] Read more…