Hope you all have a happy and relaxing holiday! I won't be gone from this space for long, but a little break over the holiday is necessary! We're hitting the road for Ohio early tomorrow morning! :)
Happy Holidays and safe travels!
Happy Holidays!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
It was a race against the sun on the shortest day of the year, but I finished it! I checked the last handmade gift off my list last night and was faced with an entire day to do whatever I pleased. In an effort to finish off works in progress before the new year, I opted to complete my Little Apples Sparkling Cider Quilt!
This is the second time I've sewn up a quilt using All Washed Up's Sparkling Cider pattern. Last year at this time I finished my first one using vintage sheets. You can see it here. This time around, I added an extra row making it 80" square.
Little Apples is Aneela Hoey's second line for Moda, and I love it! Just like with my Sherbet Pips quilt, I wanted to be able to leave large chunks of these fabrics intact to show off all the sweet little stories. It took a while to come to a decision but this pattern just seemed made for these fabrics. I mean let's be honest, Little Apples + Sparkling Cider? Match made in heaven, and cheeky to boot! ;)
I love Aneela's fabrics, there is something special about them, knowing the children, animals and adventures are inspired by her sweet girls and their life together. They feel so personal. I am absolutely ecstatic to already be working with her next line, A Walk in the Woods! It's adorable! You can find pre-cuts around now, and yardage will be available this spring!
This quilt top came together quite quickly. The flying geese that make up the stars are made with a Quilt In a Day Flying Geese Ruler. Have you used this tool before? I got mine at Joanns and it is fantastic! It really helps make sure you don't loose those nice points! It's my go-to way to make flying geese, thankfully it comes in a few different sizes!
I used the white prints along with some Kona Coal for the backing. The quilting ended up going super fast, only a few short hours. I did my signature loops but extra big this time!
I bound it off using this fun red and white stripe fabric I thrifted shortly after we moved to Wisconsin. It's really soft and I think finishes it off quite nicely!
I had a little trouble taking photos of this quilt, it's pretty heavy! I usually use masking tape but it just wasn't cutting it! So, it was Hello Kitty duct tape to the rescue! Hehe! (PS - it's from Target!)
I am so happy with the way this quilt turned out. It is definitely going to be one of my absolute favorites! It feels really good to get this one crossed off the list! :)
Happy Sewing!
This is the second time I've sewn up a quilt using All Washed Up's Sparkling Cider pattern. Last year at this time I finished my first one using vintage sheets. You can see it here. This time around, I added an extra row making it 80" square.
Little Apples is Aneela Hoey's second line for Moda, and I love it! Just like with my Sherbet Pips quilt, I wanted to be able to leave large chunks of these fabrics intact to show off all the sweet little stories. It took a while to come to a decision but this pattern just seemed made for these fabrics. I mean let's be honest, Little Apples + Sparkling Cider? Match made in heaven, and cheeky to boot! ;)
I love Aneela's fabrics, there is something special about them, knowing the children, animals and adventures are inspired by her sweet girls and their life together. They feel so personal. I am absolutely ecstatic to already be working with her next line, A Walk in the Woods! It's adorable! You can find pre-cuts around now, and yardage will be available this spring!
This quilt top came together quite quickly. The flying geese that make up the stars are made with a Quilt In a Day Flying Geese Ruler. Have you used this tool before? I got mine at Joanns and it is fantastic! It really helps make sure you don't loose those nice points! It's my go-to way to make flying geese, thankfully it comes in a few different sizes!
I used the white prints along with some Kona Coal for the backing. The quilting ended up going super fast, only a few short hours. I did my signature loops but extra big this time!
I bound it off using this fun red and white stripe fabric I thrifted shortly after we moved to Wisconsin. It's really soft and I think finishes it off quite nicely!
I had a little trouble taking photos of this quilt, it's pretty heavy! I usually use masking tape but it just wasn't cutting it! So, it was Hello Kitty duct tape to the rescue! Hehe! (PS - it's from Target!)
I am so happy with the way this quilt turned out. It is definitely going to be one of my absolute favorites! It feels really good to get this one crossed off the list! :)
Happy Sewing!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
I'm having a bit of fun this week, aren't I? Last week I got the itch to dye fabric again. I have done so a couple times (see here, here and here), and it is a lot of fun! When I was sewing up my new notebook cover last week, I cut into a little of the white on white Seed Catalog print from Annie's Farm Stand. It hit me that it would be PERFECT for dying! White on white prints are a little magical in that when you dye them the background takes the dye and the print pattern stays light. This image, from Fabrics to Dye For, illustrates it perfectly!
I probably could have gotten away with using regular Rit fabric dye or something similar, but ended up using Procion MX cold water dyes again. This is the same type of dye Malka Dubrawsky uses in her dyeing, and I used it last year when I experimented with wax resist dyeing. I figured if I'm going to do it, I might as well do it right!
Despite being a little labor intensive and more expensive, it really is the way to go. The colors are very saturated and bold, which I think can be hard to achieve with other dyes. I took over our tub to do the dyeing yesterday! Nice thing about it is the mess stays contained and you can just dump the dye baths down the drain when you're done!
