Sleeves

On the 24th, I posted about my new McCall's top and told you there was an oops in the sleeves.

Many of you guessed, I cut the sleeves in a different direction, so the stripes are opposite of the body of the garment.  I want to thank all of you for the wonderful comments on the top, you made me feel incredible.


I am working on the pink top now, from the latest Ottobre Woman.

Quilts

Two of the quilts are back from the quilter:

Here is the baby quilt for my great neice, mailing it tomorrow:

This one is Kailtyn's:

We drove around this afternoon looking for a good old building to take photos.  My idea was to make the quilt the only part of the photo in color and then print off the picture and frame it as some artwork in her room.  We were driving for about 10 minutes and we found this grain bin and small wooden shed.  Look in the left corner of the building, it is a moon.  Yes, it is an outhouse!  Kaitlyn said this is perfect, she thinks it is so funny.  It is.

Apron for the Baker of the Family

Kaitlyn has been wanting an apron for a long time and I kept putting that sewing project off.  This week I got busy and made her that apron from Butterick 5474 and quilting fabric from my stash.

She wanted the view wiht the two pockets and the bias binding.

Instead of all the bias binding, I lined the apron with muslin and lined the pockets with self-fabric.

Kaitlyn is thrilled, red is her favorite color.  Now that girl needs to get busy, put on that apron and bake me some chocolate chip cookies!

MCall's

I recently made,  McCall's 6164
Great top, beautiful fabric from Needle Nook.

I cut the neckband on the bias for something different on the neckline.

Do you see my mistake on the sleeves?

Podcast

Episode 59 has just been uploaded, here is the link for the shownotes.  I was worried working on this one, laptop battery was almost out, computer going into stand-by while I was saving.  Got it plugged in just in time, then the plug got pulled out from the electrical outlet, computer totally died.  Good news, it had saved and I did not have to record it again.  Whew!  So tell everyone to download this one and please comment on the podcast blog, would love to have the feedback.  Thanks.

Butterick pattern - 5523

I am really like this one - maybe more in a tunic length and omit the back band. I could wear a tunic to work with skinny jeans and cute boots.  What do you think, would it work as a tunic?

Thanks

for all the comments and compliments on the Anthro-inspired top, it made my day.

Also, happy to report the poison ivy is gone, hurray.  No more itching!

Now to include a picture:

Working on the hot pink view because it looks alot like Anthro top  called Muted Lavender 

Kwik Sew 3395

Pattern Description: Empire waist dress or tunic

Sizing: XS to XL

Likes and Dislikes: My daughter, Meredith liked the style of the tunic top.  In fact, she had just tried on a RTW top in this style the day before but decided it was too pricey to purchase. The next day we went to Needle Nook fabric on our way home from vacation.  Meredith looked through the Kwik Sew pattern book and found this pattern, just the style she had wanted.  Another like, it looks just like the pattern envelope illustration, no surprises.  Meredith's dislike might be it is a bit big for her right now, so her twin, Kaitlyn gets to wear it first.  I made Meredith an XS size.

Fabric:  A beautiful stretch fabric from Needle Nook, it was a dream to sew.

Would you sew it again? yes, I would, it looks darling on my girls.  I think it would be a cute style for a Homecoming or Courtwarming dress.  Not sure they agree.

Recommend it to others?  Yes, another winner from Kwik Sew, it is easy to sew and the finished garment is stylish and trendy.

Conclusion: Great pattern, dream to sew and when your daughter wears it right away, you know that is good!

Anthro Inspired top

I enjoy browsing the Anthropologie site for sewing inspiration and when I saw this Headwaters Tee, I knew I had to give it a try.  Isn't it wonderful?

Here is the link to the Anthropologie site, you can use their zoom feature to really check it ou.



I emailed Anne at Needle Nook for fabric ideas and she sent me a remnant of a poly blend sweater knit and we discussed on the phone ideas on recreating this look.

I started with  Jalie 2005 for my pattern.

After sewing the shoulder seams, I started making the ruffles.  The two bottom ruffles are 2" wide and the length of the fabric (selvedge to selvedge).  I pressed it in half, wrong sides together and sewed a basting stitch on the cut edges.  This basting stitch held the layers together and I needed to gather the strip just a bit.  The gathering helped shape the ruffle strip into curve. 

I marked the front 4" from the neckline and 1" from the back neckline then pin the ruffle strip to the shirt.  After I pinned and adjusted the gathers, I stitched this strip down using a small zigzag.

Time for ruflle strip two, placing it on the tshirt to cover the row of stitching from the previous ruffle strip.

Once the two layers  were complete it was time for the long strip which meanders down the front and side. 

I cut this piece 2-1/2" wide and needed 2 lengths of fabric for each strip (with a little leftover).  I used the Anthro picture for placement. I just pinned and repinned until I had the look I wanted.  The fabric was easy to stand up and once it was all pinned, I stitched with a small zig-zag. 

