Stash

Canada 150 — In the Emmaline Bags Bag

~ Michelle ~ 71 Comments

Welcome to my stop on the Canada 150 — In the Bag tour.

This tour is a bag-making, bag designer, bag supplier tour, so by my title, you may have guessed I’m featuring a bag from Emmaline Bags.

Most of the bag patterns shown on our tour were donated to the bloggers by the designers. You will be able to buy them, and maybe even win one. (I’ll be giving away a pattern on June 10th, so keep checking in.)

Here are all our sponsors, but some of these are our Designers too. (At the end of this post there are links to all of our sponsors & designers)

All of our Designers offer great patterns you can purchase, however, I really wanted to show there are free options out there. We are celebrating after all!

The bag I’ve chosen is a pattern from Emmaline Bags – and it is free. In fact, the additions I’ve made to it are all from Emmaline Bags’ blog, so they’re free too. Well, you do have to buy your materials and hardware…

Here’s the pattern I made:

Isn’t that lovely? I’ve been admiring the Miss Maggie’s Handbag since it came out, and dreaming of a leather Miss Maggie. However, I found some perfect fabrics I wanted to use for my Canada 150 bag.

Here’s my Miss Maggie’s Handbag:

Oh, I love it! The material I used for this was created to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday this July 1st. This is Stonehenge Oh Canada by Northcott. I’m including a link for the fabrics just in case you love it too. Being Canadian, I was able to find this at my local quilting shop.

Here’s the back view of my bag:

Nice hardware, eh? Yup. I really do love this bag.

Pockets

The bag is lovely all on it’s own, but I wanted to add a few things. The first thing I added was a zipper pocket inside the bag.

This zipper pocket is the perfect size.

Here’s the tutorial for adding a zipper pocket to a bag.

SEW AN EASY ZIPPER POCKET METHOD 1- A TUTORIAL.

Janelle (owner of Emmaline Bags) says, ‘Everyone needs an internal zipper pocket in their purse or handbag…’ I felt the same way. I love to have a zippered pocket to keep things tucked away and safe. This tutorial was easy too. I had no problems with it whatsoever.

The fabrics I used for the inside of the bag are both special edition fabrics that were created just for Canada’s 150th. The maple leafs (part of the Canadian Sesquicentennial Collection by Northcott) inspired my maple leaf on the front of my bag, and the Canadiana quiz material (same collection as the maple leafs) was just too fun not to use.

More Pockets

The bag comes with one slip pocket included in the pattern.

That pocket is perfect for a cell phone, or anything else you want to keep separate in your bag. I’m thinking my cell and sunglasses!

You can also see in of all of these pocket photos that I’ve added a magnetic clasp for a closure. This closure is what the pattern suggests, and Janelle has a tutorial for that too.

How to Install a Magnetic Snap Closure

Janelle has some really great tips in this tutorial to keep that snap tightly secured, and I followed them.

Bling Bling

I had to add some bling to my bag.

Who could resist a Sewn label? Not me. Anyone who sees my bag will know it’s an original and handcrafted.

The Long John Strap Anchors, the handmade hanging metal tag, and the leather tassel are more bling. Well, the strap anchors are rather practical in that they attach the straps to the bag, but they definitely bring the bling factor.

So much more love!

To make my tassel, it was back to Emmaline Bags’ blog for another tutorial.

HOW TO MAKE A TASSEL: AN EASY BAG MAKING TUTORIAL.

I had so much fun making my tassel. It was extremely satisfying. Leather is so lovely to use. The leather I used for my tassel was from a second-hand score. A box of leather samples and a few other things for $5.

As well as making the tassel from my upcycled leather, I also made a gorgeous Maple leaf – the symbol on Canada’s flag.

Over the top love!

 All the beautiful bling I bought (commonly called hardware) came from Emmaline Bags’ online store. Unfortunately, it’s not free. But you do have a chance to win some.

Hardware Tip & More

In the Miss Maggie pattern, it’s suggested to keep the plastic protective covering on your hardware while you sew your bag. That makes a lot of sense, but some of my hardware didn’t come with plastic on it.

