Personal Summer Sewing Challenge

This summer I set a goal of sewing clothes for myself.  I was unsure how the start to the summer would unfold and we found ourselves afloat for a couple weeks due to a death in the family, bad weather (tornadoes) and no summer camp schedule to speak of.  We were adrift for a bit, but I had dreams and thoughts of sewing clothes to keep me anchored (and sane) and therefore the kids happy.  When I was able to schedule them with an activity I slipped away to my own activity and peace reigned for at least 20 minutes at a stretch.

I am very new to sewing clothes for adults.  I have made kids costumes here and there and done some quilting, but never anything that required measurements and fit.  I really didn't know where to start.  I reached out to a friend, and the internet, and then dove in.

Two tips I picked up pretty quickly were: 1. Make a (wearable) muslin out of cheap fabric and 2. Pick the pattern size based on your measurements, not your clothing size.

My first three patterns to try were: 1. The Wiksten Tova, 2. The Washi Dress and 3. The Schoolhouse Tunic.

Coincidentally my neighborhood sewing shop (The Sewcial Lounge) was offering a class on the Wiksten Tank which I also signed up for.  What a great experience!  I learned so many little tricks and tips that I felt quite accomplished when I was done.  I learned how to sew in bias for the armholes and use a sewing gauge.  And while it wasn't a pattern I had initially picked out for myself it made a great top and starting point for my other projects. 

My first tank (top left in first photo), that I made during the class, is a wearable muslin out of generic quilting cotton.  [I don't particularly care for the fabric pattern, but it was a good trial run and now has been worn camping and weeding the garden a few times this summer.]  I walked out of the store wearing my new tank top and the confidence to move on to something a bit more ambitious. 

The other three tanks I made to add to my summer wardrobe and I consistently wear at least 2 each week.  They came together very quickly and in about 4 separate 20-minute windows (cutting, sewing, armholes and neckline/serging seams).  The blue is from some Ghanaian fabric a friend brought home for me from travels abroad, the yellow is a quilting cotton that is softening after many washes, and the voile is a lovely Anna Maria Horner print that I found on sale.

Once I had the tank down I moved on to the Washi Dress.  My first go at that was not good - I made a dress entirely too big and learned the real value of making a muslin.  My second attempt at a wearable muslin was much better.  I opted for the tunic length, reasoning that I would save on fabric while getting a better fit and then could do the dress next.  The teal/green tunic above is out of quilting cotton from my stash and I do wear this top out in public.

Then came the dress, made from a cotton voile from JoAnn fabrics.  It turned out about as wonderful and I could have expected for my first dress.  The shirring is not straight and I didn't bother to change the thread color for the facing.  But it fits reasonably well and the hem is straight.  I am excited to make another (with the notch and sleeves this time) in another lightweight fabric.  Maybe a soft linen or another voile.  I love the sleeveless look for this one too.  A great all-around summer sun dress.

Two other details to note are the serged seams (!!) and 'handmade' tags.  The serger was a gift from my husband this spring and I am in love with it.  The finished seams make all the difference in a wearable garment.  And the tags were a gift from a dear friend.  They add the perfect touch this this first set of clothes.

I have taken to calling these items the Summer '14 collection.

And with August starting tomorrow I only have a few weeks before we roll over into the Fall '14 collection (smile).  I have yet to tackle the Wiksten Tova - I tried it out in and the muslin is too big.  Back to the cutting table for that one.  And I also worked on a muslin for the Schoolhouse Tunic.  This one fits well everywhere except just below the bust, where it is too tight.  I am puzzling how to extend the pattern piece to give myself a bit more 'below bust ease' so it all comes together well.

