Thanksgiving Break!!!

As a teacher I have been looking forward to Thanksgiving Break for weeks! It is the first chance in the year for the students, and us teachers, to have a break - and we need it. 

I am going to relax, eat, and quilt all weekend. There'll be some sleeping in, exercise, and work (grading) mixed in there, but it's all good. Maybe next year I can make something like this to celebrate the holiday:

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Charley Harper

Charley Harper is my favorite artist. You probably would recognize a lot of his work, even if you don't know who he is. Here are some examples:

He did a lot of commercial work during his career and is well known for his self-described "minimal realism." I like the motion he conveys in his work and the interesting perspectives he often uses. So, when I discovered a collection of fabrics had been released under his name using his work I freaked out! (Unnecessarily, but I was excited!) I immediately ordered the whole collection from fabricworm.com. It should arrive this week!. Here's a picture from their website:

I am thinking of using it to make up this quilt from Elizabeth Hartman's site Oh Fransson!:

It should display the prints well.

On a separate note, I've been trying to plan through some of the other designs I'd like to try. There are a couple from Elizabeth Hartman's book The Practical Guide to Patchwork and a couple from a new book I purchased by Natalia Bonner and Kathleen Whiting called Modern One Block Quilts. In order to plan, I've been drawing out the designs from the books and substituting in my own color schemes and sizes. I am surprised the extent to which it is helping me plan. Here's a shot of one of my planning pages:

If I had fabric swatches I would include those with the sheet as well, but I don't have much of a stash yet, so that will come later. This is a plan for a wall hanging I'd like to make for my entryway that picks up on several colors in an area rug that we have. The pattern in Hartman's book is called "Valentine" and it uses a lot of strip piecing. I think a small project with a new technique will be just the ticket for my second project.

Cheers!

Chugga-Chugga-Chugga Shooooo Shoooo!

As, I hope, my title indicates progress is slowly moving forward on Batch of Brownies. I finished two sets of the large blocks in the past week and have one more to go. I hoped to get through the last set today, but just didn't get to it. Here is a photo for proof that work continues:

In the upper right you can catch a glimpse of my green binding, and a wrong-side out view of the backing.

On a separate note I ordered a walking foot and a darning foot for my Bernette (I need to think of a better name for my sewing machine) and they arrived this week! I tested them out Saturday. The walking foot went okay - I'm having some bobbin tension issues (I think) and those continue. I need to take my machine in to be serviced, I haven't done so since I bought it off of ebay. After some trial and error I got the darning foot working correctly, too - though I definitely need HEAPS of practice with it before I use it on a quilt. I think tracing out the pattern before hand would help. Here is a picture of my first ever quilting attempt (I preface that with "first ever" because it is quite bad):

Happy Sewing!!!

Cutting Brownies

I continue plugging away at my blocks. I finished up one tonight. Here it is so you can see the fourth fabric combo:

This let's you see the part of the construction that gives the quilt its name - Batch of Brownies. You make horizontal and vertical cuts through your blocks - like cutting a pan of brownies - to create the offset checkerboard pattern. 

I hope to finish this set of blocks tomorrow night. Once the vertical strips are cut the sewing goes much faster. 

On a different note, I thought I'd share a shot of my work space with you. Several years back when I was sewing I would cut and sew in my dining room. It had better natural light than my "new space," was warmer, and a little more connected to the household, but, BUT, the "new space" is SO much bigger! Plus, there's not natural light available to me right now anyway since it gets dark before 5 pm. Bonus, I can get the "new space" cleaned up in about five minutes if anyone actually wants to play pool. My ironing table is set up just to the right of this shot. It is so very nice to be able to move from cutting table to sewing machine to iron without having to go to a different room.

