Favorite Things Friday - No 8

Last week I shared some of my favorite Etsy shops for digital sewing patterns.  This week, I'm sharing some of my favorite Etsy fabric shops. 

I get almost all of my designer fabrics from Etsy.  I will occasionally go to a local quilt shop, but it's pretty difficult to shop a quilt shop with a toddler.  No carts, too packed with fabric to get a stroller around, plus I can only carry a bolt or two when I have Zoe with me.  It's just easier for me to shop for these fabrics online, and since I like to support other Etsians, I choose to shop through Etsy instead of some of the larger online fabric shops. 

Also, I've found that it's usually about the same cost to shop for fabric from Etsy as it is for me to shop from a local quilt shop. I try to order multiple fabrics at once so I can take advantage of combine shipping.  Most of the shops ship in a Flat Rate Priority envelope which is under $6.  I think most shops can fit about 8 yards in one envelope.  Most of the shops sell designer fabric (Amy Butler, Jennifer Paganelli, Anna Maria Horner, Michael Miller, Joel Dewberry, Moda, etc) at about $8 to $10 a yard.  My local quilt stores carry the same fabrics at $12 a yard.  If I buy 5 yards of fabric from an Etsy shop, I'm paying roughly $50 + $6 for shipping.  Locally, I'm paying $60 for 5 yards, plus tax, plus gas money.

I get all other fabrics, like blenders and solids at Hancock's, Hobby Lobby or JoAnne, using a 40% off coupon when I can.  


Some tips for buying fabric from Etsy.  

If I find a fabric I like, from browsing Etsy, I'll do an Etsy search for it to see who has the cheapest price. Then I compare their shipping cost to that of the next cheapest price by yard.  

Next, I look through their shop to see if they have any other fabrics I'd like so that I can get as much fabric shipped at once.  It's rare that I would pay $9 for a yard of fabric, plus, another $5 for shipping.  

If the listing says there's only one yard available, and I need more, I always ask if they have the amount I need.  Almost every time, the seller will set up a custom listing with the amount I need. 

Once I've added all of the fabric to my cart, and see that the shipping price is more than a Flat Rate Envelope, I'll ask for shipping to be adjusted.  If it's just $1 or a little more over, I don't worry about it.


Now that I've shared the How & Why I shop for fabric on Etsy, I want to share some of my favorite fabric shops.

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You can read Pink Door Fabric's About Me page here.

Pink Door Fabrics carries a large selection of designer fabrics as well as blender fabrics and patterns.  They also carry organics and fabric bundles. I've purchased both fabric yardage and patterns, and have made more than one purchase from them.  My most recent purchase included

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In addition to yardage, Southern Fabric has a huge selection of patterns. They also carry a rather large selection of pre-cuts, which I love!  In fact, all of the purchases I've made from them, have been pre-cuts. 

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With fabrics sorted by pattern rather than designer/manufacturer name, Fabrics Boutique carries yardage, bundles & patterns.  Shipping has been so fast, that I had to wait to be able to leave feedback!  My most recent purchase included

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Bee Yourself Fabrics carries designer fabrics, home dec fabrics and bundles as well as handmade items like throw pillows and table runners.  She has gorgeous selections of Anna Maria Horner, Jennifer Paganelli & Amy Butler.  My recent purchase included

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You can find Fabric BUBB's About Me page here. 

Fabric BUBB carries a huge selection of fabrics.  Anything from designer to Kona solids to home decor and minky.  They sell both yardage and bundles.  With orders going out the next business day, shipping is super fast.  My most recent purchase were these awesome prints!

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I hope you found this post helpful, and that if you're looking for fabric that the big box fabric spots don't carry, that you'll consider these shops for your fabric needs.  It's always a great thing when we can help support small business like these!

Favorite Things Friday - No 7

A series of weekly posts, sharing some of my favorite internet finds.

