birch & sycamore

Wedding dress circa 1984

2010-08-04T17:17:00.006-04:00

This is the dress my mom made for her humble wedding, back in 1984. Isn't it adorable?

Not to mention how adorable and shy my mom looks in the dress as well. I can just imagine all the love and tenderness she put into making it, and how careful she must have been in cutting the silk.. I should mention that while my mom is great at sewing, she also designs her own patterns as well, including this one! I can't imagine cutting into a piece of delicate material without written instructions to follow afterwards. This lady clearly amazes me.

It wouldn't surprise me if my gran (sitting on the right) made her own outfit as well. I think I can thank my maternal side of the family for all things lovely, and my crafty genes.

Thanks, mom!

Naming of

2010-08-01T13:31:00.013-04:00

I decided to name my shop Elora Vintage after the town of Elora, Ontario.

It's a little place I used to go to often as a child, and I'd been itching to go back there for a long time. A couple weeks ago Peter took me for a special weekend getaway, and it was really lovely, to say the least.

The biggest draw to Elora for me is all the memories I have of that place as a child; sitting next to the Grand River and dipping my toes in the water, hiking in the gorge, frozen treats, and browsing the shops. There used to be this teddy bear shop I was always excited to visit, and although it seems to have disappeared, but everything else still remains in this sleepy Southern Ontario town.

This feeling of nostalgia is so similar to how I feel about a lot of the hand selected vintage pieces in my shop -- completely timeless, beautiful and classic, casual and sweet. Thus, Elora Vintage is born.

Elora Vintage

2010-07-25T11:00:00.005-04:00

I've started my own little online boutique on Etsy -- Elora Vintage. It's been on my mind for a while now, and although I kept the idea mostly to myself, I've been quietly collecting and picking up small treasures here and there.

snow crochet cardigan

coral crop tank

soft spoken floral sundress

I hope you like it!

Yo Yo

2010-07-22T19:26:00.009-04:00

This antique yo yo quilt was for sale on ethanollie, and needless to say, it sold quite quickly. Isn't it amazing? Each little individual scrunched up round is just so perfect..

I found a simple tutorial online on how to make my own yo yo quilt. It doesn't look too difficult as there's no need for batting or a backing of any sort. Thus, I have new craft project! And one thats good for a gal on a dime -- it's perfect way to use up all my scrap materials, or better yet, my old kiddy clothes my mother has been storing in her basement.

What's going on

2010-07-17T21:18:00.003-04:00

Has it really been three months since my last post? My goodness, and my apologies.

Truth of the matter is, that I think I've failed my plans to open a yarn shop, and I haven't wanted to openly admit it yet. I still would love to open a shop, but I'm doubtful that it's going to happen this year. I will keep my business plan always on my desktop, in case the perfect opportunity arises at the right time - but for now, I think it's best to admit that I've fallen short of my goal for opening this past May. The same goes for my plans for opening in September or October.

Again, my apologies if I've gotten your hopes up and let you down. Hamilton really, really needs a yarn/craft/diy space in it's core. Toronto creative spaces like The Workroom or Lettuce Knit inspire me so much. My dream lives on in such spaces as these.

One day friends, one day.

Mom in '84

2010-04-26T15:40:00.013-04:00

I discovered this roll of film a couple of years ago, buried in some junk at my Dad's place. The canister was super rusty, and though I knew it was old, I would have never guessed that it was from when my Dad traveled to the Philippines to marry my mom.

Man, check out that winning smile!

Watch her finger! So cute.

Now if I could only find out what happened to the roll of film that was in my Moms camera. That would be the find of a lifetime.

Althea Crome

2010-04-08T10:00:00.003-04:00

Check out this video showcasing some truly amazing minature sweaters knit up by Althea Crome for Coraline. I absolutely love it!

