string quilt

I bought two cheap-o jelly rolls over the summer thinking they'd be fun to play with. The thing about jelly rolls is that you can't always see all of the fabric they include. Usually you just see the outer fabric wrap and maybe less than a half inch of some of the other fabrics. Boy was I surprised to open up the first jelly role and find this color scheme! An ugly leopard print AND a bright blue - oh boy!  I could not think of a way to use all the fabrics together in a way that I liked and they certainly don't go with any fabric that I have.  I found a pattern for a string quilt in a book that I have and I actually think it works with the fabric.  Ok, sort of works :-) 

The pattern is pretty easy - you set sets of the strips together and then cut them on an angle.  The pattern called for a specific tool that I don't have so I had to dust off some really rusty geometry skills to get the angles right.  Then you sews the blocks together.

I used a scrappy black border and cream color backing because, what else could I have possibly used??

It's definitely not my most favorite quilt that I've ever made but in a way, I think it works.  And I am super happy about how near all my corner joins are! 

This is Project Linus quilt #3. 

scrappy log cabin quilts

We're less than two weeks into the new year and I've already finished two quilts. I started them back in October in an attempt to gain some control - ie use up - some of my scraps. The Log Cabin pattern is a great stash buster and the blocks were really fun to make. I kept cutting and sewing until I was out of the right size fabric for each block and miraculously ended up with enough blocks for two quilt tops.  These are small-scale quilts - measuring just 26" x 34".  Perfect crib size for Project Linus donations. 

I have to confess that I like working with scraps.  I like to challenge myself and my creativity to see what I can come up with using a very narrow selection of fabric.  It's also really fun to take a trip down memory lane and remember every project that the scraps came from. 

The purples really pop in this one.  I used some leftover black, purple and orange binding and a purple paisley for the back. 

I didn't quite have enough blue fabric to make an even dozen so I threw in a yellow square (I don't use all that much yellow so the scraps were slim pickings).  The binding is mostly leftover from previous projects. 

Why, yes, those are the most adorable chickens on the back!  I love this chicken fabric.  I still have a couple more yards left so I can't wait to use it in future quilts. 

I made another quilt top last weekend but it was too windy to take pictures today.  My goal of ten quilts for Project Linus is off to a great start!  :-)

a broken curse and back to sewing

After this summer's sewing extravaganza, I took a little break from making anything. Only it wasn't planned and I didn't know I was taking a break while I was doing it.  I think I got a little burned out.  I didn't even feel like fabric shopping when I had the opportunities!  I decided to give myself a goal - once I finished knitting a pair of socks I've been working on for almost two years, I would start sewing. 

This is not the pattern I originally wanted to knit with this yarn.  Unfortunately, I ended up ripping out the first five patterns I started.  That's no typo - *five* patterns.  A couple of the patterns weren't well written, another was far too complex for the self-striping pattern, and another pattern had too much, um, user error for me to finish.  So I went back to my trusty toe-up magic loop socks and finally finished them!  I'm going to wear them around the house and to bed so they're cute, but not complicated. 

I finished the socks last night and immediately took out all my fabric scraps and sorted them by color.  I had a LOT of scraps crammed into a very small space!  This picture doesn't do the mess justice - there are a lot more piles of fabric on my living room floor than it looks like. 

I've been feeling like I need to stretch myself with my sewing and learn something new so today I decided to tackle some scrappy log cabin blocks.  I thought they'd be really challenging, but they were really fun to make.  The most challenging part was measuring correctly - go figure.  My plan is to make a bunch with all of the scraps and then figure out a way to put them all together. 

I am so happy to be sewing again!! 

scrappy quilts

I finished my last two quilts for Project Linus this week.  I think I made five or six this year?  In keeping with my theme of "use all the scraps," I made these quilts entirely out of stuff I already had.  There are even some scraps from my old doll dresses (!) that my mom gave me.  My scrap sizes kept them small, and they were perfect for continuing to home my quilting technique.  The orange one came out great, but the blue one's quilting got a little out of hand.  They washed beautifully and I'm learning that in quilting, a run through the washing machine can hide a multitude of sins :-)

I'm not sure if you can tell from these pictures, but I tried to do a loop-de-loop quilting pattern on the blue quilt.  It was a little challenging wrestling the quilt back and forth through my sewing machine, but nothing worse than I've already had to do before.  Normally if there's any shifting or puckering that happens, it's on the front of the quilt.  This time, all the shifting happened on the back.  I'm not sure if I pinned enough while basting so ended up doing a lot of extra wrestling to shift the quilt "sandwich" to be where it was supposed to be.  To be honest, it was kind of a nightmare to work with but fortunately, running the finished quilt through the wash made the whole thing kind of crinkly which balanced out the problems. 