Amish Quilt Auction

my bidder number

This past Saturday there was an Amish Quilt Auction in southern Wisconsin, near the communities of Brodhead and Albany.  We are lucky to have relatives that live down that way and we spent part of our weekend at the auction with friends and family.

one of ten racks of quilts and quilt tops for auction

There were hundreds and hundreds of quilts: finished quilts, King-size quilts, antique quilts, pieced quilt tops, baby quilts and everything in between.  And that was just under the quilt tent.  There was another tent devoted to Amish furniture and other goods, as well as a farm equipment auction, food, cold drinks and a horse that made ice cream (by pulling on the hand crank).

under the quilt tent

We had a fantastic time - there were a couple professional auctioneers that kept things lively - and I came home with two quilts. One is a double-wedding ring quilt in very bright colors, and the other is red polka-dots on a tan background. These are bright and modern looking quilts; they are not a good representation of the traditional designs, historic quilts, antique quilts and solid colors that dominated the auction. But they are in keeping with my personal aesthetic. 

double wedding ring quilt, queen size

All the quilts went for good prices and I hope will provide for the kids of the Clearview school, and all the members of local Amish communities, in the coming year.

red ball quilt, full size

And if you are interested to attend in the future you are in luck.  It is an annual event.

detail of double wedding ring quilt

Table Runner

This past weekend I was able to finish off a project that I've been thinking about for a couple months. I have been itching to make a reversible table runner but didn't quite know how to go about it.

A couple weeks ago I grabbed some fabric and started cutting squares, mixing and matching colors and patterns until I was happy with what I came up with. I quilted it with diagonal lines which I think work pretty well here. I washed it when I was done with it which gave it a crinkly look, and which makes it look a bit like a blanket, but I still think it works as an everyday runner for the dining room table.

I also tapped into a friends Rumpelstiltskin challenge which provided me the encouragement to really dive into the lovely fabrics that have been sitting on my shelf for awhile. I don't know what project I was waiting for to use them with - the perfect pillow, skirt or blanket pattern - but I also realized the keeping those fabrics tucked away upstairs meant that I didn't get to gaze on them daily as I do now. I much prefer it this way. Part of the Rumpelstiltskin challenge for me over this year will be to really use what I have; take full advantage of the affordances that are tucked away in my fabric stash. Get out the good stuff and use it, dammit.

You can join in on the challenge too. Head on over and check it out. No hard and fast rules, just lots of encouragement and inspiration.

Table Runner - front


Table Runner - back

Totally, and completely, justified

Well, that's what I told myself since I've been spending so much time in front of the computer lately. I had my 50% coupon for JoAnn's to get some of this, so essentially for $2 I got myself a new mouse pad. Dan had lots of cork underlayment left over from a remodeling job at our old home - sometimes being a pack rat really pays off! I already had this amazing fabric in my stash. Thanks (again) to Sew, Mama, Sew! for the great tutorial.

If I were to make another one I'd probably use an exacto knife, or something more sharp, to cut the cork. I just used regular scissors and while it worked, the edges are bit jagged for my taste. The project also only took me about 15 minutes from start to finish - gotta love that!

What is it about a trip that inspires the need for new things?

With our trip coming up tomorrow, I was inspired to make a few things: 1) a custom camera strap and 2) fingerless gloves. (Hey, I needed something to calm my pre-travel jitters!)

I had been eyeing some beautiful camera straps on etsy, like these and these but decided to try something else, something a little different, on my own.

I invited DH up to the sewing room to browse my fabric stash and we settled on something that he likes as much as I do (we are equal opportunity photographers, so this was essential), some fabric inspired by Ghanaian adinkra sybols. Examples of adinkra symbols can be found here.

I basically made a cover for the existing camera strap. Just a long tube, hemmed to length at each end and sewn with a seam up the middle of the back. It is a snug fit, so it won't slip around. It is removable, so I am free to choose something else entirely different next year if I like. I also just covered our existing strap, so no need to purchase any additional hardware to make this compatible with our camera. Sure you can see some of the original strap poking through at each end, but that's alright with me. You can't beat the custom look.













The pattern for the other project is from a book I received for Christmas. The Maine Morning Mitts seemed perfect - something to keep the chill off my hands and something to keep my fingers free for knitting. I used the Rowan Colourscape Chunky bu Kaffee Fassett in colorway Ghost. It's 100% lambswool. I dropped down a couple needle sizes to account for the thicker wool and now they feel cozy against my hands. I can't wait to sport these around the city.

