Farewell to summer

It is not completely difficult for me to kiss the summer 'Good buy'. After all, one beautiful season is coming with its warm colours and leafy dress. 

My plain blue summer had to be sent on its journey with these cute whales by TILDA.

From many books Tone Finnanger published, from all her angels, animals and cosy home makes, I chose these whales, that remind me of the turquoise water of Georgian Bay. What a crystal place this is! The water is so clear, that you could almost feel the cut of a crystal piece in your skin - cold and sharp and instant. 

patterns from Tone Finnanger book "Tilda's Toy Box"
fabric : Tilda Sunkiss

When you decide to make these beauties, do not forget about the notches around each curve. There is nothing more frustrated than a non-notched curve. The seam becomes bulky and unpleasantly unclean.

Here is how I did mine:

You could see how the notches around the shorter curves are closer to each other, to remove as much of the fabric as possible. Please, be careful not to cut through the seam :(

These whales are fast and clean make, but they still require love and attention in order to make them look pretty :)

I have made my ocean out of very wide weaved linen and the shells were collected in one beautiful trip to Prince Edward Island - memories kept very preciously in this image.

I have seen whales once in my life. They enter into the home of fleuve St. Laurent from the Atlantic and there are places where people can admire their acrobatics. It is amazing how they travel in groups. I was especially stunned by the belugas. Their warm white backs form some carpet in the water - mothers with children, whole families and friends swim together. What a beautiful way to live a life!

Here is my mom-and-daughters memory of them:

Thank you for visiting!

♥ Ivelina

Blue summer... and embroidery

The season of summer has always been one deep breath of warmth and blue. The one blue, that doesn't make me sad - the blue of inspiration and having a sense of living into the present moment. As soon as the summer begins, I know I have to live every second of it, I have to feel it, because it always goes fast. Summer's short presence is only felt short, because every day is an adventure, every minute is a distraction of the routine and every second is unknown for its content. There is no constantsin the summer. It is full of surprises.

I have been busy living the summer and did not have time to create. Here is my adventure in images:

Tadoussac, Province Québec 

Trois-Pistoles, Québec

Tadoussac, Quebec

Gîte du Mont Albert, Gaspésie

Mont Albert, Gaspésie, Québec

Exploring the beautiful province of Québec always has its charms and surprises. I have been coming back there every summer, and it is always different, toughly welcoming and extremely beautiful. I can live here forever and it will feel like eternal summer, even in winter day, because Québec is never boring.

DisneyWorld Art of Animation, Florida

Visiting Disney World has become a yearly habit for the past six years (this year even twice). What can not surprise me here is how fast time passes when I am in the parks. This summer was about visiting a loved Disney cast member and resort hopping. 

The best part was to learn what it is to live in a hotel with no walking areas, while the animals are free to take the space outside. 

Kidani Village, Disney Resort, Florida

What a beautiful experience is to fly back home, soaring over Toronto in a beautiful weather. 

Adventure continues in Canada, where there is time for visiting the turquoise jewel of North Bruce Peninsula, Ontario

Tobermory, Ontario

Here, where the colours are really painful for the eyes, the blue is never sad and the air is so clean, that the lungs breath freer, I had finished my last stitches of the bird I carried into all these trips with me. 

pattern and recipe by Trish Burr

embroidery thread by DMC

My days were rewarded at dusk, when I stitched the last feathers, before even finishing the feet of this little fellow, while waving 'good night' to the tourist boats, coming to the land after a sunset hunt. It felt so relaxing and pleasant to know, that summer is almost gone, but leaving in me so many memories, such a big milage of emotions and pictures to remind me of the places and people I had been with. Because next summer will be totally different, and places I visit will fill my cup of joy and happiness until next one, and the one after, and for many that are coming.

Kincardine, Ontario

... to one summer, filled with blue... 

♥ Ivelina

On a fresh day like this...

One very special feature of the season coming, is the air - fresher, crisper, clearer. I always acknowledge that first - before the dressing-up of the trees and the sadness of the sky, before the wind becomes impatient, and before the Earth tucks in the last of the ready-to sleep roots of the plants. When I inhale the first signs of autumn, I know, it is time to prepare for a festival of warmness.

