 A few weeks ago, I got an email from Joe at Fabric Wholesale Direct (FWD) asking if I'd like to partner with them. I could pick out $100 worth of fabric from the site, and get it for free. And in exchange, I would write up a blog post tutorial about the project I choose to make from it and link back to their website. I eagerly agreed, and spent the next few hours pouring over all the fabrics they offer. And here's what I found: $100 of fabric at FWD is WAY more fabric than I realized.  I started out with just one project in mind, to recover several outdoor cushions I picked up for free. And I was pleasantly surprised to find some waterproof fabric options for my project, with a wide selection of colors. I decided on Ottertex waterproof canvas in silver, and added my yardage to my cart. But even with 7 yards, it was nowhere near the $100 limit, so I took another look around the site to see what else I might like. I decided to add several more fabrics to my cart, and make this a blog series instead of just one post. This first post is just a rundown of all the fabrics I picked out, and future posts will be about what I make from each fabric. I can't wait!
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This post has very little to do with sewing, but I've gotten a few questions about my chalkboard wall, so I figured I'd put this post out there in case anyone is interested! The house we've been renting since August came to us with a chalkboard painted on one of the dining room walls. I was super excited about it, and I've been having a lot of fun creating chalk murals that coordinate with the seasons. I've now made 3 different drawings, one for Halloween, one for Christmas, and one for the new year. I love scrolling through pinterest to get ideas and I will often combine elements from several different pins to come up with what I want to draw. I should post photos of my inspiration pics to give them their credit, but honestly it's been so long ago now that I don't remember if I even saved them on pinterest. I'll try to remember for next time. Halloween: Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Affiliate links are marked with an *  Back around 2015, I got a job at Silk Mountain creations. It's a drapery workroom, and I had so much fun seeing all the sewing techniques and tools that were totally new to me, but completely normal for the home decor/soft furnishings industry. Hands down, my favorite new tools were the tables we used. They were big, on wheels, countertop height, rulers along the sides, pinnable, ironable, and had a ton of storage underneath. The best part? They were DIY. One of the owners of the business had actually built them, and I got to help recover one of them while I was an employee. It was such a great way to work, that I would sometimes come in after hours to use the set up for my own sewing. A lot of the branding photos I use are actually flat lays I set up using these tables, like this one below.  After working at Silk Mt for a length of time, I decided that once I had the space, I was going to build myself one of these tables. And now that I DO have a room for my sewing, it is time!
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.  A super fun project that has been in the works over the last few months is my sewing studio! My little sewing room is coming together, especially with the addition of my pegboard wall.
I knew that in such a small room, storage was going to be one of the big challenges. I decided to tackle this challenge with a two pronged attack. First, I don't keep fabric in my sewing room (it's all sorted into storage bins in the basement), and second, I use as much vertical space as possible. After drooling over several other sewist's pegboard walls, I couldn't resist going all out and making an entire wall of my studio into pegboard storage. After some white paint and several calls to my dad for mounting advice (Thank you dad!) I now have a gorgeous way to display (and organize) all my tools. For my 2021 MakeNine challenge, I've decided to focus on WIPs (Work in Progress). I'm notorious for starting a million and one projects, but never completely finishing any of them. My last few MakeNine challenges have been trending in this direction, with projects lingering on from year to year. So I'm just gonna embrace it! Here are 9 projects that are in various stages of unfinish that I hope to finish this year.  No lie, by the end of this year I completely forgot that MakeNine goals existed, let alone that I had made a MakeNine goal for 2020. I started out strong, but then fell off the wagon a few months in. That sounds like a description for 2020 in general. Looking back at these goals made me realize just how much has changed in a year, and just how long ago January feels.
Let's see where all my forgotten goals have ended up by the end of this crazy year. For some reason, when I think of sewing clothing, socks never come to mind. Socks have always seemed firmly on the knitting side of the craft world, but it's not true! I've recently starting sewing up a few pairs of socks for myself, and it is so incredibly easy!  I don't remember how, but I recently stumbled upon the Gubbins No-Show Socks pattern by My Golden Thimble. It's simple, uses a small amount of fabric (apparently Gubbins actually means "scraps") and best of all, is free!
 *** This post is sponsored by EverSewn*** Fall is hands down my favorite. My favorite time of year, with my favorite holiday, my favorite weather, and my favorite sewing. So I was super pumped when EverSewn reached out to collaborate for their #sweaterweather campaign. An excuse to whip up a new batch of Halloween decorations and accessories? Ummm, YES PLEASE!  The very next day I found a fabulous care package on my porch and dove right in. Getting Halloween fabrics delivered right to my door is basically the grown up version of trick-or-treating. Only you don't crash from all the sugar. Here's what I got:
 I'm happy to announce that Eddie has just graduated from his PhD program and is starting a new job! His new job is located just north of Chicago, IL so we will be relocating!
While super exciting, it is also a big transition for our family and for my business. So, I will be temporarily shutting down the physical product side of my business. Just for a few weeks: until I get everything set up in our new state. And until the movers give me back all my sewing stuff. I expect to be back up and running by Aug 17th. In the meantime, the digital product side of my business will still be fully open, and I'll be doing my best to still answer any emails or messages that come my way.  With fashion revolution week upon us, I want to draw attention to something that everyone can do to help with this cause: mending. The number one thing we can do to help stop the fast fashion cycle is to actually love the things we already own. Or as FashionRevolution.org says: #lovedclotheslast
This means cleaning them in a way that preserves the garments and this means mending! And although mending usually brings to mind sewing, that's not always the case. I want to share with you 9 ideas for fixing a variety of wardrobe issues. Even if you have never sewn in your life. |
madeline stage
creative business owner. designer. hoosier. crafter. runner. sewer. swing dancer. outdoor enthusiast. entrepreneur. wife. mom. material hoarder. Categories
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