Also, for any new or experienced fiber enthusiasts out there who want to expand their understanding of yarn and how it's made, I highly recommend The Knitter's Book of Yarn (Parkes). The level of detail was perfect for me and her writing about the origins and history of particular fibers was fascinating. I have a much greater understanding when to use which kind of yarn - and on which projects - than I had just three weeks ago. I mean, I understood that you should use sock yarn to make socks, but as for how different fiber combinations subtly work for or against each other, well, that was a different story. After reading this book I walked into my LYS with a much greater understanding of what I was looking at - where the yarns came from and why certain blends were offered over others. I can't recommend this book more highly. Besides, it's chock full of cute/beautiful/imaginative patterns and what could be more inspiring than that? Knowledge plus inspiration equals one happy momma.

A few pictures of our trip when we return. Until then, be good.

Last-minute gifts

Getting a few more in under the wire. I made up four sets of these coasters, inspired by a pattern I took from Pretty Little Patchwork (which also inspired my mom's present, but more on that in a later post). The pattern called for hand embroidery around the house design, and for a quilted (i.e. patchwork) center, but who has time for that?! I quickly did these with the machine and went with a solid background. Perfect gifts for my Mother-in-law, a neighbor, and whoever might be in need of some extra-special gifts this holiday season.

The other last-minute sewing has been more tote bags. There is a set for my cousin, one for a sister-in-law and one for a friend. There are two in there for me too. I loved one too much to give it away, and the other you ask? Well, let's just say that DH noted, "Now there's a bag I'd be happy to carry to the woodworking store." A bag my husband will gladly carry around?! How could I give that one away? If you want, you can see them all in the flickr group.













As for the knitting, the cowl and second sock for my sister-in-law still need to come off the needles. Time to stop blogging and start knitting! But, really, who has the time now with all the baking to be enjoyed, presents to wrap and laughs to make?

New Pillows

It was pillow week here at The End of This Row...









My Mom surprised the girls with a set of Eric Carle's Very Hungary Catepillar pillows this past weekend. We had been talking about the lack of pillows for the older girls at their two day/week daycare and my Mom said she had the perfect solution. As you can imagine, the girls love them! The littlest ones' pillow will have to stay at home for awhile, but it is very cute in her room for now.

My Mom's project gave me the inspiration, along with Tigerlily Tinkering's recent room-makeover-with-pillows, to give pillow covers a try. It didn't hurt that my Mom provided me with a book that had basic directions. I did a set in the gold circle fabric for our library (my primary school work place) which now cover some, IMO, gaudy maroon floral pillows that came with the couch. The bigger pillow is for our living room which was in need of some color. It now covers an ever-darkening cream-colored pillow that was starting to see some major wear from little shoes and feet.

The fabrics I used for the three pillows were gifts. My mom gave me the Amy Butler awhile back and I received a huge roll of the gold-toned fabric from my good friend Lily this past summer. If you haven't checked out her Etsy shop yet, you should. She is one talented woman. Makes me begin to realize that I need to start paying my good fortune forward...

These covers are deceptively easy to complete! In fact, I made all three pillow covers in under an hour. Yes: I ironed and cut the fabric, sewed and covered the pillows - and had them back on their respective couches - in under 60 mintues. I could hardly believe it. Granted they aren't anything fancy; just your basic knife-edge, fold over closure pillows, but still. Complete craft gratification during naptime?! Can't beat that.

Mexican tile inspired knitting tote

I started attending a local knitting group on Wednesday evenings. It only meets for 90 minutes at a local wine/coffee shop, but it is great to meet up with local knitters, close to home, and share tips, techniques and reviews (of yarn, stores, websites, etc.) I was slightly embarrassed that I had been carrying around current knitting projects in a tote that I made for one of my daughters, so I quickly whipped up this one. It even has three interior pockets: one sized for needles, one for the phone and one for the ipod.

My husband got this fabric for me. He actually purchased an entire grocery bag full of fabric remnants from a garage sale this summer (for 25 cents). He was so sweet when he brought it home - although almost none of it seemed useful at the time. It is full of satin-y table cloths, dark florals and other misc. treasures. I returned to this bag last week to look again and I found this lovely piece. On a large scale the print is pretty overwhelming, but on the small scale it reminds me of Mexican folk art tiles. I love how this bag turned out! It reminds me of the year I spent abroad during college in Cuernavaca, Mexico, studying Spanish.