Stop motion knitting

2010-04-06T16:58:00.005-04:00

I came across this video a week or so ago, and I can't believe I haven't posted it yet. I hope you enjoy as much as I do!

via Craft

Forestbound

2010-03-15T12:23:00.003-04:00

My latest forestbound pouch. It's number 6 in my forestbound related items!
This one is perfect for carrying around my small knitting projects.

Moss Stitch!

2010-03-14T14:47:00.004-04:00

I have some super exciting news to share with you. The kind of news where you jump and down and scream with all your friends!

I'm opening a yarn shop!

Moss Stitch is Hamilton's newest yarn shop, specializing in fibres that are eco friendly, fair-trade, and natural! Our vision is to become a resource centre for knitters and craft loving individuals, offering classes for those new to knitting, and those not-so-new! Whether you knit, crochet, embroider or sew, we hope to inspire your inner crafty being.

Photo courtesy of Peter Michael Wilson

I'm hoping to take over this space - the current tenants being the lovely ladies of White Elephant. If I work really really hard, it could be mine by May! Nothing is set in stone by any means, but boy oh boy would it be great to move in there!

That being said, my Etsy shop is on hold. I still plan on opening it in the next couple of months, but for now it will have to wait. I have this amazing opportunity right now, and I've got to free up all my limbs so that I can hold onto it as tight as possible. Wish me luck!

Oh yes. That brings me to something else too. I'm conducting a little survey geared towards fellow Hamiltonians, but if you live in the Southern Ontario, feel free to fill it out too! It would really help me out if you did. You could even win a gift certificate to White Elephant if you're lucky!

Good times are a comin'!

Birch Bark Soap

2010-02-26T21:33:00.000-05:00

I really, really love homemade soap, so recently I ordered a lavender bath bar from Birch Bark Soap. I have been drooling over this soap ever since I stumbled upon Sherries blog twenty-two pleasant, and learned that she is a soapmaker from Nova Scotia (my new favourite province)!

I was pretty excited about receiving this little treat, checking the mail box every single day for it's arrival. Lucky me, today was the day! It couldn't have come on a better day either. I had a pretty terrible morning, so nothing was better than opening a mailbox that was filled with the smell of lavender!

I was also surprised to see that Sherrie also threw in a (large!) sample of her carrot complexion soap, accompanied by a really lovely thank you card. Seriously, I have so much love and affinity for this soap right now - It's so beautifully fragrant and soothing - I can't wait to use it! After such a crummy start to the day I definitely needed the pick me up.

Thank you, Sherrie!

Santo & Johnny

2010-02-20T03:57:00.000-05:00

I can't stop listening to Santo & Johnny, and this song just kills me every time.

Valentines

2010-02-18T18:18:00.000-05:00

I know it's late, but I want to show you the cutest little chocolate I received for Valentines Day!

For Valentines Peter gave me a small bag of handmade chocolates from Coco Chocolates. The 'Burnt Flowing Caramel' and 'Balsamic and Lemon Zest' ones were top notch, but this 'Hazelnut Mushroom' has been deemed my favourite! I've been saving it so that I could share its cuteness over my the internet, and must continue saving it so that I can share it with Peter a little bit later! YUM!

EDIT: It was delicious!

Dress #2, and a jacket!

2010-02-11T13:30:00.000-05:00

Since finishing my first dress, I've bought materials for two more. I made this one yesterday afternoon, and I'm so so happy with how it turned out! Today I will attempt the jacket. I'm crossing my fingers, knees and toes in hopes that I can pull it off! Wish me luck!

First Dress

2010-02-09T12:19:00.000-05:00

I finally had enough guts to make my first dress! It's a really simple empire waist dress, with gold buttons closing the back and kimono sleeves -- how appropriate with that Hiroshige print behind me! Hah.

I've been wanting to have a go at it for some time now, so the other night I went to Fabricland, picked out a pattern, grabbed some broadcloth and thread, and got right to it. I cut out all the pattern pieces that night, and it took the entire following day for me to sew it all together.

