Boy Sewing

So, I have been doing some boy crafting of late.  Here is the start of Josiah's quilt (finally!).  I am about half way done right now with the blocks, and I am hoping to give it to him for Christmas.  I am using Oh Fransson's Canasta Quilts pattern for this, and love how it coming out so far.  I have learned so much about quilting from her.  Have you seen her book is now out?  Mine is on its way to me!  Can't wait!

We also are starting to get some cooler weather!  Yay!  Bring on the fall.  I made these little pants from Anna Maria Horner's book "Handmade Beginnings".  They turned out super cute.  The pattern was quite easy, and I definitely have some plans for another pair.  I also want to make him this cute little coat!

I also made this little portable car mat for my nephew for his third birthday, so he can take his cars around with him and have a place to play with them.  I basically just cut a half yard of this fabric in half, added some thick interfacing, and added a little car pocket for the "garage".  Super easy.

Here is Felicity testing it out.  Both the girls have been playing with it, and Juliana kept putting her little ponies on it, which made me think it would be fun to make a little farm one or something with castles and rainbows (for the horses and unicorns ;0p).

My Fussy Cut Bee Picks

My turn has come up for The Fussy Cut Bee.  My month in November, but I sent them out a little early to give people more time to work on them before the craziness of the holidays sets in.  I have changed my mind several times on what I wanted for my quilt.  I have been on a gray kick for awhile though.  So I decided to go with a color scheme that included gray.  I started out with the two yellow and gray Amy Butler prints you see that I have had for a long time- just waiting for the right project.  I used almost exclusively fabrics from my stash except for the bright pink floral and the little pink elephants that I got from Hawthorne Threads to add a bit more pink to the mix.

I originally thought I would use the large Amy Butler floral as the fussy cut, but I just wasn't feeling it and went with the little elephants instead.  For my block I was inspired by this quilt.  I love log cabin blocks, and I love all the improvisational piecing you can add to these to give a variety of looks.  Here is the gallery of photos I put together for the other members of the bee.  I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

The Schoolhouse Tunic

Pattern: The Schoolhouse Tunic by Sew Liberated

Fabric: Rural Jardin Woven by French General

I finished up my Schoolhouse Tunic a couple of days ago.  This pattern was simple and straightforward.   She has really good instructions, and the pattern pieces all went together well.  I spent probably an hour cutting and tracing and two and a half sewing.  I originally made this the "tunic" length, but it was so long!  It was more of a dress on me, and I really didn't want a dress.  I wanted something to wear with pants, so I ended up chopping the bottom part off and making it the shirt length instead.  I made the size 10/12, and I would say it is a good fit.  Definitely, go by the bust size for this pattern.  The only thing I didn't like was how long the placket is.  It went almost all the way down to my belly button! So I decided to hand sew it together about three inches, and I think it looks better on me that way.  

The fabric is a woven by French General that I got from Pink Chalk Fabrics over the summer with this top in mind.  I really like the feel of this fabric.  It is definitely not as stiff as quilting cotton, and I would say it feels more like shirting.  I love how designers are putting out more variety of fabrics out there.  It gives so much more versatility for things like clothing.

Next: some pajama bottoms! 

Savvy Seasons!

Okay, so maybe I have become a little obsessed with these fun swaps. I joined the Savvy Seasons Swap. You are supposed to make an item for your partner for whatever season they pick. My partner requested Christmas. She seems like a bright, modern girl, so I went with something a little funky. I loved this tutorial by Oh Fransson. It was fun to piece together, and I really did just use almost exclusively scraps for this pillow. I did make it smaller though. This pillow cover fits about an 18" pillow form. I free motion quilted over it with some fun variegated green thread. Free motion quilting still makes me tense up at first as I start, but I slowly relax as I go along and start to enjoy myself.

This is the back of the pillow. I found this fun Christmas shopping print by Alexander Henry at Joanns. You never know what you will find at Joann's!

In my kitchen towel kick I also made some little matching kitchen towels and included a couple of other little Christmas things for her. Hopefully, she likes it!

Working on little things...

Having been sick with a horrible head cold...I admit to watching a lot of movies at night and not sewing. So, my Schoolhouse tunic is all cut out but not put together yet. I am hoping for some good sewing time at some point this weekend. I find clothes harder to work on in little chunks of time. I lose my focus...and my interest.

So, I present you with a growth chart! I made this awhile back for Juliana's birthday. Maybe it is a five year old thing, but she is absolutely obsessed with how big she is getting. She was making me measure her every day if not multiple times a day. In order to help satisfy her growth checking needs, I made her this. Now she can check herself! I did it "rainbow style" since that is the rage in Juliana-land. It was a pretty quick little project. I got the pattern from Stitch Magazine (I believe it is the Spring 2010 issue.)

The past few days have actually felt like fall. Hurray! So I whipped up these little kitchen towels (I bought these from Target and just embellished.) and trivet to make my kitchen reflect my excitement for cooler weather. ;0)

The Shearwater Kaftan

This is my second project for "sewing clothes for me". This is the Shearwater Kaftan pattern by Make it Perfect. I got this pattern at Birch Fabrics (the brick and mortar store of Fabric Worm) over the summer while on vacation. I also got this lovely Nani Iro fabric there. This is probably the prettiest, loveliest fabric I have ever used. It just *feels* so soft. Perfect for a shirt.

This is me after wearing it all afternoon (sorry about the wrinkles!)

The pattern came together really well. I ended up make the size small. My measurements were just a little bit over the size small, but this pattern looked like it had a lot of ease. I didn't want it to be too big. So I added a little to the seam allowance around the bust just to be careful. Otherwise, this pattern was very easy and quick to put together. I made the longest placket on the pattern to give it a more relaxed look, but she also gives you the option of making the placket smaller, if you don't want it to be so long. It also has little tabs you add to the sleeves so you can keep them rolled up, which we definitely need around here seeing as it has been 100 the past couple days!

Next up: The Schoolhouse Tunic

Barcelona Skirt

My goal for the next two weeks is to make some clothes for me! First off, the Barcelona Skirt. This isn't the first time I have made this skirt. In fact, I think I have already made all three versions of the pattern. (It is a really good pattern.) I would definitely recommend this simple a-line version to a beginner.

I made this version out of some of Amy Butler's August Fields home dec fabric. I originally bought it to make some curtains for my sewing room, but since that room is eventually going to be Josiah's I decided to go with some simple wood blinds instead. So this fabric has been sitting for a year, and I stroked it lovingly every once in a while. Then Amylouwho said she was hosting an Amy Butler Sew and Tell encouraging people to use Amy Butler fabric or one of her patterns that you have had for awhile. This is definitely a Meg fabric. I love these colors, and I am floral person. I try to stay away from the florals and buy smaller prints, but I just. can't. help. myself!

I made the size medium, and it fits pretty well. The invisible zipper on this skirt is actually really invisible! Hah! Don't be afraid of invisible zippers. I actually think that they are easier than regular zippers.

Next on my "clothes for me" list: a Shearwater Kaftan!