Marianna brought her awesome version of the Oliver + S Tea Party Sundress for show & tell. So much fun! She made it for a friend’s daughter, who, I’m sure, will love it. What little girl (or her mom) wouldn’t love a pretty little dress covered in cheerful birdies?! Marianna used Park Slope fabric for the skirt and a delicious orange Shot Cotton for the bodice. She found the pattern easy to follow, and likes the versatility of the style. As her little friend grows, she can easily layer it over pants, keeping this soon-to-be favorite in rotation a while longer. Thanks for sharing, Marianna! This dress is top notch!

Penelope (P. for short) is one of the most stylin’ kids I know! She is about to become a big sister, like at any moment, and her mom, Jessi, has been doing some serious nesting. Quilts, baby things and clothes for P. and her older brother have poured out of Jessi’s sewing machine. She picked up the fabric for the new Oliver + S Playdate Dress 2 days ago (one day before her due date) and kindly brought P. in to model. She chose Heather Ross’ Mendocino mermaid fabric and a polka dot from Anna Maria Horner’s Garden Party Collection. Jessi did a beautiful job with the sewing, and P. looks amazing in it. I think the floral pants and red sneakers really complete the look. P. will be wearing this to the school picnic today, if her new sibling doesn’t make an appearance! Thanks for sharing, Jessi. I looking forward to meeting the newest addition to your crafty clan!

Jill handquilted this beautiful pillow cover! Isn’t it fantastic? She has been a wonderful student at many of our sewing classes. I love it that she took what she learned from her beginner’s quilt and made something so lovely and all her own. This is exactly what I hope will happen when people take our classes. You can see another (slightly blurrier) photo I took of the whole cover here. Kudos, Jill! Thank you for sharing this with us.

If you want to learn to handquilt, new sessions of Beginning Quilting are starting in the next few weeks. New Learn to Sew dates have also been added to the schedule. Classes are a fun way to expand your skills and meet other crafters. See you there!

Julie has been a very busy bee! After she recovered her kitchen chairs, she was back for more home improvement. She took, as she calls it, her sad blue chair, 5 yards of Drawing Room home dec fabric, and a staple gun and got crafty! Julie says that this is a huge improvement from the blue, and that she is very happy with the much needed update. She did a lovely job! The fabric choice is stunning, and the upholstery job neat and professional. Kudos, Julie!

Julie took our Learn to Sew class a few weeks ago (you can see her pretty orange & blue tote here), and was ready to tackle her next project: the kitchen chairs. It was time to paint and recover the seats. Amy Butler’s August Fields home decor fabric had just arrived and Julie knew right away that it would be ideal for her kitchen spruce-up. The heavier weight fabric lends itself well to chair covers, the paint matches perfectly, and the cheerful colors are sure to brighten up the kitchen. Fantastic!

Thanks so much for sharing, Julie! You did a wonderful job!

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.

Helen just finished her first quilt in our Beginning Quilting class. Isn’t it lovely? I like how she chose a floral theme and mixed it up with varying scales of prints. She did a great job coordinating her fabrics. That fuschia solid works so well against the cool greens and blues in the rest of the quilt. Not only did she do an outstanding job making each of the sampler blocks, but she handquilted and bound the whole thing. Fantastic! Helen says she very much enjoyed the class.

If you like to try your hand at quilting, our next Beginning Quilting class starts July 17. Thanks so much for sharing this photo with us, Helen. I look forward to seeing more of your beautiful work!

Sarah started sewing just a few short months ago and had a plan in mind from the get-go. She is getting married and wanted to make gifts for her wedding party. Sarah’s wedding is being held in a castle in Scotland - amazing! Since her bridal party will be traveling to get to her, she wanted give them each a special travel bag filled with gifts to make their journey more comfortable. Using Lotta Jansdotter’s All Day Tote from Simple Sewing as a guide, she picked out special fabrics for each of the 6 women in her wedding. This one is Sarah’s favorite and I can see why! The navy Shot Cotton looks so rich against Amy Butler’s gingko print fabric.

Since the pattern called for cotton canvas and Sarah was using quilting cotton, she used interfacing and snaps to make the bag more sturdy. I think it’s wonderful that she used the pattern as a jumping off point and customized it to make the project she envisioned. That’s what creativity is all about! I think the ladies in Sarah’s wedding will be thrilled at these thoughtful handmade gifts.

Best wishes for a wonderful wedding, Sarah! Congratulations!

Rebecca is a knitter who has been thinking about sewing for a while. She was participating in Secret Pal Swap and needed a gift. The first time she visited our shop she came up with a plan to make Peanut, the Wee Elephant from Last Minute Patchwork & Quilted Gifts for her Pal. She picked fabrics and was on her way.

Then she had a sewing machine malfunction, and came to use our machines. It was so fun to see this project come together right before our eyes. There were some difficult seams to sew, but she got through it beautifully. He was all stitched up, but a little deflated without his stuffing. I asked Rebecca to send me a photo when he was all done, and she did! He is SO CUTE! This little guy was gifted this past weekend and I hear that he was the hit of the party.

Now, not only is she a talented knitter but a great seamstress too. Well done, Rebecca!

Sarah has been sewing just a few days longer than we’ve been open! We met during Spool’s first days when she stopped in and told us she had just bought a machine and was starting to sew. One of the first things she wanted to make was a project bag for her grandmother, a life long knitter. What a sweetheart!

Sarah designed this herself - kudos! The fabrics are so cheerful and there lots of pockets to keep needles and notions. Just what every knitter needs. Obviously, the crafty gene runs in the family! I have a feeling that Sarah’s grandmother is going to be overjoyed to receive such a perfect gift.

I am so impressed that Sarah just jumped in and got started sewing. I can’t wait to see what she creates next!