Housekeeping

Hi all,

It's time for some housekeeping... which I realized and thought about while I was away from computers and sleeping a ton... Thanks flu.

But, now that I'm feeling better, I thought I'd drop y'all a line, and say that I'm alive, and will pass on more wedding dress updates this week.  I've gotten a couple things made since then, so I am going to try to write them up as well, and in the next few weeks I'm hoping you'll start to see some changes on the appearance side of things... I have buttons hanging out from forever ago, and I'm missing others, and there's this quilting thing I've been dabbling in, which I would like to post a bit about as well, so I am going to see if I can make a schedule and stick to it.  The creative juices are flowing! I can't wait to share more!

A couple of weeks ago, an awesome lady from work and I went to the inaugural meeting of the West Atlanta Modern Quilters Guild.  A good time was had by all, and my what a creative bunch of ladies!

What I loved about this crazy creative group of women was that there were an awesome variety: in ages, occupations, skill levels, styles, and personalities.  It's inspired me to get to sketching in a bit more detail for my first quilt, whose story is intimately entwined with my life.  Y'all, it's gonna be a heck of a first quilt... of indeterminate size and mostly made-up pattern.  It'll be crazy, and I can't wait.

But first! First.
The mug rug.  I'm gonna play wonky disappearing nine patch and see what happens.  Whatever happens, I SHALL have pictures!  But not today. Just a sketch today.

2 weeks ago:

I have fallen off the wagon.

I haven’t sewn much- at all- in the month of May, even though my list of projects is long and full of fun, interesting things… A great supplement to my existing wardrobe full of fun, comfy things.  I kind of just wish I could sew it all and that I had the time and the motivation and the space to do that. 

I want to be productive in so many ways.  I want to start yoga and start running and doing core work and I’m having the trouble actually getting out and doing it all… Sigh.

 Finals are over.  It’s not high-stress anymore, and I so don’t have that excuse any longer. 

… And then, today, it was almost like a switch flipped and I magically have the energy to think about tackling some of the projects on the list… Getting them down to handwork for the 2-hour car ride I have Sunday. 

So, some modest (ha! ...But I do have mojo on my side) goals…

-cut two dresses out:  basically 2 versions of the same dress.  They have POCKETS. I can wear them at camp.  Need I say more?  And, one of these is a palate challenge garment.

-Assembly-line sew the dresses:  I can do both at once and make it work...just do more steps at once.  There’s a great post about this over on Whipstitch. 

-While I’m at it, I may assembly-line a skirt or 2 in there too... just use the same thread color and do side seams and waistbands and hems and things all at the same time...I just don’t seem to have enough good skirts(read: skirts with pockets) these days.

-Picnic blanket project… SO EXCITED about this… My sewing buddy T and I have been cooking this one up for a while now, and it’s happening!  SO excited.  If y'all like it, maybe we can cook up a tutorial and a pattern.  

Alright.  Happy day!

the cutting bug

So, I am following in Becky’s footsteps.  You see, she's been a cutting fiend of late, to be able to quickly have things to sew once gardening season and recital time approach.

  I am not on the time crunches that she is in the same ways, necessarily.  I am space-constrained, and experimenting by cutting a few things at once while I can get to my fabrics and my patterns, and then I switch space around to be able to get to notions and set up the iron and my machine. 

Last Saturday started the cutting bug… I still blame Whipstitch.  And owe that place sooooo much gratitude with my blame.  2 hours of quilt cutting.
 And then a quick top…

And then a couple hours later a skirt…

And then earlier this week some bias tape…

And the next night, 2 bags…
Aren't they all pretty sitting there lined up?  Just some rectangles, facings, and linings and I'll have myself a weekend.

Cutting has happened lots, y’all.  Here’s to hoping some good sewing follows. 

Ah, but first…

Midterms.  Which I’m doing now.  

A Whipstitch Sort of Morning

Y’all, have you been in here? Have you seen this awesome playground for us fabric fiends? Oh, it’s fabulous, friends…  So great.  Whipstitch’s brick-and-mortar store is about 20 minutes from where I live in town, and they do much more than sell you fabric.  The bright, open space is home to a little workshop with space to set up machines at the back and 2 lovely big cutting tables.  With rotary mats.  And get this… when they aren’t in use for the classes, they are open to be used by the general community. 
Great lighting, an awesome atmosphere that buzzes with friendliness and creativity, and a great staff full of ladies who love to talk shop, and just... Talk.  I walk in there and it’s like a magic idea switch just… flips.  I decide to make a quilt, or I start picturing how great that would look as a dress… 

A while back, I had an evening with friends in which I begun to cut that quilt out, and besides giving myself a new scar (rotary cutter user operator error… I learned my lesson!) I can’t say I accomplished much...  I cut maybe 3 pieces of fabrics into strips that will eventually become squares.  See?
 Maybe I wrote about it.  I was pretty proud of those strips and how much I managed to get done.

But yesterday, with a big cutting table at my disposal and a few hours to knock it out I went from folds of fabric to strips. And then from strips to squares.  So.  Great.  It goes so much faster when you’re not stopping to move everything when you cut every strip.  In 2 hours and change, I got SO.  MUCH.  DONE.  I cut all of the remaining fabric into pretty little strips, which make me want to set up my rotary stuff on my coffee table so that everything can be pretty little squares so we can play 9-patch... It's gonna happen.

Quilting update...

So, I decided that sewing lots of long straight lines to make my quilt was so 2011...
And I might have found a really fun, modern take on a 9-patch I really enjoy.
It is a woman's prerogative to change her mind, you know...

There are a crazy number of tutorials already out there, and if you stay tuned, you'll get one from me too!

Here's the one I'm using...
The English Geek's Disappearing Nine Patch Tutorial

She does a whole quilt this way.  I like.  And gives you some thoughts on color.  Which I also like.  A lot.  Seeing as how I have 15 fabrics at this point...

Pretty presents...

I'm hoping for a China-Free Christmas.  Here's some of the progress.



Mom's gift.  Has been decided upon, and I'm soooo psyched about it, because I think she'll really enjoy it.  However, she reads so I won't write.  I'm still hoping to persuade her to spend Christmas in my home (AHEM, Mama, pleeeease say yes?) so I can see her open it.  

Jewelry Sets:

Well, much like my sewing, I get the concept out, and I get the things put together, and it’s those finishing touches like, oh, closures, and matching earrings that get put off… But it’s all there, and it’ll get knocked out pretty quickly once I sit down for a second. 

 

Quilt:

The fabrics are coming together nicely.  I'm really getting excited about it.  I bought my mat and ruler and rotary cutter 2 weeks ago on Sunday (hooray for straight lines), so real progress is a-comin'! But... I will say I really like the fabrics I have right now...  We found some in a shopping adventure and others are old shirts that were favorites and no longer fit after big weight loss... They look great with the things in the quilt, they are 100% cotton, and I can't think of a more special way to re-use them.  

And honestly,  have you ever realized how much fabric is in a single shirt?

Wow.  Sleeves themselves are huge...

At this point, I’m going with measurements, and a wing and a prayer.  So far,  I have inspiration photos from pinterest and I've made inquiries for advice from the lovely ladies at SG.   I’ll add the widths of the strips up as I go, and make it to the measurements that I’m aiming for… I’m giving some thought to the whole idea of the back, and piecing it with log cabin squares, or maybe another shape… And some pillow covers.  But my goal currently is to have the piecing all done by finals and to find a good source for batting and all… I suspect I’ll be headed back to Whipstitch for some advice.  


Now to finish work so I'm allowed to play!


Happy day, friends.