Patio Progress IV

    Today my sister and I visited the store to get some clean fill for the cushion. Our local store had a big bag of it so I got that and a little extra. Turns out the big bag had enough, so I filled it to a nice amount then put it on the chair to see that it was enough. It was perfect, so I sewed up the hole in the bottom of the seat and added the tufts where I had made the markings. To make the tufts, I used one of my hand sewing Sashiko needles, and embroidery floss (that matched so closely to the green) as I did not have any furniture thread on hand. I tied a few knots at the back and hopefully everything will hold well, but if not, I will mend it. Here's what the finished cushion looks like on the chair!

I tried sitting in the chair and it is incredibly comfy. I'm so glad I chose to do the project.

    The patio is coming together! The sealant dried enough that we could put our table and chairs in their designated area (we measured it before building the patio to make sure it would fit). And to protect the stones, you may be able to see some little squares of upside down indoor/outdoor carpet under the metal legs. The chairs had little rubber pieces on their feet, which I really appreciated.

 

    The dream is to get an outdoor couch and coffee table for the last corner. I have been looking on Marketplace though haven't found what I want yet. We might end up getting something new though. 

    For plants, I have been considering a trellis and long thin planter box for between the fence and table and chairs. I would love to grow a flowering vine there, such as a honeysuckle or clematis. I might do some pots with flowers as well, after may 2-4 weekend. Then I need to add some more grass seed. I just wish I had opted for the clover instead when I bought it.    

Making a Pod Seat Cushion

   I've had a pod chair in my backyard for about 6 years or so and love it. The cushion however has worn down in some parts and destroyed by animals so I decided to replace it. I went to our local Lens Mills to look at their outdoor fabric selection twice. The second time, I found a larger selection on the racks which had some beautiful pattern and colour options. I texted my husband and we ended up choosing a geometric green fabric. I got three meters of it (measured previously) and it was perfect for what I needed. I also got it on sale because they were having a discount on outdoor fabrics for a short time.

I didn't get many pictures of the process of making it, just this step. What I did was seam rip the old cover and put the fill in a garbage bag. I marked where the tufts were on the old one with a permanent marker. I placed one side of the old cover on the new fabric and cut around it leaving an extra inch or so of space since the old one didn't have much seam allowance. When I had cut two pieces of the new fabric, I marked where the tufts would land with a pin through the fabric and heat erasable pen in an x shape. I cut three-three inch wide strips and folded them in a double bias, then ironed it flat. I made a fancy fold at each end to tuck in the raw edge and sewed those closed. Then I sewed each with a backing square onto the back of the cover piece for extra durability (the old ones ripped there). I sewed the two pieces with right sides together, leaving an opening for the stuffing at the bottom. Then I zig zag stitches the raw edges, which I noticed was not done in the original. I definitely feel like the new one is higher quality than the old one.   

I still need to go back to the store, get about a bag of clean fill (just over what I threw out of the old stuff) and sew it all closed, adding tufts. I'll update when I've done this :). 

We sealed the patio recently and it's been long enough to be able to add the furniture on now, however I can't use soap on it for a few weeks still. We don't have a BBQ at the moment because neither Jason or I like to cook on it, but I am considering getting a small coal fueled one for when friends and family come over for a meal and use it myself. Still thinking on that one though. What do you think? How necessary is a BBQ for outdoor meals? Let me know in the comments!

Patio progress III

Last time in the patio series, I had attempted to tidy up the concrete and failed. Since then, we repaired it. My husband made a wooden form and it was complicated but basically plan a and b failed but we improvised and it worked out. I don't have pictures on my phone anymore but might add them in later from my hard drive. 

Here we dug out a bunch of the cleanfill with shovels and wheelbarrowed it into a borrowed truck to deliver to the dump. It was expensive to do that so we looked at Kijiji for alternative places to bring it without luck as they ended up being too far for millage for the rented truck price. At this point it was getting expensive and time consuming so we looked into getting the work done by a local business. We ended up having two brothers finish the job for us. They suggested a slightly different stone as it would be available right away and they could finish faster. We wanted the herringbone pattern, which is so beautiful. They did an amazing job. 