 

I used a scrappy binding too.  I've heard of quilters who save the unused ends of their bindings and then combine them into a mega-scrappy binding.  I should try this; I just cut strips from leftover fabric.  

 

I really fell in in with the orange quilt!  It so bright and cherry - these pictures don't do it justice. 

I went back to straight line quilting for this one but I did a chevron-ish pattern vertically and then sewed straight lines on the horizontal.  I am happy to report there was very little puckering!  I am very pleased with how the quilting came out. 

I used a black polka dot binding that came from leftover fabric from a skirt I made last year.  Still not sure if using black in a child's quilt is ok, but I really like the look.  I couldn't think of any other color binding that would have matched the cacophony of colors I used. 

I'm so happy to drop these off next weekend! 

sew Sew SEW!

I got my sewing machine back from the repair shop a couple of weeks ago and I have been sewing like a maniac since. Coincidentally, we've also had a mega-humid, mega-hot, super miserable heat wave. What did I do during this sweatfest? Well, sew and sweat some more, of course! You haven't lived until you've sat in the warmest room in the house, with the afternoon sun and heat pouring in, while you race your machine. 

To be fair, I wanted to make a quilt for my friend's baby shower this weekend.  It's a boy and they love Belize, so I was going for something traditional yet tropical.  If some of these fabrics look familiar, I used them on another quilt this year and thought they were so perfect that I ran out and bought more yardage. 

I wasn't sure about the binding fabric as I was cutting it, but I kind of like the blues. 

 

The back is the last of my beloved IKEA fabric.  This really is the perfect fabric for a quilt backing; I should check to see if they still sell it and buy a zillion yards.  

In the middle of my sweat and heat induced haze, I got the idea that I would make two more quilts for Project Linus this year, using - of course - only scraps.  My plan is to do some self-teaching on free motion quilting.  I'm ready to move on from straight lines.

I'm also working on a new method for putting the quilt "sandwich" together to reduce the amount of wrinkles.  I tried it with the baby quilt, but there's room for improvement, for sure. 

Lastly, I finished my second Colette Laurel dress this afternoon, just in time to wear to tomorrow's baby shower :-)  I'll try to take some better pictures soon, but I am super happy with this sleeveless version (although I note that there's something weird with the arm holes - oi)!  It's super comfortable and perfect for the next heat wave :-)

 

What have you been sewing lately?

Have a great weekend!

Colette Laurel dress

I took my sewing machine in for service yesterday. It was long over due - maybe 5 years? I won't have it back for 7-10 days. Very sad. Fortunately, I finished this dress before I took it in.  This is Colette Pattern Laurel dress.  I think it's supposed to be a shift-ish dress but on me, it's like a loose shift dress.  Despite my continued sizing issues, I love this dress!!!  It's super comfortable and perfect for summer.

I'm about ready to give up on Colette patterns (after I make another 100 of this dress).  The patterns are cut for women who are far more voluptuous and short-waisted than me and I end up having to make a lot of adjustments to the pattern and then the dress once I have it sewed together.  I was really careful when taking my measurements and picking the correct size pattern but it's still kind of loose in the top and I ended up taking 1-2" off the side seams. 

The fabric is a Japanese print that I got on sale.  How can you not love a dress that was made for $10?!  I really love how it came out, even if it's not the way it was supposed to come out.  I have fabric for a sleeveless version that I'll whip together when I get my machine back. 

My mom taught me how to make a nice seam finish on the neckline by making my own bias tape.  It's a lot more comfortable than a interfaced yoke - I'll have to keep this in mind on other projects. 

Happy Summer!

half-square triangle chevron quilt

Happy June!

Last month I made a half-square triangle chevron quilt for a friend of a friend.  The recipients are University of Illinois alums and so my friend wanted something in the University colors, which are bright orange and bright blue.  Eep.  I was really really nervous about this color scheme but once I got over it, I was glad that the quilt wasn't for a University of Iowa alum (my alma mater - go Hawkeyes!) since those colors are black and yellow.

The back is a subtle pattern of little orange birds.  I used a blue and white polka dot for the binding to pull the colors all together. 

This was a fun quilt to work on, even though half-square triangles need lots and lots of trimming.  I couldn't think of any other pattern that would have allowed the colors to work together so nicely.  I love how bright and cheery the quilt is.  Go Illini! 

Colette Peony dress

Back in December, I made my first attempt at Colette Pattern's Peony dress.  It's a cute pattern and I thought it was a good "beginner dress" to make.

In general, it came out ok.  I like the pattern and it's a really great work dress.  However . . . notice anything weird about the bust??

