on the mend

my oldest memory of any form of craft is sewing

at the age of 4 my grandmother gave me a darning needle and wool

and I practiced on a paper plate

it wasn't long before I was making Barbie clothes and learning to embroider

I earned a sewing machine  by babying sitting when I was 12

my friend ludgera is a wonderful quilter and loves taking sewing classes

above , is a present for last years birthday

I just love the fabric and asked for any scraps

 so I could mend my favorite jeans

I wanted to do something a little different so I visited pinterest

and found this whole world of sashiko embroidery

now im looking for more jeans , just to practice this new stitching!!

love, love , love shibori

this time last year , my friend carmi introduced me to soutache

little did she know that she was opening pandora's box

I quickly became addicted

-------

well, here we go again

recently carmi gave me three rolls of shibori ribbon

i've seen it in some jewelry on pinterest and really liked the look

(i never got around to finding it)

 

 once i gathered all the elements i thought would look nice together

i pondered, hesitating really, scissors in hand but not making the cut!

its so expensive, questions running through my head

and finally after weeks of contemplating i did it

using a medium shaped felt  heart i just starting sewing

adding bead , rhinestones , pearls and some trim

 

once i finished i thought it would make a nice necklace

 

decorative trim necklace

most of the time it starts with one item

this time it was some beautiful black and gold trim that I received as a sample

at the CHA show in January

I met Larry and Lorine at the Decorative Trimmings booth

and was asked to pick something
 

 

the first thing I do is get a basket, I add the item and

whenever I come across something I think might work well with it

I add it to the basket, eventually something sparks and inspires me to start the project

I've had this beautiful sequin and beaded applique from John Bead and was excited

to finally get to make something with it

together they look stunning

 

back from the CHA show in Anaheim

 what a whirlwind!!

it was an amazing time at the craft and hobby show in California

 (more than 3,000 buyers and 400 exhibitors from 55 plus countries 

 for 5 days of education, networking and trade)

it was a mix of business, demoing soutache at the John Bead booth

and pleasure, taking classes and seminars plus meeting tons of people

 a visit from wendy russell and carmi cimicata

above my demo table and

below a sneak peek at some of the elements from

my showcase necklace

using dazzle-it soutache cord , metal complex fish leather

and a mix of new and vintage beads

all supplied by John Bead

i'm still trying to process it all

as soon as i can i will post more on the show and my necklace

this is the swag bag the delegates attending the CHA Canada Chapter meeting received

a special thank you to

CHA Canada Chapter Members Who Contributed

Amazenwords

BeadFX

Brother International Corporation (Canada)

Coats and Clark

Easy Peasy Patchs

H.A.Kidd

John Bead Corp

Eucalan

Northcott Fabrics

Westcott & C-Thru brands | Acme United Limited

Westminster Fabric

Designer Members:

Carmi Cimicata

Emma Ivemey

    Elizabeth Weait Glenday

extra thanks to Northcott for the fabric bag used to haul all the goodies home!

soutache for sadie

I love buying clothes for my goddaughter Sadie

and if I get a chance to add my own touch , it's a lot of fun

a little soutache cord from dazzle-it , some beads and wooden buttons,

 even a hair clip transformed in no time into this cute outfit

and the smile on Sadie's face , priceless!!!