I used some Press & Seal to cover my hardware during the sewing process and it worked perfectly!

There were no scratches to any of my hardware this way. Not only does Beverly Johnson (The Fairy Bra Mother) tell us how to clone a bra with Press & Seal, but now I can see another great reason why we all need this in our sewing rooms! You can see I started by covering my hardware with a bit of felt. The Press & Seal was faster and no pins.

I have one more little tip for you. To attach the magnetic clasp, I needed double-sided fusible interfacing. I know I had some, but I could not find it anywhere. I happen to have lots of single sided interfacing though and more than one sewing machine.

I sewed a strip of interfacing together with the glue sides out. It worked perfectly under the magnetic closure.

How to Win

For my give-away in the Canada 150 – It’s in the Bag tour, I’m giving away a PDF pattern from Emmaline Bags.

Comment on my post about your biggest sewing failure for a chance to win. Marsha (Seam of my Pants) has already picked the winning post number for me. All you have to do is post. The winner will be announced on the 10th.

As well, on the 10th I’ll be sharing my project that didn’t work out for this tour.

Enjoy the rest of our tour.

Happy 150th Canada!

&

Happy creating!

Each blog has an exclusive giveaway, so be sure to visit them all.

Tour Discounts

  • 10% off!
    Tangled Blossoms Design     is offering 10% off anything in stock for the duration of the tour. Offer expires June 10, 2017. Use discount code HAPPYBIRTHDAYCANADA
  • 15% off!
    Bringberry Handbag Hardware and Design     is offering 15% off anything in stock for the duration of the tour. Offer expires June 10, 2017. Use discount code LOVECANADA150

Tour Stops

(These links will be active on and after the day they are scheduled.)

June 4

Emmaline Bags

June 5

Tangled Blossoms Design ◊ With Love in Every Stitch ◊ Happy Okapi

June 6

Michelle’s Creations ◊ Barabooboo ◊ Soca Sewing

June 7

Glitter in my Coffee ◊ Michelle’s Creations ◊ Seam of my Pants

June 8

Seam of my Pants ◊ Creative Roots Sewing ◊ Happy Okapi

June 9

Seam of my Pants

June 10

Giveaway ends at midnight EDT (North America)

July 1

CANADA DAY 150

Giveaway Prizes

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please join us in thanking our tour sponsors by visiting their websites.

* Jewellery is the Canadian spelling.

Pinterest Find and More

~ Michelle

Kantje Boord

Do you remember a few weeks ago I posted about my hubby’s trip to Germany?

I’d mentioned some gorgeous material from Kantje Boord. Gorgeous material I’d seen a few years ago. Gorgeous material that Sigrid made into a lovely bra. Gorgeous material that I didn’t order.

pak00709

When I initially wrote the post, I couldn’t find a photo of the bra, even though I knew I’d saved it… somewhere. This week, I was adding a photo to my Pinterest page and there it was. The bra Sigrid made.

9144448502421b060da0a429d50f2d33

Isn’t that lovely? Do you follow Sigrid? I really enjoy reading about her makes.

After seeing how pretty this bra is again, I’m having a second thought or two about not ordering this, while telling myself, ‘I will not be tempted by Lycra.’ Sigh. I’ll have to see when my hubby’s work takes him to Europe again.

Do you follow Sigrid’s blog? Have you been part of a sewing swap before? What ideas do you have for sewing swap gifts?

Happy creating!

While in Germany

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

My hubby recently made a work trip to Germany. Unfortunately, I couldn’t go with him. My thoughts were, if I can’t go with him, he’s bringing me something back. I was ready to help him with that.

First I looked at Kantje Boord. I have dreamed of ordering from them since I first started thinking about bra-making and had started to follow Sigrid‘s blog.

Sigrid made one bra, and I loved it. Seriously. Loved it. I contacted her to find out where she got the material. It turned out to be Kantje Boord.

I found it. I found it way back when I’d asked her, and I found it again just last week. You can click on the photo to find it yourself.

pak00709

It was so pretty made up. I looked again to find the photo of Sigrid’s bra, but that I couldn’t find again.