Since it was kind of a practice dress it's riddled with imperfections. Like when I was spacing out the buttons, and I didn't bother to measure out the distance between them.. Or when I was cutting the button holes, and cut one way too big.. Oops! Its okay though - they're fun, silly mistakes that I'll try not to do again, but really I don't mind. I think the wonkiness of it is pretty cute!

Fabric and Shop Update

2010-02-01T17:49:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Peter and I went to an estate sale in search for some fabric, and I came out with a pretty good stash!

My favourite is this really beautiful white and blue satin. I love the way it's dyed - the blues and white remind me of super soft cirrus clouds. Delicate, subtle, perfect! I think I'll be saving this for when I get my first Japanense dress book.

So.. about my Etsy Shop. It's on hiatus at the moment. Boo! I'm waiting for a credit card that should arrive in two weeks or (hopefully) sooner. So hang in there - it's going to happen soon, promise!

Doppelgangers

2010-01-26T23:49:00.001-05:00

Our twins in Syndey, Australia. Taken from The Selby.

Susien Chong and Nic Briand, two designers from Sydney Australia. Other than looking like our doppelgangers, they have a beautiful line of clothing that's far out of my price range. To check out a few of their pieces, have a gander over at Lover.

Scottish Ancestry

2010-01-26T22:36:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Robbie Burns Day, which got me thinking a lot about a very special trip to Scotland I took last year.

This photo is of a Bible belongs to my Uncle Roger. He still (amazingly) lives in the house that my father grew up in, in Bonnybridge, Scotland.. It blew my mind stepping in there for the first time. It has this eerie feeling, like so many feet have ran around the house, and now it's empty all but for my Uncle Roger. Such a amazing piece of family history for me. I really love this photo because I just noticed the teddy bear peeking out from the corner. I didn't notice when I was there in the room. It's so special.

Communal Living

2010-01-18T20:50:00.000-05:00

I don't often watch videos on Etsy but damn, I want this kind of life someday. Perfect.

Business Cards

2010-01-15T22:53:00.000-05:00

New business cards!

Wee! Aside from having fun with Peter, I've been a very busy knitter. I still have a lot to do before opening my shop at the end of this month. One of the things I wanted to have finished prior to opening up shop is having my own business cards printed! I knocked this off my things to do list last week, with the help of my friend Jeremy Kemeny! I can't thank him enough.

It feels strange having these cards laying around, especially since Birch & Sycamore isn't open yet. But they are so pretty! And having them around keeps me motivated to keep knitting knitting knitting (no matter how much my fingers ache)!

I whited out my phone number because I felt weird about it being on the internet for all to see, but it's supposed to be there under my name.

Again, thanks Jer!

011 - Griffin House and Dundurn Photoband Outing!

2010-01-15T22:06:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I took a break from all my knitting, and Peter and I went out to the Griffin House in Ancaster to go on a short hike and shoot some film!

This next photo is also of the Griffin House, check out my dorky mitt on the far left!

Afterwards we decided to visit Dundurn Castle, and we were given a private tour of the grounds! Only because we were the only ones who showed up for it.

My other photos of Dundurn Castle were in colour, and I still need to finish the roll. Lately it's taken me weeks and weeks to finish a roll of film. I should have jumped in on that 365 photo project, but I think it's a little late now!

All in all, it was a pretty sweet day with Peter. He developed this roll of black and white himself by hand after we were finished our traipsing around the city. Check out some of his other photos here!

010 - Mom's measuring tape

2010-01-08T13:02:00.000-05:00

Moms measuring tape.

I think my mom is one of the most adorable people on the planet (though I'm probably a little biased). She's this little old Philippina woman who came to Canada in the 80's thinking it would provide a better life than the Philippines could offer. My mom used to be a seamstress - I remember as a kid that she was always at her sewing machine putting together wedding dresses, hallowe'en costumes, curtains, slipcovers for our sofa, everything! I like to think that act of her sewing together her broken measuring tape is a strong sign of her culture and ingenuity. I love it.

