GO! August 25, 2010

Krista asked us to make her some improvised blocks (12.5″) for the Not Your Grandma’s Quilting Bee (August)

with THIS quilt as her inspiration.

She sent several strips of linen in neutral colors to all of us

and then a few different scraps of Anna Maria Horner “Good Folks” and some Kaffe Fassett “Shot Cottons” as well.

Here is what I came up with =0)

Block 1

Block 2

This was my first time completely improvising a block without any pattern or instructions…

not bad for a first try???

Block 2 is much more pieced because I had only scraps left to use, but I think I actually prefer it to block 1.

At any rate, I hope she likes them both and I look forward to see her finished quilt!

PS- just have to share this FABULOUS giveaway from Heather over at a la mode fabric HERE…

can’t believe she is giving away an AccuQuilt Go! Cutter along with three dies ~ EEEEK!

I have been saving and saving and saving up to buy one of these, but my savings always dwindles???

Maybe, just maybe, I’ll be the lucky winner!!

We’ll if it isn’t me I certainly hope its you ;0)

Happy sewing,

Colette

My Prairie Girl Top is Finished! March 31, 2010

I love love love my Favorite Things “Prairie Girl” top (really more of a tunic length) made up in Anna Maria Horner “Little Folks Baby Bouquet Sweet” cotton voile!!!  The pattern pieces (obviously larger) and instructions were exactly the same as the “Little Prairie Girl” top (pattern review here).  You would have thought that I would have whipped it out with no problems, considering how easily I made the first.   Sadly, no, I ended up doing quite a bit of seam ripping on this one.  I got a bit full of myself and didn’t pay attention ~ arggh!

In all fairness though, this is the first time I have worked with cotton “voile” and had some difficulties working with it.  I had seen this voile referred to as “butter soft”, ha ha, no joking, it was slippery like butter in my hands.  Cutting it out was a breeze, but manipulating the buttery fabric to make the gathers was a tad tricky.  Distinguishing the right side of the fabric from the wrong side of the fabric was difficult at times, and I actually sewed the ties to the wrong side of the “skirt” (this top could also be made into a dress) and had to rip and start over.  You really MUST pay close attention when working with this fabric.

When finishing the seams on this top, I so wish I had had a serger!  Because voile is such a sheer light weight fabric, I ordered the Coats & Clark Dual Duty XP “Fine” thread (here) in white, and it worked superbly!   Fabulous thread, but I had problems with the tension on my Viking sewing machine when trying to finish my seams with a zigzag stitch.  After some fooling with it (and lots of seam ripping) I was able to get it just right.  It really is time to get it into the shop for a tune up!  I managed to get a clean enough zigzag on all of the seams, with the exception of the sides of the “skirt”, and after ripping them out a couple of times because the tension was too tight, decided to just use my pinking sheers and see what happened after washing.  I’ve washed it twice since, and there has been no signs of unraveling on any of my pinking cuts (I typically cut the excess fabric after zigzagging with pinking sheers).  Next time I will skip the zigzag stitch and just pinking sheer the edges.

As for the sizing, the instructions for the top suggest making the size according to hip size over pants.  Because of the adjustable ties on the back, I went with the size for the bust measurement (I have small hips) and the fit is fantastic.  I was debating between two sizes, ended up going with the smaller one, and am quite pleased with my choice (sorry Molly, no top for you this time!)

Even with all the difficulties I encountered working with this voile, I am so happy that I used it!  When you wear it, it does feel buttery soft next to the skin, is so feminine, and has such a nice drape!  I think the quilting cottons are a bit stiff and don’t flatter the figure the way this voile does.  I will definitely be ordering some more of these “Little Folks” voiles to make up a few more of these tunics!

Happy sewing,

Colette

Prairie Girls! March 18, 2010

My next sewing project is going to be Mother and Daughter “Prairie Girl” tops!

Unlike the Amy Butler mother/daughter patterns you have to buy the patterns separately…but they do include a pattern for a dress, top, and slip or dickie.  Both of these Favorite Things patterns are available online here at the Sewing Garden.

Loving this Anna Maria Horner “Little Folks Baby Bouquet Sweet” cotton voile (available here at Pink Chalk Fabric) for my Prairie Girl top! This is a super soft sheer cotton that screams summertime.  Can’t wait to try sewing with it.