I don't think there's supposed to be this much extra fabric in the top!  Colette Patterns tend to be made for women with more voluptuous figures than mine (and those who have much shorter torsos than me).  I have curves but they're compact and subtle curves, not va-va-voom curves.  I am still struggling with believing the measurements I take are actually my measurements so I add in a tiny bit of extra room in my seam allowances.  Add these together and you get what I've been calling "wonky chest":

Last month I worked on Peony Version 2.0.  After cutting out what I thought was the correct size pattern, my mom helped me positions all of the darts and I ended up with a dress that fits a LOT better!  I also made the skirt a little smaller and shorter and took in the waist.  

There's still some extra room, but there's no "wonky chest" that needs covering up.  I'd like to make this dress again, with continued adjustments to the size of the dress.  Now that the bust fits better, I can see that the sleeves are too big . . . and so it goes . . .  The craziest thing about Version 2.0 is that when I wore it to work, two of my co-workers complimented me on my dress!  And my co-workers have never complimented me on any thing I've worn before :-)

Next up: a quilt for a friend's baby, a bag, and a couple of dresses.  And hopefully some warmer weather!!  :-)

catching up

Things have been a little hectic around here lately, thus the lack of posts.  I've been knitting and sewing but I just haven't been in the mood to post.  Spring is coming so I'm emerging from my winter funk, so I hope to get back on track soon.   

I'm happy to report that since January I've finished two (yes, two!) knitting projects.  My knitting goals for the year included actually finish a project or two and to learn how to knit lace.  I took a into to lace class in February and learned out to make this scarf/shawl:

I used less yarn than the pattern called for so it's not quite shall-sized.  I kind of like how it looks all bunched up around my neck (unlike in this photo which reminds me of an Egyptian headress).  

I also finished Madelinetosh's Honey Cowl.  I loved this pattern - so easy and fun to make.  It came out super soft and squishy and cozy.  I've been wearing a lot at work as kind of a shoulder shrug. 

My knitting streak ended here.  I got about a quarter of the way through a new project and dramatically frogged it over the weekend.  I might try to figure out the gague and adjust the pattern and give it another go.  It's a cowl with great potential.

During Friday's lockdown, I had a lot of nervous energy so I whipped up another Colette Sorbetto tank top.  If only it were warm enough to wear it!  Spring has been very slow to come to Boston and I am itching to break out my summer skirts.

I think that's about it . . . next up on my sewing agenda is to finish my second attempt at Colette's Peony dress.   I just need to put in the zipper and hem the dress.  My mom helped me re-fit the top of the dress to avoid the "wonky boob chest area" of my first attempt :-)

And lastly, but certainly not least, I'll put together this quilt that I made for a friend of a friend.  She wanted University of Illinois colors.  I was a little unsure about combining orange and blue but I think it works.  It's super bright and cheery!

Until next time . . . xo

scrappy trip around the world quilt

Earlier this year, my instagram feed exploded with pictures of scrappy trip around the world quilts.  It was insane.  It seemed like every single quilter out there was digging into his/her stash and creating these wonderfully random blocks.  (If you want to see more, take a look at some of these #scrappytripalong examples) I'm a huge fan of scrappy quilts that put different color fabrics together in unexpected ways. Not wanting to be left out, I pulled out a huge piles of scraps and began cutting.  The blocks are deceptively easy to put together so I whipped a few together over the course of a couple of weekends.  The challenge with this quilt is that in order to make a quilt large enough for a queen size bed, you need 32 of these squares.  This will be a work in progress for a long, long time.

This is how it's supposed to look once you put all the blogs together:

half-square triangle star quilt - voila!

I feel like I should title this post "Stop me before I quilt again!" :-)  I finished my half-square triangle star quilt this morning.  I am extraordinarily proud of how this one came out and cannot wait to give it to Project Linus next month.  Though this quilt had a lot of cutting and even more trimming, it actually came together really quickly.  The stars are all made from scraps I had in my stash and the back is some yardage that I bought for a skirt but ended up not really liking all that much for clothing.  I went out on a limb and used a black binding.  I hope it's not too weird?  I couldn't think of another color that would have tied the whole thing together and nothing that I had in my stash seemed to work.  I think the black binding works better with the back than it does the front, but really, the effect is growing on me. 

This quilt, like the others, isn't perfect, but I feel like I'm on a real learning trajectory.  Every time I cut into some fabric, sit at my machine or start quilting the pieces together, everything that I've learned falls a little bit more into place and I crack the code of all that I still need to learn.  I'm going to take a bit of a quilt hiatus to work on some other things.  I've got two "in progress" quilts so I'm sure the break won't last long, but it will be nice to make some progress on some knitting projects and get started on a couple of garments.  xo