Since it was done in October and the stones needed to settle for a month before coating it, we are still waiting on the warmer spring weather to clean it and coat it! Though I am so excited for many patio memories to come!

 

Creative Collaborations

My friend Amy made some beautiful crocheted flowers for me to incorporate into designs and I made two book covers with the flowers as the centrepiece! They are so beautiful and soft. My sister said the yellow one is giving bumble bee in the best way, which is a high compliment because bumble bees are SO cute. I think it is giving cottage core vibes. I am planning to take more pictures of it to put on my website. 

I really enjoy making book covers, it is so peaceful. I wrote out all of the directions that I take recently as mostly it was in my head with just the pattern dimensions. I'm thinking of making it into a pattern and putting it on my Etsy shop. I think there are different markets for people who would use the pattern and those who would like one in person. I've thought about collaborating with some bullet journallers on Insta. I won't disclose who yet, but feel free to follow me there @rachelle.designs and stay tuned!

This pink one was my prototype and I think it is so fun! I just missed adding a pen loop (silly me!) otherwise it would be replacing my personal bujo cover.

 

Book Bag

 

Recently, I made my first book bag for my shelf at The Hive in Guelph, Ontario. Here it is in all it's glory! I'd love to make some for my website Rachelle Designs in the near future. Stay tuned!

Mouse Moxie 2

In 2016, I made these mouse characters.  My sister  reminded me of it today because she  suggested that I put out some Valentines day  cards at The Hive, a store in Guelph, where I have a shelf for my business, Rachelle Designs. I decided to make some more cards and came up with this image below. 

 

Bountiful Bags

My husband and I wanted to let our daughters listen to music more autonomously and since they don't yet have phones, and the children's products on the market are so expensive and limited, we decided to go with a classic Discman and Headphone set each. CDs are still a thing in 2025, right?

Another of my goals became to sew them something each, so while on Pinterest, I saw a few bags with frills/pleats that I liked the look of. I decided to make a version of them, big enough to fit the discman and headphones, so that my kids could easily store their new gifts and listen to music on the go. 

  

I started with diagramming on paper to try to find the right size and shape for the music playing items. After considering a few dimensions, I finally got my measuring tape, and measured approximately the biggest size I thought my youngest daughter could manage carrying. The last diagram is the one that I went with that included those measurements.

At my sewing table, another night, I tried out some designs on paper. First I used my French Curve to make some rounded corners.
Next I tried to mimic the original diagram that I liked by using a pin, some thread, and a pencil to make a semi circle. 

Between these two, I asked for some feedback (from my family). My husband liked the top one but thought the curve needed to continue to round out the top a bit. I ended up taking his advice so the final design looks a little different than the top one below. 

Here I made sure they fit. A very important part of the process, and easier to do before the sewing began. I decided to make it 3 inches wide instead of 2 inches, as the total depth was actually 4 inches. 

The next thing to do, of course, was to make a prototype, so I used some fabric from my stash of cottons. I added seam allowance to the pattern and tried it out. I made a lot of mistakes, so it was an important step of the process. During the prototyping, I find out if the pattern measurements are accurate, what are the parts that I need to think about slowing down for or doing differently next time, and the length of the strap etc.

I checked that the discman and headphones we got them fit and they did!

After the prototype, I had two nights left before Christmas morning, however we had some unexpected circumstances and then we got sick, so I just started on the final piece for one of my daughters last night. At least it is still December. My daughters each picked a fabric that they liked from a curated collection that I chose from a local quilting store. 

In the photo below, I am making the pleats. 

Here I am checking the length of the pleats as it needs to be quite exact. 

And I skipped a bunch of steps to the final product!

Working Space 2

Recently we got two out of three cabinets (we're getting the last one this week) from marketplace for our house and moved one of the cabinets down to my sewing corner in the basement. Of course it is filled now with batting, finished items to sell, some photography tools and prototypes. I put my current sewing pattern on the top with my small business bullet journal. I moved some of my fabrics to the shelf so that now all of my fabrics for making clothes are separarted from my small business fabrics. I notice that I am running out of space for thread, so another thread storage shelf is on my wishlist. I'd also love to update my ironing board by making a new cover for it, but that likely won't happen for a while. I'd love a grey gingham on it though.

