This first photo is of the display unit, showcasing some of my recent work. There are a number of in-stock pieces, along with some custom orders awaiting collection or shipping, and some zippered pouches for a store which carries my work. It has been a busy summer!

We are working on making a greenscreen so we can improve the product photography. I am usually in a rush to get back to the machine and really need to make more of an effort to photograph my work properly.

I was recently contacted by a lady overseas who wanted a bag made for her sister in eastern Canada, as a birthday gift. After much discussion I set to work making a bag which has, I think, fit the bill in terms of being incredibly practical and functional, but it also has a quirky, fun interior which will bring a smile to the face of anyone who sees it. Unless of course they hate the Wizard of Oz….

A lot more goes on around here than just sewing and I can’t even remotely claim to be the only one with old-fashioned domestic skills! In the last few days my multi-talented, software developer/database administrator/musician/handyman husband has made raspberry gin, peanut butter ice cream, coconut ice cream and butter! I think that is pretty impressive.

As it is the summer holidays and our children are still young enough that they like spending time with us, we set aside time to go on fun outings together on a regular basis. Generally we make the most of the many (free) family-friendly events and locations on our beautiful island, and this week was no exception. Early in the week we went to the amazing Barton & Leier Gallery. They have a lovely gallery/gift shop, but the highlight of the place for us is the incredible, quirky and inspiring garden that is open to the public. Here are some of my favourite shots:

We also had a picnic at Blue Heron Park and a lovely walk in Hemer Provincial Park.

Yesterday we took advantage of Philippa’s birthday gift – tickets to Butterfly World – and headed up to Coombs for the afternoon. I have to admit, we were prepared to be disappointed, but we had a wonderful time. There was plenty for us all to enjoy, from the 3 year old to Grandma and all of us in between.

In addition to butterflies, there were tortoises, turtles, koi, quail, spiders, insects, lizards, finches and some lovely garden areas outside.

My life isn’t just about sewing. Well, not entirely! We are enjoying our wonderful summer on the west coast of Canada, taking the girls to the huge variety of parks we have in Nanaimo, to the beach and to community events. There is so much to do here in the summer months, much of it geared to families with young children, which suits us perfectly. Even better, many of the events are free, so everyone can join in. If you are looking for a holiday destination, you can’t go far wrong with Vancouver Island. Here’s a teeny tiny sampling:

This photo was taken on July 1st, Canada Day, during the celebrations at Maffeo Sutton Park in downtown Nanaimo. It was a fabulous day, with a good turnout, despite the rain. We haven’t had rain since that day. We get so much during the winter months that the return of the sun, blue skies and heat is always welcome!

It has been a busy summer here, with a 6 year old, 3 year old, in-laws visiting for a month, seaside summer activities and a steady stream of orders for me to work on. Loving every bit of it!

These are some of the items I have made recently:

These are a few of the things that have been keeping me busy lately! I have also been working with a graphic designer in the UK to create a logo for Pip ‘n’ Milly Creations and am very excited with what John from Thirteen Degrees has done for me. The concept is relatively simple, but has great personal significance for me. I am thrilled that I have been able to benefit from John’s talent, knowledge, experience and professionalism. Thank you so much, John! I am so proud of my beautiful logo and you know how much it means to me to have the bird incorporated. You are the best!

In order to have a website worthy of this lovely new branding, we will slowly be working on refreshing the website to improve the layout and functionality. We hope to be able to offer online ordering, though the custom nature of most of my work doesn’t necessarily fit in well with the typical ordering process. Please bear with me while we work on this, as the technical side of the business has to play second fiddle to actually designing and making things!

The development and growth of the business means that word is spreading outside of our local area and I need to consider shipping options. I will be using Canada Post and Fedex and am working with suppliers to find appropriate packaging materials that safely convey my products, whilst not vastly increasing the costs of shipping. I would welcome any feedback or suggestions you may have to offer.

But now it is time to get out and make the most of the beautiful west coast sunshine! Happy summer everyone!

I have bought a couple of patterns from the lovely Nikki Mallalieu of You Sew, Girl and I’m taking part in her Review Round-Up Competition. This review is for her adult hat pattern. If there is interest in this as a potential product, please let me know and I will see whether it is a viable option. Hat making requires precision and accuracy and is not something that can be rushed, but I am hoping that with a few more practice runs I can perfect the process to make them at an acceptable price. So here goes!