R. picked out this “Park Slope Pebbles Turquoise” quilting weight cotton by Erin McMorris from Alewives Fabrics (here).

I’ve never tried a “Favorite Things” pattern and look forward to whipping up her Little Prairie Girl top this weekend.  Of course I will post a pattern review and lots of pics.

I’ll be enjoying this glorious Spring sunshine we’ve been blessed with by taking a really long bike ride with R. today!  R. says, “It is definitely Spring because I even saw some Robins and Blue Jays eating worms this morning!”  Ha,ha love that girl of mine!

Happy sewing,

Colette

Anna Tunic Review March 16, 2010

First off, I have to say that Amy Butler rocks!  Her fabric and her sewing patterns are amazing!  Here is the Amy Butler “Anna Tunic” (available here) I finished over the weekend…it is by far my most favorite piece of clothing I have made thus far!

I used the Amy Butler cotton quilt weight fabric in “Park Fountain Mustard” (available here) and I can’t tell you how in love with it I am!  It is the most beautiful shade of mustard and is so soft!  I chose to line mine (yes, it is lined!!!) with a Moda muslin in natural, but really wish I would have taken Rhea at Alewives suggestion to line it in a fun fabric.  If I had to do over again. I would use “Diamond Dandy New Day”, a Denyse Schmidt fabric from her Hope Valley collection (available here).  It definitely would have been worth the extra $10!

When cutting out my fabric, I found that folding the pattern up (on top) made it much easier (than folding it under) to cut and pin.  For the first pattern piece, I folded the bottom at the tunic line (it is available in three lengths) under and accidentally cut the pattern piece underneath it…I will never make that mistake again!

I consider myself an “advanced beginner” sewer and this pattern was perfect for me.  I found the written instructions and diagrams to be very clear and concise, and other than me not reading the directions carefully enough on a few occasions, they were not difficult to follow.  When sewing the back exterior and interior lining of the yoke together, I missed reading the entire line on starting a half of an inch up from the bottom, so when it came time to sew the yoke to the bodice I was befuddled on how to separate the lining from the exterior.  While sewing the tunic, I ran across several sewing “firsts” for me.  Understitching was one of these “firsts”, and I went through my sewing books and online tutorials to try and figure it out…not realizing the next step of the directions thoroughly explained how to understitch, ha ha.  Please read the instructions carefully!

This was the first time I ever made button loops or actually even used “functioning” buttons on clothing (other than doll clothing) and am quite proud of how it turned out!  I had to adjust the pattern because my buttons are 3/4″ and the pattern was designed for use with 1/2″ buttons.  No problem, I added an inch to the button loop pattern so that when I cut it down to four loops they would each be 1/4″ longer.  I also had to figure out my own positioning of the buttons (as I couldn’t use the button template transfer dots to position them) and admit this was a little tricky.  I had to reposition the top two buttons a couple of times to get it just right.   Once they were properly aligned, I used a ruler to measure the distance from the edge of the back yoke and the distance between the top two buttons, and then used those measurements to mark the placement for the other buttons (which made positioning the third and fourth buttons a piece of cake).

I adore this large removable fabric flower pinned on the left side of my tunic.  This was another first for me, and I was impressed with the final result and the ease with which it came together.  Next time though, I would sew my rows closer together make a fuller flower.

The matching belt was super easy to make, but it looks horrible on me.   The belt causes the fabric to bunch and adds too much bulk to my waist line, which I don’t need (thank you very much!)  I had to go up a size to accomodate my bust and should have listened to her instructions (in the pattern) to adjust to your measurements and taken the waist and hips in when cutting the pattern.  I admit I was a bit afraid to alter her pattern, but I promise the next time I will be brave and try it!

All in all, I think this was a very easy and enjoyable pattern to use and I will definitely make another Anna Tunic using some of Anna Maria Horner’s cotton voiles ( a much lighter fabric) for the summer.  If you are less than an advanced beginner, I would suggest starting with the Sew Liberated “Schoolhouse Tunic” available here.

I liked using her patterns so much that I just ordered the Amy Butler “Sun and Surf Halter” pattern (here) and will tuck that away for a project next month.  I love that this is a mother and daughter pattern (in one!) and that I can make one for R. too!

