I finished my embroidery for this month’s MetaQuilter square! #redwork
Tag: sewing
-
Photo post
-
Photo post
Yeah. So I spent the whole day doing embroidery… -
Cathedral Flora Quilt Blocks
These were the May block for my MetaQuilter quilting group. The designer Melissa chose some great fabrics, and she pointed us to a detailed tutorial explaining exactly how to put them together. I had admired cathedral window quilt blocks in the past but figured they were probably really difficult. Turns out that bias is magic, baby! I LOVED doing these! I used my trusty Uhu glue stick to aid in the initial triangle placement, and after that everything came together perfectly. My patchwork skills are improving nicely and I’m finding it much easier to get my seams to line up.
I’m now 5-for-5 on my MetaQuilter blocks! I have to say though, I was disappointed when the organiser sent out an email offering amnesty to the apparently several people who haven’t been sending their blocks back. That sucks. I understand that life happens, but why would you sign up for a group that involves people paying money to send you lots of fabric and then not follow through? Gah. Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole thing falls apart before we get to my month (which is scheduled to be December)…
-
Tova Top
Another completed sewing project! Tova Top in vintage cotton. Not sure it’s me…Commenter Mel recently recommended I check out the Tova Top/Dress pattern. It’s a downloadable PDF, so on a whim I bought it. As soon as I did I started to second guess it. It’s really much more of Fiona’s style than my own. But what the heck – I should branch out, right? Last weekend I convinced the Snook to go on a bike ride with me to the Sydney Fabric-a-brac for some fabric stash acquisition. I was looking for something interesting to make the Tova, and I settled on this blue vintage cotton. I got 1.7m for $7, which was just enough to make the shirt. The project was very quick to put together, starting Saturday night and finishing Sunday morning.
It was interesting to sew from a non-Colette pattern, since that’s what I’ve been using so much lately. The markings were different and I kept forgetting/missing them. The instructions are relatively easy to follow though. I had been worried about setting in the sleeves, but I breezed through that. The hardest part was actually attaching the front inset pieces, which require you to pin and sew on three 90-degree sides of a square (with the bottom also involving gathers). Yeah, I swore a bit through that part. But overall in terms of technical skill, I feel like I’m coming along leaps and bounds. This is definitely the best constructed garment I’ve made yet.
That said, I knew when I tried it on halfway through that there were going to be sizing issues. I made the largest size – which is a 14 – but I think it’s definitely intended for a more slender, boyish figure. It’s quite tight around my hips, which made me glad I didn’t go straight to the dress. (If I do that, I’ll definitely be adding in some width there.) I could also use some more width across the shoulders. I feel like if I crossed my arms tightly, I could pop a seam! And along with that, maybe a bit more depth in the armhole.
So not a total win, but definitely a wearable muslin. It’s totally in the “post-modern Laura Ingalls meets Japanese minimalism” vibe that I was going for. (Whether I can work that into my wardrobe is another question.) And I’ve got some good solid pointers for how to adjust the size on my next one. On to the next challenge!
-
Meringue Skirt
Squinting on a cloudy day in my new Meringue skirt!So this is my Meringue Skirt! This was a very quick and (relatively) easy project. The fabric is ANNBETH from IKEA, and it’s a nice sturdy cotton. Despite my continued lack of an invisible zipper foot, I think this is my best zipper yet. (Of course, it took me like three tries because I kept sewing it on the wrong side of the garment.) The instructions for sandwiching the zipper in between the waist facing were brilliant. I mean, I had no idea what I was doing at the time, but I followed the instructions religiously and trusted that when it came time to flip it right-side out, it would work — and it did! The scallops around the bottom are the defining feature, of course, and they’re trickier than they look. I’m not 100% happy with how the hem facing sits, but I did my best and I know what to do better next time. The only real problem with the skirt is that it’s TOO BIG! Once again I sewed a size 16 out of fear I wouldn’t fit the 14, and now I’m swimming in it. So I’m going to have to figure out how to take it in a little bit. But overall, I feel like this is my best executed project yet!