009 - My Crafty List of Things To Do

2010-01-08T12:28:00.000-05:00

Naturally dye fabric and yarn
Make my own homemade, natural soap
Learn how to use a drop spindle or spin
Sew up this gardeners belt
Find a permanent space to keep all my fabrics notions and yarns
Build my own classic bookcase
Make a shadowbox for all my small treasures!
Attend a local stitch 'n' bitch
Take a class at the workroom!
Sew new slipcovers for our loveseat and couch
Make amazing room shoes from this book
Buy a Japanese craft book and sew a dress from it!
Sew curtains for Peter's room - DONE
Learn to make lace
Knit a yoga mat
Learn to quilt
Knit more socks!
Knit more thrummed mittens
Sew this headboard from French Generals Home Sewn
Make some lavender filled sachets, for keeping away the moths
Make some clutch coin purses

Inspired by Karyn from makesomething.

Visit her list here! - KARYNS CRAFTY LIST OF THINGS TO DO

008 - BIRCH & SYCAMORE IS COMING TO ETSY!

2010-01-05T14:40:00.000-05:00

A few of knits for my Etsy shop!

In my last post I mentioned that I've been knitting quite a bit in preparation for my Etsy shop that will be opening at the end of this month. My shop will focus on hand knit home decor, both small and large items, that will bring some texture to every corner of your home. It's going to be cute, promise!

I'm so excited, and I can't wait to package and ship my first sale. Yay!

007 - Thrummed Mitt

2010-01-04T14:33:00.000-05:00

My very first thrummed mitten.

I started knitting thrummed mittens about three weeks ago and shamefully I've only completed one half so far! In my defense, I've been knitting up a storm in preparation for an etsy shop I'll be opening at the end of this month.

The yarn I'm using is some that I brought back home from Noah's Place Farm, and some roving I found at Needle Emporium in Ancaster. This is the pattern I'm using for the mittens, but I've adapted it quite a bit for the yarn I'm using and for the thrums. I really like how it's turned out.

I really need to get started on the second mitt. Winter is finally here and these will keep me warm right down to my bones!

006 - Romantic Home Sewing

2009-12-31T12:45:00.000-05:00

A few pages from Romantic Home Sewing by Christina Strutt.

This book, borrowed from the library, is one that I keep renewing every three weeks. There are many beautiful sewing projects in this book, but my favourite one has to be the gardeners belt.. Every time I look at it I feel encouraged to start saving every penny (very difficult this time of year) and seriously looking into finding my dream apartment. I want to be able to wear this belt around my backyard! And I must have access to a backyard - I don't think I could do without.

This Christmas my younger brother gave me a gift certificate to Fabricland, and that, with the little stash of fabric I've been saving for something special, I'm going to sew up this little ditty sometime this week.

005 - Hamilton to the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia

2009-12-30T12:00:00.000-05:00

This past summer my boyfriend and I decided that we would cycle from Hamilton, Ontario to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Cycling across Canada has always been a dream of mine and it seemed like a good time to complete at least a small part of it.

We made it to Quebec City on our bikes, but took the train the rest of the way due to bad weather (rain all day and frost all night) and being ill prepared to tackle New Brunswick (no bike route map/extreme wilderness)! I was disappointed at first that we couldn't complete the entire trip by bike, but looking back on our decision to take the train, it was a wise choice.

We chose to combine cycling with WWOOFing, something I've done in Scotland and have been longing to do again, especially out east. WWOOF - World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms - is a wonderful organization that connects you with organic farmers who could use a little help on their farm in exchange for room and board. For the record, I love this organization and hope to one day be a host myself.

So after spending a few days in Halifax, and riding to Peggy's Cove and back, we moved on to the next phase of our trip - Noah's Place Farm.

