As usual I was hoping to get a lot more done. I think my problem is that I am just not approaching things realistically! Anyway, I finally finished up the Goob's Fairy Tale dress by Oliver and S. I seriously started this dress about a year ago...thank goodness I always cut out a larger size. I suppose subconsciously I really know how things will turn out. I am just super happy that she really likes the dress. She is calling it her fairy princess dress. It is the worst when I finish something up and she doesn't want anything to do with what I made. It has only happened maybe twice and it was because I caught her at a not-so-good time, but it was enough to know to wait until she is good and ready to try something on her! Today was not a problem though...
She actually kept asking me when it would be finished! Too cute. Well, between my camera issues (keep getting a shutter error when shooting) and the fact we only had five minutes before we needed to leave for ballet, I did not get many good shots. Plus, I would like to take some detail shots of construction and perhaps talk a little bit more about how it goes together....however, that is for another day! The photo below shows a little about how you finish the arm holes for the sleeveless version of the dress.
And my favorite part, the vintage glass buttons!
To quickly wrap is up for now, this is another great pattern from Oliver and S. It is not really difficult, but is a bit time consuming as it has many steps and is fully lined. That said, I did add a few details that were not part of the pattern, such as the piping/cording on the collar and the addition of the buttons which added a bit to the time. The time commitment is well worth it though, especially if your little one loves it as much as mine does!
Hi there! Well, I am all over the place. I seriously need to get some focus. I have seen a couple of people now have nice spreadsheets of projects and their status. I am going to need to get working on that.
On to the main reason for this post, last year I participated in a quilt along for Camille Roskelley's book, Simply Retro which was hosted by Jana Machado. I wasn't able to make the first couple of projects but jumped in with the Baby Love large quilt, and made all of the projects from there except the last one because the quilt along took a bit of a hiatus. Well, it started up again at the beginning of the year and I had already planned out the Fresh project last year, so I thought I would at least make a block so that I could be considered for the drawing. The project calls for layer cake squares, but I am using a La Belle Fleur by French General dessert roll which are 5" by WOF strips. I am adding the Essex Linen in the HST around the stars, so I should have plenty to finish the 96" x 96" quilt.
This week is also kids clothing week, so I picked up on a couple of my unfinished projects for the Goob, and maybe start one new one! Aneela Hoey's new line Hello Petal just came out and she is having a contest where you can enter any project using her new fabric. So, I HAD to start a new dress using her gorgeous new fabric line. SO, you should make something and enter as well! I better get back to sewing so I can get all of this finished! Thanks so stopping by and come back soon to see if I actually get it done.... This post is linked up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced and the Simply Retro Quilt Along with Jana Machado.
So, I am sure that you have seen a number of different versions of the Washi Dress at this point, I know I am a bit late to the game, but I figured I would write a little bit about my experience with it.
First off, I have been wanting to try this pattern forever! I finally bought it a few months ago and then made it right after Christmas. It did not take much time and I really liked the construction of the dress. I did not make any modifications to the size small, I just cut and sewed it as is. The one modification I did make was that I did not do facing as the pattern called for, I used Rae's tutorial for lining the bodice. I just don't like how you can see the outline of facing under certain fabric. I am glad I did do the lining instead of the facing and I really do not think it was any more work than the facing. When I am looking at pattern reviews or pictures of other peoples versions, I really like to see when someone is actually wearing the piece of clothing. I feel it helps me to get a better idea of what it will look like on me. So, I will include some photos of me in the dress but go easy on me. Plus, my photographer did not want to get off of the couch, so the camera angle in not ideal. Perhaps I will add some new photos when it is not freezing outside to get some better shots!
The Rundown Overall: I would highly recommend the pattern, from beginners to advance sewers. I think the construction is nice, and it goes together easily. The dress or top can be dressed up or down and is a forgiving and comfortable fit. You can also make a number of modification to the pattern with the many tutorials that Rae has on her site as well as the Washi Expansion Pack that she recently released. Available Formats: PDF and Paper A Second Washi: Yes, I will definitely be making another. Most likely a tunic version first.