Quilting on my mind

With quilt month quickly coming to a close I find myself with three quilting UFO's and a three works that are "in process". This photo is of the first quilt top I ever pieced; the purple monster that has been hanging around my fabric stash for, oh I don't know, like 3 years. I have finally gotten around to getting some backing fabric and batting. The second UFO is a wall hanging that I am almost finshed with. I have the perfect spot to hang this one, just above the staircase. I am also supposed to be finishing up my quilt for the quilt-a-long. Just have to find the time, somewhere, to do it.

On to the three "in process" pieces. here is a photo of the fabric I sent off for the BTRS lap quilt swap. I can't wait to see what my partner sends me in return! Then I purchased some Amy Butler (see below) and assorted solid fabric. Coupled with my FFF fabric from Sew, Mama, Sew I have enough to make two more lap quilts - this way I'll have one for each of my girls. These are the three "in process" pieces as I haven't really even started on them yet.

Quilt month has definately shown me that I am interested in quilting; and I am able to make a quilt from start to finish.

Lap Quilt Swap

Now that it's quilt month, I feel like quilts, quilting projects and everything quilt-related has been coming out of the woodwork. Maybe it is just that my creative energy is focused in that direction right now. Anyway, there's a great quilt swap happening over at the Bend-the-Rules swap blog. I just signed up. Should be a lot of fun. The great part about this swap is that you can pick your own fabric; or be surprised by someone else's creativity...it's your choice!

If you want to join in you've got until the 14th.

http://btrsswap.blogspot.com/2008/09/easy-lap-quilt-swap-info.html

The matching no-cash wallet

Blogged about here. It still needs a button to finish it off, but I don't have just the right one. I'll have to keep my eye out. Also, the night this gem was finished I took it out to dinner with me. The waitress recognized the Amy Butler fabric immediately and we struck up a conversation about the fabric, patterns and sewing (i.e. hoarding lovely fabric). My husband was blown-away. Apparently he doesn't understand the extent to which Midwestern, 30-something, fabric-inclined, women are obsessed with Amy Butler design (as origninally proclaimed by the salesladies at the local quilting shop).

New fabric (gift from mom)

I love these little gifts from my Mom. A yard of Amy Butler home dec fabric. I think she's expecting me to make another grocery bag with it. But, I have the perfect (little) project for this one first! Stay tuned. (It also looks pretty nice in our living room, so maybe a new throw pillow too?)

Dining room chairs

Dan and I finished up the dining room chairs! We are so happy with the results. In the photos you can see the small plywood base he added to the seats to give them some extra support. Then it was on to recovering them. All told it only took about 90 minutes to get the fabric on the seats and the seats back on the chairs. The most difficult thing about the entire process was trying to find the right size staples for the staple gun (yes, three trips to Ace Hardware to get this one right). The actual stapling of the fabric to the seat was a very simple, very easy process. I didn't do any fancy corners and also covered over the piping from the original chair. I don't mind the lack of detail that much.

The family has already broken them in with blueberry pancakes (and matching blueberry stains), but that's exactly why we got this table and chair set, right? I was a bit peeved at first, but them remembered that it was a garage sale table and chair set and sale fabric from JoAnn's; I can always go and get more if need be. These chairs are made for sitting (and spilling on). Incidentially, the fabric held up pretty well to my scrubbing at the stain so I think this fabric will stick around for awhile. But, I also started thinking about some cute oilcloth seat covers for the girls...just something like a placemat we could set over the seat while they eat. Maybe a matching one to go under the highchair too? Hmmm...more ideas!

Ode to Mom (and Amy Butler)

The day before my Mom went on vacation she stopped over to say that she'd begun enjoying blogs. She mentioned that she loved the grocery bag tutorial and we quickly sat down and poured over on-line fabric swatches for future bags to be given as gifts. I showed her some of the new Amy Butler home dec prints and she fell in love. Quicker than you can say "grandkids" she went out and bought 3 yards of the only remaining Amy Butler home dec fabric in town. Not our first color or pattern choices from the Nigella line overall, but stunning none the less. I can't wait to see how these turn out! Thanks Mom!

