Well…it actually happened! After all these years, my daughter Kate finally wanted me to teach her how to sew garments! She spent a week with us at the cottage so it was the perfect time for spending quality time together and working on something fun.

Not to say that Kate isn’t creative and crafty…she always has been…but her focus has been drawing, painting and cross-stitch. And of course, as a graphic designer in the packaging/advertising field, her job requires that creativity and attention to detail. She’s incredibly good at what she does. (I know…proud mama moment!)

She started off with a cushion cover to highlight one of her awesome cross-stitch projects. Since she wanted it to coordinate with her quilt and pillow shams that I made a few years ago, she chose a navy cotton fabric and teal thread for the contrast stitching. Not only did she piece and quilt the front and back, but she also inserted a zipper. It turned out so well. Check out my tutorial on how to make a basic cushion cover if you’d like to make one yourself.

Next, she wanted to make a pair of pants similar to a pair that she saw on Instagram. They are a “bloomer” style in soft cotton with gathering and lace below the shin area. Since I wasn’t with her when she chose her fabric, she chose something that she knew would feel good next to her skin, but little did she know at the time, she chose one of the most difficult fabrics to work with as a beginner…drapey, slinky polyester. Not only that, but it had chiffon and lace at the hem. The trifecta of difficult. LOL

We started by measuring the pattern against her own measurements to find her size. Kate laid out the pattern pieces on the fabric, pinned them, and then cut out the fabric using the great Tula Pink scissors that she bought me for Christmas a few years ago.

Even with all these hurdles, a bit of swearing, and needing to use the seam ripper a few times, Kate did an incredible job. She took her time, listened well to any suggestions I had for handling said fabric, and persevered. Because of the drape of the fabric, she wasn’t able to gather the fabric at the hem like in her inspiration photo. It definitely wouldn’t have had the same effect. Instead, she decided to just add the chiffon/lace panel at the bottom and covered the seam with a narrower piece of lace. This actually made the pants a little dressier and not as edgy and casual, but they look so incredible on her. She wants to make them again sometime, but next time using a cotton/linen fabric that will gather well like in the inspiration photo.

Another great thing that we did when Kate came to the cottage was go to Montreal for a quick visit with my niece, Mackenzie, who I introduced you to a couple of months ago. I purchased tickets to the M.C. Escher exhibit at Rue Saint-Catherine St. W for a great girls day out. Escher is one of my favourite artists (and one of Kate’s favourites too) and the display of his work was incredible. If you have plans to go to Montreal before the end of September, I highly recommend this fabulous exhibit.

It was wonderful seeing some of my favourite works by Escher in person. I have a print of his “Drawing Hands” framed in my sewing room, and also a mouse pad with a print from his staircase series. There was also an interactive feature, the Relativity Room, which was about perspective, that Kate and Mackenzie took part in. You can see the results of that in the photo below…hilarious! In both photos Kate is proudly wearing the new pants she made and Mackenzie is wearing the dress and shirt that she made.

Kate’s talents are not limited to creative endeavours. My hubby and I have dubbed her “Snow White” because she has charmed a couple of woodland creatures to eat out of her hand. She trained the two chipmunks who live under the cottage to take peanuts from us, and of course, we too have been trained to feed them daily because of it. LOL

They have gotten bold enough to actually climb into our laps, sit for a while, and chomp away at getting rid of the peanut shells to get to the peanuts inside leaving a big mess all over our pants.

Kate will be coming back to the cottage soon for another week and there are already a couple of new sewing projects in the works. I’ll share those with you soon as well as a few of my own cottage projects. Enjoy your summer and stay creative!

Kate's Cottage Sewing