Art Crawl, plus a round up of other things!

Art crawl was this past Friday. Our fourth art crawl! And boy oh boy, was it a busy one! Some people were saying that it was probably busier than the second Super Crawl. We couldn't believe how packed the streets were, it was amazing! So many people came into the shop that hadn't been by yet, and many said that it this was their first art crawl ever. Neat-o! We're super lucky to be located on James Street North.

We received our order of Cloud 9's Ed Emberley Happy Drawings collection last week. We're in love with it, and so are many of our customers. Those fat quarters just flew out the door! I'm sort of tempted to make a Wiksten tank out of the lion and tiger print. Would that be weird?

Mother's day was also this weekend! The top photo is of Liz's super cute mum in 1984, and the bottom photo is of my mum and I in 1986. Lots of husbands and kids came in to buy presents for their deserving mothers. My fave was when a little girl bought a gift card for her and her mum to come back and take an apron class together. Adorbs.

What else is new? Oh, we got a super cute sleigh bell for our door! Now you can't sneak up on us when we're in the back room or the basement! Hip hip hooray!

Fat quarters galore.

New Colette patterns should be arriving any day now! In fact, we sort of thought they would have arrived by last week...urgh. We're super excited about their new Spring and Summer 2012 collection, so we'll definitely let you know when they get here. Think the Hazel dress is cute? Well soon you'll be able to sign up for a Hazel class! Our June schedule will be coming out very soon, and it'll be on there.

Well that's it for now. We're super excited for Needlework's first summer. Hamilton in the summer is pretty great. 

♥

Instructor Q&A Session: Erin McIntosh!

Gutentag lovely Needlework customers! Liz and I decided that it would be awesome to start featuring some of the neat-o people associated with Needlework. That includes both our talented instructors AND customers! Who doesn't love a good Q&A session?

First up we have the lovely Erin McIntosh. Erin is the one woman team behind Dear Edna, the handmade accessories company that produces beautiful items such as aprons, tea cosies, and totes. She's come to a number of our Craft Nights at Needlework and proven herself to be a skilled crocheter as well as seamstress and screen printer. And she's a regular contributor over at the popular Canadian design blog Popptalk. COOL! You can also find some of her products at White Elephant. Check out her blog and etsy shop.

Erin is teaching a great Simple Apron class this week at Needlework, just in time for mother's day! There is still room in it, so if you'd like to make an apron for your mum, yourself, or perhaps with your mum, or maybe with a friend, sign up soon! It'll be super fun!

How long have you been crafting, and what are some of the things you've made?

I was a big dabbler when I was a kid and never seemed to focus on one craft for too long. I can remember a small hooked rug, a cross-stitched wall hanging, a pink decoupaged cat, a doll-sized crochet scarf and many friendship bracelets. The only craft that really stuck was sewing. I began teaching myself to sew when I was about 11 or 12 years old, when my mother inherited a sewing machine from a friend. I was immediately fascinated with it, and after practicing sewing line after line into old tea towels, I progressed to creating pencil cases for my friends, skirts and dresses for myself, and finally, home accessories. It’s only in the last year that I’ve picked up screen printing and I’m really excited about where that will take me.

What are you currently working on?

I’m currently working on some new designs that will involve materials and techniques I’ve never used before:  think embroidery and leather details. I’m pretty excited about it! I’m also working through some of my fabric stash and will be releasing one-off products resulting from that in order to make way for brand new prints this summer/fall.

What's on your crafty to-do list?

I’ve always wanted to make a quilt. My maternal grandmother was very well known for her quilting skills. I think she made a quilt for every new grandchild and every wedding in our family, and I have early memories playing beneath her quilting frames. Two of my aunts are avid quilters as well. I’d love to carry on the tradition and my overflowing pile of fabric scraps tells me this needs to happen sooner rather than later.

It’s also a dream of mine to design and print my own textiles. I still consider myself a beginner screen-printer, so this is a pretty long-term goal, but I think about it all the time. Someday.

If you're not sewing or crafting, what are you doing?

Outside of the sewing room, I’m a full-time editor, tea fanatic, bookworm and baker.  When I can find the time, I also like to work out the sewing kinks in yoga class, the track and the squash court.

Fave recipe?

I love to bake, but I’ve discovered a diet of cookies and cupcakes can have pretty negative results, so I’ve been trying to make more nutritious snacks. Right now my favourite is these breakfast muffins. I’ve made them three weeks in a row now! They’re super yummy and nutritious.

Where does your inspiration come from?

Hopefully it is evident in my work, but I am heavily influenced by the past – florals, houndstooth and plaid; doilies and lace; brooches and pearls; high tea and happy hour. 

I am also really inspired by the handmade tradition. Skills such as sewing, needlepoint and weaving that have been passed down for generations are now disappearing art forms. I am really eager to try my hand at many of them and find ways to incorporate them into my work. 