What I Would Modify On The Second Round: I will most likely mess with the darts a bit again. On this particular version, I was pretty impatient and just wanted to get it done....mostly because I was supposed to be doing something else! Anyway, after looking at the photos I realized I need to make the darts shorter, meaning they need to end more on the side of my boob instead of toward the top (makes it a little pointy). What I Was Glad I Did: Lining the bodice using a very light weight, 100% cotton muslin instead of using facing. What My Favorite Aspect Was: The smocking on the back. Not sure why, but I love it! Oh, and I also love the cap sleeves and of course, the pockets. Fabric I Used: Rose Garden in Coral from the Fort Firefly Collection by Teagan White for Birch Fabric, 100% organic cotton, quilting weight woven fabric
Okay, yes I am easily distracted, but I promise this one is truly from my giant WIP pile! I have strayed a bit from the path, for example I got lured into the It's A New Year Sewalong at Sew Can She and made a little boxy pouch for the Goob.
Then I found out that the Simple Retro Quilt Along that I participated in last year started back up at the beginning of the month, so I then felt like I needed to finish the last project that I had planned for that. So, I started on that again....in my defense it is the last project in the book and I already had it planned in my head! Does that count as a WIP?
Anyway, on to the main point of my post, my WIP using the scraps from the twin baby boy quilts I made a little while ago. As I was piecing the original quilts I kept the paired up triangle that I cut off together and then chain pieced then and set them in my WIP pile. I think I even showed a photo of them in one of my other WIP posts about the twin boy quilts. Anyway, as I was cleaning and organizing my sewing room...or attempting to at least...I came across my print outs from Camille Roskelley's first Craftsy class, Pre-Cut Piecing Made Simple. In there she gives some examples of varying ways to put together half square triangles and one idea was a sampler. What a great idea, so I mixed it up ever so slightly and BAM, I almost had enough to make a nine block sampler with 14" blocks. I just had to make 10 extra half square triangles which isn't bad, especially since I had some additional left overs of several of the prints. I even threw in a new one, can you tell which one it is?
The photo above is actually the layout upside down because I couldn't take it any other way and when I flipped it in Photoshop it did not look right, just a little FYI. All about the acronyms tonight. Well, I am super excited about this one for some reason. I guess because I was able to use all of those half square triangles for something I really like...yay! Although, it didn't make the pile much smaller... This post is linked up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.
I wanted to finally give an update on those twin baby boy quilts. I did end up getting them done by the deadline and I finished another right after them that I honestly thought I had more time on, the book quilt. All quilts were delivered and I think everyone was satisfied....at least I hope they truly were. Anyway, I will list a few photos below. It is a really simple pattern I know, but what are your thoughts?
I tried to make them unique but similar...that sounds weird, but you know what I mean, right?!?! They both have some of the same fabric, but then one has more lighter prints and the other is a bit darker.
Just a couple more...
Then here is the "darker" version without the "lighter" one in the way.
Then lastly I love the way quilts look when they are folded and stacked....wanted to do this one for a while! I am hoping to get a much better shot in the future.
For the last, uhhh, five hours.....and I am not exaggerating, I have been glued to my phone/my husband's phone (when mine died) looking at Instagram at #thegreatfabricdestash. It became a bit of an addiction really. Some really great stuff popped up, I was too slow for most of the ones I liked and showed great restraint on others, but really I am trying to find a Hometown by Sweetwater pre-cut. No luck thus far. Anyway, I also put a few items up and got a response on about half, which is good since I really didn't want to get rid of anything! Gotta love Instagram I suppose. On to the WIPs, I have been trying to work through my pretty sizable pile of started projects. This week I have actually finished one shirt for the Goob that I am pretty sure I started or planned rather over a year and a half ago. The other project that is still a WIP is my sailboat skirt using Sarah Jane's Out to Sea fabric by Michael Miller. I had the idea for this quite a while ago and then cut it out about this time last year and then tried to sew it about five times since then, but I am determined to finally finish it, this week! I am using McCall's pattern M5591, view A.
The band on the bottom of mine will be navy, but I haven't gotten that far yet.
I needed a zipper for it two days ago and finally got it this afternoon. I also had to add a lining to it, as you can see, because you could see through the fabric. Adding the lining was fairly straight forward. I will add more details when I finish it if anyone is interested. I am hoping to blog about the finished skirt, the Goob's top, and my Washi dress by Friday. No quilt piecing going on right now....however there are several quilt alongs going on that I would like to participate in, but I am trying to be good and finish what I have! We will see how long that lasts. Thanks for stopping by. What are you working on? This post was linked up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.
I actually finished this one on Wednesday at around 3:30pm, mainly because I had to get it to the post office by 5pm that day! Talk about down to the wire....then again, that is usually how I roll. I try not to have it end up that way, but I am starting to except the fact that 9 times out of 10 it does. Anyway, I really don't want to bore you with too much text. I feel like the quilt speaks for itself. I will say that I can never do anything easy...so I quilted most of the books with their own design and a couple are very minimally quilted. I thought it gave the books unique texture and depth...so they looked more like actual books, or at least that is what I tell myself.