I posted a sneak peek on Facebook a week ago and my high school geography teacher commented that it looked like an AWNING. So now that’s all I can see when I look at it. IT’S AN AWNING. THANKS, MR. SCHMIDT.
-
Photo post
Sneak peek of my latest sewing project. Nearly finished!
-
Modified Log Cabin Quilt Blocks
I just realised that I forgot to blog the April MetaQuilter quilt blocks! I finished these really early in the month and posted them off to Melissa, the designer for the month. They were a simple modified log cabin. Well, I say “simple,” but it’s just not patchwork if I don’t cut something the wrong size and swear repeatedly. But I managed to get them right in the end. 🙂
Melissa said to feel free to put in any scraps we had that were LOUD. So the piece with the crazy fruit on it is actually mine!
-
Photo post
I finished my dress! Very, very pleased with it.
Edited to add: Yes, I finally graduated from shirts to a whole dress! This is the Colette Parfait. I didn’t want to spend too much money in case it came out badly, so I went with a cheap cotton poplin from Lincraft. I didn’t expect to get something so wearable out of it! In terms of sizing, I went with a 16 to make sure it would fit. Yowza, it was quite big around the bust. I ended up taking about an inch from under each arm tapered down to the waist, so I definitely think I’ll make the 14 next time. I didn’t do too badly with the zipper, especially considering I don’t actually have an invisible zipper foot. (I used this tutorial.) I also got to use my sewing machine’s automatic buttonhole function for the first time ever! This project was a big win. I learned heaps, and I got a wearable and CUTE dress out of it.
Hmmm… what should I make next?
-
Photo post
I put in a zipper!! 4 buttons and a hem and my dress is DONE.
-
Easter Weekend 2012
How was your four-day holiday weekend? Relaxing? Mine wasn’t. The Snook and I were pretty much flat-out the whole time. The Great Kitchen Renovation is/was scheduled to start Tuesday, so our main goals were to clear out the old cupboards and set up a temporary kitchen in the dining room. This also involved cleaning out two offices and three closets so we’d have space and boxes to actually put everything. I gave away a lot of old appliances (popcorn popper, jaffle maker, bread machine) that we don’t use anymore. (Incidentally, if anybody is interested in a LitterMaid, let me know.) The end result is an empty kitchen, ready to be demolished TODAY!
Official Kitchen “Before” Photos:
And here’s our temporary kitchen setup in the dining room. We’ve got a dual-burner hotplate (courtesy of Ma Snook) and a combination microwave/convection oven.
The biggest problem is really the lack of water. We’ll have to wash all dishes in the laundry room or the bathroom, which is a massive annoyance. Theoretically the new cabinets should be in by the end of next week, but we won’t be able to move food prep and dishwashing back into the kitchen until a week after that (when the stainless steel benchtop and sinks go in). So we’ve got at least three weeks in this setup. Fortunately we spent the last two weeks building up our freezer stocks, so we’ve got a couple dozen meals in there that can just be reheated. There are also plenty of restaurants in our area, so we can always go out if we get bored.
As if all that wasn’t enough, we crammed a lot of other stuff into the weekend too. I spent half of Saturday manning the Knitters Guild display at the Easter Show, which was mostly boring (though I did get to visit my prize-winning socks). I managed to cut and do most of the sewing on a new dress for myself – my first ever sewn without any help! It’s the Colette Parfait. I’ve run out of black thread, so I can’t quite finish it just yet. It still needs buttons, pockets, and the zip. I’m really pleased with it though. Lastly, we managed to squeeze in a trip to the new IKEA over at Tempe. We’d heard that some chairs we were planning to buy might be on sale, but when we got there we discovered they were the wrong colour. Instead we wound up buying a mattress! They were 20% off, and we were planning to get one later this year. Good timing. The delivery guys were actually able to bring it over the same day, so we were able to sleep on it last night. It’s awesome, but still slightly weird. I’m sure it’ll take some getting used to. Everyone has told me that memory foam is going to be LIFE-CHANGING, so I’m pretty pleased at the bargain.
And now it’s Tuesday, and I’m working from home so I can be here when the builders arrive this afternoon. Smash! Let’s do this.