I am so happy, I live in a place, where this is the season when the school year starts - I still have a reason to create for someone - my girls are still around and growing :)

This year is special - it is the beginning of middle school, and my baby, although not completely sure, feels like she has to behave more maturely. It is the time, when inner war is strong and without a winner, nor a looser. She still insists on never growing up, but at the same time she is completely determined to solve her problems on her own. I look at her every day and see a different person - a one that knows exactly what this season is bringing and ready to face all the challenges. 

It may sound naïve, but I still make her cute things, helping her be a child for as long, as she wants. 

This pencil-case is one of the many things, I like experimenting with. It shows a lot about her personality - with the most simplified image of the hedgehog,to my very favourite fabric. 

My world is getting smaller and smaller every day - I find comfort in the littlest things, and only in ones with a big meaning. For every stitch I have a story, for every meal I prepare, I think of a conversation that it would provoke. My family is growing into a ginormous part of my world, and everything else starts diminishing. What I own doesn't matter. I only care for what I do not own.

The recipe for this pencil-case is adapted from Yoko Saito. 

The case is very generous in space. It can fit not only the pencils and pens, but erasers, sharpeners and other little gadgets, needed for school.

Materials used:

HAORI yarn-dyed cotton for the face, binding and lining
Belfast linen for the cross-stitched design
Daily Like Canada Zipper
Daily Like Canada cotton webbing strap
Pelon fusible foam
Leather tag

Cross-stitch design by Acufactum.

On a fresh day like this..., it is best to prepare for some last ice-cream adventures, few more fire wood burning nights with caramelized smores, and maybe last visit to the lakes or the ocean. Because there is a special crispiness to the air, that tells me that Autumn is near.

Happy happy season to all!

♥ Ivelina

Headphones Safe Bag

A busy summer has passed and it is a new school year that crafts my space. I am not sure if I welcomed it happily, but I am certain that it would be less stressful, if I 'decorated' it in signature creations. I haven't touched a needle for a long long time - my fingers became lazy and my fingertips - soft and delicate ... 

My baby has to be ready for school and her new headphones deserve a tailored bag. 

I have one really retro style headphones embroidered on the bag front:

This calming process of shaping one design with thread kept me going - it boosted my imagination passionately and I already knew how the bag will look like at the end. 

The choice of fabric was easy - nothing gives me more comfort in the beginning of autumn, but my favourite yarn-dyed HAORI fabric. I haven't forgotten how unique the stitching looks like on their textured designs. It just has been quite awhile since I last sewn with it.

These almost old-fashioned headphones, with their vivid colour made me think macarons. And I have decided to line the bag with Yuwa macaron design :) Delicious, isn't it ?!

The bag has two zippers, that meet at the top of the closing, one outside pocket for a phone or the device that provides your music, one square ring for hooking it to a backpack or just for hanging it on a hook, one belt with a magnetic button for closing over the zipper. 

You can choose to decorate and customise your bag as you are pleased. The bag itself is quite chubby and can fit so many designing tools, markers, and small items. The front and the back of the bag is a generous plain canvas for expressing yourselves. Please, find the free pattern for the bag, without instructions below! I hope you enjoy making it :)

⚠️ Please, be advised that this PATTERN is for personal use only! 

             It can be shared for free, but it can not be sold. 

If you need instructions for making the bag or a ready-made customised bag, please, contact me directly and I will make you a quote for the final product. Thank you for your interest and kind support!

size of the bag:

length: 18 cm
height: 14 cm
depth: 9 cm

materials used:

for the face: HAORI yarn-dyed fabric
for the lining: YUWA quilting cotton "macaron" in matching colour
light weight fusible batting
heavy weight interfacing
embroidery floss
two zippers 25 cm each, cut to size while sewing
one INAZUMA rectangular metal ring
one customised decorative wooden button

Note: the seam allowance in this pattern is 10 mm. I like using bigger seam allowance when cutting. It gives me better control while sewing and a tasteful opportunity to trim my seams afterwords on layers, so they do not create bulkiness on the inside. 

Wishing you a happy sewing season! Keep warm in the chilly days of autumn!

With 💙,

Ivelina