my cape and i

Awhile ago, Soulemama was pondering whether she was shawl person or not. I pondered it as well and I thought no, not really me. It's weird because I have always loved shawls. My mom has a black silk shawl with real silver embroidery (the real silver part really got me as a kid) that we loved to look at. The shawl boxes at the costume shop I used to work at were some of my favorites to go through. I just worked on a show where everyone was bedecked in shawls. But I never wear them or even own one.

The other day I was at Winners and came across this cape/shawl thing in the clearance area. Black and white, merino wool, $18 instead of $129? Sold! I wasn't sure whether I would wear it or not but it turns out to be the perfect thing to keep me warm-not too warm (Fyi, the hole is intentional {there are 3 more} and I think originally housed a ribbon/belt to bind it together. Oh, wouldn't a skinny belt look cute?).

I didn't have any black grosgrain or velvet ribbon (alas) in the house so I added a button at the top to keep it from slipping off and now I wear it all the time. Sometimes with my gauntlets when I am feeling particularly Victorian governess.

Perhaps I am really a cape person. Time will tell.

trunk shows

I am very excited to part of the next City of Craft/the workroom trunk show, Hunt & Gather. The last one, Love & Rummage, was super fun and busy. People love a good rummage.


I will have more Main St Market Bags, hats, ties and a few spring surprises.

mr. sköna sale!

A few deep winter things are on 40% off in the mr. sköna shop. It might seem silly to buy a winter item so late in the season (depending on where you live of course, it will be winter here in Toronto for another 2 months) but I find that having a new scarf to fend off a chilly day or cozy gauntlets to bridge those in between days can make all the difference in enjoying/hoping for early Spring.


The gauntlets were inspired by Aren who spends a lot of time at a computer and gets cold fingers. Magically, by covering your hand and lower arm but not your fingers, the fingers stay warm.

The scarves are a gorgeous neutral gray and are so soft.

slm - mending

I have enormous amount of mending gathering dust in my studio. I totally believe in it but have a hard time finding the motivation to do any of it. Toronto Craft Alert's Get'Er Donewill hopefully inspire me to patch, hem and revive these gems from our wardrobes. Nothing like a deadline, everything has to be done by March 16. Check out the prizes, amazing!

Here's what needs to be done (from left to right):

Top Row
+ Blue and green plaid pj pants: Repair hole
+ 2 pairs of jeans: Replace top button
+ Dark jeans: Repair hole
+ Grey tshirt: Make it smaller
+ White short sleeved shirt: Cover coffee stain
+ Blue and white striped shirt: Repair rip in sleeve
+ Brown plaid shirt: Repair rip in sleeve
+ White and brown plaid shirt: Repair rip on side

Bottom Row
+ Gold metallic skirt: Make smaller
+ Black wool skirt: Hem
+ Green plaid skirt: Take in side seams and hem
+ Jean skirt: Take in CB and hem
+ White dress with pompom hem: Take off sleeves, add modesty panel, take in side seams and hem
+ White eyelet dress: Finish sleeves, add buttons to placket and hem
+ Striped pillowcase: Repair rip
+ Orange shirt: Make cuter
+ Turquoise sweater: Patch holes
+ Grey shorts: Hem

I declare a week of mending. Updates to follow!

The Tea Party Dress on a real life toddler! I made the dress a size up from what she is now so she could still wear the dress in the summer (i.e. a long time from now).

I am teaching 2 new classes at The Workroom and I am pretty excited about both. The first one is the Tea Party Dress or Playsuit from Oliver + S. I made the dress and bloomer option for a sophiscated toddler I know (model photos to follow). It's such a cute pattern, I mean bloomers?! Come on.

I also decided to do a colour story inspired by Inchmark. It was really great way to help decide on which fabrics went where and get a sense of how the colours and patterns worked together (or not, I didn't include the failures) proportionally.


It's a great pattern full of tips and yields a very well constructed outfit. Finishing details make such a difference in the way a garment hangs and wears. This pattern goes over those plus covers some nice construction details so you end up with a more professional looking garment and get a chance increase your sewing skills.


I think there are a few spots left for this class, let Karyn know if you are interested.

biz ladies toronto?

I have thinking about joining/starting a Biz Ladies group (a la Design*Sponge) in Toronto for awhile. There are so many female business owners in town and it would be great to have regular meetup to hang out, talk about our businesses and learn tips business experts. Originally, I was going to have more of plan before seeing if anyone was interested but after seeing this post, I thought there's no time like the present.

So what do you think? Is there something like this already in Toronto? If not, would you or business ladies you know come be interested in participating?

I think I have found all the right elements to make my ideal version of lemon poppyseed cake/loaf/muffin. My requirements were: strong lemon flavour, moist crumb, lots of poppyseeds and vegan.

I based the it on my trusty muffin recipe with some additions. I think the key is lemon oil. I finally found some that didn't contain propylene glycol and alcohol. I also added grated zest and juice of one lemon to maximise the lemon. At the last minute I decided to add glaze. I just winged it; icing sugar with the smallest amount of lemon juice to make a paste and mix mix mix until smooth, a la yarnstorm. Let me know if you try it.

Lemon Lemon Poppyseed Cake/Loaf/Muffins

1 1/2 c spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 c organic raw sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c poppyseeds (more or less to your liking)
1/3 c grapeseed oil
1/4 c extra firm silken tofu
1/3 c soymilk
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp lemon oil
juice and zest of one lemon

+ Preheat oven to 400F. Grease pan.
+ Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and poppyseeds with a whisk in a medium bowl.
+ Place oil, tofu, soymilk, vanilla, lemon oil, lemon juice and zest in blender. Blend until smooth and the consistency of honey. Depending on the soymilk and tofu, it might be thicker. Add a little more soymilk and oil to thin.
+ Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until just combined. Place batter in pan.
+ Bake* until tester comes out clean. Cool completely before taking out of pan and icing if desired.

*Baking times will vary depdending on the type, material and size of pan you are using. I used a round 2.3L corningware pan and baked the cake for 45 minutes. When I have used a metal muffin pan, 25 minutes was usually good.

slm - a question

This week I have a question for you, dear reader. I have a ton of fabric scraps and don't know what to do with them beyond using them as stuffing for softies, etc. They are either too small or strangely shaped to be useful. What do you do with your scraps?