Happy sewing,

Colette

Sewing Inspirations March 4, 2010

I just love when my sewing supplies finally make it to my house!  It’s seriously like receiving a present…ha, ha it even looks like one!

I know I have said it many times, but I love Alewives Fabrics (here)!  I am all about supporting local “Independent” stores, and since I don’t have one close to me (we have a big box store about an hour from here), I love supporting this Mother/Daughter owned and run store out of Maine (I consider all of New England local).

Whenever I order something online from them, I always add a few fabric swatches to my cart for my sewing journal.  Some of the pages have pictures of the patterns I would like to make along with fabric swatches, and other pages are just filled with fabric swatches that I find inspiring.

My little blank journal “I love you, friend” is from Sarah Jane (can be found in her Sarah Jane Studios Etsy shop here) and through Friday evening she is offering a “buy two get one free” on everything ~ cards, journals, and prints (find out more at her blog here).

I use this journal to gather the things I would like to sew and possible fabrics I would like to make them up in.  This is a page I had done for the Schoolhouse Tunic (here).

This is a page I put together for the “Prairie Girl” and “Little Prairie Girl” blouse I plan to make.  It is a Favorite Things pattern… the women’s pattern I ordered from Alewives here (they will be getting more in soon!) and ended up ordering the little girl’s pattern on Etsy from here.  R. wants me to make hers with the Erin McMorris Pebbles turquoise Fabric (right page bottom left) and I think I am going to do mine in one of Anna Maria Horner’s cotton voiles (top left page and bottom right page).

How sweet is Rhea (the Daughter and Manager of Alewives)…when I emailed her that I was making the Anna Tunic (Pattern by Amy Butler … Rhea blogged about it here) and would really appreciate it if she could find some thread and buttons to go with the fabric I purchased (Amy Butler’s Park Fountain Mustard here), that she took the time out of her busy day to select them and email pictures for me to “okay” and them added them to my fabric order? Now that is what I consider great customer service!  I can’t tell you how perfect the thread match is and how pretty those buttons are (the pictures don’t do them justice!)

Now that I have all of my supplies, I am hoping to get started today and finish up this Anna Tunic this weekend…

Happy sewing,

Colette

Schoolhouse Tunics Finished! February 24, 2010

OK so the first Schoolhouse Tunic (Sew Liberated pattern here) was a tad small across the bust, so off it went to Molly in California as a very early birthday present (ha, ha her birthday is in late June!) which is good because last year her present was three months late!  I had planned on making her one anyway and had her help me pick out the fabric (Amy Butler Daisy Chain in gray) by sending her various links to Alewives Fabrics (here).

I apologize for the horrible picture, but D. was on his way out the door and offered to take it to the post office for me, so I had just a second (and terrible lighting) to take a pic and wrap it up.  This first one was made up in the tunic length.

I chose to go with an Anna Maria Horner fabric, Little Folks ~ Fortune Sun, for mine and to make it in the shirt length instead of the tunic length.

The pictures don’t do it justice…the colors are so pretty and springy (as I sit here typing with a foot and a half of snow outside and it is still snowing!)  I don’t love the turquoise tank under…I will have to pick up a soft lavender next time I am in town.

I wish I would have looked at her pattern sizing in terms of xs, s, m, l, and xl instead of numbers…this is the first piece of clothing I’ve ever made for myself…and I should have used my measurements instead of my “normal store-bought” sizing, as I had to go a size up.  I don’t feel too terrible though, Molly is such a tiny little thing and it fit her perfect!  Lesson learned…really…I know I should have learned that when making my daughter’s “twirly skirt”!

This pattern was easy enough to follow.  A few suggestions though…make sure you mark the pleats on the skirt front and back accurately, as well as the marks on the bodice bottom (where the center of the pleat is supposed to match up), and use an embroidery needle, a double strand of sewing thread, and a  small whip stitch to hand sew the top of the placket to the bodice shoulders (so it won’t show through on the bodice top).  I finished all of my seams by using a small zig-zag stitch and then cut the excess fabric with pinking shears (although I wish I had a serger to finish the seams properly!)

I am excited to make up another one, tunic length, in one of Anna Maria Horner’s cotton voiles.  But first I think I want to make the Amy Butler “Anna Tunic” (here).  I am trying to assemble a small collection of blouses to throw on with Jeans to bring on our trip to D.C. this spring.

Happy sewing,

Colette