My one problem with this is it’s lace and Lycra. I have a few lace and Lycra bras and bra kits; they just aren’t as supportive as a lace and duoplex bra for me. I decided I wasn’t going to buy it after all.

A few days went by, and I was still thinking about my hubby’s upcoming trip and how I could take advantage of it. Then I had another thought… Sewy! Sewy is right in Germany. I quickly made my way to their website.

I already have a few of their patterns, so didn’t look too closely at those. I did look at the bra kits, but just looked. As I was looking, I decided I wasn’t going to be tempted by anything with Lycra. So what else did Sewy have other than bra kits and patterns?

Well, they had one thing I’ve been trying to find for quite some time: Pareostoff.

Can you make that word out? According to Google Translate Pareostoff in German is… Wait for it… It’s Pareostoff in English. Well, that didn’t help. I was thinking the ‘stoff’ part of the word is close to our English ‘stuff’, so was good with my translation Pareo ‘stuff’. Stoff alone translates to ‘material’. Pareo material. Perfect!

PareoI love it! Don’t look for it though. Sewy only a little left. Once I’d made my purchase it was gone from the website. It even came in that adorable Sewy bag for storage.

So, I’d ordered some gorgeous material and was sending it to the hotel where my husband was staying. Then I received this in an email:

“Guten Tag, MRS Michelle,

wir haben soeben folgende Artikel versandt, viel Spaß beim Verarbeiten!

Die Sendung geht an:”

After that, it had the hotel address. The hotel address was all I could make out. Hmm. It was time for Google Translate again:

“Good day, MRS Michelle,

we have just sent the following products, a lot of fun while processing!

The show goes on:”

Isn’t that great? I’m glad they had a lot of fun. It’s been fun for me too.

I’ve been looking for black with polka dots for over a year now. I have a black and white polka dot bathing suit and wanted a cover up. I wanted polka dots.

bathing suit

The Pareostoff is perfect.

Bathing suit and PareoThere were no problems with my German order at all. Thank you, Sewy!

Remember a few weeks ago I was working on organizing my patterns? Once that job was done, I decided to make a similar catalog of my Craftsy classes. I was on a roll!

UntitledThese will go right behind my nicely organized patterns in my sewing binder. I also plan to work through all my classes. Some classes I devoured as soon as I bought them; others well, others have never even been opened. It’s time.

Happy creating!

Ivory and Lavender

~ Michelle

I just finished reading Mrs. Weaver’s latest blog post. Oh my! That’s about sums it up.

two bras

Honestly, I thought Lavender and Lace was such a lovely bra. This new color combination and the lace simply push it over the top.

Mrs. Weaver has a new website coming and this kit can be ordered on there. Just look how pretty this is:

kit

Oh, that is so pretty! I want. It’s really simple.

Happy creating!

The Perfect T-Shirt

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

Last year I saw a Sewing With Nancy episode – Sew the Perfect T-Shirt. I was so glad I PVRed that episode. I have been wanting to make a T-shirt, and who doesn’t want the perfect one?

You can watch the episodes here: Part One and Part Two.

After watching the episode, I immediately went over to Pamela’s Patterns and ordered her Perfect T-Shirt pattern.

Perfect Tee

The pattern has been sitting patiently on my desk with so many other projects for a few months now, but it was time. I bought a whole whack of cotton/Lycra to make Tees for summer. It was time.

I love the approach Pamela takes on the show. You determine your size, and then start with that sized Tee, any alterations are done to that first Tee and the pattern at the same time. I think that’s a great idea! That way you get a corrected pattern and a correctly fitting Tee with one alteration.

There was one glitch. I started reading the instructions (see, I learned from the last project) and then went to our local fabric store to find Stay Tape. Well, it seems no one in Canada seems to know anything about Stay Tape. The stores don’t carry it. So instead of getting on with my sewing, I was trying to figure out a replacement for Stay Tape. We also had a looming mail strike, so there was no way I was going to order anything and possibly wait three months to get it.

I used woven and knit interfacing in place of the Stay Tape. I found a great blog post on Pattern Fantastique describing  how to make your own Stay Tape and decided I’d try it.

