Friday, December 31, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Treasure Beyond
I actually started these quilts back in MARCH, but couldn't blog about them, since they were to be a secret.
After completing SHOULDA PUTTA RING ON IT, I still had lots of scraps of the wonderful batik fabrics. so, I decided to continue with the weaving theme I had used on that challenge quilt, only this time, I used two black strips to each strip of batik.
For this design, I created a more-open weave than before, and inserted small blocks at the warp/weave intersections. This meant that I would need to sew partial seams...which turned out to be a pain in the neck. Due to the small size of the blocks, the 'partial seams' were only about .5" long! But the effect was worth it. I used GOLD and SILVER lame' fabric (backed with fusible interfacing) for the little blocks...hoping to give the illusion that the gold and silver was beyond the screen-like woven piece. The treasure beyond...
Once the black strips were sewn to the batiks, I began working on the design. Once satisfied with the layout, I needed a way to make this portable, as I sew away from home some days.
I used a roll of drapery fabric as a 'tote'...laying the pieces on the fabric, then rolling it up and securing the ends with rubber bands. I could carry the project without losing the layout.
I notched the center of each strip on the side and end, so I could match the pieces. When sewing partial seams, I couldn't just sew from one end to the other! The quilt grew in rows, but they were slow rows!
Once the strips were assembled, I needed to add borders. But I didn't want the strips to just 'dead end' at the border...I felt like each strip needed some black across its end, too. But I didn't want to put a black border around the whole thing. So I made little TABS to insert at the strip ends!
I folded pieces of black fabric and sewed down each side...then I turned them right sides out. After a good pressing, theses little tabs were inserted into the seam between the 'weave' and the border, so that there was a little black tab at the end of each strip!
These tabs were like the period at the end of the sentence...they prevented the strips from just fading into the border. Nice!
These are not sewn down, but add dimension...like little flaps.
After adding the borders, I layered both quilts onto one piece of batting and backing so that I could quilt both quilts at the same time. I used a variety of colors of thread to quilt this, and doing all the reds, all the yellows, etc, at the same time would keep the thread changes to a minimum.
I used a brown batik to bind this...again, a left-over from the previous quilt.
I really like these quilts...probably more than SHOULDA PUTTA RING ON IT, which is MY quilt. These will not be living with me, though, so I hope the kids like them as much as I do!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Kimono Ornaments
Cut your Feature Fabric (FF) 3 ¾” x 10 ½". This will be the outside of the Kimono.
Cut your Accent Fabric (AF) 4 ¼” x 10 ½”. This is the lining and trim.
1. Put FF onto AF, right sides together,and sew along the 2 long sides w/ ¼” s.a.
2. Finger-press s.a.s toward center w/equal amounts of AF on each side beyond seam, then...
3. Stitch across this one short end & turn right side out; Press.
Now comes the folding...this is easiest if you remember- the WIDER piece is the lining!!!
Using starch with your iron will give you crisper folds...just don't burn your fingers!
4. Fold the unstitched end (toward the AF) ~ 3/8” twice to hide the raw edge and form collar.
5. Turn over. Locate center of folded edge and Fold collars diagonally to form a point at center.
6. Fold bottom (stitched end) up ~ 2” to form shoulder/sleeves. Press.
7. Fold lower edge backwards until the previous fold meets the bottom edge of the collar in back-this forms shoulders. Press.
8. Locate center of lower edge and Fold both sides in to meet. Press below sleeve level.
9. Open out the 2” sleeve and form a triangle/fold at shoulder; tuck under collar points; Press.
10. Finish with an 8” ribbon tied at waist.
11. Make a hanger by attaching a loop to the back or attaching a toothpick & loop to the back.
I used some soft wire to make some quick and dirty hangers...just put on a few beads and made a few loops.
However, I have decided these would make really cute tags for gifts, so adding a ribbon to the top of the collar is a great way to tie one on!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Christmas sewing
DH gives a few Christmas gifts at work and this year he purchased gift cards. As in the past, he was counting on me for gift wrap. The gift cards came in cardboard packaging, so they were bigger than just card-sized...so the treasure boxes I made before would not be large enough.
