Pumpkin

Shipped this lovely little felted pumpkin off to Redondo Beach today.  Mom's going to have to felt another one, 'cause this one is going to be missed.

In other news, Hannah just put together a new blog for her little business, "Palindrome Dry Goods".  Check out her blog and friend her on Facebook.  We're missing her like mad, but know that she's enjoying her time up in Arcata.

Also, just sent out an email.  If you didn't get it, here's a link.

Thank you Nicola!

Hello All!

Sharon here today.  We are so thrilled to announce that The Tin Thimble just had out first international fiber artist from Ireland, Nicola Brown.  She brought her passion for felting with her in a Big Way!  What a joy!  Nicola shared her vast knowledge of different techniques and we learned a ton that we can now share with our fellow felters! I almost cried when I put her on the train to continue her touring for three more weeks teaching in the Bay Area and Back East.

We are very excited to start adding more felting technique classes to our schedule - so keep you eye out for an email.  If you love to felt, you must come in and see The Nicola Purse (I named it that.  :-) - a densely felted, resist-method that is wonderful!  It is an complex bag and needs an intense two day workshop to finish.  The other class we'll be adding is a gorgeous mosaic nuno felted scarf.  It looks a little like stained glass and it's a great way to use you stash of vintage silk scarves!

So, THANK YOU NICOLA!  You are a wealth of knowledge and inspiration and we look forward to you next visit here at The Tin Thimble.

Greetings from Arcata

Hi T3 fans!

So last time I wrote to you, I was putting snaps on Matthew's western shirt. After lots of deep breathing and aching hands, I applied all of them. He surprised me this weekend by showing up at my house, so I was excited to have him try it on! 

I used a really awesome 1950's shirt pattern and 100% cotton. I LOVE the yolks, cuffs and all the cool vintage-y details.

And I also love the way the pearl snaps turned out. They're not the strongest snaps, but I would definitely use them again on a project. Matthew has been warned to snap and unsnap them as little as possible.

I'd say my first men's shirt was a total success! I'm thrilled.

In other news, Emma sent me a very exciting package from The Thimble yesterday and I can hardly wait to start sewing! She sent me fabrics and matching bias tape to make our Grandmother's Apron. 

In addition to sewing for The Thimble and finishing Matthew's shirt, I've also been doing some sewing for my new little house up here in Arcata. Everything in this house is white, off white, cream or beige. I feel like I'm drowning in vanilla ice cream. As you all probably know, I LOVE color. So the lack there of bothers me. 

I whipped up a little yellow curtain to hide our cleaning supplies. (The wall behind the bookshelf is the only wall in the whole house that is painted with color.)

I love this fabric and have used it for so many projects. It's almost gone and I'll be sad when it is.

I also sewed some place mats to match. They look blue in this photo, but they're actually a nice periwinkle-ish color. Any little splash of color helps!

So those have been my creative endeavors! I hope everyone back home is busy and creating away!

-Hannah

Just Some Things...

Hi everyone! It's Hannah giving you the update today. I'm all moved in and settled in my new place in Arcata. It took me a while, but I finally got my sewing space organized and I fired up my machine a few days ago.

Emma asked me to sew some zippered pouches to sell in the Thimble. I love these little projects, they're perfect for using scraps and I love making the different fabric combinations. 

After working on a few of those, I decided to attempt to put on my first snaps. I made Matthew a western shirt a few weeks ago, but had been avoiding the pearl snaps for fear I would screw the whole thing up. With him on the phone for some support however, I whipped out my gripper and punched away!

So far, so good. Whew! I finished all the snaps, and as soon as I get a picture of him in his shirt I'll share it. 

I hope everyone is doing well back at home, I miss working at the Thimble and seeing all the familiar faces that come in!

It's like Christmas around here!

Hello everyone,

There are very exciting things happening at the Thimble. Yesterday, we received Amy Butler's entire "Love" line of cottons! They are so beautiful and inspiring. There are so many projects I want to make using these fabrics.

We also received four cotton voiles by Anna Maria Horner!

And I was SO excited that I went home and made myself a shirt with one of them. 

This fabric is so wonderful. It's soft and light and breezy and perfect for so many projects!

On top of all our new fabrics, we have been working on our linens. After the yard sale we scored at, a woman brought in her mother's linen collection and offered to sell it to us. We couldn't resist! And now, our classroom looks like this. 

There's mom at her mangle. Thank goodness for that machine!

So, we have a lot of work to do. We're soaking, washing, drying, ironing, and pricing. Whew! Come in and check out all our new goods, we're excited to show them off. 

Dumpster Diving

I uncovered these yesterday while diving in a dumpster outside of a yard sale (the owners gave me permission, don't worry :-)

Look at the back!  

It's SO sad the things that people throw away.  Mom and I are constantly rescuing beautiful family heirloom pieces from a sad, sad ending.  This one will be around the shop for a while, you should come check it out if you're nearby!  

Such Excitement!

