So pretty

Just a view of the tree in my yard!

Wedding Pillowcases

 I have made about 5 sets of Wedding Pillowcases for friends. Usually with favorite animals or something.  I made some for my cousin and her husband the last month or so. I have a set of vintage embroidery patterns of State Birds. I purchased some vintage pillowcases from Etsy (I normally just thrift for them, but I was running out of time). I then chose their birth-states (hopefully that works for them! haha, I know they have moved around some) and started sewing. I do love embroidery and how creative and colorful it can be. I also like it because it can have sort of a paint-by-number aspect

 Illinois for Joseph. (Northern Cardinal)

North Dakota for Karen. (Western Meadowlark - same as Oregon's!)

Ta-Da! I think they are fun, and I hope they like them. Happy wedding! 

Springtime

One more glimpse of spring. I bought some flowers and planted them in a hanging basket. I also washed our windows and did a little spring cleaning. Yay!

Crafting dreams: I bought digital versions of Colette Pattern's Sencha and violet?? They are both Beginner patterns, which hopefully will help. I then spent a while trying to get them to print the right size and print all the pages of the versions I wanted. It is very true I have too many projects going on. But slowly some of them get finished. I just really hope some day to sew at least 1/3 - 1/2 of my wardrobe. I don't really have a desire to sew jeans but dresses and skirts and blouses sound good. I think it's hard because if you sew it yourself and then grow out of it (size-wise or style-wise) it seems hard to pass it on. 

Currently working on: I sewed one side of the denim quilt border and then cut more squares for the baby quilt.

PS: trying out a  blogger ap from my phone so I can post more often. Not quite sure yet how it all works. 

Spring?

We were on vacation for a few days. Flew to Indiana for a wedding. Now back home hoping to get some crafting done! Lately I'm so tired from work I can't work on anything in the evening.  Here is a glimpse of spring! Time to get started on dinner and clean up a little.

Squares!!

4x4 squares for a baby quilt! I have more to cut and then I will figure out the layout.

Feather Day Dress

My friend bought a Craftsy class for the Tia Dress pattern and asked for some help with it. She has done some home sewing, and alterations of her clothes. The pattern was a little more complicated than I had ever done, with piecing the bodice and lining it.

We got together a few times to buy the fabric, cut out the pattern and started construction. There were a few confusing spots, perhaps because we didn't watch the video more times. She decided to not put on the sleeves, and I think it looks good without them. She also didn't put on the pockets because we weren't sure the pocket shape would show up well due to the bold pattern.

Anyway, the dress is almost done besides the hem. She wants to shorten it perhaps to knee-length. 

We both learned a lot from making the dress, and I may look for my own craftsy class sometime after I finish up some projects. 

With learning a lot, I'm sure if we did it a second time we would do several things differently. (We got the zipper in but it could have been put in better with the right zipper foot). I'm also pretty sure we did the lining incorrectly, but what we did worked okay and still fits. 

Anyway, we are both grateful it fits her and that she likes it and that it was all worth it in the end!!! The patterened fabric is very forgiving and hides a few mistakes. 

 We worked well together, so I look forward to our next project whatever it may be. It did speed up time, like cutting out the pattern quicker and being able to have one person sewing and the other one ironing at the same time. Plus (the best part), it gave us several excuses to hang out and chat more often than normally.

One thing we wished we'd had when making the dress was a sewer's ham. Today I found a tutorial online so I printed the pattern and will make one sometime. I'm not sure about filling it with sawdust and will probably try using wool scraps.

Today I am embroidering pillowcases and working on binding the denim quilt. (Photos to follow when I can share them, they are both gifts).

Watching: North & South
Listening: Knitting Pipeline podcast

New stash items!

Just thought I'd share some recently purchased fabric. On the left is a white and light blue/teal print that I'm hoping to make a Sobetto top by Colette Patterns. The black and white Gingham is for Colette's Hazel dress. The kitty fabric I got for free and maybe will go into a future baby quilt. With some tax return money I got an invisible zipper foot, so I am hoping that will make zippers much more easy to put in.

The yarn, hand-dyed by my friend at Bumblebirch... so pretty. It is fingering weight and I am going to look for a perfect project for it. I also just ordered a yarn winder to make center-pulled cakes. I have a swift already, so I will be set!

Still working on the denim quilt. More photos later.
Happy Valentines day!! (We're making strawberry waffles with whipped cream for dinner!)

Snow Days

Yesterday work was closed due to snow that has been here for the last few days. I spent part of the day sewing a quilt in my new studio space. (I'm not sure if I shared yet that I moved upstairs to a new area). I love the light in the room, and the red carpet that already has stains on it. Mainly I love that there is floorspace and I can lay out quilts. There are other roommates, but they are on the other side of the room for the most part and we seem to rarely be there at the same times.

