Happy Fourth of July, everyone! Philadelphia loves this holiday, and we always plan on doing some serious celebrating! Wherever the weekend takes you, I hope you find a little time for yourself and your sewing machines. Perhaps you could stitch up some red gingham napkins to tuck in your picnic basket!
Spool will be closed July 4th, but we are open Friday from 11-6 and Sunday 11-4. Enjoy the long weekend!
Laura Gunn’s gorgeous new Lantern Bloom has arrived at the shop! I was completely smitten by these fabrics during my visit to Quilt Market in May. As someone who majored in painting at college, I have a real soft spot for these vibrant designs! I love seeing the direct translation of Ms. Gunn’s artwork into fabric.
The look of this line is quite unique to anything else currently on the market. While I would love a quilt ( and a purse, and a skirt!) made entirely in these fabrics, I was pleased to see how they looked with the rest of my collections. I put together the Lemon Meringue fabric bundle shown above with elements of Lantern Bloom, Erin McMorris’s Wildwood, and a dash of Amy Butler and Joel Dewberry for good measure! This combination would make a beautiful Chinese Coin or Roman Stripes quilt. Nice and summery!
Bley’s Frenchy Bag is this week’s Pattern Free for All winner! She made the shoulder bag version using Amy Butler’s Daisy Chain fabric line. It looks so lovely and summery. Bley says,”Here’s a pic of the Frenchy Bag I made recently. It’s so great, and even large enough to act as a mini-diaper bag!” Very crafty! Bley will be receiving a yard of Amy Butler’s Midwest Modern fabric and a copy of her new Field Tote pattern. Great job, Bley! Enjoy!
We had so many wonderful entries this week! Thank you so much to everyone who participated this week, and throughout June. Be sure to check out more detail shots here. Amy Butler patterns rule! What a fun month it has been; I love seeing what all the pretty fabrics turn into once they walk out the door.
If you’re looking for more inspiration, we have an Amy Butler trunk show here at the shop through next weekend. Seriously, seeing so many awesome handbags in one place is a girl’s dream come true! See you soon!
This is my Frenchy Bag, made with Jay McCarroll’s Woodland Wonderland fabric. I love it! It’s the perfect sized bag for tossing in my keys, wallet, and phone and heading out the door. Plus, I always get compliments on Jay’s super cute deer fabric!
I would say that this one of Amy Butler’s most simple patterns; perfect for a new seamstress. Besides all the fabric pairing possibilities, this design gives you the opportunity to use fusible interfacing, make pleats, and pockets. You will be so pleased at how smoothly it comes together, and your friends will be so impressed that you made it yourself.
From the all the contest submissions I’m getting, I can tell I’m not the only one who loves this pattern! The final day of our month long contest is tomorrow, so if you have made any of Amy’s patterns, be sure to send ‘em along to stitch(AT)spoolsewing(DOT)com. Thanks!
This is Amy Butler’s Lotus Dress that I made with Park Slope fabric by Erin McMorris. I thought that the darker two-tone fabric would work well as the body of the dress, since it reads nearly solid. Pair that with the super cute, bright birdie fabric, and I think the whole thing comes together! Plenty of pattern but not too over the top. I am also proud that I feel this dress really fits. The princess seams allow for you to take it in or out all the way down the body, making for an easier time fitting the garment. And we all like that, don’t we?!
This is one of my summer favorites, and I think I will be wearing it to Stitch Party this Friday. Our Amy Butler Trunk Show will be here just in time, so be sure to stop by Friday from 5-8PM. Peruse Amy’s designs in person, have some wine and a snack, and get your weekend off to a creative start!
If you’ve made a Lotus Dress or any of Amy Butler’s patterns, don’t forget to email me a photo by Friday at midnight. You’ll be entered to win Amy’s new Field Tote pattern and a yard of Midwest Modern fabric for our contest. Keep ‘em coming!