What about a little stocking? That should work.
I drew a stocking shape on some thick paper, making it just barely larger than the card package. Then I pulled some fabrics from the stash and began cutting.
To make these, you should cut the LINING taller/longer than the STOCKING...mine was about 1.5" longer. I used different fabrics for LINING and STOCKING.
Lay 2 LINING pieces right sides together.
Insert a loop for hanging and pin in place. I used a 6" length of ribbon and placed in the upper back seam of the lining, about 2" from the cut edge, so it would be below the folded cuff.
Lay 2 STOCKING pieces right sides together. Stack these 2 STOCKING pieces on top of the LINING pieces.
Sew through all layers around the stocking.
Trim/clip as needed. If you only use a 1/8" seam allowance, this is not needed.
Put your fingers between the 2 STOCKING layers to turn this right side out, which pulls the LINING into the STOCKING.
Fold down the LINING extension to form a cuff. You can finish the raw edge if desired...or you can pull a few threads to make it ravel. Or just leave it as a cut edge!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
stagnation
People are tired of dropping by and seeing that big green worm.
I know.
I had good intentions, but somehow they got derailed.
Remember that jacket that I was working on? Well, my goal was to continue posting about that, so I was holding off on other stuff. But the jacket became so underwhelming to me that I put it on the dress form and ignored it. It is almost finished...just need to put cuffs on the sleeves! But... HO, HUM. I was so bored with it.
So there I was...in limbo. Knowing that the next posts SHOULD be about the jacket, but not really wanted to mess with it. So NOTHNG was posted.
And I have had a fun several months!
In October, I took a little day trip with my sewing guild to Paducah, KY, where we visited the AQS Quilt Museum as well as the studio of quilt artist Caryl Bryer Fallert. Lots of fun, lots of pictures....but no blog post.
In November, I had several quilts displayed in a local show at the Davies Plantation...again, no blog post.
Now it is nearly Christmas... I will try to do better.
Thanks for reading...if you are!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Garden Pests
I was pissed.
I began looking more closely. Sure enough, there was a tiny green caterpillar…a tomato hornworm! And then another…and another. And then a HUGE one! There were three small ones and one HUGE one, just chomping away on my plant.
I grabbed a ruler to see just HOW BIG that largest one was…over 3.5” !!!
I put on some gloves and removed and destroyed these unwelcome critters.
Fast-forward one month and look at my Moon Flower plant now. It has fully recovered and is loaded with blooms! Each bloom lasts only one day (or night, I should say, as the blooms open at night!), and I have 8-10 blooms daily…so that is a lot of blooms!
So now I am feeling guilty. If I had NOT destroyed the caterpillars, would they have stopped eating once the leaves were totally gone (as they almost were when I discovered the worms…the only remaining leaf was no longer attached to the plant!)? Or would they have sucked the life out of the stems, too? And would they have turned in to some lovely moth or butterfly that I would admire?
TOO late to find out…but I am enjoying the beautiful white blooms and the delightful scent they fill the night are with!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Jacket Challenge
I am making progress toward getting a good pattern, but it is slow!
This is the pattern I tried recently...call it Jacket 2.
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In the beginning, I wanted the princess seams to be over toward the side of the bust, rather than crossing ON the bust points, so instead of using a PMB Princess draft, I started with the SIDE DARTED BLOCK and created my own princess lines.
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But these seams were too far off the bust to be so 'curvy'.
I wasn't fond of the look.
I didn’t' like that the jacket had 'points of its own' ...but they were NOT 'way up firm and high'! :)
It had boobs to the side of my boobs!
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back princess darts set this wide!
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I started again, this time using the PMB princess pattern, as it drafts, for the Front.