Denim quilt for a friend. I'm planning on using a black fleece fabric for the backing. It will just be the two layers. I may embroider a little bit on a few denim squares, we'll see... (I have an idea, just not sharing it yet). I also started cutting jeans/cords for 2 other quilts for friends... Yay!! I love how simple they can be and I love making useful items for friends (especially if it is from their own old jeans...

I have More! quilts on the brain. Baby quilt for a friend... Perhaps a medium-sized hexagon quilt? I have been favoriting things in pinterest. I don't know yet what colors.

Also I have cut many black and white quilt triangles for a quilt and was going to go with a pattern I have in a book. It is hard to describe but sort of plays with 4 values of light to dark. It was hard to lay out as the values of the patterns kept changing (being relative in value to the fabric I placed next to it) I think I will instead go with a chevron idea which will be easier since I can just play with lights and darks. I am already much more excited about finishing that quilt. It doesn't seem so daunting.

Here is some snow!!




We had about 5 inches or so, it's hard to tell... it seems deeper some places. I'm definitely glad I have friend's kids I can borrow to hang out with in the snow. I also did a tiny bit of tobogganing. And jumped on a trampoline with snow on it.


Podcasts listened to:
Stash & Burn
Stuff You Missed in History
The Moth
This American Life (Beach episode!)

Sewing machines.

Just thought I'd share my sewing machine I got this spring from a friend. I'm so grateful to have a machine that works well!!
I grew up sewing on a simple white machine (I don't know the brand). It had tension problems and seemed to just give up one day even though my dad is usually good at fixing things and I'm sure he looked at it several times.
Then we adopted my grandmother's brown Singer Slant-o-Matic. My mother still has that one. It is true that they don't make things like they used to. It is a great machine, I have sewn several quilts and dresses with it. Probably most of my projects for about the last 10 years.
I also have a very heavy black/dark gray machine (I also can't remember the brand, sorry, it may be a White) that my uncle gave me as a Christmas present. It has never had the correct cords, though I assume I could find them online. For how heavy it is, I'm not sure how practical it is unless it was put in a table.
I also have a white New Home machine my dad found for me at a yard sale a few years back. I'm sure it just needs someone professional to get it running better. I used it a little, but the tension and other issues just made it a hassle.
And just in the summer, I got a gray vintage machine (I believe it is a Kenmore) from my father in law. I have yet to clean it and try it out. It did come with a box of presser feet and extra goodies.

It's amazing how many machines one can collect and hopefully I will get more of them up and running, even if I pass them along. It would be nice to keep one of the vintage ones perhaps if they work well.

Growing up the sewing machine was always something we had to set up and clean up once done (or once my mom was tired of it taking up the dining room table). I'm so grateful to have the space to leave my machine up.

Now I just need to make a cover for it!

2014

Amazingly it is 2014 already!
Last year I got married, moved across town and gained a sewing machine and some sewing stuff from a friend. With moving, I moved Most of my crafty stuff, and months later I am still trying to get things figured out in my (possibly temporary) awesome sewing studio!! I have been doing a little bit of knitting, and am hoping to do more sewing! It has been hard for me to carve out time to come in and work on things but it's a new year and I am feeling good about it.

So, I know it has been forever since I have blogged. And maybe no one reads it much anyway, but I feel like it helps me keep organized a little bit.

This year I'm hoping to finish some projects already in the works and to choose specific clothing items I hope to sew and try to gain some skills!  My fabric collection (much like my yarn collection) is full of odds and ends from previous projects. I'm hoping to go through my stash and find a way to label/keep in mind how many yards I have of my fabric.

Winter/Spring:
-I have made two Sorbettos by Colette Patterns and I am hoping to make more! They are a great stashbusting project. A simple, but awesome top that you can make too since the pattern is a free download!

-I bought couch pillows with the intent to make envelope covers for them. I have yet to buy fabric or look at my stash to see if I have enough fabric that I like to make covers.

-PJ pants. I have made a few pairs but they have been in weird prints like cats or crazy stripes. Maybe a solid color or small floral design.

-Quilts. Oh my, I'm in the midst of many quilts, not really working much on them, but I hope to start figuring it out.

I'm forever making lists and then putting things off to make other spur of the moment things. I know I may not stick to my goals... but I will just throw these ideas out and hope it will help guide my sewing.

Some skills I want to work on:
-Invisible zippers (I wonder where my presser foot went and if it will fit my new machine?)
-Buttonholes (we'll see, I'm so afraid).
-Making patterns fit me better, by sewing more muslins and hopefully not getting upset right away.
-Finishing the insides of garments better.
-Etc.