Hi T3 Fans,

It's Hannah writing to you today. As some of you may know, I'm moving to Arcata (up on the coast in Humboldt County) to go to school. I'm moving in 11 days and I'm so excited! So, in my college-student financial panic, I opened an Etsy store! I have been an absolute sewing maniac for the past few days. I am so thrilled to finally be selling my own things. Here are just a few of the items I have posted so far.

Perfectly Practical Wallet designed by me

Friday Social Cafe Apron

Midwest Wrist Cuff

In other news, our lovely garden at home has been producing away! Emma and I are excited to see corn, tomatoes, zucchini, and LOTS of summer squash...

There's 5 in this picture, but I picked 6 more within the next two days. It's too bad you can't make summer squash bread...

As I type, my students in Home Ec are working on making these aprons from Lotta Jansdotter's book. Here is the one I finished yesterday, I'll post pictures of their finished projects soon.

Speaking of Home Ec, I wanted to share some of my students projects from previous classes this month.

These are Amy's pillowcases from the first class. They matched her bedroom perfectly! The Alexander Henry fabric she used looks lovely.

And this is Brooke's tote bag from last weeks class. Again, the Alexander Henry fabric was a good choice. 

The schedule is up for classes into September so if you're interested in signing up for Home Ec (in August we'll be making gardening gloves and a gardening tote. In September we'll be making very traditional projects that include yo-yo's, log cabin coasters, embroidered towels and an apron) give us a call or drop in and we'd love to sign you up!

Anyway, wish me luck in Arcata! I'm going to miss the Thimble and all my relatives here, haha. I'll be back often to visit!

A Summery Feeling

Hello! I know some people might not agree, but I am thrilled with this hot Summer weather! The vegetable garden has taken off (we picked fresh zucchini for dinner last night!), and I've been inspired to make some summery clothes. I'm always pining for the perfect project to use our vintage embroidery trim on, and I finally found a good one! 

I finished this shirt today and I can't tell you how excited I was to discover that there was just barely enough of this vintage trim to use. I took it as a sign that I needed to use it. 

I wore my new blouse around the shop for a bit today, and I'm thrilled with it! We have tons of lovely trim similar to this one, so come in and check it out. Maybe we can find the perfect project for you to use it on as well!

Anyway, we here at the Thimble hope everyone is enjoying there summer. Our calender is packed with classes, the shop is overflowing with merchandise and life is good! 

Reversible

Hi everyone!

It's Hannah writing today. I've returned from my road trip to a very busy Tin Thimble! On top of the new merchandise, classes, etc. Emma has been sewing away and made this adorable reversible apron for one of June/ July's Home Ec classes. She used Lotta Jansdotter's book to make it and we now have this book in the shop for sale. 

For the front side emma chose a white and black striped linen, and on the other side she used a red print with forks and knives on it by Hoodie. It's so cute! Good job Em,  I can't wait for the Home Ec class! As usual, if you're interested in signing up for this or any of the other Home Ec classes, you can visit the website, call us or drop in for more information. 

Simple Tote

With Hannah gone on her road trip to Yellowstone (I'm SO jealous)  sample sewing has been left to me and I've been a sewing maniac the last two days!  I made the towels that I showed yesterday and then I made pillowcases and now I've finished this tote and an apron (which I'll show you later).  All patterns were from this book (which is now available in the shop) by Lotta Jansdotter.  We'll be working on these projects in June's and July's Home Ec classes - come join us!

Class on the Cuff/Kitchen Towels

It was so much fun to sew up these great, simple and useful kitchen towels today!  I made them using 100% linen from the shop along with some cotton twill for the loops and I used the directions from Lotta Jansdotter's book, Simple Sewing.  I can't wait to take them home to my kitchen!  If you'd like to make some of these towels with us join us for our Class on the Cuff on Friday, June 25 from 2:30-4:30 - more info here.

So Much to Share!

Hi TTT enthusiasts. It's Hannah writing to you today. We've been busy here at the Thimble. We've recovered from the Summer Wardrobe Fashion Show (which was an absolute success! Pictures coming soon) and now were busy rearranging and stocking the shelves here at the shop. I've been fully submersed in projects at home as well. I'm moving to Arcata in a few months and like most people moving away for the first time, I wanted some new furniture and linens. As usual, I'm on a veeeery tight budget so I had to get creative!

I bought this desk at the Goodwill. It was just a plain maple desk with bronze handles. Ew. So I bought a gallon of paint, and some spray paint and now it looks like this!

Then I wanted a bedspread to match (My current bedspread is red,brown, green, marigold, all colors that clash horribly with the chartreuse color of the desk), so I pieced together a bunch of old table cloths, napkins, and some linen yardage to make a Queen sized duvet cover. It was SO much work, but it's totally worth it. 

And here's a detail of all the different textures. Because it's white, it's hard to see all the piecework I did on the top. 

Oh, and Flicka left my underwear crate to test out the new cover. She approves.

Then this duvet cover lead to the need for matching pillow cases. (By this point my sewing machine is making weird noises and is in serious need of a tune-up)

On another creative note, Emma and I finally got our garden planted! We're excited to see all of our little vegetables in the ground.

Anyway, thats what we've been up to. Come in and check out the shop, we're adding all sorts of new merchandise!