Here’s the interfacing on the shoulders. I used woven interfacing as Pamela said to use the woven stay tape here.

Interfacing

For the neckline I used a knit interfacing. Both were fine. (Sorry for the blurry pic.)

Interfacing on neckline and sleeve

Here’s my Tee:

Front of Tee

I adjusted this pattern to make a size Small top, with shortened armholes, lowered the bust dart, and graded up a size for my hips. The grading up gives this tee a peplum look, which I wasn’t wanting. The hips are a bit loose, so I may try a size Small for my next tee.

And from the side:

Side of Tee

I love how the darts on this disappear. You can’t see them at all. That was a small concern I had before making the pattern. I didn’t want to draw attention to my bust by adding a dart to give enough room for the bust. It might be different on a solid colored fabric, but on this it’s great!

And the back:

Back of Tee

It all came together very well, and I will definitely be making more.

I really like this pattern. Pamela has a second pattern that goes with this one that’s all necklines. I know what I’m ordering soon. I love the darted bust, which saved me from making a Full Bust Adjustment.

I do have a couple of changes to make still. I think I’d like longer sleeves for my tees, and the neckline is a tad loose. I need to adjust the inner shoulders to bring that up.

Here I am on a really feel-good day in a total Me-made wardrobe:  top, bottom, and undergarments. And I’m in the mountains (trying very hard not to squint). My hubby says take off your sunglasses. No sunglasses = squinting.

Me in mountains

Happy creating!

Just One More Stop at the Fabric Store

~ Michelle ~ 11 Comments

You all must really be wondering if I’m sewing at all anymore. I am, but I can’t show you… yet. All I can do is give you a tease of what’s to come.

photo teaser

Isn’t that beautiful fabric? I’m going to make you wait to find out what I do with it, but I won’t make you wait very long. Just wait until Monday, April 4th and I’ll tell you more.

So, I have one more adventure to share with you from my recent trip to Ontario. I stopped at Fabricland. In fact, I stopped at Fabricland… a few times. I told my hubby I had to go. I kept remembering all the sewists on a forum I follow who had found wonderful printed Cotton Spandex at their Fabricland stores in Ontario. There was none at my store, so I had check while I was there. I found a store close to my sister’s home. Let’s call this Store One. You’ll understand why shortly.

I scored some wonderful Cotton Spandex at Store One, which I showed you in my last post. Then I saw another store as we drove to my Mum’s. We’ll call this Store Two. I did go in, but there was nothing new there. In fact their sales were different. In Store One, the Cotton Spandex was 50% off, in Store Two it was only 25% off.  Store Two was a different division, I was told. However, there was a new sale starting in a few days, so a few days later I went back to Store Two.

My hubby dropped me off and in I went. Right away I could see the Cotton Spandex was not on sale. I had a few minutes before my hubby came in so decided to look around. Just look what I found:

black lace with gold flowers

black lace with red flowers

black lace 1

I couldn’t believe my find! I also couldn’t believe the price. It was $4.95/meter. Well, forget Cotton Spandex. I was buying lace!

I had just had a big shop at Bra Makers Supply, so I knew I had to be a little more careful with my spending – my Christmas money wasn’t going to last forever. I only planned to buy those three laces. I was really pleased to find them and with their price. Just imagine my delight when I got to the cashier and found out they were on sale by half again! I only paid $2.50/meter for the laces!

My hubby had come into the store by then, and was still helping me keep to our schedule. I really wasn’t in Ontario to shop. Once we were in the car though, I told him I needed to go back to Store One and see if they had laces too. His reaction was typical of a non-obsessed, non-stash-building, non-bra-maker. ‘What? You were just there!’

Then I explained the savings we’d have. This lace is what I need for bra-making. It’s a great saving. It’s only on sale for a limited time. I persuaded him it was a good thing for me to go back to Store One again.

