Summer sewing

It's getting really hot outside here in Virginia, and I'm spending a bit of time inside. Add to that the fact that I've officially retired, and you know how I'm going to spend that extra time - s e w i n g!

I think I'm done sewing baby balls for a while. I got into a potholder binge and have made several recently. Here's some of what I've been working on:

You can never make enough tote bags, right? And if you have a wedge ruler, it's fun to make a Dresden plate design. The cotton is from my stash of interesting calico type fabrics and the blue cotton edging the plate is a cotton faux denim that I also use for bias binding. 

A potholder using scraps of denim and some M&M fabric. I back my potholders with what started as a 9-patch recycled denim piece. I'm all about upcycling jeans, ya know.

 

 The front of these potholders is near and dear to me. I worked for years doing a hand pieced hexagon quilt top and then made another one! They came out to about twin bed sized, but we don't have a twin bed, so I made a decision to put the two together and make a larger coverlet/quilt with them. I ended up with some extra hexagon fabric, so I reinforced the pieces with zig-zag over the hand stitching, used the 9-patch denim back, and created some bias binding with the faux denim cotton. 

With all potholders I make, I use InsulBrite as the filling. It is not heat-proof, but it's about as heat-resistant as you can get. I also make the circles about 8-1/2" in diameter. The denim squares I use for the back start as 4" squares. I prefer round potholders because you can machine stitch one side of the binding and then hand stitch the other.

I also have made a doll quilt using M&M fabric triangles with denim triangles, and just yesterday, finished a lap blanket with patchwork and using fleece as the backing. I don't call it a quilt because there's no batting; the fleece serves a dual purpose of batting and backing, and it's super warm. 

Lastly, I'm working on my Cathedral Window quilt every day. I don't plan on finishing that for 5 years. 

Whew. What are y'all sewing?

Hashtag Sewing and what's what

I haven't posted #sewing gems lately, so thought I'd bring you some today.

I agree! Moving a sewing machine is full of muscle building movement. Maybe we should move them around just for grins!

I responded to this one by reminding the Twitterverse that #Sewing is my cardio.

For me, it's all about the blouse making. More on that below.

Day Dreams Sewing had asked earlier what your favorite sewing machine was. I responded and she responded back. I mean it, too. If it dies, I'm getting another just like it!

Now, about that blouse. 

I've been working on a wearable art blouse in a block style for some time now. I've made blouses and boys/mens shirts galore over the years and never hesitated to get them done. There's something about this Kwik Sew pattern that has me stymied, though. The collar instructions are a little funky and the cuffs have me scared to proceed. I've never been this way with a pattern before! I need to get over myself and just finish the damned thing; it sits there cut and half constructed, taunting me. Maybe this is the week? Have you ever had a situation like this? Hard to believe I'm letting a lil ole pattern intimidate me!

On the other hand, I've finally adjusted a pattern to make myself pants that fit. It's amazing to not have the crotch hang down and the butt be baggy, and to have the rest of the pants fit right! Store-bought pants for women just don't have enough pocket space. My pants do! I adjusted the seat of the pants by taking the pattern up a bit; that way, the crotch fits front and back. I also adjusted the length ever so slightly to make up for the part I took up in the upper part of the pattern. Lastly, I took some of the width out of the legs to create a more modern style; they're not painted on, but they're also not super wide legged. Store-bought pants also sag and bag on me due to the shape of my body (long story short, abdomen!), and it's wonderful to have a pair of pants that fits. I have to nice pieces of denim to make jeans and have made a couple pair of these already. Who cares if they're all the same style? They fit like a glove. 

Sew on. It's that time of year when it's cooler and the machine makes one feel warm. 

In progress:

Cathedral Window quilt. 

Peter Max tote bags.

Slacks galore.

Tops with pieced inserts. 

Rock painting - hey wait, that's not sewing! My rock page on Pinterest. 

Last Cathedral Window update and other sewing stuff

I shared with you how I've started my last Cathedral Window quilt. I have all the fabric and years to do the hand sewing. I thought I'd share a couple of updated photos.

Pretty traditional design. I'm sewing what I can when I can and am putting no pressure on myself to get it done quickly.

Denim tote bags have been on my mind lately too, and there are a few ready to sell. I'm using up some old Grandmother Flower Garden flowers I made some time ago and have been saving.

As a fun addition, I used recycled blue jean pockets inside each bag, attached to the lining.  

Another bag design included using a wedge ruler to play with design and shades of blue. This one is much more striking in person. Again, there is a cotton lining and a recycled blue jean pocket inside.  

And if I didn't have enough recycled blue jean fabric sewing projects, I made a set of placemats. Patchwork denim with Grandmothers Flower Garden patch on one side and strip quilting with a cotton that I also used for binding on the other side.

And then there's painting. Not sure where I got this idea, but I did and here it is. Acrylic paint on a wooden plaque.

Keep sewing and creating. Let me know if I can help you learn something along the way!

Mike's Cathedral Window Quilt is done

I've been working on a lap quilt for my brother for a couple years. I finished it last week (and now I work on my last one as I mentioned in my previous post) and he came by today to retrieve it. He and his wife are both artists, so I played with ROYGBIV a lot for patterning. It's not your grandmother's Cathedral Window!

I used the primary colors for the frames and black for the windows. I've not seen it totally unfurled until this picture was taken. Me likie!

The back shows the ROYGBIV patterning a little better.

I think I might love this quilt. I was very proud to hand it over to him. I can't believe I finished it!