I am so happy with the way these turned out. I had hoped the text would stay a little lighter, so next time I probably won't soak it as long. I am already scheming what other colors I want to do. Definitely green and brown! Maybe orange too!
If you are at all interested in fabric dyeing or wax-resist, I highly recommend Malka's book, Color Your Cloth. It is an amazing resource and inspiration! Rossie has some great information on dyeing too!
Had to get a shot of all the prints together. The top four prints were hand-dyed and the bottom five are the original colors from the line. I bought my white on white from Pink Castle Fabrics! One of very few places you can still get it!
Happy Sewing!
I probably could have gotten away with using regular Rit fabric dye or something similar, but ended up using Procion MX cold water dyes again. This is the same type of dye Malka Dubrawsky uses in her dyeing, and I used it last year when I experimented with wax resist dyeing. I figured if I'm going to do it, I might as well do it right!
Despite being a little labor intensive and more expensive, it really is the way to go. The colors are very saturated and bold, which I think can be hard to achieve with other dyes. I took over our tub to do the dyeing yesterday! Nice thing about it is the mess stays contained and you can just dump the dye baths down the drain when you're done!
I am so happy with the way these turned out. I had hoped the text would stay a little lighter, so next time I probably won't soak it as long. I am already scheming what other colors I want to do. Definitely green and brown! Maybe orange too!
If you are at all interested in fabric dyeing or wax-resist, I highly recommend Malka's book, Color Your Cloth. It is an amazing resource and inspiration! Rossie has some great information on dyeing too!
Had to get a shot of all the prints together. The top four prints were hand-dyed and the bottom five are the original colors from the line. I bought my white on white from Pink Castle Fabrics! One of very few places you can still get it!
Happy Sewing!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Eeeee! I got a jump start on one of my goals for 2012, to try sewing myself some clothes! Today I finished this top! It's the Tova pattern by Jenny Gordy of Wiksten patterns. I have admired this pattern from afar for a long time. I have a commercial top similar in style that I love, so I was immediately drawn to it. I resisted because I assumed it was too difficult for me to tackle, and the price tag is quite a bit more than I usually spend on patterns. After seeing all the beautiful Tova tops that Ashley made, I had to have it! The other day they were in stock (they go fast!), and I went for it and bought one.
I have a gorgeous woven blue gingham that Amanda picked up for me this past year, but knew better than to use it on the first go round. I ended up with this brown chambray from Joanns. I wanted the muslin to be cheap, but still wearable if it turned out okay! I went about the pattern in a rather slow way. I traced the pattern pieces on easy pattern material (looks and feels like interfacing) and made sure to read each step at least a few times before doing any sewing! Plus, LOTS of pinning.
I was surprised by how quickly and easily it all came together. There are some scary things you have to do in this pattern! Plackets, insets, cuffs, sleeves, a collar! Honestly though, I never really felt like I couldn't do it after I read the pattern through. There are clear photographs to accompany the instructions which are really helpful. Many of these things I was doing for the first time, and I think I only used my seam ripper once on some top stitching I wasn't happy with! I don't have a serger, so I just zig-zagged all my seams!
The details in this top are fantastic, and I look forward to making many, many more!
The sizing for this top was great. I ended up sewing a small based on my measurements and I think I will make it just the same with no alternations for the next one! Don't let the high(er) price of this pattern deter you. I got to thinking about it while finishing it up, you really do get what you pay for sometimes. That doesn't mean you can't sew beautiful things from inexpensive patterns or that you can't sew terrible things from expensive patterns. Plus, knowing you're supporting an individual artisan is pretty cool!
Here's to more garment sewing in my future! :)
I have a gorgeous woven blue gingham that Amanda picked up for me this past year, but knew better than to use it on the first go round. I ended up with this brown chambray from Joanns. I wanted the muslin to be cheap, but still wearable if it turned out okay! I went about the pattern in a rather slow way. I traced the pattern pieces on easy pattern material (looks and feels like interfacing) and made sure to read each step at least a few times before doing any sewing! Plus, LOTS of pinning.
I was surprised by how quickly and easily it all came together. There are some scary things you have to do in this pattern! Plackets, insets, cuffs, sleeves, a collar! Honestly though, I never really felt like I couldn't do it after I read the pattern through. There are clear photographs to accompany the instructions which are really helpful. Many of these things I was doing for the first time, and I think I only used my seam ripper once on some top stitching I wasn't happy with! I don't have a serger, so I just zig-zagged all my seams!
The details in this top are fantastic, and I look forward to making many, many more!
The sizing for this top was great. I ended up sewing a small based on my measurements and I think I will make it just the same with no alternations for the next one! Don't let the high(er) price of this pattern deter you. I got to thinking about it while finishing it up, you really do get what you pay for sometimes. That doesn't mean you can't sew beautiful things from inexpensive patterns or that you can't sew terrible things from expensive patterns. Plus, knowing you're supporting an individual artisan is pretty cool!
Here's to more garment sewing in my future! :)
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