Enter the Quilts!

And I've finally been able to devote some real time to sewing lately and made two quilts. The first one is a crib quilt for a former co-worker. She needed a gift for a family member and I provided:



If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might think that this quilt looks awfully familiar, and you'd be correct. I came up with this pattern back in September and haven't tried making it since. I was very lazy with my directions. There weren't so much directions as a diagram, but I was able to follow it with no problems at all. As you can imagine, this has not given me much motivation for now writing more detailed instructions.

This next quilt is a lap quilt for a friend's mother who has undergone some life-changing surgery:


It is an amalgamation of a traditional rail fence block and the "Scrap strips" method that Amy on Happythings described back in May. I was able to make this entirely out of my stash by using the scrap method. Instead of making one long string, I made three long strings: one in dark purple, light purple, and bright yellow. Then I sewed the strips together and made them into the blocks you see in the above quilt. It doesn't look nearly as scrappy in the picture as it is in real life, so you'll have to trust me on this one. I'm really happy with how it came out. It certainly looks cheerful, and that was what I was going for. Hooray for complimentary colors!

Oh How Fabulous!

This is the tunic I made by adjusting the pattern that I used to make this original tunic. I made it less low cut, made the sleeves a bit narrower, added a couple of inches to its width, and lowered the neck in the back. I LOVE how it came out and would make myself a couple more if I did not already have a list of at least twenty things that I plan to make. And the list grows every day! I have to get to work.

Patchy Quilt

Last September, I started saving 3" squares of fabric as I worked on my many and various projects. My collection has been growing throughout the year and seemed very large by now, so I decided to make them into a lap quilt for my newly decorated living room. In sewing them together, I have discovered a few things.

1. I use more blue fabric than any other color. A significant amount of my fabric squares were some shade of blue. More than twice as much as any other color.

2. I hardly use any yellow. Why is that?

3. I only have half the number of squares I need to make a decent size lap quilt. ACK! My pile seemed so large and I was so excited to make them into a quilt. I love all of the little bits of fabric and reminiscing about the projects each was used for. Now I have to start collecting all over again!!!

This Hat Actually Fits

I adjusted the hat pattern a little so that it's not so tight and the brim is a bit shorter. Now, I can see while I walk!
I also made another shirt and a new skirt for me (all the clothes!!), but my camera batteries are charging right now so pictures will have to wait.

Trying to Get Serious About Getting to Work

I've been meaning to try my hand at making my own clothing for a while now. I have a few patterns to work with and loads of fabric piles to work from. It seems that many friends and relatives decide to use me as a way to rid themselves of their unwanted stash. I love all of the free fabric, but I am quickly running out of space to store it all. So, I need to use it up and at the moment I'm focusing on clothing.

This tunic is from Simplicity 3927, the "It's So Easy" line. I figured that easier was better for my first attempt at a shirt, although the zipper did make me nervous. While sewing the actual top was as easy as advertised, getting it to actually fit me was not so easy. I took my measurements and chose my size based on those, but ended up with way too much space in the bust area and not much breathing room. Apparently, this pattern was made for really skinny people with large boobs. Since I don't fall into this category of body types, I took out the side seams and added panels so that the waist actually fit. Then I added darts to the side to make the bust fit better and took up the shoulders a little. Even with all that, I'm not entirely happy with the results. It's too low cut for me to be comfortable wearing it and there is still too much room around the arms and shoulders (I know, it doesn't look too low cut in the picture. But trust me, when I sit down there is some serious danger of my bra showing itself off). I think I may give it another go by redrafting the pattern pieces with some modifications of my own. Something tells me this is a lot harder in practice than it is in my head.

In other sewing news, I recently bought my very own copy of Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing and immediately made this lovely, floppy, sun hat. It's actually a little tight and the flops make it so I can't really see unless I'm looking straight down. So, it's great for reading a book while lounging on the beach, but not so great for taking walks along that same beach. I've decided to give this hat to my sister, She loves hats and has a smaller head than me. And, I've already started on a new one for me with a slightly narrower brim and, hopefully, a better fit around my big, fat head.