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THE REASON I created my own princess seam in back, rather than use the PMB ah princess, is because of the back shoulder dart. When PMB does the ah princess, they remove the dart, making the upper back width much narrower. Here is my pattern (red) and the PMB one superimposed:
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You can see how much narrower the PMB one is through the shoulders and upper back...MY (red) pattern's armhole is farther out than the PMB one, in green and blue.
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Bad wrinkles and fullness at bust, off to the side!
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The back looks better, though, with the seams closer to center.
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Better!
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I began to wonder if the fit would be helped by more back length. Increasing the CBL (center back length) would change the draft, making the bust dart much smaller (and thus, smoothing the front seam without using D.O.).
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I decided what the heck, I will try it! So after changing the numbers in the program and comparing the patterns to see what pieces would be impacted, I SLASHED my muslin across the upper back and inserted a piece to increase the back length by 0.5".
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Whoa Nellie! This is SOOOOoooo much better!
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This waist position is much lower than recommended by the users guide and my CBL is now 2" longer than my CFL, as opposed to the 1.5" longer that is 'normal'. But it immediately felt 'right'. The upper back feels wider, although no width was added. I think my shoulder blades just needed this!
* Using a CBL that is 2" longer than the CFL makes the bust dart much smaller, so I don't think I'll need to use the D.O. after all...good. That is where I am now...ready to try again.
And FYI, I am actually using septic paper instead of muslin for these test jackets. It sews fast; I can see through it, and it is available in my closet!
But my sewing machine is messed up. :(
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Trash Bag Quilting, done
I have done my best to 'loosen up'...
Ok, maybe not my best, as I DID create a landscape, which is certainly not as 'loose' as one might get with this technique. But I tried.
I have now finished the stitching on this and trimmed it around the edges. It is ready to be backed and bound. Yep, that's right...the quilting is done BEFORE the backing is put on. Odd, eh?
I DID use the dragonfly. I agonized over that decision, and actually saved the 'sky' area for last, so I could change my mind if I desired. At one point, I decided definitely NOT to use it...then promptly changed my mind again!
Anyway, it is done. I don't know if you can see the stitching in the picture or not. I'll put some close-ups at the end, so you can see how bad my stitching is! Don't judge me. :)
I started my stitching on the ground areas on the right side using black thread and HATED IT. I changed to a brown thread for the left side...immediate improvement. So I spent the next few HOURS ripping out the black thread. Ok, maybe it wasn't hours, but it seemed like it. When ripping on tulle, one has to be VERY careful!
I had to rip other areas, too. I tried using a zigzag in the treetops, but it pulled up way too much bobbin thread, even with a loosened upper tension, so I had to rip. For the sky, I had chosen a lovely light greenish blue thread, but after stitching a little, it read as white...so I ripped.
Being a perfectionist doesn't mean I get everything perfect...far from it! It just means I agonize over every single little detail!!!
Trash Bag Quilting
Yesterday's class was on 'trash bag quilting', which is Diane's signature technique. Basically, you lay all your various scraps on a piece of batting in a pleasing arrangement, then embellish by laying on bits of lace, yarns, threads, buttons...whatever...then cover the whole thing with tulle. You use a gazillion pins to pin the heck out of it, then take it to the machine.
THEN the sewing begins!
And THAT is where I am now...ready to begin the sewing! While some in the class finished TWO pieces (Jeanie, I am talking about YOU!), *I* wasn't able to finish even ONE! Yes, I work slowly. But I also, I cut my batting to the size in the directions, while others made theirs smaller (grin) and it takes longer to do a larger piece! But also, I am way too ambitious...instead of just doing a nice abstract piece to learn the technique, I decide to make a landscape.
Crazy!
I don't know why...it was like a personal challenge or something! I just wondered *IF* I could do it, I guess! I dunno...but that is what was in my mind, so that is what I attempted to design with my piece.
In order to bring it home, I had to cover it with the tulle and pin every other inch or so, all over the piece! I had to have help and borrow pins (thanks, Etta!), because it took WAY more pins than I had imagined and I hadn't brought even half as many as needed. Also, my tulle was precut at home, and darn if it wasn't a little too small once I had covered my whole batting with fabric (as opposed to leaving a border around the edges, as I had planned. So in placing my tulle, I had scooted some of the fabric pieces out of position. But it was time to go...I had to pin it down.
