The summer is a busy time for everyone, with weddings, parties, and vacations - not to mention that whole pesky work thing! We have new, one session classes for weekends in the month of August. Classes are great way to improve your skills and meet other crafters. We hope you’ll join us!

Starting from the upper left and moving clockwise:

Zipper Pouch
$24 plus materials
Saturday, 2 to 5 PM: August 16

Baby Bibs
$24 plus materials
Saturday, 2 to 5 PM: August 9

Brick Path Quilt
$64 plus materials
Thursdays, 6 to 8 PM: August 7, 14, 21, 28

Okay, this one isn’t one afternoon but it’s so great I had to put it in. You will make a lovely lap sized quilt in 4 evenings, with some homework. Cool!

Whole Cloth Baby Quilt
$24 plus materials
Saturday, 2 to 5 PM: August 23

Please visit our class page for more details and to see our full schedule. If you see something you like, be sure to call the shop to reserve your space.

One of the first things I made when when I started sewing was a cozy for my sewing machine. My manual instructed me to keep it dust-free, but it didn’t come with a cover! I used some old upholstery fabric and some felt and cobbled together a cozy. It isn’t my best work, but I love it because it contains some of the first seams I ever sewed.

When we opened the shop and bought our sewing machines, each one came with a plastic cover. They all looked neat and uniform, but a little sterile. Using the plastic cover as a model, we made fun fabric cozies for each of our Singers. Michael pieced, appliqued, and embellished them beautifully! They brighten our workroom, and make it more personal. Plus, now our machines know how much we love them!

In the spirit of sewing machine love, we made a downloadable pdf, located in the left sidebar, for you to make your very own cozy. Be sure to send photos of your finished covers, we’d love to see them! Have fun dressing up your machine and your workspace!

My boyfriend’s mom, Shirley, fell in love with the Birdie Sling when she came to visit the shop. She chose a Kaffe Fassett print for the handles and Park Slope birdies for the body of the bag. She did a beautiful job! Speaking of beautiful, check out the quilt the purse is sitting on. Amazing! Shirley is an expert seamstress and quilter, and I asked for her opinion of bag pattern. She reports that the instructions were clear and thorough. Most of all, it was fun! Thanks, Shirley!

So many of you have been excited about the Birdie Sling, we’ve added a new session to our schedule. Class will be held Thursdays, July 24 & 31, from 6-8PM. The cost is $32 plus pattern and materials. If you’d like to join us, please call the shop to reserve your space.

Amy Butler certainly conjured up simple summer style when she named the Cabo Halter and Barcelona Skirt. These pieces are pretty summer wardrobe staples that are as easy to make as they are to wear. Kathy and Elizabeth from Loop literally squealed when they saw this top in the window! I’m pretty sure they like it!

The halter is made from Sandi Henderson’s Ginger Blossom fabric. The pink and blue blooms are light and feminine. The bodice is fully lined and ties at the back neck, and also has a center back zipper closure. Even if your summer travels don’t include Cabo, but instead the occasional trip to the Jersey Shore, you’ll be happy you brought this along!

We used Shot Cotton to make our Barcelona Skirt. This gauzy fabric makes the perfect summer weight skirt. The pattern includes instructions for lining the skirt, and also comes with 2 style variations. This is the skirt we use for our A-line Skirts Class. Once you’ve made one you can incorporate it in your wardrobe all year long. If you’d like to join us, we have a new session starting in August. Just think, unique skirts for every day of the week!

The Oliver + S Bubble Dress is just adorable! We used our favorite fabric du jour Park Slope. Teal and fuschia make a great girly combination, but not overly sweet. This dress is fully lined and gathered at the bottom with elastic for that fun bubble shape. The scalloped edge is an amazingly creative detail that any baby girl (or the grown-up girl sewing it!) will flip for! There are instructions, however, to leave the scallops out, making for a more basic play dress. Personally, I can’t get over the little cap sleeves that are made in one piece with the bodice. So clever! I’d say this dress is a winner and is sure to become a favorite in your little girl’s wardrobe!

Craig made this quilt for his 2 year old nephew, Asher. Asher has been the recipient of many wonderful handknit gifts, and now that we have a quilt shop he will be doubly warm! Craig chose Marcus Brothers Two Young Street line to get this quilt started. Those spaceships are ideal for a little boy! Then, he used Kona Cotton solids to make one of his favorite blocks, the Pinwheel, and add fun stripes to the border. After the quilt was all pieced, he sent it off to Kathleen at Guinevere & Me to quilt with a playful star motif. It turned out beautifully, and I’m sure Asher will love it!

The colors in Craig’s quilt are certainly appropriate for this holiday weekend! Spool will be closed July 4th, but we will be open our regular hours of 11-6 Saturday and Sunday. Hopefully you can grab a little time at your sewing machines this weekend, before you barbeque and enjoy the fireworks! Happy 4th!

I have been thinking about making Amy Butler’s Lotus Dress for awhile, but I couldn’t settle on the perfect fabrics. When the Park Slope line arrived a few weeks ago, I knew it was meant to be! I chose the turquoise birdie fabric for the bodice insets (my favorite part!) thinking it would be nice to have a bright color near my face, drawing the eye upwards. The dark teal print I used for the dress looks like a line drawing done by hand. I love that!

The Lotus Dress instructions were clear and easy to follow. Amy Butler’s patterns are multi-sized, so you can pick the bust, waist, and hip meaurements that are closest to your own. That said, most people will still have a little adjusting to do! It’s always best to choose the closest bust size as that is the hardest part to alter. After I put the dress together, I was happy to see that it fit well through the bust, but that I had to take it in at the waist and hips. I turned it inside out, put it on, and pinned the excess fabric along the front and side seams to get the fit I wanted, and then sewed new seams. It was a little extra work, but I am so pleased with the result!

I can definitely see myself making this again for a wedding I am attending in the Fall. I also think the shorter cami version would be great with jeans for work. Do you think I could get away with with having cute birdie fabric insets for each one? I hope so!!