Week 31 of 2026

This week I sewed a skirt -

It matches the top I made last week. This is some fabric I was given too, maybe a linen or a linen blend.

It is a Lutterloh pattern - #94 from supplement 341/Summer 2026.

I did add pockets (it has to have pockets!).

Photos from Around -

Curious chickens coming to visit.

The friendliest chicken, Greta, disappeared in June. We don't know what happened to her and it still breaks my heart.

Miss Maggie keeping an eye on some chickens (she doesn't like to get too close).

GingerSnap! found a cool spot in the shade on a very hot day.

All the best!♥︎

Week 26 of 2026

This week I sewed a dress -

This is another Siena dress from Tailor Academy (the sew along I participated in last month). This time I made one for my Mom. It is made with loom line cotton from GK Fashion Fabrics in Ontario. I made this one a bit shorter, because my Mom is a bit shorter than I am, and no belt. The pattern is so well drafted, and it is a joy to sew the dress.

Photos from Around - 

Curious chicken.

Miss Maggie's steely gaze.

GingerSnap! helping me trim trees.

Molly playing with the cats - each one has different tolerances for the dog. GingerSnap! is right in there, and Miss Maggie likes to run out of reach.

All the best!♥︎

Week 20 of 2026

This week I sewed a pair of overalls -

I used Ikea fabric again, to try out the pattern. I had lots of fun sewing this, figuring out how to put them together (Lutterloh has no instructions). They came out really nice, and are incredibly comfortable.

The Lutterloh pattern is from supplement #340.

This apron was a quick sew. The pattern is the York Apron, from Helen's Closet. It is made from a linen/cotton blend I bought for this pattern, from a local fabric store that was closing a couple of years ago. The one I made in 2019 finally wore out, so it was time to make a new one.

This time I added the big, divided pocket (instead of two smaller ones) - they are handy for carrying canning jars.

Last week was an annual Making Zen workshop (a week of free classes - mainly slow stitching). I made a stitched vessel (it reminds me of a miniature birch bark canoe my brother had when we were kids).

It was fun to make - raw edges, raggedy scraps, different sized stitches, it's really all about working with needle and thread, and using what you have.

Photos from Around -

We had an incredible dust storm this week - it was like being sandblasted, winds to almost 100km/hr, I have never seen anything like it.

Miss Maggie rolling in the dirt.

Best friends with the chickens.

Northern lights last night.

All the best!♥︎

Week 19 of 2026

These past two weeks I have been sewing clothes using the Lutterloh system (the weather has been way below normal, so I haven't been out gardening) -

First a tank top dress for summer.

Pattern #236 from the Spring 2026 supplement #340.

I lengthen the dress and added pockets in the side seam (made with a cotton/spandex knit).

I made a sports bra, and a couple pairs of panties from the leftover fabric.

The sports bra is pattern #37 from the Fall 2025 supplement #338 (the panties are from a self drafted pattern from a Craftsy class).

A stretch twill skirt,

Using pattern #126/127 from the Winter 2025 supplement #339.

The Lutterloh system uses a small picture, and a special ruler to draft out a pattern to your specific bust and hip measurements. The patterns are supposed to fit better than commercial patterns, and be quicker to draft than self drafting. The German pattern company has been around since 1935, and is based on the math formula of the golden ratio. There are no instructions for the sewing, so I find it interesting to figure out the steps (like a puzzle). I have been using the system for a few years and have had really good luck with it.

I also sewed a cardigan and tank top using patterns I have sewn many times (the Blackwood Cardigan from Helen's Closet, and a Lutterloh tank top - I can't remember which one). From a similar cotton/spandex knit as the tank top dress.

In searching for the link to the HC pattern, I noticed that the one pdf pattern is close to the price of one of the Lutterloh supplements, which contain about 40 patterns.

Photos from Around - 

It's exciting for the cats when there is a new box in the house (I don't know what Molly thinks).

A nightly game.

All the best!♥︎

Week 18 of 2026

This week I finished sewing a dress -

Last Sunday there was a live stream, free sew along class from Tailor Academy in Austria.

The class was amazing, so well taught, and I learned a lot! It was almost 7 hours long, and I was able to sew most of the dress. There was around 1000 people watching from all around the world.

Before starting we did have to get the pattern ready, cut the fabric, apply the interfacing, and make the belt (there was a video for that).

This was the first time I sewed a proper collar, and part of the reason I signed up for the class.

I used loom line cotton from GK Fashion Fabrics in Ontario, first time buying from there and I am really pleased with the quality of the fabric.

Here is a link to the photo gallery of everyone's dresses - I don't know if the link will work for those who didn't sign up, but it is amazing to see all the dresses.

Photos from Around - 

The cats went to the vet this week and since they couldn't be in the same crate, I made a carry bag for GingerSnap!, out of an old, unused gym bag by sewing squares of mesh in a few spots (it worked well - this was the first time we took two cats). In the above photo Miss Maggie is behind in her crate - as long as she is wrapped up in a quilt she doesn't make a peep.

This game never gets old.

All the best!♥︎

Week 16 of 2026

This week I sewed a summer dress -

Made using the cotton fabric I snowed dyed a few weeks ago.

Sewing is a learning experience for me, and I did learn a few new things. The pattern didn't have pockets, so I added slash pockets - I learned that slash pockets don't work with gathers, so the pockets stick out (fine for collecting eggs), pockets in the seam would have worked better.

I also learned how to install an invisible zipper - turns out it is the easiest way to install a zipper (I used an invisible zipper foot for sewing it).

The pattern is a Lutterloh pattern - #81 from supplement 321 (Summer 2021). I made the skirt with less width than called for, but I could have made it a lot narrower (it has too many gathers - an A-line skirt would look better, and look more like the pattern image).

Photos from Around -

Luckily planting in the garden is over a month away. Lots of work to come when the snow finishes melting, and it dries out (it flooded in August and never dried out before winter, so we weren't able to clean it up in the fall).

The coop has dried out a bit for the hens.

GingerSnap! has been hunting again.

He didn't get anything this time, but I need to make him a bright ruffle collar so the birds really see him.

All the best!♥︎

Week 13 of 2026

This week I sewed a jacket-

It is a wearable muslin to check a new pattern for size and fit. I used some inexpensive Ikea fabric that is a similar weight to the fabric I want to use. It fits great.

This is the jacket I hope to make, and the fabric (fabric I bought in Japan the first time I went), there isn't much fabric (I bought the end of a bolt), but there is just enough for that jacket.

The pattern is from this Japanese sewing book - a gift from my son when he went to Taiwan.

Books like this have different variations of a pattern, so for the jacket I made I used the sleeves from another version.

Photos from Around -

Miss Maggie helping with a puzzle.

Sunrise.

The pond has started to melt.

Poor old GingerSnap!! We don't know what happened, but yesterday he came in covered in mud from head to toe and had to have a bath - he handles baths surprisingly well (this wasn't the first one, and with the snow just starting to melt it probably won't be the last). That's the second tub of water.

All the best!♥︎