Store One had only one little bolt of lace, but I bought a meter of it.

brown lace

Now my truely obsessive bra-making nature came out. I had to go back to Store Two and had to buy more of the laces. My hubby was done. He was not going back to Store Two for a third time. So this time, after a family visit, my niece and I went back while the sale was on. All these laces were $2.50/meter. Talk about a score.

black lace 2

black lace 3

black lace clovers

purple lace with pink

purple lace with silver

white lace with peach shimmer full

white lace

Once I was back home, a friend wanted to make some panties. Off to the fabric store we went and what do you think I saw? Thankfully, it wasn’t lace! There were bolts of Cotton Spandex though. I’m still very happy with all those trips to Fabricland One and Two.

Happy creating!

The Cotton Spandex Opportunities

~ Michelle ~ 6 Comments

On a sewing forum I follow, someone posted a cute pair of panties and had lots of response. ‘What pattern are these? No elastic? I have to know what pattern, …’ It went on for a while. We were told they were Scrundles. Off I went to search the web for Scrundles. I didn’t find any Scrundles, but a little more searching and I found Scrundlewear Ladies Underwear by Stitch Upon A Time.

I looked at the first photo to show up and thought, that doesn’t look like what I saw. This photo is from their Etsy shop. These are boy shorts. What I’d seen were more of a classic brief shape.

boy short

Then I scrolled through the photos and saw this:

brief

These were more along the lines of what I’d seen posted. Super cute!

The pattern offers five styles of panties in one.

pattern

Hmm. Now I’m thinking. I really love my TNT Kwik Sew 2286s, but I did think these were super cute. Here’s what they say about their pattern:

2 different styles included, Briefs and Boy shorts
4 different waistband options
2 different leg band options
3 different trim options, faux fly, lace and ribbon bow
You can make more than 16 different underwear with this one pattern!

They were sounding better and better.

Then things got more tempting for me. On the same forum, all these people started posting about the cute printed Cotton Spandex they were finding at a Canadian fabric store, Fabricland. Off I went to my local store to see if they had it. Nope. It seemed to skip my Province. From what I was reading, it was in the Eastern stores, and the stores in the Province west of me too.

I put the thought of those cute panties on hold. If I was going to make them, I wanted mine to be cute with some patterned material too, not just the solid colors of Cotton Spandex I’d found.

Then there was that unexpected trip to Ontario. After visiting and spending time with family, a very quick trip to Bra Makers Supply, and more family visits, it was time to go to Fabricland.

There is was! The same cute patterned Cotton Spandex I’d seen on the forums.

cotton for panties

My first trip to Fabricland was a quick trip, so I grabbed a meter of each with plans to go back and get a little more while it’s on sale for half price.

At this point, I had the material, but not the pattern. Then came Jennifer Getter’s birthday (Jennifer of Stitch Upon A Time). On the SUAT’s Facebook page, she said she was celebrating by offering 40% off patterns that day. What a great opportunity! I’d bought some material, so with 40% off, there was no reason to hesitate anymore.

Another of my goals for this Spring is to make myself a T-shirt that really fits. Sewing with Nancy had a few episodes on sewing the perfect T-shirt. After watching, I purchased my pattern. It’s from Pamela’s Patterns. You can find it here.

perfect t-shirt

This is a darted T-shirt, so should really help when it comes time to do a Full Bust Adjustment on it. It’ll be like the work is half done for me. Rather than starting from scratch and adding a dart, I’ll only have to adjust the dart that’s already there. On the show, they even show how to adjust the dart higher or lower as needed. Great!

However, it was another of those projects that needed Cotton Spandex, so it’s been waiting.

These are the materials I purchased to work on a few Summer tees. I may mix and match things up too.

cotton for tees

I had hoped on my second trip to the store, I’d find some brighter colors. They did have a couple, but the prints were huge. They weren’t anything I’d want for panties or Tees. I’d even brought my hubby in with me to help me decide. He didn’t like the other prints either, so I’ll have to be happy with all these nice new black and white prints.

While I was there I did see one more wonderful fabric.

african print

This is part of an African Prints collection. I grabbed what was left (not even a full meter), and will use it for a Swoon bag, or as a feature on a bag. So pretty.

Happy creating!