As I started looking through some of my pins to gather some content for this post, I came across one that I'd pinned from Etsy.  It was a sewing pattern for a little girl's dress.  That gave me the idea to look through my Etsy favorites to see what other sewing patterns I'd saved on Etsy.  Did you know you can create boards on Etsy too?  

Anyway, as I looked through my saved patterns, I realized that I usually "like" several patterns from any given seller.  I thought I'd take this week's FTF to feature some of my favorite pattern designers from Etsy.  I'll be featuring several different shops/pattern types, from toys to clothes, to quilts.  Etsy has a great feature called About Me, that allows sellers to give a mini-bio on who they are and how their shop came to be.  Since this feature is optional, not every seller has one.  When it's available, I'll link to it so you can check those out.  I love reading stories about how my favorite shops came to be, and I urge you to take a peek.  If you're a maker, it can be really inspiring to read about others' successes, and to see how they were all newbies at one point!

All of the shops featured sell their patterns as instant PDF downloads.  I love ordering patterns this way because I don't have to wait days to get them in the mail!

My first feature is Kim from Retro Mama.  Retro Mama has been open since the end of 2007.  She's got some adorable softie patterns in her shop.  One cool thing about patterns from her shop, is that she allows you to sell items made from her patterns, as long as you credit her as the designer (following her instructions).  You can find her About Me page here.

I love this bunny pattern so much!  I bought this one last year with the intention of making one for Zoe's Easter basket.  Of course, I never got around to it, but this year, I'm for sure getting it done!  Zoe is a bunny freak, and it'll just make my heart sing to see her loving on a bunny that I made. 

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Doxies are by far my favorite dog breed, so of course, I love this Dachshund softie pattern.  I actually purchased an already made one from another Etsy seller, for Zoe's first Christmas. Aren't they just the cutest things?

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OK, seriously, how cute is this Hans and Greta doll set???  Just look at those sweet outfits! You can also purchase these patterns from the shop, separately. 

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Retro Mama has pages of patterns available, as well as some listings for felt, which can be used for several of her patterns. 

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My next feature is Little Lizard King.  I just discovered this shop last weekend while I was looking for a toddler dress pattern.  You can find there About Me page here.

According to their About Me page, they are the largest seller of children's clothing patterns on Etsy.  I certainly believe it because there are so many I ended up adding to my favorites! Like Retro Mama, Little Lizard King allows items made from their patterns to be sold, in limited quantities, with proper credit given to them for designing the pattern. 

The dress that led me to their shop was this one.  I'm planning to purchase this one this week, and have already been planning what fabric I'd like to use. I'm thinking a bold Amy Butler print would look gorgeous here.  

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I love patterns that use a bunch of different fabrics.  It might take me forever to choose just the right fabrics, but it's so much fun pulling them all together.  One good this about a pattern like this one is that it's good for stash-busting.  I'm also thinking you could use a fat quarter bundle on the smaller sizes.  That certainly takes most of the work of choosing fabrics, away.  I'm looking at this skirt, and seeing this awesome Joel Dewberry bundle working really well!

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 This has to be the most adorable dress I've seen in a long time!  It would make the perfect Easter dress!

link to pattern

In addition to dress and skirt patterns, Little Lizard King also stocks patterns for rompers, tops, bottoms, accessories, boys' patterns and even costumes!

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If you like boutique clothing patterns, you'll love this next shop.  Viola Lee is a shop full of boutique clothing patterns for little girls.  I have purchased several patterns from her, and have made two garments using her patterns. I'd consider myself somewhere between a beginner and intermediate when it comes to sewing, and these patterns were a cinch for me!  Vicky's patterns are very thorough, and easy to use.  You can find Vicky's About Me page here.

OK, on to some of my favorite patterns.  I'll start with the two I've used. 

The first pattern I used was the Mattie Mae pants pattern.  I made these as part of Zoe's 1st Birthday party outfit.  They were freaking adorable!

link to pattern

The second pattern I used was the appropriately named Zoe.  It's a Ruffled Dress pattern with an option to make it just a top.  I made one of these last year, and really learned a lot, like how to work with a bodice, which was something I'd never done before.  You can see my version here. 

