Jessica Jones’ newest fabric arrived! I am a big fan of Jessica’s previous collection, Modern Flora, and feel the same way about Amusement Park. This 54″ wide, lightweight, cotton canvas comes in 4 patterns: Fireworks, Parade, Calliope, and Boardwalk. The designs have a cheerful holiday feel, but not so much that I would put this away after New Year’s. I definitely want to have this as part of everyday celebrations!

I spent the weekend putting together a quilt to hang behind our tree. I wanted to use every fabric, but have it come together quickly, so I opted for a Courthouse Steps style design. After piecing the top, I batted, backed, basted and then stitched in the ditch around the seams. To keep the center stable, and add a little holiday flair, I tied a silk ribbon through each red “firework”. This quilt makes me smile every time I walk in the shop. If it’s making you smile too, I put together a kit for it here. The kit includes the pattern, and 4.75 yards of Amusement Park fabric total, to make this 72″ x 72″ quilt. I know you will have fun playing with these fabrics. Enjoy!

Amy Butler’s Midwest Modern 2 has arrived! This collection includes our favorite prints from Midwest Modern in new colorways, and brand new fabrics as well. The ripple fabric may well be my favorite addition, and all the new colors are glorious! Fat quarter bundles are wrapped and ready in the shop

, and I even snuck in a few fabrics that I thought just had to meet the MM2 prints ( like the little pink chandeliers above!). I definitely see a quilt project in my future!!

Amy Butler’s Barcelona Skirts pattern includes instructions for this pretty apron overlay. Until recently, we hadn’t made the apron, and now that we have, I don’t know what we were thinking! It is so cute! This is a great hostess apron- y’know, the apron you put on AFTER you’ve cooked dinner, and are taking compliments on your delicious meal! Wearing it over jeans would spruce up an otherwise everyday outfit. We used a combination of Amy Butler fabric for the waist tie, Erin McMorris for the skirt, and Kona cotton for the lining. We’ve tied these 3 fabrics together, along with the pattern, and made up a pretty little kit Hans Christian Andersen film

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The Barcelona Skirt is one of our favorite patterns for new sewers. It includes instructions for an a-line skirt, a tiered skirt and this apron overlay. The directions are thorough and the diagrams clear. We use it in our Aline skirts class, as a first garment pattern. Add 2 yards of fabric, thread and a zipper and you have a perfect gift for the novice seamstress!

This Saturday, December 13th from 2-5PM, come make these pretty patchwork pillows! Learn to cut fabric using a rotary cutter & ruler to make the always useful nine patch block. These pillows are a great last minute gift, and the skills you learn can later be applied to a quilt top. The cost is $24 plus materials. Please call the shop to reserve your space.

Speaking of last minute gifts, if you are working on gift projects ( some of which may be secrets from your family!), why not come and work on them with us? We have added special Holiday Open Sew hours on the weekends through the end of the month to help you get your projects done on time. Opening Sewing is $10/hr, and that includes sewing machine time, and use of our tables, irons, and all of our tools. While instruction is not included, we are always happy to help you over the bumpy parts of your project! Please give us a call and let us know if you’ll be stopping by.

Weekend sewing hours are:

Sunday, December 14: 2:30-5:30
Saturday, December 20: 12- 5:30
Sunday, December 21: 2:30-5:30
Saturday, December 27: 12-5:30
Sunday, December 28: 12- 5:30

See you soon!

Triloquist

Decorating the Christmas tree is one of my favorite holiday activities. This year, not only did I get to decorate my own tree at home, I got to decorate my shop tree as well! What better way to decorate than to give our favorite birds a place to nest for the holidays.

With our free bird pattern (downloadable in the left sidebar) that we used in our Bird Mobile, we sewed up blue & white birds for Hanukkah and red & green for Christmas. As we have found here at the shop, little ones love to play with them and grown-ups can’t get over the cuteness! These little guys would make a great gift topper, or a sweet hostess gift for all the Holiday parties coming up. One bundle of fat quarters will make enough for everyone on your list, and you will find sewing them a little addictive! Take some stitching time for yourself, and then enjoy the look on your gift recipient’s face as they say, “Awww, I love it! It’s so cute! You made this? Amazing!”.

Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure movie

Dinosaur divx

Be sure to check out our Birdie Flickr group for more inspiration. Everyone has made such wonderful and unique versions of this pattern!

In a Spiral State video Keeping Mum download

A Complete History of My Sexual Failures the movie

We love an apron here at Spool! Making one is an opportunity to use wild, fun fabrics that you might not choose for your everyday wardrobe. For our holiday version, we dressed up our Apron Pattern in Tina Givens’ Zazu line. We wanted to use colors that add a little holiday flair, but are not so traditional that you can’t use it year round. The lime flowered fabric is funky and reminiscent of wreaths, while the hot pink chandelier fabric lends a little whimsy. If you wear purple tights, like Elizabeth, the whole festive look is complete!

Aprons are a thoughtful and usable gift. Our Holiday Apron Kit includes 1 yard each of the two fabrics shown (see a close up look here) and the pattern. The cooks & crafters on your list will love it, and it will take you no time at all to whip one up. Have fun!Maximum Risk video

• Sherman’s Way movie full

• Fragile rip

Maximum Risk dvdrip Triloquist download

After seeing Penelope’s Playdate Dress, I wanted a shop sample of my very own! We chose Sandi Henderson’s Farmer’s Market fabric, and Alana got to stitching! The end result is just lovely, with all the special details we have come to expect from Oliver + S.

This would make a wonderful holiday dress; the front pleat and yoke add the necessary dressiness, and the a-line shape keeps it comfy enough to play with newly opened toys! With clear pattern instructions and diagrams, this will be a cinch to finish by the holidays. Your little angel will love wearing a dress handmade by mama, and you will love seeing your handiwork in family photos for years to come!