I did the same for 2 more rows of long strips. Making sure these strips are placed closed to the previous stitched ruffle. 

Once all the ruffle strips were in place, I constructed the tshirt as per the instructions.

Neckline on left side:

Neckline on right side:

Next time I will do a better job catching these raw edges



Shirt pictures:

Conclusion:  Great fun recreating this garment.  A couple of things I will do differently for the next time:

1. Use a different pattern or adjust this one - the arms are tight.
2. Use a lighter weight fabric, this top is heavy with all the extra embellishment.

I am so pleased with the top and the experience and plan on doing more of this RTW-inspired garments.

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Poison Ivy

Guess who has it?  Yes, me and on my face and neck and hand!  I was out working in my flowers on Sunday and woke up itching yesterday.  Once it went to my face this morning, I called the doctor.

Medicine applied and I am heading to take pictures of a Anthro inspired top I finished last night.

Be back later on.

My New Top

I wore Simplicity 2804 today, here is the orginal post and here is the picture

McCall's 6036 Review

Pattern Description: Close fitting pullover tank top, t-shirt, with different embellishments. "Make it Crafty" pattern


Pattern Sizing:XS (4-6) to XL (20-22). 

Were the instructions easy to follow? I didn't even look at them but I will look at them for some of the embellishments.  I think McCall's embellishments on this pattern are very trendy.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?  The embellishments are the reason I purchased this pattern and this time I didn't even use them!

Fabric Used:  A stretch lace from Needle Nook Fabric

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:   I added 1" to the length for Meredith's height, should have added about 3" total.  She is long everywhere but has only recently had me to sew for her again.  I am learning all these alterations for her teenage body

I wondered if I would have to sew the lace differently so the seams would not show.  I had some serger thread very close to the fabric color and I did a test stitchout on some scraps.  I could not see the seam, so I serged the entire top.

Close-up of seam and neck edge

Would you sew it again?  I do plan to sew it again but next time for me.

Conclusion:  Great pattern for a basic tshirt and the plus is all the embellishment ideas.  I read in one of my fashion magazines, lace is big this year, so Meredith is right there with the trend.

I think Meredith really likes her top, I made it yesterday and she wore it to school today.  Hubby told her what a cute top she had on, "thanks, Mom made it", she responded.  He was impressed, which is good but to me it is just a basic tshirt made from some fantastic and unusual fabric for a t-shirt.

Here is Meredith wearing her top early this morning.  My lucky day, snapped one picture and then the camera battery died

Simplicity 2804 in Silk Jersey

First time I made this pattern was in December 2008, here is the original top and review.  It is one of those tops, I always receive compliments.  Funny thing, as I didn't think of it as that great or something special but I sure do wear it alot.

With that in mind, I used some silk jersey purchased at Needle Nook in July to make a second top.  I made it with a round neck this time and made a self-fabric band for the sleeves.

Here is it:

The fabric is gorgeous and it is one of the those tops that looks better on me than the dressform.  I will wear it soon but no picture today, yard work and painting most the day pluse a 3 mile walk.  So I will not be in front of a camera at all!

Canvas Update

I used my Silhouette Machine and this tutorial to change this

into this

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Anyone Else Want More Hours in a Day?

I am still working on Meredith's room.  Right now painting some of her furniture, it is one of those things that you know needs to be done but you don't know how badly it needs to be done until you start doing it.  I bought an ebook from Altar'd Furniture and it is fantastic.  I wanted to do the furniture painting the right way, not my usual let's get this done so I can move onto the next thing way!  I can honestly say the one piece I am working on looks beautiful, I can't wait to work on the bed. 

Sweater Knit Fabric

I purchased some beautiful sweater knit at Needle Nook Fabric in July.  I turned to a pattern I had made before and enjoy wearing this garment.  It is Simplicity 2472 and you can see the orginal blog post here

I had just enough fabric left to try Butterick 4132

This pattern has many favorable reviews and it is for a woven.  I should have gone done one size, instead I went up one size.  What was I thinking?  I really don't know.  The top is way too big in the shoulders and in the body of the garment.  Also, you can tell in the pattern picture, it is short.  I didn't have fabric left to lengthen the garment but I will next time by 2-3".  Here it is

A Bookcase

The last two weeks, I have been working on an update in Meredith's room.  This includes:

• painting the walls, ceiling and trim
• painting and refurbishing furniture
• making a new quilt
• sewing new curtains
• and changing the bookcase.

The bookcase belongs to Erin (Meredith's older sister), Meredith is just borrowing it for her crafting area. Erin made this bookcase and another piece with her dad and it is painted one of Erin's favorite colors, plus once she is done with college, the bookcase is going to be part of her classroom.

So in the meantime, the bookcase needs to go with Meredith's updated room.

Here is the before:

I made a slipcover for the bookcase:

I used some of the fabric from the quilt for the sides, top and trim.  Burlap was used for the front panels.  Several different ribbons were used for ties.  I think it makes a huge difference in the bookcase and the room. 

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