For Week Four of our Amy Butler pattern contest, I’m mixing it up a little bit. I was looking through the patterns for our Amy Butler Trunk Show arriving Wednesday, and couldn’t choose just one for the week. So, instead of featuring one particular pattern, this week it’s a pattern free for all! Well, to be more precise, a pattern free for one! Email me a photo (stitch_AT_spoolsewingDOTcom) of ANY Amy Butler pattern you have made and you will be entered to win a yard a of Amy butler fabric AND the latest pattern from Amy- the Field Bag & Tote! Cool, right? Right!
I look forward to seeing all of your creations! I will be sharing our shop projects all week. On Saturday, I will post all the photos, along with the winning project. Get out the camera and start clickin’!
Gaea is the winner of this week’s pattern contest for her Anna Tunic. How cute is she in her pretty dress?! I love the contrast yoke, and the bold floral print. She looks so stylish, relaxed, and ready for summer!
Gaea writes, “I made the tunic last year out of one of Amy Butler’s Midwest Modern prints, and I just finished the dress last week–I used a Kokka cotton-linen blend and a contrasting yoke. I found the armholes to be a little tight so I added some extra ease when I made the dress–much better! ” It looks lovely, Gaea! A yard of Amy Butler’s fabric is on it’s way to you this week!
Thanks to all of our Anna Tunic seamstresses! You ladies are so talented. Check out all the photos and detail shots here. Nice work!
I’m going to be mixing it up a little for the last week of our contest, so check back in Monday for all the details!
Is it Friday already? This week has flown by! It has been raining all week here in Philadelphia, but the sun is finally out today. Yay! I headed out into our backyard this afternoon to photograph this Anna Tunic and catch some much needed rays.
I made this mini-dress length tunic over the winter with Amy Butler’s Daisy Chain fabric. I thought the darker fabric looked little more dressy for work and was better suited to the cooler weather. Seeing it today, however, I think it will be the perfect dress to head to the park and see my friend’s band play tonight!
Today is the last day of our Anna Tunic pattern contest, so be sure to send me your photos by midnight tonight and get a chance to win some free fabric!
For the third week in our Amy Butler pattern contest, we are featuring the Anna Tunic. I have seen some really fun versions of this in varying lengths, big and little prints, and even some with contrasting yokes. Very cool! Ours is made up in Amy’s Midwest Modern fabric. This style looks fresh and clean for Summer, but you can just as easily layer it over a long sleeved tee in the cooler months. While this has a higher skill level than the Barcelona skirt, the instructions are still easy to follow. You will learn to make gathers, button loops, and sew curved seams- all very useful skills to have! At the end, you can use your leftover fabric to make a fantastic flower brooch; quite possibly my favorite part!
If you have made an Anna Tunic of your very own, email us a photo & description of your project by midnight Friday and you will be entered to win a free yard of Amy Butler fabric! Please send all entries to stitch_AT_spoolsewingDOTcom. I will announce the winner on Saturday, and share all the pretty photos with you!
The winner of the Barcelona Skirts pattern contest is Julie! Doesn’t she look so happy wearing her cute pink skirt? The random number generator really had it’s work cut out for it this week, as everyone’s skirts were so pretty. This week’s drawing is especially fun, because I know Julie in real life. In fact, she made this in our Aline Skirts class!
Julie says, ” I love the Barcelona skirt! I wear them to work dressed up and on the weekends with flip flops. I especially like to wear the simple skirts with bold, graphic tees. I made 2 of them in class at Spool (thanks, Alana!). The other one I made in just a few hours because I needed something to wear to work the next day!” How’s that for ingenuity! A yard of Amy Butler fabric will be making it’s way to you this week. Great job, Julie!
Thank you so much to everyone that participated this week. All of your skirts are beautiful. Please visit our flickr photoset to see all the pretty pictures of skirts galore! I am incredibly impressed with everyone’s creativity. I love it that so many women are choosing to make their own unique garments, and expressing themselves with color and style. Keep up the good work, ladies!