2. Difficulty rating

Advanced sewing skills

I have used this pattern three times so far. The first hat (orange polka dot one) came together quite well, with a couple flaws that are not immediately obvious to anyone but me. It has a narrow brim, using 3 layers of medium-weight interfacing.

The second hat (narrow wale raspberry corduroy with fancy purple satin lining) also uses medium weight fusible interfacing and turned out well, though the plain fabric highlights an error in my construction, which I think was a problem with attaching the brim pieces together. I should have sewn more rows of stitching around the brim – as instructed! It does not pay to be impatient when making a hat! Other than that issue, I really like this hat.

My latest attempt is my absolute favourite of all. I LOVE this hat! I decided to try the large size this time, having made the previous two in medium. They fit ok, but left a slight mark on my forehead, so I decided to move up a size, which was a good call. (Please note – the instructions indicate to go up a size if you are borderline, but I didn’t listen!) The hat is constructed with quilting weight cottons, medium weight fusible interfacing and bias tape trim for the brim.

On the whole, the instructions were very clear. The only part I struggled with was understanding how to  join the ends of the bias tape together on the third hat. Colour pictures would have helped make this clearer, but I figured it out in the end and was really pleased with the result.

The instructions were easy to follow and I learned how to make a variety of hats. The pattern allows for multiple brim widths and orientations and has small, medium and large sizes.

4. Did the finished project look like the one on the pattern cover or did you ‘tweak’ it? (If tweaked, what did you do change?)

As you may have gathered, I love my hats!

I particularly like that I can now make hats for myself! I love the versatility of the pattern, in that I can make a wide variety of hats, each with a  different look, depending not only on fabric choices, but also brim widths and orientation. The next one will probably be a wider-brimmed sunhat, then a winter weight one.

I will absolutely be using the pattern again and would recommend it to others – if they have more than a little sewing experience. Definitely not for beginners, as indicated by the rating. My young daughter likes my latest hat so much that she wants one of her own and is encouraging me to buy the children’s hat pattern too!

I have been wanting to start making bags for men to broaden my experience and my product range, even though, thus far, there hasn’t been much demand. I figure, make it and they will come! I recently made a messenger bag art satchel for a young man and used a modification of this design to make a messenger bag for my brother. I used a woodgrain print (Joel Dewberry) for the exterior, in combination with a hard-wearing striped fabric and a coordinating print for the interior and pockets. The bag has a wide, adjustable strap, key clip, parachute clip closure, pockets under the flap, large, divided pockets inside and a large pocket at the rear. It will easily fit all the essentials they need, whilst not looking like a traditional diaper bag.

I have just started a restorative yoga class to help me restore some core stability after my back injury last year. Of course, this was a perfect excuse for a new project! I have been wanting to try making a yoga mat bag for ages, but as I didn’t do yoga there wasn’t much incentive to get it off the to do list. In the midst of sewing a big order, I set aside some time to work on a project for myself and here is the result:

I’m going to test it out a few times to see if I need to make any modifications, before making another. I’ve been asked to make one as a donation for a fundraiser for the local Child Development Centre, so I have another perfect excuse! Mind you, at this stage of the game, do I really need any excuses to justify doing what I love to do!

Obviously, most of my bag orders are from women, but I have just completed by first order for a young man. He is very artistic and likes to carry his supplies with him, so I designed a unique messenger bag that allows him to carry 24 pencils, his large sketch book and sundry gizmos and gadgets. He chose a somewhat eclectic selection of fabrics and I did the rest. The bag features an adjustable strap, large pencil pocket with a flap with magnetic clip closures, a zippered pocket, interior divided pockets, large rear pocket, waist strap and a panel for concealing the strap.
I used a variety of fabrics in this bag, including a snakeskin vinyl, outdoor fabric, cotton, fleece, polypropylene strap as well as various metal hardware and a parachute clip closure.

As mentioned in the previous post, I made two bags using neutral-toned fabric. The second bag was also a roomy, yet sleek messenger bag as a Mother’s Day gift. The exterior is constructed using a faux lizard skin vinyl. The lining is a very pretty and soft sage green print from the home decor department, with a pattern of swirls and circles. It also incorporates some of the double sided print I used in the last bag.

Just don’t tell Mum!