My Spring Lingerie Wardrobe Plans

~ Michelle ~ 8 Comments

We all have plans of things we want to make or sew, but last fall I realized I had so many projects to make on my list that I needed to break things down a little. I made a Fall/Winter list and left everything off that I wouldn’t be wanting over the winter. That helped me tremendously.

I did the same again just recently when I was planning a trip to Bra Makers Supply. When I started to make my list, there were a lot of darker colors on it like Black, Black Cherry, Chocolate… I took a look. Well, I took a look after I added up what it was going to cost me if I bought everything on my list, and I decided to re-do it for only Spring and Summer.

The first thing to do was to go through my stash and see what I needed to complete what was there already. I have a Pink Bra Kit but I didn’t have a Finding Kit. I had an Ivory Bra Kit too, but again no Finding Kit.

Finding Kits were on my list.

findings and bra kit

As well as the Finding Kits, I picked up a Lavender Bra Kit and Finding Kit. All of these will make a lovely light-colored Spring and Summer bra wardrobe.

While at home I looked at the cotton I had for panties. I had some Beige, and some Pink. So I needed some Ivory. Bra Makers doesn’t have Ivory in their Cotton Spandex, but they do have lovely Modal in an off white that looked nice with the Ivory Duoplex. I loved placing the fabrics beside one another and seeing how close the colors were for myself.

bamboo 2

I had my hubby with me (he was the one rushing me out of the store), and I told him to look at the Bra Kits and pick the one he liked. On his third pick, we agreed. We chose the Lavender Bra Kit and Findings, with Lilac and Lavender lace. The kit is showing above, but here’s the lace.

LS-63.5355%20Lilac%20and%20Lavender

Oh, it’s so pretty! I did realize after I left the store that I didn’t buy the Lilac Cotton Spandex, but BMS does carry it, so that will be something I still need to purchase.

Two more bras will round out my Spring and Summer wardrobe and they’re both Beige. I bought some Beige Polka Dot Tulle, with Beige Sheer Cup Lining, and a Beige lace to make Beverly Johnson’s Heather bra that was shown in her Craftsy class.

Heather on Ashley smaller

This photo is from Beverly’s blog. You can read how she made it and what pattern adjustments to make here. It’s such a beautiful delicate looking bra. I can’t wait to make my own version of it. Here are my materials for it.

beige lace beige tulle beige sheer cup lining

For the last bra on my Spring/Summer list, I chose Beige Cut and Sew foam with a gorgeous Beige and Copper stretch lace.

beige lace over beige cut and sew foam

It was love at first sight when I saw that lace. Just imagine of my delight when watching Beverly’s last bra-making class and I saw she used the same lace over a beige foam cup! It’s beautiful together.

One last purchase and (gulp) possible plan – a bathing suit. Bathing suits simply don’t fit me. If I buy them to fit the bust, they float around me. If I buy them to fit my frame, I’m spilling over the top. They have not been one of my favorite things.

The Princess Tankini Pattern.

tankini 2

Sewing a bathing suit is at the bottom of my list, so if I don’t get to it, I won’t feel overly upset about it. In fact, I didn’t buy any material for this project. The pattern is enough for now.

I can’t wait to start sewing. Happy creating!

A Trip to Bra Makers Supply

~ Michelle ~ 24 Comments

We all have plans and we all have schedules. Mine changed suddenly last week, and my husband and I found ourselves flying to Ontario, Canada with only a day and a half notice. I knew right away though, there was no way I was going to be within hours of Bra Makers Supply and not go there. I started to make plans right away.

So here’s a little post about my trip to Bra Makers Supply. I was so excited to go, and to meet everyone. However, I arrived the same morning everyone was leaving for the Bra Makers Cruise. That was a small wrench in my plans, but I did get to meet Beverly and some of the staff. It all worked out great.

Beverly and M

Beverly is as wonderful as you think she is, and so is the store! Due to our schedule, my DH had to rush me a little to get me out of the store. I arrived with a list in hand, and wanted to take my time and enjoy the whole process of being there, looking at everything, selecting what I wanted, taking photos all along the way. Our schedule demanded otherwise.

I did buy all the things on my list, but I didn’t take anywhere near as many photos as I wanted.

