For Sale

One of our customers has a beautiful Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 870 available for sale. She purchased it 3 years ago to take to sewing retreats and her quilt guild sessions and really it has very minimal hours of sewing on it. Everything is there all of the sewing accessories and a big 24 X 24 lexan extension table perfect for quilting. The machine has been thoroughly checked and cleaned and is ready to go to a lucky new owner. 

She is only asking $1000.00 and this machine was $1900.00 new.

Give us a call or send an email if you are interested in checking it out.

Wedding Dress Stress

It's been a while since I have posted as I am working on my soon to be "Daughter - in - Law's" wedding dress.

Yes, that is correct read daughter in law! This is far more difficult of a sewing task than a daughters dress as this will be the dress that defines all future family relations. It is an honour to be asked and I was excited to accept. Erika is a lovely young woman and we are pleased that she and Ryan are making it official.

But, back to the dress. Mother's and daughters are usually pretty point blank with each other; we feel secure that we can tell each other like it is because we have had a lifetime together. For mother/daughters in law it is somewhat more tenuous of a relationship as we have only had a few years to get to know each other.

She comes this week to see the real deal (only basted at this point) and to have her fitting. So far all she has seen is a marked up muslin which is difficult for a non-sewer to visualize in bridal satin.

Keep your fingers crossed everyone and if you see that Allan and I have suddenly moved to Australia you will know why!

Cheers, Laurie

Learn to Sew

It;s time for another of our "Learn To Sew"programs!

We are very pleased that we have started well over 100 new sewers through our learn to sew programs that have been running now for several years. Allan and I love seeing the sense of accomplishment and pride that our students show after 5 short weeks of practice and we are always pleased to see them come back for more classes to continue the learning journey.

The next program starts on April 10th and runs once a week for 5 weeks. You get a thorough introduction to the workings of your sewing machine, hemming, mending, quilting, home dec and fashion sewing! Yes, it's really that easy, you just need a couple of cheerleaders like Allan and I to get you over the initial hump!

There are only a couple spaces left so don't delay, get registered now and you will be on your way to making your own summer wardrobe or decorating your summer space.

Cheers, Laurie

What would you like to sew?

I am always working to develop new classroom programs and wondering - "What would you like to sew? I love it when sewers tell me what they want to learn about and I try hard to incorporate their ideas into new sewing classes.

The possibilities are endless and many sewers already have a goal in mind of where they want to head in their sewing careers. As a beginner sometimes that goal is just how do I thread this darn thing and make it work!

It doesn't really matter where you start because developing any new skill just takes practice. With sewing, the most important thing to master is sewing straight to maintain the seam allowance throughout the project. Once you can do that then the door is opened and your projects start to come together the way you envisioned them.

Sewing is sewing regardless of the project. It all starts with the above mentioned skill whether your goal is to make draperies, quilts, tailored suits, or teddy bears.

O.K., so how does that help me know where to start? I recommend just picking anything that appeals to you that has lots of straight seams. Pillow cushion covers, a square patch style lap or baby quilt, an easy boxy style jacket with a simple collar or no collar at all and perhaps a ragdoll style doll that is embellished with yarns and embroidery rather than movable arms. Choose smaller simpler projects so you don't feel that it takes an eternity to see results. And most of all - save everything no matter how disappointed you are with it. I guarantee you that if you just keep at it somewhere down the sewing road you will pull out that first project, laugh, and then say to yourself "Wow, have I ever come a long way"!

Studio Heaven

What a wonderful luxury to be able to work from our home studio in Barrie. Harry, our dog, acts as the official greeter making the door bell unneccessary and he just loves seeing so many new faces each day.

I have accomplished a great deal over the last few weeks and have been hosting some really great classes.

I have taken on a couple of made to measure clients and it feels wonderful to be drafting and custom sewing again.

We will have more classes ready to go shortly and will be sending out an email once they are finalized and remember that we are now available for private lessons both day and evening.