Completed blocks

I have finished eight blocks! And after working a loooooooooong day at school I decided I couldn't work anymore tonight, so hopefully I'll get a couple more done. For now, here is a pic of my completed blocks:

I plan to do my next set of blocks in the last color combo I chose. The more I work with the fabrics, the less thrilled I am with how they go together. Oh well, live and learn. We'll see how the finished product comes out. And, whether I like it or not I am learning a TON about how these things go together. Onwards and upwards!

Hello again ...

I'm back in the blogging world! I confess, up until last Monday I had not sewed a stitch since my last blog post. Beginning a graduate program and starting a new career as a teacher sucked away all the extra time and brain power I had available. However, I am now in my third year of teaching and am starting to find my groove. I have been finding myself with some leftover brain power and have been trying to figure out what to do with it. Going back to trying to sew garments didn't really appeal to me, but some conversations with my grandma and some friends sparked my interest to check out basic quilts on Pinterest. WOW! They were so beautiful - I loved the interplay of the color palettes, bold lines, and negative space of the modern quilting aesthetic. I thought to myself, "Hey, I want to do one, and I have all the sewing stuff I need already, so why not?"

I picked up a couple of books for inspiration and instruction. My favorite, by far, is Elizabeth Hartman's The Practical Guide to Patchwork: New Basics for the Modern Quiltmaker.

Hartman's designs are lovely and made for beginners. She also includes a variety of fabric ideas for each project to help you picture different ways the quilt could look. She has another book out that is lovely as well, Modern Patchwork: 12 Quilts to Take you Beyond the Basics and her blog, Oh Fransson!, offers some additional ideas, and remakes of the quilts from her books. 

I chose a design called "Batch of Brownies" that relies on an offset checkerboard pattern to highlight the contrast between prints and solids. I thought it looked like a fun way to showcase a variety of fabrics, so I made my way to JoAnn's, braved their Veteran's Day Sale and stocked up on some fun fabric. 

I have finished the back of the quilt, and assembled my 1st four blocks. While there have been some stumbles along the way (three of the fabrics I bought weren't wide enough to cut the correct sized pieces, so I had to patch them AND I made a small error in assembling one of my blocks), I am excited to keep going on this process. I will try to get some pictures  my blocks posted later today. For most of today Jack and I will be up in Seattle cheering on the Seahawks - so pictures must wait until after that. GO HAWKS!

Weekend = YAY!

Well, I took my WEST-E test this morning. I don't know how it went, I guess I'll just not think about it until the scores come out and deal with it then. My Psych class is going well though.

I realize I never posted the picture of my Potato Baker Bag, but here it is now:

I am going to try and crank out a couple of more tomorrow as I don't have any other big plans.

Happily, I got my stamps in from Purple Onion Designs today. I am very happy with them and can't wait to do stuff with them. I don't entirely know what I am going to do yet, but we'll see. I got their perpetual calendar as I thought it would be very useful multi-purposeful and their treat logos which I thought would be good for giving treats as gifts. I was just messing around with the stamps - here is what one of the treat logos looks like:

 

I'll have to get some more ink colors and paper shapes to fancy things up.

The plan is to post more tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have some more colorful Potato Baker Bags.

A Demain!

BON-JOUR-NO!

I finished my first Potato Baker Bag. It came out okay. I had some issues with the fabric stretching and the lines then not matching up. I am going to try and get a picture posted today. I am thinking of a cute way to attach the instructions and warning label onto the bag and might browse around JoAnn's website today at work to see what I can come up with.

On a very happpy note I got my cutting table put together - YAY!!! It is wonderful! I thought it would be horribly wobbly and cheap and crappy given the reviews I read of it, but it's not! Well, it's a little wobbly, but not bad. And it is sooooooo nice to be able to cut stuff out without getting cricks and unhappiness in my lower back. I tell you though, it was a pain in the acre to assemble. I had to screw in 60 ( I KID YOU NOT) screws into non-predilled holes! It took forever, but it is done now and I never have to do it again.

