Got It Made!

Got It Made! is where TMC Volunteers show off their creative skills. Email your photos and project information to info@strandnews.ca.

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Mary Jane McIntyre’s pillows and chairs

Mary Jane McIntyre proves that a little goes a long way with fabrics, buttons and other items purchased at our fundraising sales. “I recovered my dining room chairs using $10 of upholstery fabric from the workroom,” says McIntyre. “The most challenging part of the project was removing the old fabric. Lots of staples! I replaced the foam padding on the chairs but reused the batting that was under the foam. I watched a Youtube video for further instruction.”

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Julia Bryant: Honourable mention at Crochet Guild competition

Julia Bryant’s piece, Lollapalooza, won honourable mention in the 2015 Crochet Guild of America Design Competition. Click here to see a list of all honourees, and click here to see photos

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Bududa Learning Center, Uganda

It’s amazing how a few pieces of cloth from our annual More Than Just a Yardage Sale can do so much good in the world.

Sally Bongard, a Textile Museum Honourary Trustee, tells of how she sent a suitcase full of fabrics to the Bududa Learning Center’s Vocational Academy in rural Uganda. Students of the Tailoring and Dressmaking program use the fabrics – donated by the Textile Museum and the Yardage Sale – to make clothing and household items. Proceeds from the sale of these items benefit the students and the Center.

Before Sally first sent Yardage Sale fabric to Uganda, she’d purchased a suitcase at Goodwill for about $5. She filled the suitcase with fabrics and sent it by bus across Canada to a family of five in Kelowna, B.C., who were planning to volunteer at the Bududa Learning Center for three weeks.

“The students and teacher in the Tailoring and Dressmaking department were thrilled to receive all the beautiful fabric,” Sally explains. “The head instructor, Anna, gave out some of the fabric to the students to use in class. They also were able to make children’s dresses, aprons, placemats and napkins.”

Sally’s sister, Barbara Wybar, who is executive director of the Bududa Learning Center, purchased the items and brought them to Philadelphia, Montreal and Gaspé, Que., where they were resold and the funds directed back to help the students and the Center.

The students also used Yardage Sale fabrics to make a wonderful grey/blue linen dress with orange piping for Barbara. Last October, Barbara wore the dress to a Women’s Canadian Club luncheon in Montreal where she was the keynote speaker.

About 50 pounds of fabric from last month’s Yardage Sale will be sent to the Academy.

Tailoring and Dressmaking students at their Singer sewing machines

The Bududa Learning Center, Uganda, sits on the slopes of Mount Elgon, just a few miles west of the Kenyan border. Find out more at bududa.org.

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Temma Gentles – Hamsa Ketubah

I recently designed two marriage contracts using as background two Jim Thompson silk fabrics purchased at last year’s For the Love of Cloth sale. The design is inspired by the vibrant colours, intricate patterns, exquisite filigree, pungent spices and folklore of Morocco and North Africa. Continue reading…

Perryne’s Wonderful Sweater

“Here’s a picture of Perryne wearing a wonderful sweater that she made from wool purchased at the More Than Just a Yard Sale. I bought the wool and was puzzling over what to do with it–so many colours, not enough for any one thing–when Perryne came to visit. And of course, she knew exactly what to make with it! Isn’t it amazing?” – Nell Coleman

Got It Made: FLOC Edition
There are 1001 beautiful things you can make from the huge variety of decorator fabrics sold at the For the Love of Cloth sale. This year we’re planning to inspire shoppers with a display of handcrafted items that have been made from decorator fabrics.

TMC Volunteers are invited to purchase fabric for this purpose in the weeks prior to the sale. Let your imagination guide you: cushions, purses, jackets, hats etc. The item you create will be displayed at the sale Oct. 14 & 15, and here on Strand News. If you’re a TMC Volunteer, contact us.

DIY Footstool: We asked John Angel of Angel Interiors Etc. Toronto, to show what can be done to freshen up the look of a footstool. Using a piece of decorator upholstery typical of what you’ll find at our upcoming FLOC sale, John came up with this do-it-yourself solution.

Upholstery courtesy of Angel Interiors Etc.

 

Susan Singh’s Hats: “I wanted to see what kind of hats could be made out of the upholstery samples from FLOC.  I was able to make a broad-brimmed hat, plus an extra hat, out of one sample.  The weight of the fabric gives a nice flip to the brim without added stiffening.  I also made a baseball hat and a perky cap out of smaller matched upholstery samples.  It takes three to four hours to complete a fully lined, reversible hat.”

 

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MADE BY A VOLUNTEER: Purses, scarves, clothing and other items made by TMC Volunteers are sold at the FLOC sale each year, with all proceeds generously donated to the Museum

PAT STEENBERGEN: Pat shows a purse she made using fabric from the FLOC Sale. On the table, the fabric is shown in a different colour way

HELEN KIRKBY: Helen models a necklace she created from 40 wooden beads and toggles found at the sales

MARILYN LUCE: TMC Volunteers make and sell reusable shopping bags from fabric sourced at both FLOC and the Yardage Sale. This bag was made by Marilyn Luce

ANGELA KRYHUL: A lovely black velvet, purchased at the 2010 Yardage Sale, will eventually become a skirt. Still a work in progress!

TEMMA GENTLES: Baby Jemima in a sweater knitted from acrylic yarn wrestled from the yarn tent at the Yardage Sale