Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Simplicity 2584 Pattern Review

Pattern Description: Misses Dress, Tunic and Headband Cynthia Rowley Collection

Size: 4 to 20

Instructions:  They were pretty good for the most part.  The instructions did have you sew shoulder and side seams first, then you are to sew the neckline and facing.  Thanks to Eugenia version and her blog review, I knew about this order, so I sewed the shoulder seams and then did the sewing of the neckline and the facing. After that the instructions were fine and this is an easy garment to sew

Likes and dislikes: A tunic with minimal ease plus many variations for making this pattern several times and always having a different looking garment.

Changes:  I made view A's neckline, the basic slit.  I thought the more intricate facings would get lost with my polka dot fabric.  I like the tie from view A and instead of marking it on my pattern, I constructed the entire garment, except for hem and then tried it on.  I wanted to mark the spot for the casing, that way I could get what would look best on me.

Deep neckline plunge warning!  I should have shortened that slit by at least 2" but I totally forgot.  I made sleeveless for a cooler garment for these hot summer days.  The last thing I wanted was to wear a cami under this top.  I had a RTW white top which fits poorly, I took that from the closet and cut a piece from the bottom.  I used this for an inset, the top of this inset is the hem of the old shirt, no need to hem the inset.

The zipper could be optional, depending on your neckline and if your fabric has much stretch.  I wasn't sure my fabric had enough stretch and I only had an 8" invisible zipper, so that is what I used.

Fabric: Navy Stretch poplin from Fashionista Fabric it is lightweight and feels incredible.

Conclusion: Great tunic.  I am happy I included the casing and the belt, this style suits me better.


Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Quilt for Erin

This past weekend, Erin moved into a different apartment, a much nicer apartment and that calls for a few new things.  Erin has a fondness for very bright colors, orange being one and aqua another.  She has an old dresser painted black in her bedroom, so I thought this colorway from Paula Prass Woodland Delight would be perfect.  You know how white walls and neutral carpet in an apartmend isn't too exciting and to Erin it is down right boring!

I finished the quilt last week, it is a disappearing nine-patch, which is pretty quick, especially when I cut out 7" blocks for the nine patch.



Today I painted some old shutters the blue color for a corner in her room, she is going to hang pictures on them like these shutters.  I would like to find a cute chair, paint it white and cover the seat in the large floral fabric for in front of the shutters.

To finish it off we are going to find a large canvas at Hobby Lobby and paint it then add vinyl to make a faux headboard.

Finally, I think some pillows like these will be perfect with the bit of leftover scraps I have.

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Clothes sewing update.... I just finished a tunic for me.  Pictures tomorrow.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Flowers in Old Tool Box



Yesterday I brought the flowers into the house.  I soaked some florist foam and lined the inside of this old tool box with foil, so the foam wouldn't leak onto my table.  Outside to cut all sorts of beautiful flowers.  Here is the result and it smells so wonderful inside my house:



A close up of the hydrangea, my favorite flower of this summer:













Genia asked about dividing hostas and waiting until after they bloom.  I seperate mine early in the spring and summer while the ground is still moist and the weather is cooler.   I think as long as you are not going to experience a hot, dry spell you could seperate them and give them plenty of water.  I had a neighbot seperate all her daylilies for me after hers bloomed.   I cannot believe the size of these daylilies this year and it is their second summer at my house.  Hope that helps. 


I am sharing my flowers on



Thursday, June 24, 2010

Scrabble

At my house, Erin (daughter #2) and I play lots of Scrabble, it is her favorite game.  Two weeks ago, I bought a new version of the game.  The board turns  360 degrees, storage for all the tiles and the board is indented so your letters won't move all around.   We have played several games on the new board and it is great. 


I thought I would take the tiles and put them in a glass jar to display but Erin had another idea. She wanted to make something with the board she grew up on playing Scrabble, said it cannot be thrown away.


First she needed a saying, so she searched for one and being an athletic and very competitive, she chose
" Pain is Temporary, Quitting Lasts Forever"
This took sometime to arrange and place all the letters, in fact, this was the second choice because the first wouldn't work with the provided letters.