I am going to be pretty much incommunicado this week as I am not allowing myself to sew or anything like that. I have to cram review for my WEST-E test this Saturday and my GRCC classes start today. And, I need to contact my old profs to beg them to write recommendations for me even though I haven't talked to them since 2006.

Cheers for now!

2010!

Happy New Year!!!

It's a new year, work will be getting back to normal after the holiday craziness, and I ready to be back and sewing!

My family was very generous to me this Christmas and I received a lot of JoAnn's gift cards to round out my sewing supplied. First and foremost, I purchased a cutting table. I am six feet tall and it's has been a serious pain in my back and neck cutting on our dining room table. Here is my new table - the reviews suggest it is a bit unstable, but the sale price ($69.99) was right and I am only a hobbyist so I figure it will be okay.

I also picked up a couple of pillow forms and some new fabric. The fabric is to make microwave potato baker bags which my MIL had mentioned to me. I found a pattern online and it looks like just the kind of easy project to get me back on track.

The fabric I picked out is really cute! Here are some not so good photos of it:

 

I also decided to enter the world of contrast thread a picked up some fun colors in addition to the cotton thread I need for the potato bags.

As some follow-up, when I last left you I was about to start my sewing machine cozy, had ordered some awesome Hot Patterns patterns, and was contemplating purchasing some fabrics from Gorgeous Fabrics. I received my Hot Patterns, but have not started any projects with them yet. I also purchased and received the two fabrics I had been considering. I am nervous to work with them as I don't want to ruin them, but excited too. And, I finished my sewing machine cozy. I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. I managed to match of the stripes use the oilcloth in a way I thought was attractive. I had some problems using the bias tape on the smaller areas, like the handle hole and the cord opening, but I made it work - just don't look too close! I think maybe an awl would help me hold it in place while I working with it where my fingers can't reach. I'll try to remember to pick one up a JoAnn's next time I go. Here is a photo of the finished project.

 

I hope to be posting more now that I should have more time away from work. Next stop ... potato baker bags!

Cheers!

It Arrived!!!

My oilcloth has finally arrived - woo hoo!!! I will post pictures of it sometime this weekend. I am so thrilled! My plan today is to rake leaves (yuck!) and then cut out the pieces for my sewing machine cozy. My friend has a non-stick presser foot she said I can borrow and I think I might have to get that before I start stiching. I'll try on some scraps first though. If I don't need the presser foot I hope to finish my cozy this weekend.

AND, second work paid me - YAY! So I bought the two Hot Patters I've been wanting most. The Plain & Simple 24/7 A-Line and Pencil Skirts and the Plain & Simple Princess Shirt.

What's more, they shipped the patterns out to me this morning, on a Saturday! So far this company is top notch in my book.

I've also been looking at some different fabric for my patterns. There are two I really like from Gorgeous Fabrics. The first is a tweed I'd use for a skirt. This is the one on top of my list right now as they only have five yards left and I really, really like it:

(Hmmm, it doesn't look quite the same here as it does on the website. Oh well, I still love it!)

I also love this for the Princess Shirt patterns I am getting:

Obviously, the two do not go together, but I think they are wonderful!

Here's to having projects again. Cheers!

Humbug!

I confess I have nothing exciting to post. I am still (!!!) waiting on my oilcloth and can not buy any new fabric until next month when I have money again. Hopefully second work will pay me soon!

I did start cutting out my first muslin on the skirt from my Simplicity Pattern 2766. So far so good. I might get around to stitching some more on it tonight. I don't think it will be the world's most flattering skirt on me, but it's a start.

I am accumulating lots of patterns I want to work on. This is the pattern that first made me want to buy a sewing machine and get stitching:

I like the shorter version with 3/4 length sleeves. Shortly here I will have to breakdown and buy it. I think my friends will be startled when (if) they see me in it, but I love it!

Anyways, there is not much else going on. Hopefully, I'll have something exciting to post before too long.

Cheers!