There were shelves that went almost to the ceiling. Everything is wonderfully organized; truly a bra-maker’s delight. Along one wall there were plastic baskets of rings, and sliders, and wires, oh my! Along the opposite wall were more shelves with laces, elastics, simply everything we need.

shelves

Just imagine shelves of laces!

wall of lace

Next to these were the Stretch Laces. I really could have spent a lot more time there. Well, my money would have run out eventually.

Below are just a snippet of the elastics. Right in the middle of the lower shelf that’s showing in the photo – the new Grey and to the right of it, the new Black Cherry. Oh so pretty! I heard they are going to be part of complete Finding Kits in those colors. Yay!

elastics

It was so fun, but DH was keeping me to my schedule. So a few quick photos, and it was time to seriously shop and hit the road again.

I bought everything I need for my Spring/Summer bra and panty wardrobe. That will be another post.

haul

Oh, just look at that wonderful stash and me not at home with my sewing machine.

After we went to Bra Makers Supply, we made another quick stop: the location of the original Tim Horton’s restaurant. This may be the original site, but a new building has been put up.

building

This location is part restaurant – you can buy your coffee and whatever else Tim’s offers – but it’s also a museum. It was really a fun walk-through. Here are a few photos from the upstairs.

Does anyone remember these prices?

prices

Here are the original donuts that were offered. I don’t remember any of these.

donuts

I thought this was a cute sign, so took a photo of this too. I have no desire whatsoever to be a Donut Maker, but a Bra-Maker. Yes, please!

sign

This poster was great. I love how it tied the donuts to hockey. For all the non-Canadians reading, Tim Horton was a Canadian hockey player, who after that career, opened this chain of famously popular coffee shops, that are still very popular today.

wall

My hubby is a Timmies fan, so this part of our stop in Hamilton was a highlight for him. With me not shopping, I had a little more opportunity to take  few photos.

D and sign

I can’t wait to get home and start sewing. Happy creating!

Pattern Testing the Minimalist Wallet

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

I was given the opportunity to test a new pattern, and I jumped at the chance to do it. It’s The Minimalist Wallet Pattern. The pattern was released on Sew Modern Bags.

I wanted to try this pattern because the designer wanted to see it in leather and I had just scored that great leather stash. Now I had the opportunity to use some of it. Win-win

pattern

This pattern is very easy to make, and working with the leather was delightful. It is so soft. It cuts so easily. It sews really easily too. I did use a leather needle, which I’m sure helped a great deal. All in all, it was great to work with leather. The only part about working with leather that wasn’t a delight was using Wonder clips. They have little teeth in them, and those little teeth were showing on my leather! I ended up using office clips. They still left a little bit of a mark, but it didn’t look like little bite marks.

Here’s the wallet. I added a second snap to the closure tab. I’ve seen that before and liked that option. When your wallet is full, use the outer snap; when the wallet is less full, the inner snap. It keeps your wallet from feeling like the closure is loose fitting.

wallet-closed

Here’s the wallet from the inside:

inside-no-cards

The wallet has eight card slots. Each of the four you can see with the little crescent cut into them has one behind as well.

Here’s the wallet showing the billfold. Bills, receipts, shopping lists all fit in here easily.

bill-fold

The only real problem I ran into when making this was using the snaps. I actually had two problems with the snaps. The first one was the outer snap that’s attached to the body of the wallet simply would not attach. I went through four snaps before I gave up on reinforcing it as the instructions say. There was just too much thickness there for it to work with the leather. It’s been behaving just fine now without that reinforcement.

A second problem I had was entirely my fault: I attached both of the snaps at the same time – the one on the body and the one on the tab. The instructions say to attach the one to the outer body and nothing at that point about the tab, but I didn’t read the instructions. As things quickly began to not make sense, I started reading the instructions again. I threw out the first tab I’d made and cut out another tab and started sewing again where I’d veered off. There were no more problems from that point on.

I don’t think the first problem I had with the snaps was an indication of the pattern though. The pattern is designed for Kraft Tex. The Kraft Tex may be thinner than leather, and the reinforcement needed.

Happy creating!