This farm had every kind of farm animal imaginable. Goats, sheep, chickens, two donkeys, horses, cows, one lil piglet, Angora goats, two dogs, and a million barn cats. From the sheep and Angora goats we would harvest wool, from the goats; milk. And eggs from the chickens. The donkeys were used to scare off coyotes during the night, they were so cute! You had to tap their bums if you were coming into their pen to give them food. Otherwise you might scare them and lose a couple of teeth from a hoof in the mouth. At this farm we made our own cheese, tons of bread, picked wool (picking out all the vegetation from the wool before sending it off to the mill to be spun) and dyed skeins, harvested fresh broccoli, beets, and turnips, did some canning, fed all the barn animals and cleaned their pens, chopped wood and built fences, and other random house chores throughout the day. It was wonderful!

Needless to say, we came home with our pockets full of goats milk soap, about $70 worth of wool, and rolls upon rolls of film. Really though, the entire experience was pure magic and I was so fortunate to have had such a great partner with me. I can't wait for the next segment of our Canadian cycling tour!

004 - MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2009-12-25T12:06:00.000-05:00

Taken from Life Photo Archives

Merry Christmas everyone!

003 - Apartment Hunting

2009-12-15T11:02:00.000-05:00

Rooftop Vegetable Garden

These are some photos of my old place on Locke South. I gave it up this past August so my boyfriend and I could ride our little bicycles to Halifax in September and farm out east for a little while. Well, we're back in Hamilton earlier than planned and now we're homeless! I wish I had held on to this place, but I suppose it's too small for both peter and I. But oh maaan, look at my garden! I grew carrots, bell peppers, hot peppers, tomatoes, pink and yellow achilleas, morning glories, bleeding hearts, hens and chicks, coriander, parsley, zucchini, mint, romaine lettuce, mint, everything! having been on the third floor of this house I got tons and tons of sun too and everything (except the carrots..) flourished. Hah, by the end of summer it was quite unruly!

Hopefully we can find a place just as sweet and cosy. I loved this place so much, it was just right for me. I had amazing housemates, sweet next door neighbours to the north of me, and beautiful stain glass church windows to the south. Not to mention living on Locke Street. Perfect! Kirkendall is my definitely favourite area of town. I'm crossing my fingers pretty hard that we get lucky and find something just as wonderful by February or May. Please cross your fingers for us! We need it.

002 - French General - Home Sewn

2009-12-07T13:17:00.000-05:00

I've been drooling over nearly every sewing project in French General Home Sewn - 30 Projects for Every Room in the House by Kaari Meng for quite some time.

I found this book while browsing through The Bookshelf, an amazing bookshop/cinema/cafe in downtown Guelph, Ontario. My boyfriend and I went there back in the summer to visit some friends who were playing at ebar. While waiting for their set, I got lost in this shop and subsequently in this book. I couldn't put it down! Every page is full of beautiful french linens, tickings, old grain sacks, buttons and other notions. I was in deep reverential love, and was so sad when I had to leave it behind that night. Later in the month when we came to the bookshelf to watch this movie, I immediately walked over to the craft section and snatched it up. I was so lucky it was still there.

Since then I've been stocking up on vintage fabrics and notions. I would like to have a decent inventory before diving into a major sewing project. I'd hate to ruin the little fabric I have stored up because I was too impatient to wait for the perfect ribbon, thread, or other embellishment. I can't say it's easy though, because everyday I flip through this book in anticipation for the day I get to run some fabric through my little sewing machine!

French General sells textiles, buttons, jewelry, and paper. I want their entire website for Christmas - I hope Peter reads this!

EDIT - Updated scans from the pages of Home Sewn! Thank you Christmas scanner.

001 - HELLO!

2009-12-05T15:48:00.000-05:00

A little piece from my flickr.

I've been playing with the idea of creating a blog for quite some time, and it's finally come to fruition. That being said, I'm going to give great effort not to neglect this little piece of world wide web. Expect frequent-ish posts about whatever I'm daydreaming of/ working on at any given moment -- Lately it's been world full of unusual knits, beautifully aged linens, and sweet treats from the kitchen. Stay tuned!