Waiting Game

Still no oilcloth :( . I am beginning to fear it will never arrive!

On a happier note I went out with a friend to some local sewing shops yesterday to get the lay of the land. The Bernina shop she has always gone to is consolidating with a shop the next town over, so that's is good to know. I wanted to find out how much it would cost to service my machine since it is from eBay and I don't know the last time it was serviced. Instead of telling me how much it would cost the proprietor informed me it was stupid to buy things from eBay due to warranties, etc. (I don't regret my choice and I always realize I am taking a risk on eBay purchases). I told him I had already bought the sewing machine and wasn't getting a new one anytime soon so it was moot at this point. Servicing it will cost $150 so I am going to have to put it off for a bit, or find another shop where it costs less. I have no point of reference on sewing machine care so I don't know if that is reasonable or not. We also went to the shop in the next town over to check it out - they have some very beautiful printed cottons for quiliting. Then we hit up JoAnn's Veteran's Day Sale. I had a game plan so I didn't spend to much. I  ended up with seven yards of muslin for when I buy my Hot Patterns skirt to practice on and a Simplicity pattern (Simplicity 2766) I had been eye-balling since they were only a dollar.

My friend also gave me a rotary mat and cutter she had extras of. I am sooooo greatful as I had really been wanting these but did not know when I was going to be able to purchase them.

So for now I don't have a game plan. I am waiting on my oilcloth to come for my next project. I might try to piece together a pillowcase from some of my spare material. We will see how that goes. On a happy note Project Runway Season 3 Disc 1 just showed up from Netflix, so I can watch that while the Hubs plays his new video game in the other room.

Kitty Tunnel

I whipped up the Kitty Tunnel over the weekend and put the finishing touches on it this morning. I am very happy with the way it turned out. I had a couple of minor issues with sewing the fleecy fur right-side out; it got stuck in the feed dogs a couple of times, but overall it was very smooth and easy.

The tunnel has a casing for a drawstring on one end and you were supposed to sew the other end with two lines of topstitching spaced 1 1/2" apart so both ends looked the same. I didn't really thinks both ends needed to look the same so I skipped sewing the second line of topstitching. I didn't want to get the fur stuck in the feed dogs again - I don't think it is good for the machine. If I find the tunnel needs the addtional sturdiness on the end I'll go back in and add it.

I tossed it out for the cats to explore yesterday morning before finishing up the drawstring on it this morning. Neither of them are really grasping the tunnel function of the Kitty Tunnel, though both have "experienced" it with the help of Jack sticking them through. They are both playing with it though, which I will consider a win. Chloe treats it as a giant "animal" - pouncing on it, biting it, and kicking it into submission. She is getting the most use out of it. Max likes jumping on it then skidding behind it to plan pouncing attacks on Chloe. I will post some pictures when I get home today.

(Edited to add photos)

Here is the finished product:

Max is playing with the drawstring (gnawing on it).

Chloe kept getting more into each time I turned the camera off, but here she is too:

On a happy note, the people I bought my oilcloth from finally replied to my customer service email letting me know my order had shipped out. However, they didn't say when it had shipped. I guess since I didn't explicitly ask I can't complain, but if I were answering the same email at my job (which I do, frequently) I would have included the ship date and estimated arrival date. Oh well, I know it's on its way at least. Maybe it will be in my mailbox when I get home!

Finished!

I finally got the snap sewn on my tie purse. It was much easier when I sat in the living room and used some actual natural light - imagine! Here are some pictures of the finished purse:

 

I also made a stop at JoAnn's and bought fabric to make the kitty tunnel I mentioned earlier. This was the first time I purchased the decorator fabric without and coupon and it was expensive! For 1 3/8 yd decorator cotton plus 1 and 1/8 yard of fleecy fur it was $33.00. For which I think I could have bought a kitty tunnel. Oh well, it should be fun to make and hopefully I'll have leftover fabric. I think pretty soon I'll be able to patch together a pillow.