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I bought the Leatha Lee dress pattern last year as well, and am about to start on it.  I bought several fabrics this week that will work, I just need to narrow them down.

link to pattern

If you're looking for boy patterns, I've just stumbled across Vicky's shop for boy patterns, Fuddie Duddies.

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This next shop, Cali Faye Collection, stocks patterns for garments that have a little more of a minimalist feel to them.  I tend to like both the girly-girl boutique style clothes and the minimalist style for Zoe.  I don't want her to be dressed over-the-top everyday so these patterns are excellent for helping add a good mix to her wardrobe.  Wow, I'm talking like she's a grown woman aren't I?  ha!

Cali Faye Collection is run by Sarah, and you can find her About Me page here. Like the other designers, Sarah allows you to sell items made from her designs, on a small business based scale, as long as you give Cali Faye Collection credit for the design.

I am in love with this lovely pullover.  I'm big on dressing Zoe in leggings since they're so versatile, not to mention comfortable, so a pullover like this is perfect to pair with them!  

link to pattern

This next top is just so pretty!  I love the gathers on the front.  The great thing about this top is that it would look good in a small, medium or large print fabric.

link to pattern

This was the pattern that drew me to the Cali Faye Collection shop.  What a cute outfit!  These pants are adorable, and can be made as either a pair of everyday pants, or as PJ pants.  The top is another CFC pattern, which is sold separately.

link to pants pattern

link to top pattern

I hope you've enjoyed this post.  I love supporting other Etsy shops, and feel like in addition to making purchases from them, I can hopefully send a few people, who may not have ever stumbled across them, their way.  Make sure to stop by next Friday for a round-up of my favorite Etsy fabric shops!

Favorite Things Friday - 6

In honor of Pi Day, I'm sharing a round-up of my favorite pie finds from this week.  It's 6PM my time so better late than never, I guess!  

I'd actually never heard of Strawberry Rhubarb pie until a few years ago.  I'd say maybe it's just not something that's popular in the South, except I see the ingredients displayed together, in the produce section of the store, during strawberry season.  Maybe it just wasn't something my family was into.  Anyway, it's something I've been wanting to try for awhile, but the strawberries and rhubarb are still a little pricey right now, plus it's not strawberry season here right now.  The strawberries in the stores are from FL.  I'll be able to get them from the Farmer's Market soon, so look for a post on this pie soon!

Classic Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Blackberry pie is my absolute favorite pie, yet I've never had it homemade. I've never even made a pie with a lattice crust.  This needs to change, and soon!

Blackberry Pie

This one's been making the rounds on Facebook lately.  Millionaire Pie.  I've never had it, but I'm a sucker for cream pies, and this one looks good enough for me to want the whole thing for myself!

 Millionaire Pie

Confession...  I never liked pecan pie until a couple of years ago.  I guess I had a texture issue with it as a kid, and just got it in my head that I didn't like it.  Um, yeah....

Pecan Pie

This is the first and only pie I've ever made from scratch.  I love this pie!  I try to make one each year either on July 4th or Thanksgiving.  It's wonderful with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream!

Double-Crusted Apple Pie

I take that back.  I've also made a Buttermilk Pie from scratch.  A few years ago, I was reading a novel that was set in Pioneer days.  The main character kept mentioning buttermilk pies.  I was intrigued, and gave the buttermilk pie a shot.  It was a nice custard pie, that had a good flavor that wasn't overly sweet.   I'm not a huge custard fan so that was my one an only buttermilk pie. 

Buttermilk Pie

I saw this S'mores Pie the other day, and went right out to get what I needed to make it.  I've been slammed with appointments this week so I still haven't gotten a chance to make it.  Hopefully tomorrow will be the day. Doesn't it look amazing???