Also, standing back and looking at the piece, I was NOT thrilled with the left side. It was too heavy.
So once I got home, I removed all the (thousands of) pins and took off the tulle. I removed the embellishments/yarns/threads from the left side and began replacing some of the background pieces, changing the colors, to bring some 'sky' down to the horizon to be seen through the trees (rather than just have a big blob of landscape that goes from foreground to treetops...a solid blob). This sort of lightened up the left side and allowed the eye to move past the trees, giving more depth. Or, at least, that is my story and I'm sticking to it! I also redefined the shoreline as it apporached the horizon, adding some rock-shaped bits and outcroppings. And I added some darker areas to the top of the sky.
You can see the 'before' and 'after' here:
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Frustration with sleeves in PMB
So I messed around with the cap height setting until I returned the top portion of the sleeve to its previous shape and size (as it had been with the 7” hem width). Good. Now I know I can use an ah depth of -.75 and a cap height of -.5 as my 'basic draft (with a 10" wide sleeve).
Then I considered using the SHOULDER PRINCESS style line. Well, that raised the underarm depth .25”!
And--- it changed the sleeve’s cap height, too!
So, once again, I had to mess with armhole depth and cap height settings, just to duplicate the sleeve that drafts with my basic side-darted bodice…the sleeve with a 7” hem!
So basically, I cannot say what underarm depth is good for me, nor what cap height, because that varies with every little setting I choose! And that is just ridiculous!!!
It just shouldn’t be this hard!
Rotating a bust dart should NOT change the armhole or sleeve!
Widening the sleeve hem should NOT change the top of the sleeve!
(Can you tell I am frustrated?)
Sorry.
Ok, so then, I get everything finally decided on and saved. But the jacket design calls for a 2pc sleeve. My PMB 2pc sleeve is awful….the under-sleeve actually curves the wrong way! As if my elbow bends forward…I am not double jointed! :)
So I have spent HOURS trying to figure out how to make a 2pc sleeve for this jacket.
I have an old McCall’s jacket pattern with a 2pc sleeve, so I pulled it out. I figured I would compare the armholes of the Mc jacket pattern to my PMB pattern and if they were similar, I would use that McCall’s sleeve. Well, the armholes were NOT even close!
So I cut out the Mc pattern and pinned the tissue together to try on, thinking maybe I would just try to use that whole pattern instead of my PMB pattern.
What a laugh!
No, I am better off using my PMB pattern, for sure! I would have to severely alter every piece of that McCall’s pattern…and truly, I don’t even know what size to start with! I haven’t used commercial patterns in years, because I have used PMB. The reason I bought PMB in the first place was because the commercial patterns didn’t fit me and I didn’t know what to do to make them fit me…this was 10 years ago, before the internet brought sewists together for sharing such skills! I have never really learned what to do to alter a commercial pattern *for me*. I have depended on PMB. And most of the time, I get a decent fit.
But sleeves continue to be my Achilles heel! I can make sleeveless things in PMB all day, but when it comes to garments with sleeves, I get so frustrated!!! It takes twice as long to create the pattern, because every little variable changes the sleeve…when it just SHOULDN’T be that way!!!
The next version of PMB is in the works…ready for an October release. I hope the sleeves have been stabilized; hope it includes a decent 2pc sleeve!!!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Quietly busy
I had LOTS of fabric left over after making the quilt for the Repetitive Consequences challenge. I had collected many different pieces in order to get a large variety...so now I have a large variety of leftovers!
But never fear; these leftovers are not going to waste. I have another 3 quilts in progress, in addition to the little color-story piece that was made BEFORE the challenge! Two of these are assembled and ready to load onto the HandiQuilter for quilting. The other one is still in the piecing stage.