Here is the fabric I bought for the kitty tunnel:

It looks kind of greenish in the picture, but those are browns. I've got it pressed and am about to get started. We'll see how it goes!

OH, and I (well, my Mom) bought the cutest pair of peep-toe platform heels to wear when I finally make the Hot Patterns skirt, I can't wait! But, I have to learn how to walk in them or I'll kill someone.

Gah!

I am trying to hand sew the snap on to my Tie Purse and I am having a horrible time, it looks like poo. So I am taking a break from that for a few hours. The purse looks okay - it's a lot smaller than I thought it would be when I saw its picture in the book - I'll just have to enlargen (is that proper grammar?) the pattern for next time. Pictures will follow shortly after I have the snap done - sometime this weekend.

I am looking forward to my next project, but my oilcloth still hasn't come! And they still haven't gotten back to me. So the Sewing Machine Cozy is on hold for the time being until it's material shows up. I want to do the Kitty Tunnel from In Stitches as mentioned in my last post, but I also want to challenge myself to do something with a zipper in it - like the skirt I had picked out from Hot Patterns. I am in a holding pattern for right now.

Finished!

I finally finished up the boxers I was working on this afternoon. I was kind of lazy about getting around to the hems, but they ended up going really fast. The fly wasn't too bad. I just followed the instructions in the book and we got there okay. Jack says it is set a bit high, maybe I can figure out how to fix that on my next pair. One thing I can tell is that the next pair will not be in flannel, it was a pain in the patoot to work with, being all sticky.

Here are some photos of the finished project:

It's kind of hard to see much because of the crazy print, but they look like boxers I think.

Here's proof they include a fly and leg holes. I was going to take a picture wearing them, but I decided not to subject you to my bare legs.

Next I am going to draw out the pattern for my tie purse. Dena, the project coordinator at one of my jobs, was nice enough to give me some remnants of paper to draw my patterns on. It's an engineering and surveying firm so it's nice wide paper they print out plans on. This way I don't have to go buy pattern paper - YAY!

I also checked out the book In Stiches by Amy Butler from the library. She has some cute little projects I think I can tackle, like a Kitty Tube. Our cats will like that.

I am still waiting on receiving my oilcloth and am starting to get a bit peeved. If they mailed it out when they said they were going to it should have been here by now. I sent them an email yesterday to make sure the order had shipped and they have not gotten back to me yet. Grrr!

I was browsing some patterns at work and found a whole bunch I really liked on Hot Patterns website. I had hear of hot patterns before, but assumed they were too fashion forward and would not come in sizes large enough to accommodate by front and my rear. I went to check out their site and they have some really cute stuff and the majority of it is sized large enough to fit me! I am really excited. Once I have money again I am going to buy this pattern:

Anyways, I am off to the drawing board!

Breakthrough!

So it turns out I was putting my bobbin in wrong. I fixed it and now my stitching looks much better. On to the boxer shorts!

Project #2 - Tote Bag, again

Friday after work a I came home and began cutting out pieces for my second tote bag. I stopped in the middle to go with Jack to The Rock where I indulged in a Bucket and was very happy for the next hour or two. When I got back I resumed sewing. I knew I wanted to put a pocket on this one, but the instructions with the pattern were very confusing to me. I ended up looking at the picture and guessing. It's not perfect, but I got it on there, which makes me happy. I had the same bobble with the lining not quite fitting into the actual tote, but it was more obvious this time due to where I started stitching it in. It didn't bother me enough to rip it out and start over though. I am much happier with how the handles went on. Again, they are not perfect, but they look a lot better than my first attempt. Here is the new tote bag:

With the two tote bags finished I was in need of a new project. I knew I wanted to make the Sewing Machine Cozy from the SEW Everything Workshop so a few days ago I ordered my oilcloth for the project. It should arrive in my mailbox any day now. I needed to get bias tape for the cozy and I wanted to try a couple of new patterns from the SEW Everything Workshop so I headed to Joann's today, feeling much more confident this time, to see what I could find. I had a couple of different project ideas on the plate, depending on what fabrics I found. I ended up with some flannel to try making boxer shorts for Jack and some taffeta and denim to make a tie purse. The flannel is kind of wild, but I am really excited about the taffeta I picked up.