We bought a larger artist canvas, spray painted it and then Gorilla Glue did the rest.  She glued the letters on the board and then the board to the canvas.

Here it is :

Side view:


She is very excited for this to go in her new apartment.  Me?  I am thrilled and touched she wanted to create this piece of artwork to remember the fun we have had.


I bet you want to know who wins, well she does 90% of the time.  She is a strategy player and works for the points and doesn't spell a word if it is going to give the opponent a triple word score.  The few times I do win, then another game has to be played immediately, I told you she was competitive!

Sharing this on

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Garden Pictures

We went to Oklahoma last Wednesday through Sunday.  The weather here was wet and hot, I was surprised to see how much my flowers had grown in a few days.  I have been busy weeding and catching up around here.  It was cloudy for a bit, so I took some pictures.





After the daylilies bloom this year, I need to seperate many of them and fill in the empty areas in the flower beds.




I like this picture and this flower:


Now my favorite shot of the day.  Erin is helping on the farm this year and this picture is a blast from the past.  She always went with her daddy to work with him and this was the way she dressed.  Shorts and her cowboy boots.  Some things stay the same.





Thursday, June 17, 2010

Oklahoma Hospitality


Today I had the pleasure of meeting Ruth from Sew Chic at Oklahoma Quiltworks for some shopping and talking, it was mostly talking!  Ruth brought her daughter, Ellen, who is a year younger than my girls.  Ellen, Meredith and Kailtyn had a great time, too.  We did some shopping at the store and got some good ideas.  It was shop hop at their store and they had three in-store displays, I came home with two of the display notion items.  After shopping we went and ate pizza and talked some more.  Ruth brought me a gift, pattern weights., which I don't have and I think was so sweet of her.  Thank you, Ruth, for the great morning, lunch and the weights.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Didn't work for Me


I tried this pattern today and it just didn't work out.  The neckline is very big and the top is oversized.  I tried a belt, still not very good.  I really liked the fabric but it just wasn't meant to be.


I am having someone help me update my blog, so if you might notice some changes.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Back from the quilters

My quilt is back from the quilters and I finished the binding earlier in the week.  The pattern can be found here at Moda Bake Shop and here is post  where I have several pictures of the quilt before it was quilted.
the borders:


Appliqued flowers

The quilting on the circles:




Entire quilt


I just finished a sample for my friend's shop.  She sold all the kits from one quilt at the first day of Shop Hop, so we made kits from another fabric line.  I came home and made the sample, worked on it from 9 p.m. until midnight and it is done!

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Another Charm Pack Purse

I made another one of these bags for a sample at the quilt shop.  Ruth asked what pattern I used, well, no pattern.  I saw something like this on a flickr picture or a blog and thought I would try it. 

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Quilt Top and Pillow

My friend, the owner of the quilt shop, is going to be in her first shop hop, starting this Thursday.  Meredith, Kaitlyn and I have been helping her a bit to get ready for the big event.  My friend, also named Meredith (and yes, my Meredith is named for her), had my Meredith make this quilt top.  The panel is from a panel from Frolic and the corner blocks is a crazy star block.  I think Meredith did a fantastic job.



We had some scraps and I have been admiring this pillow from Cluck Cluck Sew.  I thought this would be fun. plus it would look perfect in dd#2's apartment.  So here is my version:

Here is the set, won't they be cut on display in the quilt shop?


Monday, June 07, 2010

What is Blooming this Week.....

Clematis is still blooming on my arbor.  Two pictures with different focal points as I sit on the arbor bench.


another clematis, which has about outgrown the structure
Coreopsis



Cosmos - a big patch has reseeded:





Daisy.  I just planted two new plants of these
Hollyhocks

the hydrangeas are getting ready to bloom


Red Asiatic Lily



I don't know the name of this one, it is a Grow Native plant from my state and it likes the hot - humid weather, plus it blooms a very long time.

Pink Asiatic Lily

Patch of reseeding cosmos, it is really thick and will be beautiful for cut flowers
Yellow Asiatic lily, I wish these would last longer, they are so pretty and the colors are vibrant
I don't know the name of this one, very pretty and dainty.