Addtionally, my local sewing guild has issued a JACKET CHALLENGE for September...which means *I* need to have a new jacket completed to bring to that meeting. The deadline is the 2nd Thursday of September, and I have yet to begin!
Today, I have been looking at jacket styles, trying to decide what *I* would like to make and wear. Those are both key...I have to want to MAKE this thing, and when finished, I need to want to WEAR it too! I have spent way too much time making things that I don't want to wear after they are completed...I need to stop that.
My best look is a low V-neck, but I am not crazy about making a 'formal' jacket (like, with a lapel), as I am more of a sporty-type. I dress casually most of the time, so my jacket needs to be somewhat casual, too. Loose...unconstructed? Well, I am busty and kinda boxy...an H shape...so things need to have a more structured shape or I look like Spongebob.
I am thinking a Chanel jacket might be the way to go. I have fabrics that I could use...although I am not sure I have the lining fabrics on hand. I have never done one before, but have often CONSIDERED doinng one. It seems like a good idea.
Then I saw THIS.
Now I am not sure.
Right there in black and white, she shows a Chanel jacket on the the WHAT NOT TO WEAR page for H's!!!
Maybe if I leave off the pockets at waist level that style will be ok on me?
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
AQS Quilt Show in Knoxville
After checking into our hotel, we headed over to Market Square.
We strolled around to see what was there. Many of the restaurants were tempting, but in the end, we decided on Cafe 4 , where we ordered Fried Chicken and Waffles! Yep, that is really a dish...and it was good! The waffles were served instead of bread with the meal...two 'quarters' of a circular waffle...not a big 'ole plate of waffles smothered in butter and maple syrup! Although that sounds good right now...
But I digress.
There is a greenspace/park area at the southern end, with shops on each side. North of the 'park' area, there is a concrete mall. There is an interactive fountain, which was turned off that night, plus a performance stage set up at the north end.
This is the southwestern end...the building with the awning and lights is Market Square Kitchen.
This is the western side of the square.
There were several tempting restaurants on this side!
Many of the resaurants had seating areas outside, too, with colorful plantings and/or lights.
Ok, imagine this is a panoramic view...chopped up!
I will start on the southwest corner and turn clockwise.
I am standing near the middle, and this first picture is looking southwest, toward the market Square Kitchen.
Turning clockwise, this is the northwest side.
These tall buildings are just beyond the north side.
You can see the stage set up on the north end (lights near the ground, behind people walking).
When we arrived, there were musicians playing and singing, but then Shakespeare on the Square began. However, street musicians were scattered about here and there, playing softly.
This is the view to the northeast. We visited a couple of shops in this area.
And the southeast side. That last awning with the lights on it at the far right is Cafe 4, where we ate.
It was a lovely evening and a lovely place to visit!
On Saturday, we walked to the convention center to see the quilt show. While I cannot post pictures of all the quilts, I will share the display of the guild that mine was a part of.
This was the ULTIMATE GUILD CHALLENGE, where guilds across the country compete according to a theme. Each guild has a different theme to interpret. There were 8 quilts in each group.
Our theme was REPETITIVE CONSEQUENSES. We were to take a block or shape, and change it in some way...size, shape, orientation, color, etc...and repeat it at least 3 times such that it is a recognizable element in the quilt. The quilt had to measure 180 inches around its perimeter, but no single side could exceed 60 inches.
This is the view oif our quilts from one end...
And the view from the other end.
I couldn't get enough distance to photograph the set straight-on without a wide-angle lens, which I didn't happen to have.
Here I am standing next to my quilt. I really wished to remain annonomous, but did pose for a few quick pictures when no one was looking.
I took a break for a moment to send a text message, and Dh took my picture! But then I noticed that the quilts in the background are also from a local guild...the Davies Plantation guild in Bartlett. Theirs was a nice display (Theme=Log Cabin in the Woods).
My favorites were the ones where all quilts in the set were the same size and shape, and had a recognizeable theme. While our quilts were each beautiful in their own right, they didn't seem to have much in common, like some of the other sets did.