The dark brown is the lining of the bag. And, (DOH!) I forgot to get pattern paper while I was there. I have to draw out the purse pattern. I am hoping I can pick it up from Ben Franklin's in Bonney Lake instead of having to drive all the way back to the JoAnn's on South Hill. So unfortunately, I can't start the bag tonight, but that's okay since I have the boxers to work on.

I also checked out a new book from the library, Sew U: The Built by Wendy Guide to Making Your Own Wardrobe. There are definitely some similarities between it and SEW Everything Workshop, but flipping through it looks like it might have more direction for beginners on garment construction, but still maintains that easy conversational (your not an idiot) tone, that is absent from the Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing (which I need to get still, I returned my library copy today).

I am really excited to get started. I'll get pictures posted in a few days.

Project #1 - Tote Bag

Well, I just finished my first sewing project - the tote bag. If you don't look too close I think it is okay. I had some problems attaching the handles, I think I will do it differently on the next bag. Also, the lining was just a teensy bit smaller than the outer part of the bag which caused some rumpling when I sewed it in. I am not sure how to fix that other than doing a better job cutting and sewing the lining to start with. I think I might try to line the second bag differently to see if it turns out a bit better. We will see how it goes. Here is a photo of the first bag:

Just so I am not stepping on anyone copyright-wise this bag design was found in the book SEW Everything Workshop by Diana Rupp .

Pourquoi?

I don't know why, but all of a sudden I wanted to learn how to sew. I've never sewed (well I attempted to hem some curtains this summer - it was something of a disaster) - I've never taken Home Ec and made a pair of pajama pants. My Mom doesn't sew much anything more complicated than buttons, though as a child I always loved looking through her sewing tin. My Nana does sew and knit, she makes the most beautiful quilts. But, in my 25 years of life you would think I would have showed an interest before now if I was going to ask her to show me something and I haven't.

So when I started looking at patterns and sewing machines about two weeks ago I don't know why I started. Maybe just to kill time a work. But, I picked out my ideal sewing machine - a Bernette 66 by Bernina. From what I can tell it retails for about $300.00 so I didn't think that would become a reality. I also looked at sewing books on Amazon. I ended up checking out Vogue Sewing, The Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing, and SEW Everything Workshop from the library. Then lightning struck! There was a Bernette 65 by Bernina on eBay. I ended up winning it - woo hoo!! I also ordered the SEW Everything Workshop book because it had really good descriptions of basic procedures and included some fun projects. I'll eventually add the Reader's Digest book to my collection as well.

With the knowledge my sewing machine was on its way I decided to plan out a simple project from the SEW Everything Workshop book and head to JoAnn's to get my supplies. Unknowingly, I went to the store on the last day of their Moonlite Madness (why spell it that way?) Sale. It was nice because I got some good deals on my purchases, but it was a madhouse! I had to wait 20 minutes to get my fabric cut. I was glad when the sales clerk told me it wasn't always that busy. Anyways, I ended up with some fabric I was pretty happy with. I will include some pictures shortly. It will be used to make two tote bags.

 

My sewing machine was waiting for me Tuesday evening when I got home from work - YAY! I worked on figuring out how to thread it and practiced stitching on some of the scraps left over from cutting out my first tote bag pieces. It was a little discouraging - I thought it looked very messy. Last night I decided to just go for the first bag and figure things out from there. It actually worked out pretty well - things are coming together. Tonight I just have to attach the strap and insert the lining and my first tote will be done!