As for sewing clothing, I have a project that I've been thinking about for some time. It is the Frida Jacket by Fibre Mood. I have all the fabric and notions for it, I just need to practice sewing a zipper and a welt pocket before I try it on my new coat. I found a pattern from Peek A Boo Pattern shop with both of those features, so I want to make a kids jacket out of some purple fabric that I got from a friend. If I can't figure it out myself, or if I need extra support, I have requested my first sewing lessons from a professional--Sewing Till Sunset, for Christmas. Hopefully I can make the jacket to wear it for Spring of next year.

Working Space

This is what my current workspace looks like:

On the weekend we actually got a few more second hand ornate wood cabinets for a great price and so far have moved one of the three into our bedroom. So this space is going to be rearranged soon as I have another ikea cupboard that will move downstairs to hold fabrics or other things. I might move some of my art supplies and journalling items upstairs as well, so make more space on the shelves. So as an alternative, I could put my fabrics on the shelves which would display them and allow me to see what I have to work with. Anyhow, I'd like to post what it looks like after the revamp as well but I thought I would once again post about my process. Looking back on my blog recently I found that I sometimes don't give updates when things are finished but I would like to be better about that.

Rachelle Designs

Lately I have been sewing in the afternoons and evenings after my children are in bed. I have been working on products for my shop, Rachelle Designs. My first finished commission is this dice bag. It holds a few handfuls of dice and can either be laid out flat or can be cinched in and tied up to hold the dice for on the go. It's great for playing Dungeons and Dragons, and fits a medieval vibe. Some of the material is reclaimed fabric. 

I have also been making some book covers for my bullet journal. I've made about 4 book covers now and have really been enjoying the process. Two of them, I am currently using for my bullet journals. One of them was an earlier rendition and I have redesigned them now. The fourth one I made for my sister. I have learned something from each of them and hope to make many more in the future. This one, for my sister, I made quite sturdy and already put it through a wash and dry cycle. She picked the lovely fabric. 

I recently wrote about how Rachelle Designs started on my store's blog. Check it out here 💛

Brilliant Buntings

Buntings are one of my favourite decorations to make.

Check out my Instagram and my shop.

I'm going to design more things. There is so much to make!

Here is my first Christmas bunting for the shop. 

Patio Progress II

This is a follow up to the gardening post. 

So we ended up moving the shed with some friends. We moved it from the side of the yard, near the back door, to the back of the yard. In the "gardening" post I showed the patio pad that I made for the shed to move to. 

Here's it's original position.

My husband put 2 by 4s on 3 of the sides to be able to lift it up with about 8 adults. He originally jacked it up and put beams under with tubes so the shed could slide forwards. Him and I were able to move it a couple feet like that, however with enough people the we just lifted it by the side 'handles'. 

Here is the space as it looks after moving the shed. In this picture, the garden is also gone as I moved the flowers beside the sheds new space. They have been happy there. 

Here's the shed in the back corner (before the garden)

Without the shed, the concrete seemed to be in rough condition so we planned for that to be repaired.

First I pressure washed the area. 

Here's a close up on the concrete damage. 

After watching a few videos on how to attempt the repair, I drilled some holes then put in the concrete screws all along the missing piece. After cleaning the area with a vacuum and dry brush, I painted on some bonding agent for the concrete to adhere to.  

Next, I mixed the concrete. I felt nervous about this but my husband walked me through the steps before he had to run to watch a car show. lol.

So I mixed the concrete and it splashed all over my clothes and likely ruined my shirt, which I had made myself so I am disappointed about that. My skirt had already been ruined from a tie dying experience with the kids a few years ago. Anyhow, I mixed it to seemingly a good thickness and when I went to put it on the existing concrete. I could not get it to stick on the wall! Gravity pulled it right off. So I have abandoned the bucket and will do a second attempt in a little bit. 

In this next attempt I will do a few things differently. First, I will not dilute the bonding agent. Second, I will use the sand concrete that I bought the first time from home depot (the original video I watched called for the quick dry concrete so we went back to get that). Of course, I will be wearing the same clothes as they are ruined now. And lastly we might make a wooden form, as I believe gravity to be the reason the attempt failed.