Friday, May 18, 2012

Bloggers' Quilt Festival

While I have checked in with quilting blogs for a year or two now, I haven't had my own blog, or even participated in others' events until very recently. I'm excited to finally take part in Bloggers' Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side!

Today I'm sharing my favorite quilt of the year: Tetris Love.


I had thought about doing a Tetris quilt for several years now, and have finally reached a point where I'm confident enough in my piecing and straight-line quilting skills to tackle such a big project.

The main body of the quilt is comprised of 2" x 2' (finished) squares, so that the blocks resemble the pieces from the video game.


I did straight line quilting diagonally across every square - the corners of the squares were a handy guide, so that I didn't need to mark my quilting lines. I decided to continue this quilting onto the outer black border, a decision that almost caused this quilt to languish on the sewing table for eternity! Because I didn't have the blocks as a guide, I had to measure and draw lines for quilting, which took ages.


For a little added interest (to keep myself from going insane with the straight line quilting, anyway!) I did some free motion quilting on the 1" purple border. That was fun, and a good way to practice my relatively new FMQ skills.

My favorite part of this quilt is actually the back, which inspired the quilt's name:


I had a lot of fun designing this guy on graph paper! It's entirely made from Kona solids, and while I love the striking look of a black quilt, it has the unfortunate effect of showing every stray bit of fluff and fuzz that comes its way. And with two cats roaming the house, that is a real problem.


While I had considered using it as a wall hanging, the finished quilt measures in at 86" x 68", which is a large twin, and seems a bit much for the wall. I may just have to give in and snuggle with it despite the fuzz problems; it's super cozy!

I'm linking up to Bloggers' Quilt Festival; I can't wait to see all the amazing quilts everyone has made!


Amy's Creative Side

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Lemon Meringue

And then I made a skirt!


It's been really satisfying making clothing that I actually like wearing. I've tried a skirt once or twice in the past, to depressing results. This time I made sure to really think about fabric and pattern choice, and I couldn't be happier with the finished product.



The pattern is the Meringue Skirt from the Colette Sewing Handbook. The fabric is a sheet thrifted on my trip to Seattle a few weeks ago. It took me two days and many episodes of Murder She Wrote (love that Netflix streaming, and Angela Lansbury!)






 
I installed my first invisible zipper, which is a little crinkly, but functional. The hem I'm pretty pleased with:


Overall, the pattern and instructions were clear and easy to work with. I love my finished skirt!


I'm definitely going to make more skirts with this pattern; I think next time I will add a pocket. In the meantime, I've cut fabric for skirt number two, this time from the BurdaStyle Sewing Handbook. I love collecting sewing books, and I'm glad to finally be getting some use out of them!



Monday, May 7, 2012

I made a shirt!

how happy do I look?

...and I wouldn't mind being seen wearing it! Which is to say, this isn't the first garment I have attempted to make, but it is the first successful one.

It wasn't even the first version. It's Colette Patterns' free Sorbetto Tank pattern, and my first try wasn't so flattering:


Even this one had some alterations - I lowered the neckline and made the armholes a little bigger. But my rather unfortunate color pairing (I'm lazy, and I already had a bunch of the bias tape made up) combined with the short length wasn't too flattering on me. I forgot to take a picture of it on, but I don't really want that documented.


But the second try made it all worthwhile! I added a few inches of length, and also moved the shoulder straps a little closer together. I don't know why I attempted such a complex (to me) alteration as a novice, and the result is a little wonky at the shoulder, but I don't mind.


I think the fabric was a much better choice, as well as the matching binding. It's a vintage sheet from the collection, and I'm loving the idea of making a bunch of clothing all from sheets - what a way to save on fabric costs!



I took my time and finished my seems with pinking and topstitching, because I want this thing to last!

Please ignore the bucket. At least you can't see the compost pile!

My photographer, sadly, was enthusiastic but unskilled. He claims no one would notice that little old bucket in the background, and maybe you wouldn't have but for my pointing it out. Better luck next time.

And now that I've finally had some success, I'm ready for more. I've cut out the pattern for a skirt, and maybe you'll even get to see it soon!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

WIP Wednesday: Time to Finish Things!

I've been MIA for awhile, mostly out of apathy. However! I finished the project that had me procrastinating for weeks, and have been seriously reinvigorated. Read all about it! Or admire the finished project:

Tetris Love: The Front

Tetris Love: The Back
Tetris has been my dream quilt for a few years, and it's nice to finally have a finished piece. Plus, now that I've finally finished it, I've been inspired to finish quilting the 4-5 odd half-finished quilts languishing in my sewing room.

Also on the must-finish-it-soon agenda: my Etsy shop. We'll be moving in a month or two, and the stack of vintage sheets have gotten out of control. I need to get rid of some!

and that's just a small percentage of the total...


Finally, I need to get going on my New Years sewing resolution (a little late, I know!). I want to start expanding my sewing horizons and branch out into clothing. I figure I'll start out easy, with Colette Patterns' Sorbetto Tank:

inspiring, no?

Pretty, free, and hopefully simple. It's on the agenda for tomorrow; results to follow. Wish me luck!

Linking up to Freshly Pieced.