Grocery Bags - a new favorite!

I found the tutorial for these tote bags at Sew, Mama, Sew! for their Summer Sewing Month. Created by Irene, they are a true classic. Perfect in every respect if you ask me. I did a quick test one from my fabric stash, utilizing an old curtain remnant from Ikea and part of a thrifted, vintage table cloth for the pocket. I was very happy with the results, but realized that cotton home decor weight fabric (as noted in the pattern) would probably work best. So far I've made the following three with seven more piles of fabric ready to be cut and sewn. Ten bags should keep our family safely away from "paper, or plastic, ma'am?" for awhile. I also have enough fabric to make a pair for my mother-in-law. As I was sewing I got to thinking that a set of these would make a great wedding or shower gift for that thrifty, environmentally friendly couple in your life too.

Thrift store fabric

My friends over at Capers and Olives and Tigerlily Tinkering inspired me to take a quick stop at the local thrift store for some fabric hunting. I came away with alot more than that - yes, one piece of cotton fabric (perfect for a crib quilt back, no?), but 15 kids books, trivial pursuit, a magnetic calendar board for the older girls and a new shirt for me sealed the deal!

Vintage Sheet Swap - more fat quarters!

This past weekend a church in our neighboorhood was having a 'Trash & Treasure' sale. I hit the jackpot and purchased an entire lot of vintage pillocases for $1. I cut them up and sent them off to Oh Fransson! for the swap. This brought my total contribution to 40 fat quarters. I can't wait to see what I get back. The suspense is killing me! The deadline for the swap is June 30th so stay tuned in early July to see what comes back to me.

Contribution: Vintage Sheet Patchwork Swap

Here are my contributions to Oh Fransson!'s vintage sheet patchwork swap. I am so excited to be a part of this as I L-O-V-E vintage fabrics, but haven't ever has the opportunity to work with them. This is also my first blog swap and I love the energy floating around about it. You can see the groups progress at Flickr. My quarters are cut and bundled and they will go in the mail on Thursday. The deal is that you get back as many quarters as you contribute - I am sending in 23. I technically only found one sheet to cut into with the others being various vintage fabrics. I am already looking forward to my return package in the mail and can't wait to begin brainstorming project ideas!

Silent Auction

The daycare that my twins attend, 2 (short) mornings a week, is having a silent auction this Friday night. I couldn't make up my mind what to make for it (do I knit, sew or craft something?), and settled on a piece of woven fabric art like the one below. I didn't manage to get a photo of it before it went off to the daycare today, but I will try to get one this Thursday; maybe of it up on display. I used three batik fabrics - the orange and green ones from the "3 Great Bags" post, with a blue one that I had in the stash. It is framed 4x6 in a brown wooden shadow box. It turned out remarkably well. I titled it "The Elements" as I felt the flame orange, green and blue all represented a few of the fundamental elements of life - fire, water and foliage. Hopefully someone, other than my husband, will bid on it :)

Speaking of fundamental elements of life I have just started reading, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver. What an amazing book. I am sure that I will be blogging about it on the family blog shortly.

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UPDATE: My fabric art piece went for $35. There were two bidders and I even overheard other women commenting that they had wanted it. Pretty exciting! It is good to know what the upper end price for a piece like that might be.

Fabric art

Here is a photo of a piece of art that I completed to finish off a blank wall in our living room. I am very pleased with the result. I basically took scraps of favorite fabrics, grouped them, cut them into strips and viola! Instant art. Well...the process was more cumbersome than that, but it truly wasn't as difficult as I had expected. The most difficult part was committing to a final design and gluing the things together.

My inspriration came from another piece of art that I noticed while surfing Etsy.com. I give full credit for my inspiration to collagecreations, with her piece, Woven Series 4. Unfortunately I am unable to justify purchasing her art at this time, so I crafted my own.

Dan really likes this too - which is rare as he doesn't like fabric as much as I do. (For that matter, I don't care for wood in the same way that he does!) He has even encouraged me to do a piece for a silent auction that is coming up for the girls' daycare. I do have some ideas for another, more intricate piece, so we'll see what I am able to come up with.