Last Cathedral Window Quilt on My Planet

I've made Cathedral Window quilts, both small and not so small, before. I wrote instructions on how to make them. (You can see some of my earlier Cathedral Window quilts and see instructions here.) If you happen to use my instructions, I make them this exact way. The one I'm making now is starting with a 9" square of a kind of dark blue ivy fabric:

The blue is darker than shown in the photo. I will be making 670ish of these to make a queen cover. I have 555 to go. There are always more! My husband honestly described this type of quilt as "the most labor intensive" of anything I've done. I'm not sure that's true, but I'll take it!

Now why do I say this is the last one? I will be hand sewing for about 3 years or so on this, I'm sure. I'm 62 now and my hands are not what they used to be, so it'll be slow going. I'm sure I'll make other patterns of patchwork and quilting (I have too much denim not to), but I'm fairly certain this is the last of this particular breed. And I'm okay with that!

My in-progress sewing includes:

• Jack-o-Lantern placemats. 
• Two tunic tops for me.
• A long skirt or two for the summer.
• And then some..... 

I'll update the quilt over the days/weeks/months as it progresses.

What are you sewing?

Travel time and sharing time!

On old online friend, from back in our Sewing.com days, Martha, made this wonderful set of pillows and I had to share (with her permission, of course). She has been running her own interior design business for some time now, and makes some of the most gorgeous items.

I love the way the stripes on the fabric match up as if she had done strip piecing. This is something you or I could actually try! The addition of the covered button and small tassel add an amazing professional look. But think of all the striped fabrics you have that you could manipulate like this! I know my mind is abuzz with possibilities. Thanks Martha for letting me share. They're lovely.

And, yes, it's travel time once more. I'm headed for Phoenix tomorrow. It wouldn't be traveling if I didn't have a hand project to take with me. I made some blocks by machine for a small Cathedral Window quilt. The rest is hand work. I have my hand sewing kit with me and the windows for the quilt - I have M&M fabric and Steelers fabric. I can't decide which one I'm going to use, so I'm taking both. The hexagon quilt I'm working on has gotten too big to travel with, so it will be here at home waiting for me when I get back. I work on it darned near every day. I will finish it in spite of it!

While I'm gone, my Bernina is spending her vacation at the shop. It's time for a cleaning and tuneup. My sewing room looks positive empty! She should be running like a top when I return.

The weather on the east coast is cooling and it's a perfect time to start a project. See you in November! And don't forget to vote!

Critters and the things we make

I made some denim pillows for a friend recently. She sent me a picture of her cat enjoying one of the pillows:

This picture reminded me of a picture I took a couple of years ago of my dog on my old couch with a bunch of pillows I had made:

Both animals are in critter heaven. You can't see it well, but the dog has pillows at the back of her body as well, one made from a ham bag and another made from some patchwork of days gone by.

So what if the pillows were made for people. It's fine with me if our furry family members get to enjoy our artsy fartsy ways too, right? Yup, right! Sleep well little munchkins!

Cathedral Window What? How to make them and some I've made.

I was asked today what a Cathedral Window quilt was. Several years ago, I did a sewing project for Sewing.com about how to make a Cathedral Window quilt. Since then, I've made several. I've made doll quilts, finished a wall hanging, and made one for the family. I also made one for my nephew. You can find the project and how-to by clicking here or on our projects link.

Here are some that I've made over the years, though certainly not all!

This is a doll quilt and pillow made with a dark blue print for the frames and lace for the windows and binding.

This is a piece of a full sized Cathedral Window I made for myself with black and white fabrics that I've been collecting for years as the frame and recycled denim for the windows. The frames started with 11" squares. The windows are about 2" squares of denim.

This is a doll quilt made in the traditional sense with muslin frames, but nontraditional in the sense that I used flame fabric for the windows.

This is a Paddington Bear doll quilt and pillow. Each window has the face of Paddington Bear. The frames are muslin. All doll Cathedral Window quilts started with a 6" square.

This is a red/white/blue doll quilt with muslin frames. I alternated a star fabric with a flag fabric.

This is my first Cathedral Window which I made and included in the project linked above. It's another full sized one and the squares began as 11".

I really enjoy the portability and hand sewing involved with Cathedral Window quilts. I'm getting ready to fly to Phoenix and will take another project with me. This time, I'm using 8" squares to start. My hands got a little tired the last time I started with 6" squares.

There are no real rules. Do what you love!

Where has the time gone?

Christmas is a few days away and what sewing have I done? EEEEK! None. It's been a busy season, and though I did do costuming for a show, I made zero gifts, zero stockings, zero placemats this year. Unbelievable. This will never do.

In the past, I've made ornaments every year, making a mini quilt and stuffing it or piecing pretty fabrics together and hanging them on the tree. I'd say this is the first year in eons that I've not made anything for the tree. And why is this?

Time management. I am still working on Alyson's quilt made of her grandparents clothes and am planning all the time to work on projects that I want to start. I'm hand sewing a cathedral window quilt (the black and white with denim one). Both were hoped to be done by Christmas, but they're not.

I want to sew every day. I tend to sew once a week or so. For 2007, I think I'll work on that goal. The only way to get sewing done is to do it. It's got to be a priority or it won't be touched. I tend to set it aside for other tasks and make it a secondary item, but it's not. It should be closer to the top of the list of things to do.
Sewing plans for 2007:
Finish Alyson's quilt(commissioned).
Finish the Cathedral Window.
Make a few scrubs for sale.
Make some clothes for myself.
Work on doll clothes and doll quilts for DonationDolls.com.
Make a few Christmas items for sale and to keep.
Try to sew every day.
I don't have "I love sewing" for my license plate for nothing :)


02/27/11 update: Donation Dolls is no longer with us, but I have finished the Alyson quilt, finished the Cathedral Window and started others, never made the scrubs, and the other items are ongoing. It's fun to look back and see what I was doing at an earlier time!