My favorite ones are the feathers.
The inspiration for the colors in this quilt came from Tula Pink's Arrowheads in Sugar. I ended up only using that particular fabric from the collection in the quilt, and then used others from my stash and I ended up buying a few because it turns out I didn't really have ANY purple...curious.
I also did an applique name on the spine of one of the books. I just made the bottom book of the horizontal stack extra thick (basically by combining two books) and used it for the name. I really like how it turned out, I just hope the recipient does as well!
My sister, Stefanie, chose the font and I really like how it looks. You might recognize it from the initials on the twin boy baby quilts, which I also finished recently and will blog about very soon. Speaking of my sister, she is an AMAZING graphic designer, and I had her make me the labels for the quilts. And, of course, they turned out awesome! (I did remove the baby's full name, so imagine the label with the middle and last name in the same font but smaller, centered below the first name.)
I have one more of these thread boxes left in the shop if anyone is interested. Anyway, I think that is it for now. Thanks for stopping by. Now I need to get back to cleaning up my sewing area, I am also considering destashing....it might be getting a little out of control. This post is linked up with Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.
So, I am finally blogging! Between the holidays, traveling, a birthday, finishing three quilts (with deadlines), and the kids being out of school a couple of extra days it was pretty much impossible, but here I am now. I actually have a few project finishes to blog about but that will have to come a little later. I am pretty wiped tonight. I just wanted to talk a little about what I want to finish up in 2014. I have mentioned so many times before that I am notorious for having so many (too many) WIPs and I don't think I am the only one, right?!?! This year I want to try and stay focused and make my WIP pile quite a bit smaller. Last year I managed to accumulate a number of quilt tops, so I want to get those finished. I have two half quilted quilts....ridiculous, and a bunch of other projects. I want to not take on too much and get some of the things I have already started finished. One of the projects is a super cute dress (Oliver and S Fairy Tale Dress) I started for the Goob probably around this time last year that I need to finish.
I sort of got on a selfish sewing kick for a while there and haven't made anything for the kids! Then again the only one who will wear anything I make now a days is the Goob and me, of course. The older ones are are at a stage now where it isn't cool anymore...oh well, pajamas are still game though! One thing that is going to make staying on track pretty difficult is all of the awesome books and patterns I got for Christmas. I, of course, now have an even longer to go list, but I am not really complaining. (And thank you family!)
I did want to mention a little project I started the day before Christmas eve, because my sister's gift did not arrive in time. I had some pretty bad luck with the USPS this year for the holidays. I had my sister's gift not arrive, a few customers did not receive packages for WEEKS (with one missing items), I never received the Christmas cards I ordered, and we got one mangled and in pieces Christmas card from my husband's cousin in a plastic bag printed with an apology note from the USPS.....pretty crazy if you ask me. I did however, receive my shipment of Charley Harper canvas from Birch fabric right before Christmas and immediately started cutting it up to make some little zippered pouches to replace the missing gift for my sister. She is a big Charley Harper fan so it was perfect! I managed to finish the bags in time, but forgot to take pictures...luckily I cut enough to make two bags of each size and print. I only managed to finish one of them since then, however the other two are now on my WIP list. I will hopefully knock those out soon since they are pretty darn fast and everything is cut and ready to sew.
Next, I will try and finish up the quilt I have been trying to finish for years. I have it about 2/3 quilted and the binding is already cut...wish me luck. That one will be a big finish and a load off. Then I want to finish the mermaid penny patch I made for the quilt along at Stitched in Color.
I ended up ordering fabric from Spoonflower of the back, because I realized that I had the book, Heather Ross Prints and it comes with a CD with jpegs of some of her prints. The mermaid print that was the inspiration for the quilt top is one of those jpegs! I was super excited but wanted to make sure I got it right because Spoonflower is not cheap, so I order a sample first, just to make sure. I also ended up scaling up the size of the print which I think will look great on the back of the quilts since it will be a large area.
It took a little while to wait for the sample and then order the fabric , but I have it now and my commissioned quilts are done and out of the way, so I can try and finish this one as well. I ended up really liking the mermaid penny patch and I hope the Goob does as well....she loves mermaids and pink! Well, I won't ramble any longer, but I will say that I hope 2014 brings a number of WIP finishes for me and perhaps some successes in my creative endeavors. Here's to a good year.... This post is linked up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.