.......


Thanks for a the great answers Erin! We have a customer interview in the works, so keep your eyes peeled for that! Should be pretty awesome. 

Hello, May!

Happy May 1st, everyone! We're now into the second phase of our super cute window display: April shower's bring May flowers! Kate and I had a lot of fun putting this window display together, and I'm so happy that it'll be in our window for another month! Cute raindrops! Fluffy white clouds! FLOWERS! Cuteness.

Speaking of May, our May class schedule is now up! Pop over to our Classes page to check 'em out! We actually posted the schedule a week or two ago to facebook and twitter, but there has been such a flurry in the shop with new fabric arrivals and workshops, that we plum forgot to blog about it! Silly us.

We have a whole slew of new classes this month, and while many of the classes are already full (like our  Wiksten Tank class and our new Sewing Machine Basics - Bunting Banner class), we still have plenty of space left in our Colette Sencha blouse, Reversible Market Tote, or Dear Edna's Simple Apron classes! Give us a call at 905 667 5663, or email us at hello@iloveneedlework.com if you'd like to register for any (or all!!) of these fantastic workshops.

We're also super excited to be collaborating with the our neighbours across the street, The Print Studio, for two day workshop: Print and Sew Your Own Pajama Pants! The Print Studio will teach you how to design, carve, and print your own pattern/design onto fabric and paper, and the next day we'll show you how to turn your fabric into your own pair PJs! How FUN! The class is taking place on May 26th and 27, from 1-4pm each day, and you can register for the class here.

Lot's of exciting workshops happening this month, for sure. Yay for May!

Yay!

Liz and I are super happy because we're both going to have more time for Needlework! Why, you ask? Well...

...Liz quit one of her extra jobs! So in addition to more devoted NW time, we'll be able to socialize outside of Needlework hours again! Woohoo!

And I just finished my 8th and final year of post secondary education. FREEDOM! Sweet sweet freedom. Phew! Juggling school work and the shop was a challenge, so I'm glad that's over.

Yay us! Yay to more time for new and awesome Needlework ventures! Yay!

p.s. we have some SUPER CUTE new fabrics in, plus we are now carrying DMC cotton embroidery thread!

Pysanka! Pysanka!

We hope you all had a happy and hoppy long weekend! It was great to see many decorated, dyed, and drawn upon easter eggs pop up on internet-land over the past couple of days, and it's about time that we share our own eggs with you from our Pysanka making night last Wednesday. Just look at all these beautifully decorated eggs!

Super fun. Super addictive! Considering this workshop sold out in less than 24 hours (even after we squeezed in seven extra seats!) we'll definitely have more than one session next year. So don't fret if you weren't able to make it this time around. Plus I'm officially hooked, so the more pysanka time I get in, the better!

A very special thank you to Marichka, Oksana, and Bozena of the Kosa Kolektiv for sharing all your wonderful pysanka tips and tricks! 

Pysanka Night, next Wednesday April 4th!

Last year, the Beehive Craft Collective (which Liz and I are part of) held an informal pysanka party at Hollie's house. None of us were super experienced in this art form, but we all had a great time and left with some beautiful eggs. 

This year the Beehive and Needlework are teaming together with the Kosa Kolektiv ladies of Toronto to host another pysanka party. And you're invited! We're super excited to have the ladies of the Kosa Kolektiv coming to share their knowledge of this practice. Here's a little bit about them:

Kosa Kolektiv is composed of several ladies in and around Toronto that aim to revitalize peasant folklore in an urban context. We do this by singing songs, sewing, cooking, planting, crafting, putting on workshops and sharing ideas over tea and good food. There’s something to be said for the simpler pleasures in life, and Kosa Kolektiv embraces them.

They sound pretty amazing, don't they?

So come discover pysanka, the art of decorating eggs in the traditional Ukrainian style! Forty percent of the proceeds will go to the Pysanka Home for orphans in Potelech, Ukraine. Space is limited, and a material fee of $20 is required to attend. If you'd like to join us, please contact Needlework via email (hello@iloveneedlework.com), phone (905-667-5663), or in person so we can sign you up.

Exciting!

classes galore!

We've been busy busy lately! Lots of classes, new fabric and products in the shop, and we released our April schedule last week! Here's a peek at some of the classes we had recently:



Stuffed animals over March break. So fun! So cute!



Intro to quilting with Karen Thiessen. Pieced pot holders for all!



And Cathedral Windows with Johanna Masko. I took this class along with everyone else, and it was super fun. Johanna will also be teaching the Double Wedding Ring technique class this Sunday, so sign up ASAP if you're interested.

Phew! Running a retail shop and planning classes is an adventure. We appreciate all the super awesome students we've had so far. Thanks for coming out and supporting us while learning fun new skills! Yeah sewing!