New Moda!

There's new Moda in the shop! New Fig Tree and all kinds of delightful things!

Fellow Sewists, my bed spread is disgusting. As in, my-giant-dog-sleeps-on-the-bed and no-amount-of-washing-is-going-to-get-that-dinginess-out plus there are two giant holes in it! I keep putting off getting a new one because somewhere in dream world I keep thinking I'll make myself a quilt. Well, maybe this new line will finally inspire me. It's called Whitewashed Cottage and if that doesn't perfectly describe the look I love, I don't know what does. Click HERE for more details.

We also got in Fig Tree's new collection Aloha Girl. It came in today and is fresh, fun, and very summery. Ahhhh, remember summer... This is kind of a new look for Fig Tree but I like it. We've got yardage and precuts. It came in today so it's super new!! Come into the shop or click HERE for a better look.

I know I'm definitely craving something new and fresh. What about you, what are you all working on for spring? We'd love to hear from you leave a comment below.

Happy Sewing,

Love,

Jessie and Sue.

Messenger Bag

I can see the finish line as far as Christmas sewing goes. I've got one more project for a gift and then if I have time, one thing for myself. I think I can make it with time to spare, though in the interest of full disclosure you should know that my house looks terrible! There are toys and laundry and dirty dishes everywhere! In the words of Scarlet O'Hara "Oh fiddly dee, I'll think about that tomorrow"... or the day after that...

Today I finished a messenger bag for my Mom. She actually requested one and I don't blame her. It's a great size. It's not huge, but it easily fits all the things from my purse, a magazine, book or journal and is the perfect size for any tablet or e-reader device. This is the fifth time I've made this bag and I'm hoping to do it one more time (I desperately need a new purse before we leave for the holidays). I use the child's messenger bag pattern from the book "One Yard Wonders" (which we have in the store). I know it says child but it's just a great size for a medium sized bag! I don't change the dimensions at all. I did add a second interior pocket with one half made to fit a cell phone, but that's the only thing I did different.

The first few I made were very "geeky" in nature. We're talking comic book, Star Trek, and Doctor Who fabric. Since this one is for my mom I made it a bit more beautiful and quite a bit less nerdy then those. I used Moda's Fig Tree fabric, Tapestry (Click Here to see it on our website), for the exterior of the bag and Moda's Grunge in Rogue (Click Here). I also used a very heavy fusible interfacing on the exterior to give it staying power (I think the original pattern calls for home decor weight fabric and this allows you to use any fabric).

 It's a bit grey out today and the fabric is dark in nature so the pics didn't turn out as well as I'd like, but the bag turned out great. I love this project, it's one of the few I go back to again and again. It's really quick to make so if your looking for something fast this is for you.

Now if you'll excuse me I'm off to eat more cookies.
Happy Sewing,
Love Jessie and Sue too!

Fig Tree Fabrics.

I had the pleasure of putting all the fig tree fabric from Moda on the website Monday and can I just say, "Ahhhhhh" and then swoon. It was all so pretty I nearly went mad. I wanted to go skipping with it through the store (which reminds me of a musical my sister and I want to write called the fabric and book shop musical. It would include a lot of using scissors and books as precussion). Instead of frolicking and singing through the store, I made a Pinterest board for all thing Fig Tree. Check there for some inspiration and pretty pictures of fabric. And, if you can't get into our brick and mortar shop you can always shop for it in our online store.

The second thing I did was to completely redesign this dress that's in my cue. (As a side note; am I the only one who's favorite part of a sewing project is the planning part)? I am going to use some of the Fig Tree Avalon fabric and I think it will look really cute (I've asked like ten people their opinions so I'd say I'm good). I was looking for something Navy Blue that will coordinate with mustard, and army green. These are the colors I try to stay near when I'm buying or making things for fall. And this totally fits the bill, along with the fact that I think it will give the dress a really vintage vibe (which is totally my style).

I'm going to change the collar to a peter pan collar and do that in the polka dot while the body of the dress is floral. I'll show pics when I'm all finished!

I can't start the dress until I finish this weeks project, which I'll be blogging about soon. It's a very homey project and is what is inspiring our sewing song list this week. I needed something with a bit of a blue grass vibe while I sew this weeks vintage inspired creation. I hope you enjoy.

We'd love to hear what your favorite part of sewing is. Is it the planning, the cutting, or the actual machine stitching? Whatever it is...
Happy Sewing
Love, Jessie