S'mores Pie

This photo was just too pretty not to include in the roundup.  Those berries just pop!  

Silken Chocolate Raspberry Tart

This pie looks scrumptious!  Right???  My husband is a huge eggnog fan.  He's also crazy about gingersnaps so I have a feeling this pie would be a huge hit around here.

Skinny Eggnog Pie with Gingersnap Crust

Favorite Things Friday - No 5

A series of weekly posts, sharing some of my favorite internet finds.

I missed this one the last couple of weeks.  My shop has had me so busy lately, and I've had a hard time even finding the time to play around online. I'm working on balancing everything and am hoping to be a little more consistent in this space.  Anyway, here we go!

This skirt is just adorable!  I love the stacked ribbon and ruffled pockets.

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Oh, how I wish I could crochet!  I've purchased a Craftsy class, but just haven't gotten around to watching it yet.  I'm a knitter of about 12 years, and while I think knitting is better for clothing, crochet beats it in my book, for blankets, and things like this adorable flower garland.  That pillow fabric is killer too!

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This cake is adorable!  I love the simple look of just a plain iced cake with sprinkles. 

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OK... this kitty pillow, it's so simple, but it's probably the cutest thing I've seen in awhile.  There's not pattern for it, but if you already know how to sew, I don't think it'd be too hard to make one up.  

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I love Auntie Anne's.  Seriously, every time I walk buy that place, I have to buy some nuggets.  I'm not the only one because there is always a line.  It's like bug to a bug zapper! Problem is, it's at the mall.  I loathe the mall. Lucky for me (I think?) Cooking Classy has a copy-cat recipe! 

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Quilting with solids seems to be really popular these days.  It's amazing to me how people can take something so plain, and make it look so gorgeous. Here's one of my recent favorites. 

Favorite Things Friday - No 3

A series of weekly posts, sharing some of my favorite internet finds.

These Linzer cookies are adorable. My husband loves Linzer cookies so I think these will be perfect for him for a Valentine's Day treat.   

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Keeping on with the cookie theme, I found these adorable bunny sandwich cookies. She used a Miffy fondant cutter.  How cute!!  I was able to order some here for just a couple of bucks + free shipping. 

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Yay, more sweets!  I love these marshmallow pops.  I imagine these are a bit cheaper to make than cake pops.  I tried to make cake pops a few years ago, and failed miserably so I think these pops are something I could do.  They look so cute in a bouquet, don't they?

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I think these cat pillows are the most adorable things I've seen in awhile (well, at least since the Miffy cookies).  There's no pattern or tutorial, but they look like they'd be pretty simple to make.  

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This is actually a print that you can order, but it's nice as inspiration too.  I've got a good many old books, and more than my share of scrapbook paper so this is definitely a project I'll tackle soon.  A pretty stack like this is a perfect addition to a Spring vignette.  

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Ahhhh.  

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Favorite Things Friday - No 2

A  series of weekly posts, sharing some of my favorite internet finds.

This gorgeous dining room.  I've found that my tastes have changed during  the past year.  I've been gravitating more towards neutrals and pastels.  Rooms like this one make me weak in the knees.

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 A fun, ruffled apron.  Click on the source for the tutorial. I'm not sure that it's geared towards a beginner since the comments on it point out that diagrams would have been helpful.

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White Bean and Roasted Mushroom Soup

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A beautiful quilt made from vintage sheets.  I've just finished collecting a stack of sheets for a quilt of my own.

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I'm in love with this gorgeous ring from Madelynn Cassin Designs!  Click on the source to see all of the gorgeous pieces in her shop.

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This is my favorite outfit this week.  I love that coat!

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Zoe, who will be turning 2 in a month, has really enjoyed playing with play food and her little grocery cart lately.  I ran across this adorable Market Stand on Ana White's site, and I'm pretty sure we'll be having something like this in our house by Spring!  This was submitted by a reader of Ana's site, but you can access the plan they used by following the links found through the source (below photo).

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